By 
The Parks, Recreation and Forestry Board reviewed a plan to partially reimburse the purchase of trees to be planted on private property and boulevards during their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, December 30.
According to Dusty Rodiek, the Parks, Recreation & Forestry director, about $25,000 has been set aside for an effort the department is calling ReLeaf Watertown which aims to support residents who choose to purchase new trees to replace their old ash trees, which have been and will continue to be decimated by the emerald ash borer, a beetle that was discovered in Codington County this summer.
“The intent is to, as this community loses trees, to get trees reestablished,” said Rodiek.
He guesses there’s about 7,000 ash trees on city property and at least that many on private property. While only about 250 trees can be reimbursed under the current plan, the department thinks it’s generally a good start.
The effort, according to the draft of the plan presented at the board meeting will help lessen the economic impact of buying new trees by offering a reimbursement of up to $100 per tree. Interested parties may only claim one reimbursement per tree property and year.
A list of approved trees is available at participating tree nurseries around Watertown according to the draft and it can also be found on Watertown’s city website under the ReLeaf Watertown program tab. Rodiek said the list will likely be expanded in the future.
Acquiring the reimbursement requires a receipt from a participating nursery that shows the species of tree as well as its size. Deciduous trees need to be at least six feet tall while spruce, pine, and juniper trees need to be a minimum of two feet tall to qualify for reimbursement, according to the plan. Only residents of Watertown are eligible for the payout. If residents of Watertown would like to plant the tree on their boulevard, prior approval needs to be acquired from the Forestry department.
According to Rodiek, funds may take up to four weeks to arrive through the City Finance Office. He said he is still looking into what the department and city can do to make the reimbursements go out sooner than that.
The plan is still subject to future approval, but Rodiek thinks the department will have something more concrete sometime in February. He thinks the department will begin accepting receipts on Arbor Day, April 24. As of now, there is no set end date for the plan. Reimbursements will go out so long as the planting season does, according to Rodeik.
“This is going to benefit the entire community to help re-establish that urban forest,” said Rodiek.
