A Foley Public Works crew spent time recently removing a dead pine tree threatening homes and traffic along West Orange Avenue, part of a growing effort by the city's new Urban Forestry Unit to handle dangerous trees on public property.

Working from a bucket truck, a crew member secured sections of the tall tree before cutting them loose. Each piece was tied off and lowered to the ground to prevent damage. One lane of West Orange Avenue was closed for safety during the operation.

Corey Parker, who leads the unit, said the job would take about eight hours.

"The tree could fall on the house," Parker said. "We've already had one of these limbs fall and hit a car that was parked here."

The tree stood just feet from a house but was rooted in the city's right of way, making it Foley's responsibility. City Councilman Charles Ebert III reported the issue to Horticulture Director John Graham, who alerted the forestry team.

Formed in January, the Urban Forestry Unit was created to maintain trees on city streets and rights of way, a job previously handled by private contractors. Since its launch, the unit has saved Foley about $300,000 in contracting costs, according to Street Maintenance Supervisor Mike Chavers.

Crews focus on removing dead or diseased trees and trimming branches to keep streets clear. Trees are cut to a minimum height of 13 feet, 6 inches to allow safe passage for trucks and emergency vehicles, though Parker said crews often trim to 16 feet to accommodate larger vehicles.

"What we do is we trim all the roads to the legal duty height, which is 13 (feet), 6 (inches)," Parker said. "We go ahead and go to 16 feet for campers and, particularly, our fire trucks. They're about 14. So we go to 16 feet to have good limbs on that. And then we also take down any dead, diseased trees on the right of way that can be a potential hazard."