Regular Meeting — September 21, 2026

HARRODSBURG TREE BOARD MINUTES 09/21/2026 Present: Sarah Shewmaker, Jessica Bessin, Allen Bush, Laura Baird, Suni Ashton and Patrick Smith. Ruth Webb was unable to attend this month's meeting. 5:01 p.m. - Meeting called to order Sarah Shewmaker announced that the City Commission approved Patrick Smith’s appointment to the Tree Board. The Board thanked Ruth Webb for presenting at the Commission meeting, where the Tree Week proclamation was also approved and signed by the Mayor. The Mayor is unavailable October 10, so Bubby Isham will read the proclamation at the kickoff. 08/17/26 meeting minutes: Motion to approve by Jessica Bessin and seconded by Allen Bush. Motion passed unanimously. August 2026 Financial Report: Motion to approve by Allen Bush and seconded by Laura Baird. Motion passed unanimously. Financial Report Suni: The only August expenditure was a $405 check to the Extension Office reimbursing Jessica for the tent and outreach supplies. The account sits at $3,557.50. The $3,000 check from the City of Harrodsburg has been received and will be deposited tomorrow, bringing the balance to $6,557.50. Redbuds: Kentucky Division of Forestry seedlings go on sale October 1. Because 100 seedlings cost about the same as two bundles of 10, the Board voted to purchase 100 redbuds, contingent on approval from Anderson Dean Park, which Jessica will request. Twenty will be planted between existing trees to discourage driving and parking between them; the remainder may be used for a small giveaway. Jessica will purchase online and be reimbursed. Seedlings arrive in late February through April. Motion to approve by Suni Ashton and seconded by Patrick Smith. Motion passed unanimously. Bank signatories: The Board voted to add Ruth Webb to the bank account as chair. Signers are the treasurer, Sarah Shewmaker and the chairperson; all checks require two signatures. Suni will contact City Clerk Shavonna Huffman regarding required paperwork. Motion to approve by Allen Bush and seconded by Jessica Bessin. Motion passed unanimously. Round Robin Jessica: Met with Derek Gray and Evan of Anderson Dean Park regarding concerns about the ginkgo planting. They had understood a large, messy grove was planned; the Board clarified that five male ginkgos will be planted. The park has cleared out its mulch during cleanup, so Tree Board materials stored there need to be retrieved; Sarah will pick them up. Weed eating around trees and watering needs were also discussed. Park staff will be invited to the October meeting to exchange contacts. With Steve Ransdell leaving the park after October 1, someone else there will need a pesticide license. Allen: The September 8 UK Extension Open House was a success, with attendees from infants to their 90s. Approximately 121 people signed in and nearly all 120 stickers were used. Moving the date away from the start of school improved attendance. Everyone who signed in will be added to the email list. Patrick suggested that future volunteer sign-up sheets start with a name already on them to encourage others to sign. Patrick: Has built a Harrodsburg Tree Board website containing the calendar, meeting minutes and tree facts. Members can request access through the site menu to edit calendar and meeting entries. Patrick still needs past minutes from Suni and Sarah. The site will not be promoted publicly until the Board votes to do so. Tree facts are AI-drafted starting points, and members with tree expertise are asked to fact-check them. Future ideas include volunteer hour logging, member logins to shared Board files, and archiving the Tree Ordinance, Doug Miell’s procedures and other historical documents. Members should send ideas and scanned materials to Patrick. Google account: Board members have been unable to access the Tree Board Google account because two-factor authentication and recovery information remain tied to Doug Miell. Sarah will work with Doug to transfer the account to Sarah or Jessica. Harrodsburg Tree Week, October 9–18 ● Ginkgos: Reynolds Nursery could not dig balled-and-burlapped trees until mid-October, so Sarah ordered five 1¾-inch B&B ginkgos from Glenn Young Tree Nursery at $379.99 each. The nursery will hold them until October 15. Serviceberry and oakleaf hydrangea for Veterans Park will come from Reynolds. ● October 10, 10:00 a.m. — Kickoff and proclamation at Veterans Park. Suni will be away. ● October 13 — Mike Hayman at the library. The room has a TV with HDMI; a teen Halloween party will use it until 6:00 p.m. Allen will test the presentation setup beforehand. Sarah and Patrick will attend to assist. ● October 14 — Noon — “How to Kill a Tree” is confirmed for pesticide CEU credit, with lunch provided. Sarah will attend as a participant to earn credit rather than co-teach. Anderson Dean Park staff and City and County workers will be invited. ● October 17 — Ginkgo planting at Anderson Dean Park. Allen will be away. Publicity (Jessica): The Harrodsburg Herald will run both flyers, a feature article and individual event listings. Facebook events are posted, and the flyer went out through Extension, FCS and 4-H newsletters and to Mercer and Burgin agriculture teachers. Jessica will promote Tree Week on her County Agent’s Corner segment on WHBN 1230 AM, which airs live at 7:35 a.m. and replays at noon, and has posted flyers at approximately 23 local businesses. UFI requests attendee headcounts at every Tree Week event. Grant Updates The KAEE grant was not awarded due to an unusually high number of applicants, so the proposed 25-tree Spring 2027 planting will not proceed. The Board previously received this grant, which funded the November 2025 soccer field planting. KAEE is a sub-grantor of federal infrastructure funds for underserved communities. The LGE/KU grant portal opens October 1 and closes October 31. Sarah will draft the application, largely reusing last year’s language, for Board approval. Per the Community Forest Management Plan, the planting will be at Spring Hill Cemetery. $2,000 of the City’s $3,000 will serve as the match, for a total spring budget of $4,000. Sarah will contact the Spring Hill caretaker and update the LGE/KU portal’s primary contact from Doug Miell. Jessica suggested revisiting the planting planned under the KAEE grant along the Anderson Dean walking trail, which is hot and has no shade. Other Business The Zoom link will be removed from future agendas; Zoom will be set up only when requested. The Board will update the Community Forest Management Plan this winter. 5:45 p.m. - Meeting adjourned The next meeting will be held on Monday, October 19, 2026 @ 5:00 p.m. and will include a Tree Week recap. Allen Bush will be unable to attend.