DELPHOS — The city will soon have a Tree Commission in place to monitor tree planting and care within the city.
Members of the Green Thumb Garden Club, Master Gardener Diane Sterling, Mayor Michael Gallmeier, City Councilman Rick Hanser, Stadium Club representative John Nomina and Ohio Department of Natural Resources Urban Forester Stephanie Miller met Wednesday to discuss the formation of the commission and outline what needs to be done once it is in place.
Gallmeier agreed to bring the Tree Commission proposal to council at the next meeting on May 13 and is asking anyone interested in serving on the commission to call him at the city building at (419) 695-4010.
Miller said once the commission is approved by council, its first job will be to update the city’s existing tree commission ordinance.
“The ordinance passed in 1982 was pretty progressive for the time but it needs to be updated. The Tree Commission will have the right to deal with tree issues and updating the ordinance will give them the oomph to do that,” Miller said.
By the end of the summer, more than 300 trees will have been removed from city right-of-ways near power lines in an effort to reduce power outages and other damages dead, fallen tree branches can cause. The trees being removed, according to Miller, would not have been planted if more had been known about them and how they would grow. Improper tree trimming has also added to the problem.
“The biggest problem is ignorance,” Miller said. “People in Delphos don’t know what trees to plant and how to take care of them. Delphos will be playing catch-up for a while.”
Part of the updated ordinance will include a list of trees that cannot be planted within the city right-of-ways and on other city property.
The next step for the commission will be to identify hazard trees in the city and put a system in place for choosing and approving the right trees in the right place.
“The biggest challenge Delphos has right now is make sure the trees you have are safe,” Miller added.