Regular Meeting — May 18, 2026

Present: Sarah Shewmaker, Jessica Bessin, Allen Bush and Suni Ashton. Ruth Webb and Laura Baird were unable to attend this month’s meeting. Special guest in attendance: David VonSeggern. David has recently moved to Harrodsburg and is a possible candidate for a new Tree Board member. David’s work history includes working as an arborist, a forester and in park management. 5:08 p.m.- Meeting called to order *Corrections of 04/20/26 meeting minutes* The Tree Board has planted 102 trees in a year. ● Spring 2025- 40 trees ● Fall 2025- 29 trees ● Spring 2026- 33 trees The game plan for the Fall 2026 planting is to plant Ginkgo trees, replace plants located at the Veteran's Park Bataan War Memorial and order more Fruit and Nut seedlings from the Kentucky Department of Forestry. Said seedlings will be added to our Native Fruit and Nut Trees Orchard. 04/20/26 meeting minutes: Motion to approve by Jessica Bessin and seconded by Allen Bush. Motion passed. April 2026 Financial Report: Motion to approve by Jessica Bessin and seconded by Allen Bush. Motion passed. Round Robin Sarah: Our bank account currently sets at $1,962.50. This amount will allow the Tree Board room to purchase educational outreach materials and seedlings for the Fall 2026 planting. I have placed water bags on the trees located near the soccer fields at Anderson Dean Park. ● The Tree Board passes a vote to buy 20 more water bags to help aid our 2 year old plantings during this drought that our community is currently facing. Suni: I will check with the City to see if we would be able to borrow a watering truck to water the trees recently planted at West Lane Park. The Tree Board has invested $4,000.00 into the park in the hopes that the trees planted there thrive for generations to come. Grant Updates Sarah: I expect to hear from the Harrodsburg/Mercer County Tourism Board regarding our grant application soon. I will stop by their office on Thursday. I am also going to start working on the LGE/KU grant report this week. The report is due later this fall. Other Business We have not received a single application for a new Tree Board member. The Board will be making a hard push on our Social Media and other forms of community outreach in search for a new member. The next meeting will be held on Monday, June 15, 2026 @ 5:00 p.m.