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Shade Tree Commission forms four subcommittees, flags missing minutes and potential invasive-species funding
Summary
The Athens Shade Tree Commission voted to create policy, communications, grants-seeking and branding subcommittees; commissioners also reported missing public minutes on the civic site, proposed trainings for code inspectors, and said ODNR contacts may have IRA funds for invasive-plant removal.
At its Jan. 9 meeting, the Athens Shade Tree Commission reorganized internal work for the year, creating four subcommittees and raising procedural issues about minutes, website contact information and training.
The commission voted to establish a policy subcommittee to review and propose changes to local tree-protection code; Jean said she would lead that subcommittee and review model ordinances from other cities. The commission also formed a communication-relay subcommittee to restore regular contact with city staff — commissioners named Service Safety Director Andy Stone, city staff Andrew Cheeky and Dave Riggs as contacts they plan to involve. A grants-seeking subcommittee was approved to pursue funding for invasive-removal and planting work, and a branding/outreach subcommittee was created to update the commission’s public contact information and website presence after the retirement of longtime city staffer Patty Whitmer.
Commissioners said the Shade Tree Commission minutes and materials posted on the city’s public site stop in 2023 and that past 2023 minutes appear to be missing from CivicClerk or the commission web page. Michael, who records minutes for the commission, said the file flow is unclear and that he will investigate who has posting access. Commissioners identified restoring public minutes and contact information as immediate priorities for the branding/outreach subcommittee.
The commission discussed training for code inspectors and potential city maintenance routines for trees, and flagged invasive plants — specifically tree-of-heaven, Oriental bittersweet and bamboo — as priorities for management. Jean said she had been in touch with Anne Bonner at ODNR and that there may be leftover IRA funding that the commission could apply for to support invasive removal and training; commissioners agreed to keep pursuing those funding leads.
Procedural votes taken at the meeting included approving Tristan Kennison as the sitting chair for the session, delaying approval of minutes until the next meeting, and the four subcommittee creation motions. No formal ordinances or binding code changes were approved at the Jan. 9 meeting; the subcommittees will report back to the full commission at future meetings.
Votes at a glance
- Motion to appoint Tristan Kennison as sitting chair: approved by voice vote (unanimous verbal "Aye" in the record). - Motion to delay approval of previous meeting minutes until next meeting: approved by voice vote. - Motion to create Policy subcommittee (Jean to lead): approved by voice vote. - Motion to create Communication-relay subcommittee: approved by voice vote. - Motion to create Grants-seeking subcommittee: approved by voice vote. - Motion to create Branding/Outreach subcommittee (Joanna to lead): approved by voice vote.
Commissioners said they will reconvene subcommittee membership and report progress at the next monthly meeting.
