FPL to trim trees on Siesta Key in May

With Florida Power and Light having scheduled routine tree-trimming on the north end of Siesta Key in May, FPL has sought the assistance of the Siesta Key Association to get out the word, in the event residents want to make sure they are home when the work gets under way on or near their property.

Barry Grubb, in FPL’s Distribution Vegetation Management office, contacted SKA President Catherine Luckner April 20 to alert her that the tree-trimming would begin on FPL lines around May 2, with the contractor, Asplundh Tree Expert Company, moving on to trees by the main feeder line along Higel Drive, then down Givens Street, around May 14.

The work along the other main feeder, which serves Siesta Village, is to begin around May 21, Grubb wrote Luckner.

Residents who own trees that require trimming will be notified in person or by cards left on their doors, Grubb added.

Anyone wishing to meet with Asplundh Planner Greg Pearson may call him at 219-2343, Grubb added.

FPL also mailed a letter April 17 to customers in the affected areas, Grubb told Luckner.

The tree-trimming, the FPL letter explains, is scheduled to clear out branches and limbs that potentially could cause safety hazards and power outages by brushing against or falling upon power lines in windy weather.

“The trees will be trimmed in a manner that redirects new growth away from power lines,” the letter reads. “At times, we also need to remove select palms and other fast growing vegetation that cannot be effectively maintained by trimming,” the letter adds.

Asplundh is to remove all tree debris, the letter says.

Anyone wishing more details about the tree-trimming work may visit www.FPL.com/trees, the letter notes.

Last year, then SKA board member Ann Kaplan worked with FPL representatives and island residents to ensure that anyone on the Key concerned about tree-trimming could contact the utility company or its contractor ahead of time, to make sure the residents were home when the contractor’s crew arrived.

Residents had complained in years past about trees being “butchered” by FPL contractors. During an SKA meeting several months ago, Luckner thanked Kaplan for working to guard against such incidents in 2011.