The Cullman Tree Commission is investigating grants to help them conduct a count of the city’s trees and note their condition.

At Tuesday’s meeting of the commission, members voted to ask Cullman Economic Development to look into what grants may be available. Depending on what they find, the commission may then ask the mayor and council to approve applying for a grant.

City Arborist Darrell Johns said the benefit of doing a survey of the trees is to establish their value and condition. “If you don’t know what you have, you don’t know the value of that tree,” he said.

He said the inventory could be done in sections – dividing the city into fourths – and could take anywhere from one year to four to complete. Inventories catalog the number of trees in the rights-of-way, their health and the value they provide. In addition, Johns said it would be useful to note which trees are going to need attention in a few years.

Johns said since the commission last met, they’ve removed six trees and replaced two. A tree in the East Elementary playground will be removed this weekend, he said. “It’s been topped so many times,” said Johns. “When you top a tree, you ruin it.”

Commissioner Barry Slatton asked if Johns and the city could keep commissioners informed when trees are coming down and being replaced, so they can help keep the public informed. “I want to promote the Tree Commission and what we do,” he said.

The next meeting of the Tree Commission will be June 15 at 10 a.m. at City Hall.