ATC, St. Francis light up the holidays
The City of St. Francis has well-lit proof that working with American Transmission Co. helps keep the lights on for the holidays.
Two tall evergreen trees near an ATC transmission tower on city property needed to be removed to ensure the safety and reliability of the electric grid. The city and ATC met to discuss possible options and decided to time the work for early December so that the City could use the trees for their official city Christmas trees.
“While we can’t allow trees or tall‑growing vegetation in our transmission rights‑of‑way, we with work landowners and municipalities to find positive solutions whenever possible,” said ATC Vegetation Management Manager Michelle Stokes.
ATC vegetation management contractor, Nelson Tree Service, removed the lower branches and moved the treetops to the two locations the City requested.
“Thank you for your assistance in topping the trees under the wires at the Library. It was a huge success,” said City of St. Francis Director of Public Works Melinda Dejewski. “The tree top outside the Civic Center is now our official City of St. Francis Christmas tree and we are getting so many compliments on it. Thank you again for working with us on this project.”
ATC works to balance its obligation to operate its facilities safely and reliably with its commitment to be a respectful neighbor. For safety and reliability reasons, trees and other vegetation are controlled and managed around electric transmission lines and facilities. For more information on low-growing, beautiful vegetation that can be planted within transmission line rights-of-way, check out our Grow Smart page.
