GENTRY — Council members, at their Feb. 2 meeting, voted to move forward in the process of making Gentry a Tree City, a recommendation of Bev Saunders, executive director of the Gentry Chamber of Commerce.
In her public comments at the beginning of the council's regular February meeting, Saunders recommended the council again pursue the possibility of obtaining Tree City USA status. Though Gentry had begun work on becoming a Tree City in 2010, even completing a survey of trees located on public property, she said the city was now in a much better position of meeting all the requirements to become a Tree City.
Those requirements include meeting four standards established by the Arbor Day Foundation and the National Association of State Foresters:
• Establishing a tree board or department;
• Passing a tree-care ordinance;
• Having a community forestry program with an annual budget of at least $2 per capita; and
• Holding an annual Arbor Day observance and proclamation.
The city came close to meeting all those requirements in 2010 but there were concerns over the public tree-care ordinance and establishing a community forestry program with an annual budget of $2 per capita.
According to Saunders, the city could appoint a group like the parks commission to function as the tree board, and money already spent on tree care, trimming and removal could be counted toward the $2 per capita, saying the city probably already spends more than the required amount on tree care in the city.
Saunders said the program would provide numerous benefits for the city, including money for purchasing more trees for planting in the city park.
A resolution made by councilman James Furgason, seconded by councilwoman Janice Arnold and passed unanimously by the council urged Saunders to move forward in the process of making Gentry a Tree City USA.
Additional action is anticipated at upcoming council meetings.
More information on the Tree City USA program and becoming a Tree City is available at: http://www.arborday.org/programs/treecityusa/index.cfm