BLUE FOLDER ITEM
Blue folder items are additional back up material to administrative reports and/or public comments received after the printing and distribution of the agenda packet for receive and file.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
June 3, 2025
H.7. APPROVE AN AGREEMENT WITH DUKE'S ROOT
CONTROL TO PROVIDE SEWER LINE ROOT FOAMING
SERVICES FOR AN ANNUAL COST NOT TO EXCEED
$316,000, AND A TOTAL THREE-YEAR NOT TO EXCEED
AMOUNT OF $948,000, FOR THE TERM JULY 19, 2025
THROUGH JULY 18, 2028
- E-mail received from Mark Nelson
From: Mark Nelson (Home Gmail)
Sent: Monday, June 2, 2025 8:00 AM
To: CityClerk <[email protected]>; James Light <[email protected]>; Paige Kaluderovic <[email protected]>; Andrew Winje <Andrew. [email protected]> Subject: Public Comment: Mayor and City Council, 6/3/25 Council Meeting, Agenda Item H.7 Sewer Line Root Foaming
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Public Comment: Mayor and City Council, 6/3/25 Council Meeting RBCC 6/3/25 Agenda Items H.7. APPROVE AN AGREEMENT WITH DUKE'S ROOT CONTROL TO PROVIDE SEWER LINE ROOT FOAMING SERVICES FOR AN ANNUAL COST NOT TO EXCEED $316,000, AND A TOTAL THREE-YEAR NOT TO EXCEED AMOUNT OF $948,000, FOR THE TERM JULY 19, 2025 THROUGH JULY 18, 2028
As a property owner in Redondo Beach, I am concerned about the increasing use of sewer line root foaming widely across the City.
I have had the experience of a third-party's frequent application of root killers down their residential main drain contributing to the death of mature trees on my property. It's quite simple these days to test dead trees, plants, and lawns for the presence of various poisons, including herbicides and root killers.
We should all be aware that for roots to enter our sewer systems, there needs to be a crack, hole, or corrosion in a sewer line. Frequent trips by rooter companies that pull up roots are a clear sign that REPAIR is needed, not poisonous chemicals in increasing amounts at shorter intervals. The toxics will leak out of the damaged areas and poison the soil and plants as has been my experience with dead trees.
I do not object to the contract. But I do strongly advise the City to use the least toxic root killer possible as seldom as possible. I also advise the City to make repairs to leaking sewer lines if and when root incursions occur. The potential cost of dead trees to the City and sewer adjacent property owners can be massive.
While removal of killed trees is in the thousands of dollars, my experience is that repopulation with in-kind, mature trees can easily exceed $100,000 and doesn't count the litigation costs of recovery.
It's also ironic that the cost of one to two years of sewer jetting and foaming would pay the full cost of the 500-600 N Prospect Noisewall. Just a coincidence.
Thank you.