2004-01-12 Regular Meeting, Public Hearing, and Workshop Meeting

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The National 'Arbor Day Foundation. free ~i~r u.S.A. ~rr~r~rft~ fir L~ P~~ • ovenrioar of eenefit~ Tree Gty, U.S.A. is a program established by the National Arbor Day Foundation. Becoming a Tree City U.S.A. provides initial direction for an urban or community forestry program. Like the first rungs on a ladder, the standards help get a community started sward annual, systematic management of its tree resources. • Education begins with discussion of the standards and getting organized th apply for Tree City U.S.A. status. It continues as the desire for Tree Gty U.S.A. recognition leads to contacts with the state forester's staff. In tum, this can set in motion aid from a variety of .professionals in the form of technical advice, literature, films, and other assistance. ® A cpmmunity's Pu~iclmage is a very real phenomenon and important in many ways. Being a Tree Gty U.S.A. helps present the kind of image that most citizens want to have for the place they live or conduct business. The Tree City U.S.A. signs at community entrances tell visitors that here is a community that cares about its environment. It is also an indication th prospective businesses that the quality of life may be better here. m Pride is sometimes a less tangible benefit. Gaining and retaining Tree Gty U.S.A. recognition is an award th the tree workers, managers, volunteers, and others who work on behalf of better care of a community's trees. Non-involved citizens, too, often share a sense of pride that theirs is a Tree City U.S.A. This may translate to better care of trees on private property or a willingness do volunteer in the future. • Finanva/Assis7ar~ Pnference is somel~mes given bo Tree Gty U.S.A. communities over other communities when allocations of grant money are made for trees or forestry programs. The reason is that there are invariably more requests than available funds when grants are available through state or federal agencies. If r~uests are equally worthy, some officials tend do have more confidence in communities that have demonstrated the foresight of becoming a Tree Gty U.S.A. • Presentation of the Tree City U.S.A. award and the celebration of Arbor Day offer excellent publicity opportunities. This results not only in satisfaction for the individuals involved and their families, twt also provides one more way do reach large numbers of people with information about tree care. l~eauirremeetts for Membership To qualify for Tree City U.S.A., a town or city must meet four standards established by The National Arbor Day Foundation and the National Assoaation of State Foresters. These standards were established tJO ensure that every qualifying immunity would have a viable tree management plan and program. It is important to Hobe that they were also designed so that no community would be excluded because of size. A Tree Board ~ll~parimen~ Someone must be legally responsible for the care and management of the community's trees. This may be a professional forester or arborist, an entire forestry department, or a volunteer tree board. Often, both a professional staff and advisory tree board are present, which is a good goal for most communities. A tree board, or commission, is a group of oonc~rred volunteer citizens charged by ordinance with developing and administering a wmpreher~ive tree management program. Balanced, broad-based community involvement is