Tree board eyes $50,000 state grant to buy tools, hire urban forestry help

Chair opened the meeting by flagging a West Virginia Department of Forestry grant opportunity and urged the board to prepare a phased plan to increase chances of annual approvals. "There's a lot of money. It's $50,000 I think," the Chair said, noting the program reimburses communities for eligible expenditures and can fund equipment, software and consultant services.

The board discussed eligible purchases and priorities. The Chair suggested portable planting equipment (a tow-behind auger), battery-powered pruners and software licenses for tree inventory work. He also described using a phased approach—plan, staffing, then implementation—"do a 3 year plan, right, on a $150,000 budget... Phase 1... Phase 2... Phase 3," the Chair said, quoting a Department of Forestry contact who recommended multi-year projects to secure repeated awards. Members agreed the grant could support hiring or contracting an urban forester to prepare designs, scope out canopy goals and help with future funding applications.

Why this matters: The board said the funding could allow Charles Town to move from reactive tree maintenance to more proactive canopy planning, buy tools currently rented for projects, and expand volunteer- or staff-led capacity over multiple seasons.

Next steps: The Chair said he will draft an application approach and run it by a local urban-forestry contact (Tanner Haines) and Department of Forestry staff before the next meeting.