Warsaw Park Board heard an update on the city receiving Tree City status during its meeting Tuesday night.
Benefits of being a Tree City include an enhanced public image and eligibility to apply for grants for city tree programs and receiving funds for storm management response.
Andrea Nichols, ArborMetrics Solutions arborist, attended Tuesday’s meeting and presented a Tree City ordinance draft to the board.
She asked the board to contact her in the next week to provide feedback on the draft that will be submitted to Warsaw City Council for approval.
The city still needs to approve a tree ordinance to become a Tree City.
The application for the city to become part of the program is due Dec. 31 to the Arbor Day Foundation.
The program is sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the USDA Forestry Service and the National Association of State Foresters.
The city held an Arbor Day ceremony in May, one of the requirements to be a tree city when trees were planted in the city.
The board also heard an update on the Boggs Building at 420 Little League Drive. The building has been sold to the local Steelworkers Union for $90,000, Larry Plummer, parks superintendent, said.
There was $87,800 put back into the riverboat fund and $2,200 put into the miscellaneous general fund.
The board also heard a tree planting update from Shaun Gardner, parks maintenance director. Gardner said due to storm damage this summer there have been 53 trees replaced, including 32 at Fribley Field, 18 in McKinley Park and three in Central Park.
The board heard playground equipment at Pike Lake Beach was installed in September. The new equipment replaces 25-year-old equipment and features three slides and a rock climbing wall.
The board tabled a Pete Thorn Center lease agreement between the parks department and Kosciusko Senior Services for further discussion at the November meeting.
Staci Young, parks recreation director, provided an activities report.
A Letters From Santa event will be Nov. 19 to Dec. 14. The light display in Central Park will begin Dec. 7 and a Christmas Countdown event will be Dec. 14 from 6 to 8 p.m. in Center Lake Pavilion.
Young also provided an update on community canoeing and said there were 229 unique participants this summer.
