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Tree board targets outreach, prizes and HOA mailings to boost Flower Award participation
Summary
The Wellington Tree Board discussed boosting nominations for the Flower Awards by earlier publicity, paid or editorial placement in The Town Crier, HOA mailings, involvement of the Chamber of Commerce and offering prize incentives such as a tree or nursery gift certificate. Deadline and voting timelines were clarified.
The Wellington Tree Board spent an extended portion of its meeting on strategies to increase participation in the annual Flower Awards, including outreach to gated communities, Chamber of Commerce coordination, and offering prize incentives to encourage nominations.
Board members discussed using paid advertising in The Town Crier or a free editorial-style write-up. A board member offered to prepare a write-up and said she could include the application form and suggested running it in November or December to meet the program timeline.
Deadlines and process: staff and board members confirmed the submission deadline is Feb. 21, with the board scheduled to vote at the March meeting. “The deadline’s the February 21, and then you need to vote on that at the March meeting,” a staff member said. Because the review window between the deadline and the March meeting is short, board members discussed adding a special meeting if application numbers are high.
Gated communities and HOA outreach: the board discussed ways to include gated-community properties that historically have been excluded because they are not easily visible from public streets. A board member observed that if applicants make arrangements to allow board members to view properties or provide guided access, those properties could be considered. The board discussed mailing application information to HOA contacts and property managers and confirmed the city holds a list of HOA contacts used for other communications.
Incentives and legal limits: the board explored offering a prize — a demonstration-sized tree or a gift certificate from a native-plant nursery — to winners. A staff member cautioned about legal limits on spending public money for private-property improvements: the village could deliver a tree or provide a gift certificate but should avoid directly installing a tree on private property without confirming legal permissions.
Community engagement: board members suggested earlier and broader outreach via the village electronic newsletter, Chamber of Commerce contacts, HOA newsletters and the Garden Club’s networks. The board set a goal of increasing community and business nominations and noted that if many applications arrive the board can convene an extra meeting to complete scoring and voting.
What’s next: staff agreed to explore adding the write-up to the village newsletter and to provide the board with HOA contact information so members can directly share application materials with associations.
