HomeMy WebLinkAboutMarch 11, 2025 Tree Board Jeffersonville Tree Board
March 11, 2025
The Jeffersonville Tree Board had its organizational meeting on Tuesday, March
11 at 4 pm in the Planning and Zoning Conference Room at City Hall.
Those present were Amber Powell, Bob Hill, Chad Reischl, and Jeff Cover.
We introduced ourselves by answering why we agreed to serve on the board
when we were asked. Chad Reischl and Amber Powell are appointees of the
Mayor. Bob and Jeff are appointees of the Common Council. It was explained that
when the city hires a new Green Space Manager, serving on this Board will be a part of
that person's responsibilities, as the mayor's third appointee.
We reviewed the agenda and agreed to follow it, as distributed in advance by
Jeff. We reviewed the ordinance by which we were established by the Common
were and went over the purposes for which we we e established.
We discussed increasing the number of board members beyond the original
appointees. Amber is going to follow up with Heaven Williams, the city's Youth
Advocate, to see if we can get a representative from the Jeffersonville High School
Ecology Club to serve. Chad will ask Jeffersonville resident Eric Bitner, a certified tree
arborist and owner of 5 Saplings Tree Service, about serving. He will also approach
Paul Reid, who was instrumental in helping establish the city's downtown Tree
Walk. Jeff will ask Kelli Jones, an Oak Park resident who is a landscape architect and
part of the Creation Keepers Team at Wall St. United Methodist. He will also approach
Carol Dunn, a former member of Great Scott Trees in Scottsburg, IN and chair of the
Green Team at First Presbyterian Church. We will keep a list of other potential eventual
Board members.
We had a preliminary discussion on by-laws/rules of procedure. Chad and Jeff
agreed to draft something for consideration by the group at their next
meeting. Decisions about officers will be made then.
We set the regular meeting of the Board on the second Tuesdays of the month at
4 pm.
Among the skills we identified in our group so far, Bob has expertise in securing
tree stock and planting, as does Chad. Chad can also help with our grant applications
to the Indiana Dept. of Natural Resources (IDNR). Amber has expertise in preparing
press releases and in being a liaison with the Parks Dept. Jeff has organizational skills,
served on the Rensselaer Urban Forestry Council and is a member of the First
Presbyterian Church Green Team.
We discussed funding at length. Eventual funding may be secured from the
Indiana Dept. of Natural Resources, but the timing and amounts of potential grants are
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very much tied up in national governmental reorganization. Chad will spearhead grant
applications and Malvina Craig, former Scottsburg Tree Council member, may be
available for consultation. She comes recommended by Jacob Roos, Community and
Urban Forestry Director, IDNR.
City staff people felt as though it would be reasonable for us to ask for $10,000 in
initial funding from the city. We will explore whether the city may receive donations for
the planting of trees from individuals or organizations. We may need to consider setting
up a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation status. We might also consider setting up an
account with the Community Foundation to receive tax-deductible contributions. Chad
estimates that it takes about $200 to purchase a tree, get it delivered, plant and mulch
it. Among potential tree sources Bob and Chad suggested were Wood Warehouse,
Natorp, and Grant Line Nursery.
Bob suggested that we set October 1 as an internal deadline for planting our first
Board-sponsored tree in Jeffersonville, and we agreed.
Jeff asked if Mayor Mike Moore could be approached about making an Arbor Day
Proclamation to raise public awareness of our work. This is also part of our applying to
become a Tree City, USA with the Arbor Day Foundation. Amber suggested we might
do this in conjunction with the city's Earth Day event which is scheduled for Saturday,
April 19, just the week prior to Arbor Day. Amber agreed to contact the mayor about
this. Jeff informed the group about First Presbyterian Church's Arbor Day (April 25)
planting of a tree at Riverside Elementary with the school's second graders.
Jeff passed out copies of The Arbor Day Foundation's Tree Board Handbook,
provided courtesy of the state IDNR office. He asked everyone to read the first two
chapters to get a better idea of what we are all about.
The meeting adjourned at 4:55 pm, until its next meeting on Tuesday, April 8 at 4
pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeff Cover, temporary scribe