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Charles Town tree board pursues phased plan for planting equipment and invasive-removal work
Summary
The Charles Town Tree Board discussed using a $50,000 unmatched forestry grant and a separate matched fund pool to buy planting tools, fund invasive-species removal and support a small nursery and equipment for city maintenance. Board members emphasized phased requests and volunteer-plus-contractor approaches.
The Charles Town Tree Board on Aug. 1 discussed how to use several available grants to buy planting tools, fund invasive-species removal and support a small local nursery or equipment pool.
Board chair Aaron said the board is preparing an application for an unmatched $50,000 grant and is coordinating with Chris Bodkin, a Department of Forestry liaison, to identify appropriate equipment and a phased project plan. Aaron said Bodkin recommended a phased approach that starts with planting tools and training and stages larger removal and planting projects so the town can win follow-on funding.
"He's going to come up with a list of chainsaws, trimming tools, pruners, equipment that maintenance really should have by way of pruning and maintenance of trees," Aaron said. He added that the plan would pair smaller tool purchases and training in early phases with invasive-species eradication and street- and park-scale planting in later phases.
Scott, who provided updates on mapping and data access, said the board needs a maintainable data workflow so members can view and manage canopy inventories in-house. That inventory will guide where tools and crews are deployed and which removal or planting phases should be prioritized.
The board also discussed a separate pool of matched grant money—about $12,000—that Aaron said must be used by year-end and could pay for contractor work to remove large Bradford pear trees and other invasive specimens along stream beds and rights-of-way.
Board members favored combining community volunteer events for hand clearing and outreach with hired contractors to remove large trees or operate chippers. "If you're going to pay Viking to come in and remove a tree, you don't want them taking out the stuff you can do with loppers," Aaron said.
Board members flagged practical limits for what grant funds should buy: planting-focused tools, safety gear and small attachments and accessories rather than large machinery. The board will draft a grant application and circulate it for comment before the end-of-October application window.
Next steps: the board will refine the phased grant application with input from Bodkin and maintenance staff, coordinate with Tanner on grant-writing support, and plan volunteer outreach to pair with any contracted removals.
The board adjourned without further formal action on the grant application.
