Ettrick board votes to purchase trees for park

There will be at least some more shade at Dusso Park in Ettrick in the near future, but the village board hopes last week Tuesday’s vote was just the beginning.

The board voted unanimously to purchase four trees from Tree Savvy at a price of $550 per tree. That comes with a five-year warranty and a care package that includes soil sampling to determine what species of trees would be best for the area, planting and pruning the trees. That bid was chosen over a bid from Trees Today, which had prices based on the type of tree with added costs for delivery and planting and a discount for waiving the warrant. 

“It just comes down to what level of service you want,” Village President Marc Baures said. 

“We can’t just go out in the woods and dig up some trees,” trustee Josh Hanson joked. 

Baures noted that the village has plenty of money in its Memorial Park fund, which could be used for the trees. The Ettrick Youth Sports Club has requested to have trees along the third base line at the big baseball field and another behind the bleachers. Baures suggested starting with four trees.

While Hanson joked about the cost, his suggestion was to plant as many as possible right away. “I would suggest we go with more than four, 10-to-15.”

Trustee Harold Olson noted that the costs are likely to go up in the future. “Like everything else, it’s not going to get cheaper.” 

Baures suggested that four trees would just be the start and that it’s possible community members or businesses would be willing to donate to help add more trees in the future. 

“Yeah, I think people would donate to that,” Hanson said. 

Trustee Dan Molstad suggested that the care package offered by Tree Savvy separated the offers.

“Pruning is a big deal if you want to shape the tree the way you want it,” Molstad said. 

The board unanimously approved the purchase of four trees from Tree Savvy.