Representatives from Custom Tree Care and Rostan attended a Tama City Council meeting to present on services their companies could provide to the cities following the August 10 derecho. Both Tama and Toledo have now contracted with Custom Tree Care and Rostan. Allison Graham/News Chronicle

The cities of Tama and Toledo have contracted with Custom Tree Care to assist with debris clean up and tree trimming following the August 10 derecho.

Custom Tree Care will be addressing trees as well as storm debris on city right of ways.

The goal is to insure safety for the public by removing hanging limbs and heavily damaged trees that pose a current and future risk. The bulk of the contracted cost projects are to be reimbursable under the FEMA Public Assistance Program that was granted to Tama County as part of the Presidential Major Disaster Declaration on August 17.

Custom Tree Care will not go on to your property to cut trees. They will only stay on the city right of way and will cut hanging limbs, trees that have been partially uprooted and are leaning beyond a certain degree, and trees with significantly cracked trunks.

The company advises that if you have a storm damaged tree that is on the berm or overhangs the street and you wish to not have removed, to attach a sign or a note on the tree instructing it not to be cut. The company nor the city will be going door to door prior to the clean up work being completed.

Custom Tree Care will take pictures of every tree cut for reimbursement purposes.

Some of the clean up work has been contracted but every sub contractor will have a placard on their vehicle identifying themselves with Custom Tree Care.

Rostan Solutions to do FEMA reimbursement monitoring for debris management. They will provide tracking and documenting services for every FEMA reimbursable load to lessen the burden on city staff as well as to help ensure a quick and accurate reimbursement claim.

The cities anticipate receiving around 75% reimbursement. Rostan Solutions will also assist with the grant application to help cover the difference.

Work is already underway in Tama and will begin soon in Toledo.