By Michael Howell
For the fourth year in a row the City of Hamilton, which is a member of Tree City USA, got a grant for $8,000 from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) for use in its tree management program. Parks & Cemetery Director Terry Cole said that the money would be split, half going to the development of a management plan and half going to tree trimming. He said the money would cover the cost of trimming another 60 trees. The trimming would take place next winter.
Council member Ken Bell said, “I think we need to do a lot more tree trimming than we’re doing. If we can get state money to help, all the better.”
The Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the Hamilton School District. City Planner Dennis Stranger told the council that City Attorney Karen Mahar had drawn up a combination MOU and construction easement that would allow the City to use the vacant ground between the City’s booster pump station and Kurtz Lane for up to a year as a staging ground for work involving the improvement of city well #5.
“We will restore the ground when we are finished and reseed it with grass. It will be better than it is now, which is just a bunch of weeds,” said Cole.
The MOU was approved unanimously.
According to Special Projects Director Dennis Stranger, the city is beginning work on a Capital Improvement Plan that will continue throughout the coming year.