A Latrobe, Pa.-based forester estimates that harvesting trees on 190 acres owned by Greenville Municipal Authority could generate between $200,000 and $350,000 for the water company.

The authority asked forester Anundson & O'Barto to inspect authority land on Hadley Road in Hempfield Township to determine the type and quality of trees there and how much money a potential tree harvest could yield.

Anundson & Barto produced a five-page report for the authority, at no cost. Authority board members reviewed the report Tuesday.

The company estimated that a liquidation harvest, or one in which all of the trees are removed at once, could yield $341,640.

A managed harvest, or one over an extended period of time, could yield $201,567, the forester said.

"This involves enough money for us to take a look at it more closely," said board member Janet Hurlbert.

Ms. Hurlbert said she believes that before the board takes any action, it needs to discuss a potential tree harvest with Charles Bestwick, the real estate agent who is marketing the 190-acre tract for a potential sale or piecemeal sales. "We should talk with him first, in case it (a harvest) could devalue the property or affect the land sale," she said.

Board member Dick Miller said a potential tree harvest could enable the authority to tackle some needed improvement projects in the coming year without raising water rates.

The authority hiked rates 15 percent two years ago, but held rates last year. As a result, he said, "There's not a whole lot of money for us to do capital improvements."

"This (a tree harvest) could buy us another year of not raising rates. Without it, I see that we will have to raise rates," Miller added.

Board member John Brown said a small rate hike might be appropriate, whether or not trees are harvested. "It could be bad to hold rates," he said, noting that the lack of small, annual hikes in the borough during the mid-1990s contributed to massive hikes in recent years and the town's fiscal collapse.

Auditors said earlier this year that the borough may have avoided its collapse and been able to cover its gradually increasing costs had it raised taxes a bit each year.