Martensville and area residents who want to honour their departed loved ones by planting a tree in their memory will soon have a more clear-cut set of guidelines to follow.
Martensville City Council is set to vote on a new policy outlining the management of the municipal ‘Memorial Tree’ program at its upcoming council meeting on Tuesday, June 20.
A proposed policy was tabled by administration at city council’s committee of the whole meeting on Tuesday, June 13.
In his report to council, Martensville Recreation and Community Services Director Ted Schaeffer said the city has had a Memorial Tree program for several years, but the lack of overall policy has led to a “wide variation in aesthetics of the memorial tree spaces and created maintenance issues for the parks staff.”
The proposed policy, said Schaeffer, aims to provide consistency, while still allowing a level of commemoration that does not create maintenance issues.
The policy, if adopted by council at the June 20 meeting, will only apply to future Memorial Tree plantings. Existing memorial tree sites will be grandfathered into the program.
The cost of a Memorial Tree will be set at $250, although the city reserves the right to change that price at a future date if necessary.
Under the proposed new policy, Memorial Trees will be allowed in designated areas only, including: city parks and pathways, sports field areas, Veterans Square (in front of City Hall at the intersection of Centennial Drive and Main Street), and the Martensville Dog Park.
While the individual or group purchasing the tree can choose the designated area in which the tree will be planted, the actual location within that designated area will be decided by the Recreation and Community Services department. Once the tree is planted, the city is responsible for its ongoing maintenance.
Under the new policy, a list of acceptable species will be provided to prospective purchasers. The trees must also be a minimum of six feet in height.
Each Memorial Tree will be marked with a city-approved plaque situated in the ground, which is scripted with the name and date of the event or person the tree is being planted in honour of. No additional plaques, markers, ornaments, rocks, fences or other personal items will be permitted; although there is an exception made for flowers that can be placed within the mulch ring around the tree.