Tree Sale Discussion (Continued)

At the December meeting, Staff presented the Board with an example of potential species to offer during the 2013 Tree Sale.  While the consensus of the Board was to defer to Staff on species selection, Staff agreed to provide the Board one last opportunity to review the species list at the January meeting.  The Board did determine that the sale should include a couple evergreen species as well as a few shrubs.

Since the December meeting, the vendor sent out an updated list of available species and Staff has made some tweaks to the species pool.  Staff eliminated the Bicolor Oak because that species requires 'sweating' to force bud break.  Staff prefers to avoid this process simply because it adds another step in the handling of the material prior to the residents picking them up. 

A brief paragraph has been prepared for inclusion in the January/February Ramsey Resident newsletter.  This will help get the word out earlier than past years about the Tree Sale.  Additionally, based on discussion at the December meeting, trees and shrubs purchased by March 31 will be sold at a discounted rate to encourage early ordering.

Staff is currently working on finalizing information that can be placed on the website regarding the Tree Sale.  This information would include a list of available species, form (bareroot or container, single stem or clump), size, and pricing (both by March 31 and after March 31).  Staff is also working on linking each species to additional information to provide residents an easy way to see what each species looks like.

The Board should review the pool of species offered and request revisions if needed.  Also, the Tree Sale Subcommittee should be prepared to update the Board with any new information.

Based on discussion.