Implementation
Considering the amount of funding available as
well as the grant deadline, I knew the plantings
would be extensive and require a public bidding
process. With guidance from an Ohio DNR Regional
Urban Forester, I developed bid specifications that
incorporated City standards and tree planting stip-
ulations. In addition, it was specified that the City
had the right to inspect and reject trees prior to
planting, and a two-year warranty was required with
every tree. Exhibits to the bid documents included
maps that were created in the planning phase so
there would be no confusion as to tree species
and the sites where they were to be planted.
The first public bid (Phase I) occurred in October
2017 and consisted of planting 117 trees. The
second public bid (phase 2) occurred in April 2018
and consisted of 334 trees. During the plantings in
both phases, the City Arborist and I inspected the
stock and how it was handled to ensure our spec-
ifications were being met. Phase I and Phase 2 of
the project utilized $150,000 of the grant funds.
The remaining funds, which must be spent by May
2020, are currently being utilized on a job-by-job
basis. This method allows for local contractors
who didn't have the resources to compete in
the public bid process for Phase I and Phase 2 to
have a chance to still participate in the project.
This also gives the City the chance to develop
relationships with multiple nurseries and to incor-
porate the trees into other City projects.
Next Steps
The City of Canton is thankful to have been the
recipient of the Landscape Scale Restoration Grant.
As a result of this grant, over 700 new trees have
been planted to date. These new trees have been
inventoried in the City's GIS and can be analyzed
using i-Tree tools to monitor growth and benefits
such as rainfall intercepted, carbon dioxide seques-
tered, and ozone removed over their lifetime. This
powerful information can be used to help secure
additional funding and to demonstrate the multi-
tude of benefits trees provide to City residents.
Barchart of tree locations.
www.urban-forestry.com 29
