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Titusville council directs staff to shift $65,050 to match urban forestry grant
Summary
City Council approved advisory action to reallocate $65,050 from a landscape enhancement program to help match a $50,000 Urban and Community Forestry grant; staff will bring a resolution back clarifying how remaining funds will be used.
City Council voted to direct staff to prepare a resolution reallocating $65,050 from the city's landscape enhancement funds to provide the local match for a $50,000 Urban and Community Forestry grant with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Councilmember Amber Stockel moved the advisability motion and it passed without opposition. The council asked staff to return with a resolution that (1) dedicates $50,000 toward the grant match and (2) specifies that the remainder be returned to the Landscape Trust Fund or otherwise applied as council directs.
The staff report said the match will fund an urban forestry master plan and that the city has existing program language allowing mitigation revenues to be used for landscaping on public property. Resident speakers urged caution on wording but supported using mitigation funds for tree planting. Tony Shafalow, a resident, said he "see[s] no problem utilizing the $65,050 to match the $50,000" grant but asked that the trust fund language be preserved. A member of the Titusville Tree Team reported the Landscape Trust Fund held roughly $640,000 as of August 2024 and asked that only the leftover $15,050 be returned to the trust fund after the match.
City Attorney advised the council the action should come back as a formal resolution reallocating the previously-authorized enhancement program funds into the trust fund to cover the grant match and to specify use of any remaining monies.
Councilmembers discussed potential projects for remaining funds, including tree plantings at Riverfront Park and Restaurant Memorial Park. The council approved the advisability and directed staff to draft the reallocation resolution for a future meeting.
Ending: Staff will return with a drafted resolution spelling out the $50,000 match, disposition of the remaining $15,050, and precise fund-language changes; council and residents requested the Landscape Trust Fund's purpose and mitigation-collection language stay intact.
