Syracuse Hopes To Be A Tree City, USA
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SYRACUSE -Ê"My initial impression was that you have a very clean town. ... You have a canopy over many of your trees. In many towns I visit, there is no canopy left," Pamela Louks, urban forestry coordinator, Community and Urban Forestry Program, Indianapolis, told the Syracuse Town Council Tuesday.
Louks and Urban Forester Matthew S. Lake, Community and Urban Forestry Program, Indianapolis, presented the Syracuse council with information regarding Syracuse becoming a Tree City USA.
Indiana has approximately 43 tree cities and there are 2,500 in the nation. Member cities are very select, Louks said.
To become a Tree City USA, the community needs to pass a tree care ordinance as extensive or simple as it wants. The town has to establish a tree board, including public residents, and have a "no topping" clause. Financially, Louks said, the community must spend $2 per capita, which is easily met. Every year, the town must celebrate Arbor Day.
If the town is serious, Louks said, federal grants are available.
"Urban forestry is a positive thing communities can do," said Louks.
Lake presented the board with results of a sample tree inventory. Six plots in the town were randomly chosen. Of the 168 trees inventoried, there were 18 species, and 16 percent were silver maple.
Fifty-one percent of the trees had individual diameters greater than 24 inches. Forty-three percent were rated in fair condition, 23 percent were poor, 4 percent dead and 30 percent good.
Maintenance-wise, 12 percent needed to be removed, but 55 percent were pruned. Lake said there was still space to plant more trees.
"We saw a lot of good opportunities to plant (more trees)," Lake said. He suggested the town may want to do a more in-depth study of its trees in the future.
Bill Cutter, Syracuse town councilman, directed Park Superintendent Mike Hixenbaugh to come up with a program by next month's meeting to help the town become a Tree City USA. He told Hixenbaugh he would need to appoint three members of the public to the tree board.
"You people would have to do the administration part of it and see that we qualify for it," Cutter said.
In other business, the council:
• Approved claims, including the last payment for the town hall for $41,900.
• Was asked by Peg Campbell to financially contribute to the Kosciusko County Visitor's Guide for next year. The council told her they would discuss it at their budget hearings.
• Was told by town manager Brian Redshaw that there were three contractors at the preliminary meeting for the Baltimore and Pittsburgh streets storm water project.
He also told the board that Phend & Brown had the low bid for the Ind. 13 widening project. The bid was for an estimated $830,000.
The town's Internet site at syracusein.org is substantially completed. "The beauty of this," said Redshaw, "is that it's not restricted by space. Someone in Japan can check us out."
• Set the budget workshops for July 7 at 3 p.m. and July 17 at 7 p.m.
• Was told by town marshal Tom Perzanowski that they won't receive the victim assistant grant for next year because the funds have run out.
• Approved advertising an additional appropriation for $14,000 in the non-reverting fund for the purchase of playground equipment for Ward Park.
• Approved the purchase of a road striping machine for $6,494 from Paint Spot for the Syracuse utility department. Cutter voted against the purchase.
• Approved the annexation petition and fiscal plan. The town is annexing property from Bay Vista Road north to Palm Drive and west to the ditch. It will cost the town $300,000 for water mains, sewer lines and a lift station to the annexed area. The town will pay the costs through revenue bond proceeds and/or utility reserves.
The hearing for the annexation will be Sept. 12 at 7 p.m.
• Representatives of the Wawasee Property Owners Association and Syracuse Lake Association made complaints about Water World. They said the site has become an eyesore and anything that could be done the WPOA and SLA would support.
• Was given a petition of 160 Syracuse residents who want to form a committee to address railroad problems.
Ben Young, speaking for the residents' group, said their first concern was double-gating at the railroad crossings. Other issues the group wants to address include an overpass, reducing train speeds and having a Haz-Mat drill for the town in case of a train derailment.
Eventually, once all the railroad crossings are up to the necessary standards, Young said, they would try to get a ban on train whistles.
"As long as I'm alive, I'm going to work on it," Young told the council.
Cutter told Redshaw to form committees to address the issues.
Members of the Syracuse Town Council are Barbara Carwile, Carol Koble, Paul Stoelting, Bill Hane and Bill Cutter. [[In-content Ad]]
SYRACUSE -Ê"My initial impression was that you have a very clean town. ... You have a canopy over many of your trees. In many towns I visit, there is no canopy left," Pamela Louks, urban forestry coordinator, Community and Urban Forestry Program, Indianapolis, told the Syracuse Town Council Tuesday.
Louks and Urban Forester Matthew S. Lake, Community and Urban Forestry Program, Indianapolis, presented the Syracuse council with information regarding Syracuse becoming a Tree City USA.
Indiana has approximately 43 tree cities and there are 2,500 in the nation. Member cities are very select, Louks said.
To become a Tree City USA, the community needs to pass a tree care ordinance as extensive or simple as it wants. The town has to establish a tree board, including public residents, and have a "no topping" clause. Financially, Louks said, the community must spend $2 per capita, which is easily met. Every year, the town must celebrate Arbor Day.
If the town is serious, Louks said, federal grants are available.
"Urban forestry is a positive thing communities can do," said Louks.
Lake presented the board with results of a sample tree inventory. Six plots in the town were randomly chosen. Of the 168 trees inventoried, there were 18 species, and 16 percent were silver maple.
Fifty-one percent of the trees had individual diameters greater than 24 inches. Forty-three percent were rated in fair condition, 23 percent were poor, 4 percent dead and 30 percent good.
Maintenance-wise, 12 percent needed to be removed, but 55 percent were pruned. Lake said there was still space to plant more trees.
"We saw a lot of good opportunities to plant (more trees)," Lake said. He suggested the town may want to do a more in-depth study of its trees in the future.
Bill Cutter, Syracuse town councilman, directed Park Superintendent Mike Hixenbaugh to come up with a program by next month's meeting to help the town become a Tree City USA. He told Hixenbaugh he would need to appoint three members of the public to the tree board.
"You people would have to do the administration part of it and see that we qualify for it," Cutter said.
In other business, the council:
• Approved claims, including the last payment for the town hall for $41,900.
• Was asked by Peg Campbell to financially contribute to the Kosciusko County Visitor's Guide for next year. The council told her they would discuss it at their budget hearings.
• Was told by town manager Brian Redshaw that there were three contractors at the preliminary meeting for the Baltimore and Pittsburgh streets storm water project.
He also told the board that Phend & Brown had the low bid for the Ind. 13 widening project. The bid was for an estimated $830,000.
The town's Internet site at syracusein.org is substantially completed. "The beauty of this," said Redshaw, "is that it's not restricted by space. Someone in Japan can check us out."
• Set the budget workshops for July 7 at 3 p.m. and July 17 at 7 p.m.
• Was told by town marshal Tom Perzanowski that they won't receive the victim assistant grant for next year because the funds have run out.
• Approved advertising an additional appropriation for $14,000 in the non-reverting fund for the purchase of playground equipment for Ward Park.
• Approved the purchase of a road striping machine for $6,494 from Paint Spot for the Syracuse utility department. Cutter voted against the purchase.
• Approved the annexation petition and fiscal plan. The town is annexing property from Bay Vista Road north to Palm Drive and west to the ditch. It will cost the town $300,000 for water mains, sewer lines and a lift station to the annexed area. The town will pay the costs through revenue bond proceeds and/or utility reserves.
The hearing for the annexation will be Sept. 12 at 7 p.m.
• Representatives of the Wawasee Property Owners Association and Syracuse Lake Association made complaints about Water World. They said the site has become an eyesore and anything that could be done the WPOA and SLA would support.
• Was given a petition of 160 Syracuse residents who want to form a committee to address railroad problems.
Ben Young, speaking for the residents' group, said their first concern was double-gating at the railroad crossings. Other issues the group wants to address include an overpass, reducing train speeds and having a Haz-Mat drill for the town in case of a train derailment.
Eventually, once all the railroad crossings are up to the necessary standards, Young said, they would try to get a ban on train whistles.
"As long as I'm alive, I'm going to work on it," Young told the council.
Cutter told Redshaw to form committees to address the issues.
Members of the Syracuse Town Council are Barbara Carwile, Carol Koble, Paul Stoelting, Bill Hane and Bill Cutter. [[In-content Ad]]