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City adds $20,000 for tree planting; urban forester outlines plantings, removals and contractor work
Summary
City staff said the 2025 budget includes $20,000 in enhanced funding for tree plantings. Urban Forester Grant Archer reported recent plantings across the city, contractor removals, stump grinding work and an inventory of new trees. The Trees for Bexley campaign has raised roughly $37,688 to date.
City staff and the city's urban forester gave an operational update and budget summary for tree work in 2025.
Mayor Kessler said City Council adopted an administratively suggested budget that includes additional funding for tree planting: Council added $20,000 earmarked for additional plantings beyond the usual program. City staff indicated that fall plantings would be the likely timing for the additional work and that the city will not do spring planting this year for its program, citing nursery and timing considerations.
Grant Archer, the city's urban forester, reported that dozens of new trees were planted across Bexley last year, and staff are continuing removals and stump grinding under contract. He said contracted crews are performing larger removals (contractor named Boyd Brothers was identified as the crew handling larger tree removals) and that contractors are returning stumps to mulch or high-mulch facilities as part of removal work. Archer said staff will circulate a list of locations where new trees were planted and where removals occurred, and commission members asked staff to send the list to members who missed the December meeting.
Fundraising: Mary McMunn reported the Trees for Bexley campaign sits at about $37,688 with roughly 124 donors; meeting remarks described the average donation as low (remarks in the meeting gave an approximate per-donor figure but the transcript wording was unclear). Officials said several large prior donors had not yet renewed and staff will continue outreach during the January campaign period.
Other city projects: staff said several parks projects are moving toward bid stages this year (a skate park and an Elm Creek bridge were named), and the city will begin Jeffrey Park playground planning, a Main Street commercial design-guidelines update and a public art and placemaking plan later in the year.
Staff presence and cadence: staff described a planned schedule so commission members know which city staff will attend meetings: the mayor will attend every other meeting (next in March), Grant Archer will attend regularly as chief arborist, and Matt Klingler will attend when applications require review. The city also plans to bring a landscape design consultant or staff reviewer to support application reviews when hired.
Ending: Staff committed to distributing the planting-and-removal location list and to coordinating planting timing and contractor schedules with commission priorities.
