The Yakima City Council is asking volunteers interested in serving on the recently-created City of Yakima Tree Board to submit applications to the City Clerk’s office.
The City of Yakima Tree Board currently has three open positions available. People with experience related to trees and other plantings, specifically people with training as arborists, are encouraged to apply, although not all positions on the board require such experience.
The City of Yakima Tree Board consists of five members. One seat on the board will be filled by the City of Yakima arborist and one seat will be filled by the Yakima City Council through the recommendation of the Yakima Arboretum. The other three seats will be filled independently by the Yakima City Council. All applicants for the three seats that will be filled independently by the City Council must live within Yakima city limits.
The City of Yakima Tree Board was recently created as part of the City’s effort to be named a Tree City USA Community. During the board’s initial startup, the term for two of the three open positions the City Council is seeking applicants for will be two years. The term for the third open position the Council is seeking applicants for will be one year. After that, the term for all Tree Board positions will be three years.
The City of Yakima Tree Board will be responsible for studying, investigating, developing, updating, and administering a written plan for the care, preservation, pruning, planting, replanting, removal, or disposition of trees and other plantings in City parks, along City streets, and in other City-owned public areas. The written plan, which will constitute the City’s official comprehensive tree plan, will be presented to the City Council annually. The Tree Board may perform other duties as directed by the City Council.
Anyone interested in applying for the current Tree Board openings can download an application from the City of Yakima website – https://www.yakimawa.gov/council/assets/Application-form-for-City-of-Yakima-Boards-and-Commissions.pdf – or can pick up an application at the City Clerk’s office at Yakima City Hall.
For more information about current or future openings on City of Yakima boards, committees, or commissions, contact City Clerk Sonya Claar Tee by phone (575-6037) or by e-mail