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Danville committee advances GIS tree inventory, Tree City USA bid and Arbor Day giveaway plan
Summary
Committee members reviewed plans to import existing tree shapefiles into town software to create a searchable tree inventory, discussed hiring third-party maintenance, and proposed Tree City USA certification plus a 50-tree giveaway tied to Arbor Day.
Committee members discussed plans to convert existing shapefiles and KMZ files from a previous vendor into the town's mapping software so each street tree becomes a tracked asset with inspection dates, species and condition ratings. The assistant superintendent outlined a workflow intended to allow users to click an asset, view last inspection date and condition, and prioritize work based on a red/yellow/green ranking.
Staff said they anticipate an update on data import by June or July, with maintenance documentation completed by the end of the year and an application for Tree City USA materials prepared by the end of January. Speakers noted the front end of the software is difficult to set up but that vendor support is available, and they plan to provide view-only access to committee members.
Because staff capacity is limited, the committee discussed hiring a third party to perform routine maintenance and to have that contractor integrated into the software for workflow efficiency. Members said the town previously budgeted roughly $19,000 for tree work in a prior year but cautioned that the figure is not exact; the committee expects a concentrated spending period from August through year end once data and quotes are collected.
Event planning was also discussed: the committee proposed purchasing 50 trees for a public giveaway tied to Arbor Day and a spring cleanup event. The committee plans to coordinate with the parks department and the downtown Danville partnership for outreach; Kelsey was identified as the point person for participant numbers and social-media coordination. Members emphasized that the public-facing map will be restricted to avoid malicious or inaccurate reports; reports will be verified internally before items appear on the inventory map.
Committee members set a reminder to place DNR contact/assistance on the August agenda and agreed to return with budget details and vendor quotes at future meetings.
