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Tree Board Questions &
Answers Section
This
section provides answers to numerous questions or issues that have arose over
time. The questions are divided
into three sections: Membership Questions Additional answers may be found on the “Developer’s
Page” and in that pages links to the “Street Tree
Policy” and “Tree
Board Ordinance”. Membership Questions -
Who can join the Tree Board? Help Questions -
Why did the Tree Board establish a web site? General Questions – Are all Tree Boards exactly the same? By law only an adult resident of the Village of Belgium can
be on the Tree Board. The Village
president appoints citizen volunteers to the Tree Board.
Of course, by law, the meetings are open to the public, which means
anyone, resident or not, may attend.
Belgium is a small community and we welcome anyone to participate.
Village and none village residents have attended the meetings and the
board treats them as equals. The only thing is that when it comes to submitting
an item to vote and doing that actual vote, only a Tree Board member can legally
do so. Is the Tree Board made-up of tree huggers? Through out the years the Tree Board has had dedicated male
and female members and associates all ages from young to old who want to help
their community through improving its aesthetics and bettering the quality of
life for their fellow citizens. To
this point there hasn’t been a radical member.
To move forward and make accomplishments all boards and committees have
to be willing to work with others and compromise is part of that process. As far as tree hugging.
Maybe every true Wisconsinite should go and show their appreciation by
hugging a tree occasionally (or at least metaphorically).
Trees are Wisconsin. Not
only do trees provide an aesthetics value, they are economically vital to the
state. This value has a ripple effect through numerous seeming
unrelated businesses. Trees provide
habitat and food for a large variety of animals including past and present
humans. Sports such as hunting;
hobbies such as camping, hiking, biking, and bird watching to name a few provide
for entertainment, relaxation, and tourism.
The growing of Christmas trees and plant nurseries are agricultural
related business. Lumber cut from
Wisconsin trees are used in industries such as construction, furniture, and
landscaping. And trees themselves
are the backbone to the landscape business.
Wisconsin paper mills turn out many tons of paper products a day and a
bulk of this paper goes to other industries such as the printing or box
manufacturing industries for further processing. Perhaps if it weren’t for trees, Wisconsin would not have
been able to attract the immigrants that developed the beer and brat products
that Wisconsinites enjoy. A tree board member stated that his family was very much
tied to the tree related industry. His
father-in-law had been a landscaper and small nurseryman, One brother-in-law
work for a library that is paper driven, another is a logger, another is a
carpenter, two nephews work in a lumber yard and one of those nephews has built
several homes during his free time. That
member is employed in the electrical products manufacturing industry.
Some of their larger customers are paper mills and the printing industry. This is a real life indication of the ripple effect that
trees provide. To join, what experience or skills are required by
the Tree Board? The tree board does not have any skill requirements other
than the willingness to be an active member, provide your skills, attend the
majority of the meetings in order that progress can be made, and act in the best
interest of this community. A
diverse group of people with varied talents provide for a well-rounded board. Who do I contact if I wish to join the Tree Board? Call or e-mail the Village of Belgium Clerk-Treasure or
Deputy Clerk. Who do I contact if I wish to help the Tree Board? Call or e-mail the Village of Belgium Clerk-Treasure or
Deputy Clerk to find out the time and date of next Tree board meeting.
Let her know of your interest and they will keep you informed of the
meeting dates and times. Do Tree Board members get paid? No. It is
strictly volunteer. The Village
trustee assigned to the Tree Board may receive a minimal amount of compensation. How much time do the members
spend on Tree Board business? That is a tough question to answer.
There is a monthly meeting that may be from one to two hours a month.
The Tree Board selects its’ projects and ties time and manpower to
those projects. So, board members
develop a feeling of what they can and can’t do time wise. Numerous members may do preparation before a meeting and
follow-up after the meetings. A lot
has to do with the individual. What
often happens is that person can dedicate more time at certain times of the year
and less time at other times due to personal situations or work schedules.
This is not uncommon of all boards and committees. Why did the Tree Board establish a web site? The Tree Board web site went on line in approximately
September of 1997. It was
established for the purpose of fulfilling the needs of today’s business.
It was intended to serve three groups of customers. Local Consumption – Other Tree Boards – World Wide Web – Can the Tree Board answer my tree or gardening
questions? The tree board may or may not contain people with the
ability or available time to properly answer your questions.
The place to go for these types of questions would be to the University
of Wisconsin extension horticultural web site, UW Master Gardeners, Ozaukee
County agricultural agent, local nursery, or arborist. Can I as a developer have the Tree Board design my
street tree and planting plans? No. The Tree
Board is not a landscape design company or engineering firm.
Their function is to review the plans that are developed and make
recommendations based off of those plans. If I have a question, complaint, or issue that may be
Tree Board related, whom do I contact? Your first point of contact is to call or e-mail the
Village of Belgium Clerk-Treasure or Deputy Clerk and let them know what your
concern is and they will provide direction in how the subject will be handled. If you chose not to contact Village Hall Staff and decide to bring the issue to a board or committee meeting be aware that by law all the boards and committees including the Tree Board conduct their meeting business from an established agenda. There is a time in the meeting when the board or committee may ask if there is any other business from the people attending the meeting. If there is any action by vote required due to your issue, by law, no vote could take place till the next meeting, which is generally a month apart. Government works slowly because government must be open and fair and this is not always a speedy process. By law, meetings must be scheduled and publicly announced and a time is prescribed as to how many hours or days that announcement must be posted in advance to the meeting. What happens if the street tree in front of my house dies? If you live in a new subdivision, it may be the sub divider’s responsibility to replace that tree. If you are uncertain or do not receive satisfaction from the sub divider, please contact Village Hall at (262) 285-3479. In all other cases, please contact Village Hall. General Questions & Answers
Are all Tree Boards exactly the same? No. Some Tree Board may have various requirements for membership. Some Tree Boards are only administrative. Some Tree Boards only take care of tree concerns. So on and so forth. Being a small community, the Village of Belgium Tree Board is involved in everything from administrative to hands on work. Our scope is more than just trees; it is the general plantings and landscaping of Village property and streets. Numerous communities do not have tree boards. Some may have a person or a department specified to do these functions. And, unfortunately, many communities have no person, board, or department to perform these functions. Belgium is fortunate in that its’ Village officials and citizen care and provide this service. Trees within the boundaries of a community. Or the trees within the Village of Belgium. Why did the Tree Board have a tree management plant
done? For proper management, it is important for the Village or any organization or business to understand what its’ resources are and the condition of those resource. Many years ago the Village had few trees and due to the efforts of the Village Board, Plan Commission, and Tree Board the supply of trees has grown. Belgium’s urban forest is relatively young and due to the growth of the tree population and the growth of the community the Tree Board felt it was time to understand what we really have. This plan will provide the backbone for making whatever changes are necessary to provide for the healthy growth, expansion, and continuance of our urban forest. The dollar value of this resource is high and increases with age; therefore it must be responsibly managed. The plan did not cover private property, since the Tree Board has little control over private property only the Villages streets, parks, and properties. What happens if bears eat the Tree Board? The Village president would appoint a new Tree Board.
This situation would be highly unlikely to occur because there are no
bears in this area. Even if it did,
some of the younger members would hopefully get away while the bears are busy
eating the older members. If enough members escaped the carnage the Tree Board could
still be left with a quorum and continue to conduct business.
If you would like to contact the Village of Belgium Tree Board please send e-mail to Villagehall@village.belgium.wi.us with the subject being "Tree Board".The Tree Board website was last updated on January, 2004. |