Electricians, tree trimmers get swamped

Local electrical contractors and tree care services quickly learned that the winter wallop left more work than they could handle.

In an effort to spread the enormous workload, they readily referred customers to competitors and launched into the long process of repairing electrical equipment and trees damaged in the storm.

Electricians’ headway

Roper Electric was “absolutely overwhelmed” with more than 800 calls, said master electrician Mike Shanks.

With its customer list literally growing by the minute, Roper advised callers to contact as many electrical contractors as possible. By Jan. 22, many of the names had been scratched off Roper’s list, but hundreds still remained, Shanks said.

At Trinity Electric, owner Brenda Bolin single-handedly fielded a staggering number of calls.

“This has been total chaos,” she said.

As of Jan. 22, more than 500 customers were still on Trinity’s waiting list, which began to thin as local contractors made steady progress, Bolin said.

Out-of-town electricians soliciting door-to-door business may have figured in, she said.

Exactly one week after the storm hit, the city authorized temporary certification for electricians who were not licensed to work in Springfield.

The city business license office opened up Saturday, Jan. 20, to process temporary permits for interested electricians with the necessary credentials, including proof of workers’ compensation insurance. Between 15 and 20 of the 30-day permits had been issued as of Jan. 24, city spokeswoman Louise Whall said.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 453 supported the city’s move to license out-of-town electricians, said Jack Bauer, the union’s business manager.

“As long as they’re licensed, we’re OK with it,” he said. “We just didn’t want a bunch of people to get ripped off. We didn’t want to leave the door wide open.”

Multiplying tree-care firms

In the arena of tree trimming and removal, fewer regulations apply – and newcomers are flocking to Springfield.

More than a dozen tree service outfits – some from as far away as Alpharetta, Ga.; Lafayette, La.; and Louisburg, Kan. – have been issued city business licenses since Jan. 12, according to the city’s Web site.

Certified arborist Noel Boyer, owner of A&A Tree Service in Springfield, said the market is feeling awfully crowded. And many of the tree-trimming crews roaming city streets don’t have the customers’ best interests in mind, he said, adding many are “storm chasers” whose businesses subsist on natural disasters.

“I’ve already had run-ins with several (crews) that are far from professional and far from fair, too,” he said. “I know there’s a bunch of guys that are here from out of town that are making some fast cash, but I want to charge a fair price because I have a reputation to uphold in this town.”

Boyer, who was forced to turn away business after the storm, ultimately decided to focus on his existing base of about 300 customers. He is approaching the damage in three phases: clearing driveways and alleyways for utility crews; trimming and removing dangerous hanging limbs; and pruning to nurse salvageable trees back to health.

A&A Tree Service and Springfield-based Mello’s Tree Service have hired subcontractors and additional employees to better manage the sudden spike in business.

Mello’s owners Deborah and Jim Calhoun hired an estimator and an employee to answer the phone. The firm received 101 calls in one day after the storm, Deborah Calhoun said.

“This time of year is typically fairly slow,” she said. “We’re used to being able to service our customers right away and make them happy. It’s frustrating, because we get calls and we can’t get to them for two to four weeks.”

The city estimates the storm left behind 1.75 million cubic yards of vegetative debris, compared to 170,000 cubic yards of debris from Springfield’s last major ice storm in 1987. Officials said that’s enough debris to cover the Ozarks Technical Community College campus with a pile 30 feet deep.

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