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Paducah Tree Advisory Board touts voucher demand, plans 100-tree park project
Summary
The Paducah Tree Advisory Board reported strong public interest in the tree voucher program — "600 plus applications" — and outlined seven goals including a 100-tree planting at Noble Park, a 'price tag' valuation program and pursuing arboretum accreditation.
Jonathan Perkins, chairman of the Paducah Tree Advisory Board, told the Paducah City Board of Commissioners on Feb. 24 that the reconstituted advisory board has identified seven goals to expand urban forestry and public outreach.
Perkins said the board includes six members and a utility representative from Paducah Power Service who advises on overhead pruning. "We've had 600 plus applications for the tree voucher program this year," Perkins said, noting that roughly 400 may be eligible depending on location and disqualifiers. He said the interest is from residential property owners and that commercial property owners have also asked whether similar programs could be made available to them.
The board outlined seven goals: reinstate a public newsletter (Pam Spencer previously helped produce outreach material), advise on the tree voucher inspection process, lead a "100 trees for 100 years" planting at Noble Park to replenish an aging canopy, pilot a visible "price tag" program that quantifies a tree's ecosystem services using i-Tree data, pursue Level I accreditation with the Morton Arboretum, continue participation in WKCTC's Earth Week outreach, and improve the board's visual identity at public events.
On the proposed Noble Park planting, Perkins said there was an inventory done 15–20 years ago and that the board will confirm counts and species now to guide a replenishment plan. Commissioners and staff praised the board's volunteer work and encouraged small operational purchases — for example, a tablecloth for outreach events — that staff said could be approved administratively.
When asked whether fruit trees would be part of the 100-tree initiative, Perkins said canopy and shade trees are the primary focus and raised concerns about long-term maintenance for fruit trees, noting prior fruit-tree projects had not been sustained by volunteers.
The presentation closed with recognition of the board's public-tree review work and Paducah's 34th consecutive year as a Tree City USA community. Perkins distributed a handout summarizing the goals and invited continued collaboration with city staff.
The commission did not take formal action on the presentation; commissioners encouraged the board to submit a small budget request for outreach materials and directed staff to assist with implementation details.
