Belgium may apply to be a Tree City USA

The Park, Recreation and Forestry Committee last week directed Village Clerk Julie Lesar to find out what the village spent  on tree care last year in consideration of applying to become a Tree City USA.

Earning that title requires municipalities to plant a tree during Arbor Day observations and spend $2 per resident on forestry care. For the Village of Belgium, that means spending $4,500 per year.

Lesar, Director of Public Works Dan Birenbaum and committee members determined the village already spends that much on tree and shrub care. Work such as fertilizing, stump removal and chipping would eclipse the threshold.

Lesar said the spending on tree care hasn’t been tracked separately.

The last time the village applied to be a Tree City USA was 2011. It last observed Arbor Day in 2014.