Fountain Valley Receives $50,000 to Plant 400 Trees

Fountain Valley residents will be seeing more green in city parks by late spring.

The city has received nearly $50,000 from the U.S. Small Business Administration to plant 400 trees throughout the community.

“We think this is a real plus,” Mayor Laurann Cook said. “Greening up the city is important to all of us.”

The City Council approved a resolution last week to contract with the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, which coordinates the federal program, for the purchase and planting of the trees.

Wayne S. Osborne, director of public works, said the trees will be planted at the city’s 16 public parks.

Osborne said the flora will include sycamores, Canary Island pines, maples, white alders, Australian willows, Chinese elms and magnolias. The saplings will range in height from eight to 12 feet, he said.

Some trees will also be planted at City Hall, and 125 will go to the Fountain Valley Cultural and Recreational Center at Mile Square Park.

A city survey in 1991 by the Community Services Commission found residents’ chief complaint is that there are not enough trees in city parks, Osborne said.

Based on those complaints, the city decided to apply for the federal grant program. However, Osborne said because of an error by the agency, the city did not receive consideration in 1992.

The city’s persistence paid off, however, when the agency decided recently to fund the city’s 1992 grant request of $48,750. Osborne said funding became available because some cities did not accept the money they were granted.

The city will pay about $10,000 for the Department of Forestry’s administrative costs and for tree maintenance.

Tree planting will begin in May, Osborne said.