BonnerSprings.com

Trees are an important commodity in Bonner Springs.

This point was made evident during Monday night’s City Council meeting, when the city was recognized as a 2009 Tree City for the 24th consecutive year.

Bonner Beautiful Commission Chairperson Betty Rehm presented information about the Tree City USA program, which is conducted by the Arbor Foundation each year, and also announced to the council Bonner had again received a Tree City USA Growth Award. The award recognizes Bonner for being a Tree City for at least two consecutive years and for using as much funding on the community-wide planting and caring of trees as it did the previous year.

Rehm said Bonner Springs was only one of 17 communities in Kansas, of the 111 communities recognized as 2009 Tree Cities, honored with a Growth Award.

Work in beautifying the city with more trees is never done, however, she said.

“The need to plant more trees is still there because of all the good things they do for our communities,” Rehm said.

According to arborday.org, some of those “good things” include the removal of carbon dioxide from the air and serving as a wind barrier to lower heating bills in cold, winter months. Trees also help to increase the property value of a house, and the shade will help lower utility bills in the summer by acting as a coolant.

“They say that just the existing tree cover in the United States provides over $400 billion in assets to the communities within the tree programs,” Rehm said.

Representatives with the Bonner Beautiful Commission, Rehm said, went to an awards ceremony in El Dorado on March 25 to accept Bonner’s Growth Award, where she said she learned additional facts about trees, such as the number of trees cut down each year is higher than the number of those planted. Last year alone, Rehm said, more than 13,000 trees were planted in communities across the country, but 16,000 were taken out.

Rehm also noted the Bonner Beautiful Commission had planted an oak tree on Arbor Day, Friday, April 30, on the grounds next to Clark Middle School.

“Did you know that one full oak tree in just one full day can expel over 7 tons of water through its leaves? And I thought, ‘Man, we need a whole bunch more oak trees up (at CMS),” Rehm said before presenting the council with the Growth Award. “But we are, I think, doing something right and … I’m so happy with our award to be part of it for 24 years.”

In other action Monday, the council:

• Unanimously approved the minutes from the May 10 meeting and the budget retreat on May 17.

• Unanimously approved supplemental claims for city operations totaling $29,953.06 and regular claims totaling $705,377.65.

• Unanimously approved Public Housing Authority claims totaling $10,860.26.

• Unanimously approved the appointment of Brian Berg to the Parks and Recreation Commission. Berg will replace Steve Mills, who resigned.

• Unanimously accepted the Kansas Highway 32 low pressure force main project, with construction costs totaling $25,586, paid from funds in the 2009 sewer operating budget. The project was completed on June 19, 2009.

• Unanimously approved a lease amendment for the Wyandotte County Line Development industrial revenue bond. The amendment will include a lowered interest rate and changes to the payment schedule of the bonds but won’t affect the city in any other way.

• Unanimously approved change order No. 3 with Combes Construction for the new Fire/EMS building in the amount of $4,993. The changes include ordering squares of carpet instead of sheet carpet to easily replace stained or damage carpet and building a steel cage around the ductwork FEMA shelter roof. This will prevent objects from flying outside or inside the shelter if the air handler were ever blown off the roof.

A portion of the funds, $3,873, will be paid using contingency funds and the rest, $1,120, will be paid through Emergency Services sales tax.

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