BLOOMINGTON - The discovery of four ash trees hit hard by the emerald ash borer could leave the city of Bloomington short of money, staff and time in dealing with the problem. | Archive: Bloomington eyes removal of 3,400 ash trees | Blog: Ash borer treatment tips

City Manager Tom Hamilton told the Bloomington City Council that the ash borer appears to have been here longer than estimated.

Four trees on Bradley Drive on the city's near east side are in the advanced stages of decline from the ash borer, said Parks and Recreation Department Director Dean Kohn.

Earlier this summer, three ash borers were collected in traps southwest of Bloomington. City and state officials estimated the borers only recently arrived, giving the city about six to eight years to plan for the removal and replanting of the city's roughly 3,400 ash trees.

Now the city has maybe three to four years, Kohn said.

Kohn estimated that removing and replanting the trees will cost $2 million to $3 million.

"That is a lot of money on a budget that is already strained," Kohn said. "We were hoping to spread this plan over a 10-year window."

The larvae of the adult beetles feed on the inner bark of ash trees, ultimately strangling the trees. Currently, there is no way to eradicate the beetle.

A representative from the Illinois Department of Agriculture recently told the council it should be prepared to lose all of its ash trees.

Ash trees make up about 20 percent of the city's trees, which are planted along the streets and in the city's parks and golf courses, Kohn said.

Adding to the city's time and money crunch is staffing of the city's four-person forestry division, overseen by the parks department. The city's lead forester, Bob Brooks, is taking the city's early retirement offer and will leave Friday. One forester already has left to take another job.

"We've got an issue, no doubt about it," Kohn said. "But we will deal with it and find a way to get the work done."

Getting the work done is more than cutting down trees. Instead of a year or more to develop ordinances to take to the City Council on how the city will regulate the removal, transportation and disposal of the trees, Kohn said the city needs to have these in place by May, the start of the next flight season for the borers.

Also, policies about when the ash trees should be taken down and whether the city will try to treat some of its trees are also decisions that will go before the council.

"Do we remove our ash trees only when they are in an advanced state of decline or do we remove all of our ash trees -- even the healthy ones -- so we can help slow down the spread of the bug in downstate?" Kohn said. "These are the kinds of decisions the city will have to make much sooner than we expected."