Maintenance Division

Trimming

Street Maintenance crews trim boulevard trees that interfere with the operation of snowplows and street sweepers. This is done on a time available basis. Bloomington ordinance provides that the care and maintenance of boulevard trees is the responsibility of the abutting property owner. No permit is required for this care.

Tree health

In the boulevards, dead and dying trees with Emerald Ash Borer,  Dutch elm disease, or oak wilt are removed under the City's Tree Disease Management program. Storm-damaged boulevard trees are trimmed or removed depending on the damage severity. Broken branches are removed to prevent damage to the street or walk when they fall. Stumps of removed trees are ground and the site is restored and seeded. No charge is made to the abutting property owner for these services.

Disease management

Bloomington has had a program to manage Dutch elm disease and oak wilt for over twenty-five years. In 2014, Emerald Ash Borer was added to the program. The City marks trees requiring removal. Property owners can choose to use a contractor hired by the City or handle the removal themselves. Every spring the contract is bid so the removal price can be given at the time of marking.

Signs of Dutch elm disease

Prompt diagnosis and removal of diseased trees are the keys to help control the spread of Dutch elm disease. Dead or dying elm trees can become a breeding ground for thousands of beetles that will move about and spread the disease.

Visible signs of Dutch elm disease include leaves on the upper branches that turn from green to yellow, curl, and become brown and brittle. These symptoms are common signs of a diseased tree and could signal Dutch elm disease. If more than a few branches are affected, then the entire tree must be removed. If only small portions of the tree show symptoms, quick and proper action might prolong the life of the tree.

Chemical fungicides are available that are designed to protect the tree, but there is no guarantee that a treated tree won't become infected with Dutch elm disease. Chemical treatments have a greater success rate with healthy trees.

Japanese Beetles

One of the most recent insect pests to deal with is the Japanese Beetles. Turf grass along with many different kinds of trees and shrubs can be attacked by these beetles with sometimes significant damage being done to both turf and landscape plants. The City recommends that residents visit the University of Minnesota Extension Division web page link below for clear and concise information on control methods and the timing of these controls. It must be remembered that control of this insect pest is possible but "eradication" is not possible and should not be our goal.

• Japanese Beetle Management in Minnesota 

Oak and elm tree pruning advisory

Because of disease transmission (Emerald Ash Borer, Dutch Elm Disease, and Oak Wilt) these trees should be pruned when they are inactive. Therefore December, January and February are the best months to prune elms and oaks. This is also a good time to prune other shade trees.

Understand that these dates are not "set in concrete." Temperature and moisture can affect when trees should or shouldn't be pruned. The University of Minnesota has created the image to the right which will be updated to represent the current Oak Wilt risk level. You can also find more information at the University of Minnesota's web page by clicking the image or the link below:

• Oak wilt risk status in Minnesota 

Brush Disposal

Because Bloomington is within the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) quarantine for Hennepin County it is important to know the rules for properly disposing of tree debris and brush. Details of the quarantine and other regulatory information can be found on the MN Department of Agriculture website.

• Emerald Ash Borer Quarantine and Regulatory Information 

Information regarding to disposal of tree waste, including logs and brush can be found on the MN Department of Agriculture website.

Because of disease transmission (Emerald Ash Borer, Dutch Elm Disease, and Oak Wilt) these trees should be pruned when they are inactive. Therefore December, January and February are the best months to prune elms and oaks. This is also a good time to prune other shade trees.

Understand that these dates are not "set in concrete." Temperature and moisture can affect when trees should or shouldn't be pruned. The University of Minnesota has created the image to the right which will be updated to represent the current Oak Wilt risk level. You can also find more information at the University of Minnesota's web page by clicking the image or the link below:

• Oak wilt risk status in Minnesota 

The land between residential property and adjacent ponds,wetlands, lakes and waterways is often owned by the City. In these areas, the City works to preserve native vegetation as a means of protecting environmental and water quality, and creating wildlife habitats. City land is held for the enjoyment of all residents and cannot be reserved for exclusive private use. It is the obligation of property owners to know their boundary lines so as not to disturb City property. The City Code prohibits the following in public areas:

• Damaging, cutting, carving, killing or injuring the bark of any tree or plant.
• Disturbing or mowing grass areas.
• Impairing its natural beauty or usefulness.
• Placement of playground or recreational equipment.
• Planting.
• Dumping lawn wastes or other refuse.

To preserve City property for the long-term benefit of all residents, the City will prosecute violations that are subject to misdemeanor penalties of up to $1,000 and 90 days in jail.

Photo credit: Howard Russell, Michigan State University, Bugwood.org.

Don't let its size fool you: The Emerald Ash Borer represents an enormous threat.

The City has been fighting the Emerald Ash Borer since its discovery in November 2014. The iridescent green beetle’s larvae feed on the conductive tissues of ash tree bark, which eventually kills the tree.

Quarantine in effect

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has implemented a quarantine in multiple counties that prohibit the movement of the following items out of quarantined counties:

• Firewood from any hardwood (non-coniferous) species.
• Entire ash trees.
• Ash limbs and branches.
• Ash logs or untreated ash lumber with bark attached.
• Uncomposted ash chips and uncomposted ash bark chips larger than 2 inches in diameter.

Information regarding disposal of quarantined ash tree waste can be found on the MN Department of Agriculture website.

Seasonal information

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture indicates that the active period for the Emerald Ash Borer is May 1st through August 31st. Any pruning or removal of ash trees, branches or stumps should be avoided during this period as doing this may contribute to the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer disease. If ash tree work must be done for safety and hazardous condition reasons the material removed to include the outer 1 inch of the bark/ wood should be chipped on site or it should be transported in an enclosed vehicle to the nearest facility that can process the material. (only the outer 1 inch of bark/ wood harbors the EAB) A list of those approved disposal sites within the quarantine area are listed on the Minnesota Department of Agriculture web page. Pruning and removal of ash trees/ wood may be conducted from September 1st through April 30th.

Do I have Emerald Ash Borer? What does it look like?

The above picture offers a general idea of the Emerald Ash Borer's size and appearance.

• Do I have Emerald Ash Borer?
• Ash Tree Identification

Insecticide treatment information

Once EAB arrives in an area, it will remain a constant threat to ash trees for many years to come. If you choose to use an insecticide, it is likely that protective treatments will be needed for the rest of the tree's life. Optimal timing for most treatment methods is mid-April until the end of June.

• Emerald Ash Borer: Considerations for Homeowners before Selecting a Treatment Strategy
• Homeowner Guide to Insecticide Selection, Use, and Environmental Protection

City and State response

• MDA staff will conduct a thorough survey of trees in the surrounding area to assess the extent of infestation. Information from this survey will help determine the response strategy implemented by state and local officials. The MDA and MN DNR are working closely with the USDA Animal and Plant and Health Inspection Service in the MDA response.
• City staff tree inspectors licensed by MDA are prepared to include in our annual city tree inspections the search for EAB in both public and private areas in the City.
• The City's goal is to communicate the most current information available from the MDA, to encourage residents not to plant ash trees, to recommend residents take extra care of ash trees they are trying to retain, and assure residents our city tree inspection staff will be including the inspection for, and possible detection of, EAB as we do our annual inspections of trees in the city.
• We do not anticipate a major change in how the City deals with ash trees and EAB until such time as the MDA has completed its survey and makes a recommendation on how best to approach this new tree disease.

Help monitor for EAB in your neighborhood - Wasp Watchers Program information

Love trees?  Want to help save them from invasive pests?  You can be a volunteer citizen scientist and help survey your community for the presence of EAB. With the help of a harmless ground-nesting wasp (cerceris fumipennis) that hunts wood-boring beetles like EAB, we can monitor for the presence of these destructive invasive beetles. The female Cerceris wasps hunt for beetles in the trees and bring their prey back to their nest holes in the ground to feed to their offspring. An observer can easily watch a wasp colony and collect their beetle prey to check for EAB presence. Volunteering is easy and fun and really makes a difference for our wonderful Minnesota trees and forests. For more information, visit the Wasp Watchers website at waspwatchers.umn.edu.

To learn more visit z.umn.edu/waspwatchers.

Contact the Wasp Watchers Program Coordinator, Jennifer Schultz at 612-301-8310 or schultzj@umn.edu

Resources

• www.dnr.state.mn.us 
• Emerald Ash Borer Program at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture 
• Emerald Ash Borer Program at the University of Minnesota Extension 
• www.emeraldashborer.info

Each year, Park Maintenance conducts programs to help control the number of geese and deer in the city. These control programs focus on public safety, sanitation concerns and the health of the animal population per square mile. Surveys and studies are conducted to determine the concentration of animals, and removal programs are set up based on the results.

For more information contact:

• Deer control: Michael Centinario, 952-563-8921, or email mcentinario@BloomingtonMN.gov
• Goose control: Dave Hanson, 952-563-8760, or email dhanson@BloomingtonMN.gov

Park Maintenance is responsible for mowing approximately 700 acres of turf throughout Bloomington. Areas include boulevards, parks, athletic fields, freeway noise wall areas and park open spaces. There are three basic levels of mowing:

• High use areas are mowed every 5 - 10 days.
• Less used areas are mowed once a month and some areas once or twice a year.
• Weed control is performed as needed to maintain the particular use of an area.

There are 55 playground apparatus units throughout the city parks system and at school sites. These playgrounds are inspected and repaired on a regular basis to help insure the safety of the many children that use them. Trained "Playground Safety Inspectors," certified by the National Playground Safety Institute, perform weekly walk-through inspections including a detailed inspection of the entire apparatus. Monthly inspections are also performed and any necessary repairs or adjustments are made.

A number of years ago, Park Maintenance staff began a program to retain and reclaim sites throughout the city for improved areas of native prairie grasses and wildflowers. Fifteen areas of varying sizes have been designated as native prairie/wildflower areas and special care has been given to them. Maintenance strategies include seasonal mowing, burning or the planting of wildflower seeds. Interesting textures and a variety of colors can be seen at these locations throughout the year:

• Bloomington Ferry Road and Pioneer Trail: Northeast corner.
• Girard Park: South and east of 84th and France Avenue.
• Nord Myr: West of Poplar Bridge Road and north of 91st Street.
• Tarnhill Park: North side of 98th Street east of Rich Road.
• West Bush Lake: South and west of #2 picnic shelter.

The City maintains 16 hockey rinks, two broomball rinks and 15 general skating areas at city parks. These rink sites are lighted and most have heated warming houses that are staffed. These rink areas are maintained Monday - Saturday during the December, January and February skating season. Rinks and warming houses are open depending on the weather. Specific warming house schedules can be found on the skating rinks and warming houses web page.

Bloomington City Council priorities dictate that when a plowable snow event occurs, the first priority is the cleaning of Bloomington streets and cul-de-sacs for safe vehicle use. This means there is only snow removal on rinks and no flooding on the day of a snow event.

The City has a number of hiking and biking trails at various locations. All trails are usable most of the year. Only paved trails have snow removed in the winter.

• Bush Lake: 1.5 miles of walking trail with asphalt, wood chip and dirt surfacing.
• Central Park (including Moir Picnic area and the Nine Mile Creek area): 4.5 miles of trail. Surfaces are asphalt, wood chip and lime rock.
• Forest Glen Trail: a .9 mile long asphalt trail, connecting Marth Road with East Bush Lake Road.
• Girard Lake: A one-mile wood chip trail.
• Heritage Hills: A one-mile wood chip trail.
• Marsh Lake: A .75-mile wood chip trail.
• Normandale Lake: Two laps of two miles each, one for walking and one for biking and in-line skating.
• Parker's Picnic: Over three miles of trail that are chip/dirt.
• Smith Park: A newly installed asphalt trail system that runs through the entire park.
• Tierney's Woods: Wood chip trails maintained by Three Rivers Park District.

The Maintenance Division is responsible for maintaining approximately 600 miles of curb and gutter. Curbs and gutters gather water run-off from the street and carry it to the storm drainage system.

Street Maintenance keeps a list of curb problem locations including those that have been reported by residents. The most effective, long-term repair of curbs is curb replacement. Public Works hires a construction contractor to replace a specific amount of curb each year. All other curbs in need of repair are patched with asphalt by Street Maintenance crews. The City also removes trees in the right-of-way that are heaving curb or sidewalk for no direct charge to the property owner. Curb problems can be reported by calling 952-563-8760.

Bituminous or blacktop pavement by design is flexible to accommodate the freeze/thaw cycle of our climate. Subsequently, cracking will occur in relatively new pavement and continue throughout its life due to age, traffic, weather, etc. Crack "filling" is the placement of a liquid asphalt emulsion into the void, coating the newly exposed internal surface of the pavement to limit further deterioration. Crack "sealing" is the placement of a rubberized sealant in the crack that will provide a protective coating and seal out water.

This process includes grinding the old surface to make the pavement uniform, then adding a new hot-mix overlay. An overlay is a structural improvement which renews the street surface and extends the life cycle of the original pavement.

The repair of the typical "pothole" or other similar small isolated section of structural failure. It involves removal and repair of the street section.

The Pavement Management Program improves concrete curb, gutter and sidewalk, constructs handicap access ramps, repairs deteriorating asphalt and reconstructs, overlays or sealcoats existing streets. The program annually encompasses approximately 45-50 miles of streets in Bloomington. The Maintenance Division performs routine patching and crack sealing operations to improve and extend the life of the street system.

PMP also maintains a computerized Pavement Management System. This system includes an inventory of the entire street network as well as roadway test data for each street in the city. It allows us to select streets for repair at the most effective time. We are currently working on connecting the Pavement Management inventory to the City's Geographic Information System. This will allow us to visually overlay the information on pavement with information about other infrastructure. In practical terms, it will allow for staff to plan and carry out maintenance on pipes and manholes that lie below the surface before the pavement is reconstructed. This capability helps our staff make the best use of the City's resources in an effort to maintain our infrastructure responsibly.

The City relies on a rating system to provide a fair and systematic way to determine which streets need to be repaired. One-third of the city streets are rated each year by evaluating the defects (cracks, potholes and soft spots) in the road. This rating system allows us to determine what maintenance strategy will need to be used for the street. A database of all the street conditions is updated every three years by the Maintenance Division.

Report a Pothole using the City's online form.

How potholes are formed

The most common cause is the freeze/thaw cycle. The ice/snow melts during the day filling cracks with water. At night the water freezes and expands, popping out the asphalt.

Even without freezing weather, water can seep into cracks on the road's surface. Combined with the vibration of traffic, it can cause the asphalt to fail. This is why there are more potholes after it rains.

Finally, potholes can be created when trucks and buses stress the roadway, causing a movement of the subsurface. Once there is a weak spot, every car that travels over it worsens the problem, and eventually a section of the material will fail.

Our goal is to respond to all potholes within 2 business days of being notified. We take care of the problem initially by installing a temporary patching material. Then we prioritize the potholes by size, number and street traffic volume to see if more extensive repairs are warranted.

Potholes and other roadway failures are repaired by Street Maintenance in order of priority.

• Report potholes online or by calling Street Maintenance at 952-563-8760.
• Potholes on County Roads are fixed by Hennepin County crews. These roads include all of Old Shakopee Road as well as the parts of 24th Avenue, Portland Avenue, Nicollet Avenue, Penn Avenue, France Avenue, Normandale Blvd, and Bush Lake Road that are north of Old Shakopee Road. To report a pothole on one of these roads, you can call Hennepin County Operations Dispatch directly at 612-596-0299.
• Potholes on State Highways are fixed by MnDOT. These roads include I-35W, Cedar Avenue, -I494 and TH 169. MnDOT has a web page to report potholes.

All existing asphalt pavement is removed through a full-depth milling process, pulverized to a specific gradation, reclaimed and recycled with the existing aggregate base. Then a new full-depth hot-mix asphalt pavement is installed. It may also involve soil corrections and removal of aggregate base.

Sealcoating is the process where an asphalt emulsion is applied to the surface of a road, followed by the placement of small graded aggregate. This coating is wear-resistant and protects pavements from oxidation and the effects of moisture.

Sealcoating progress map