Tree booklet plan takes root

SANDPOINT — An idea to sell a publication showcasing the city’s arboreal charms has taken root.

The city’s Administrative Committee voted Tuesday to develop a plan to recoup production costs for the booklets and get them into the hands of the people that want them.

“Outstanding Trees of Sandpoint” is meant to generate appreciation for the city’s trees and preserve the memory of ones which have been lost to development. Four thousand copies of the 8 1/2-inch by 5 1/2-inch booklet were produced at a cost of $1.70 each.

The 36-page booklet features 32 trees judged by the Sandpoint Tree Committee to have striking aesthetic qualities, unblemished maturity, high profiles or interesting histories. The booklet prominently features two particularly beloved trees which no longer exist — the rope swing cottonwood at the east end of Bridge Street Bridge and the lush-canopied willow at the corner of Boyer Avenue and Larch Street.

Community forester Steven Drinkard brought the concept of selling the full-color booklets, preferably at local online retailers such as SandpointOnline.com, a Keokee Publishing Web site. Keokee produced the booklet for the Sandpoint Tree Committee.

City planner Jeremy Grimm, speaking as a taxpayer, urged the city to provide the booklets to residents free of charge.

“It’d be a nice way to get them into the hands of the people that paid for them,” he said.

Some suggested selling the booklets to fund the city’s urban forestry program and planting projects, while some recommended converting it into a portable document format so it could be downloaded from the Web.

Councilmen John O’Hara and Stephen Snedden agreed to refer the proposal back to the tree committee to develop a plan to recover the publication costs and establish price points for residents and nonresidents.

The publication cost, at least $6,800, has been the cause of some disapproving murmurs, although the booklet has been well-received by those who have seen it.