Municipal Beautification Commission — Charleston, WV
Date: 2025-03-04
Time: 13:00

City of Charleston, West Virginia
 Municipal Beautification Commission/Tree Board
 City Services Center Conference Room - 915 Quarrier Street
 Tuesday, March 4, 2025
 1:00 PM

 AGENDA
Call to Order

 • Approval of the February 4, 2025, General Meeting Minutes
 • Treasurer’s Report—Donna Graham


MBC General Matters

 • Greenbrier Street Garden—Barbara Rose, Marlene Dial, Chris Higgins
 • Greenbrier Street Banners Idea—Anna Forbes
 • City Hall Urns—Jason Testman, Lisa Dobbins, Barbara Rose
 • City Gardens Committee Update—Lois Crichton, Lisa Dobbins, Donna Graham, Barbara
 Rose
 • Mary Price Ratrie Greenspace—Jason Testman & Susan Shumate
 • BID Update—Lois Crichton
 • Ruffner Park Update—Mike Davis

Tree Board Matters:

 • Tree Inventor Update—Brenda Ellis & Anna Forbes

Public Grounds Report—Mike Davis, Deputy Director of Public Grounds

Additional Business

Adjournment

MUNICIPAL BEAUTIFICATION COMMISSION/TREE BOARD
 March 4, 2025, Meeting Minutes



Time: Tuesday, March 4, 2025, 1:00 pm

Place: Charleston Municipal Parking Building #1

Commissioners: Anna Forbes, Chair
 Brenda Craig-Ellis, Vice Chair
 Marjorie Cooke, Secretary
 Donna Graham, Treasurer (absent)
 Lois Crichton
 Marlene Dial
 Lisa Dobbins
 Jane Powell
 Susan Shumate
 John Casto (absent)
 Barbara Rose
 Jason Testman

Staff and Guests: Brent Webster, City Public Works Director
 Mike Davis, Deputy Public Grounds Director (absent)
 Sid Gillis, BID Ambassador
 Chris Higgins, City Arborist, Spring Hill Cemetery
 Lisa McDavid
 Andy Sheetz, WV Division of Forestry

Call to Order: Anna Forbes called the meeting to order at 1:01 pm.

Approval of Meeting Minutes: The minutes of the February 4, 2025, MBC meeting were circulated prior to the
meeting. A motion to approve the minutes was made and seconded and the minutes were approved.

Treasurer’s Report: Anna Forbes reported that Treasurer Donna Graham will present the February report at the
April meeting.

 MBC General Matters

Greenbrier Street Garden - Anna Forbes reported on behalf of the subcommittee (Barbara Rose, Marlene Dial,
and Chris Higgins) that she has applied for the permit required to work on the garden at the bottom of Airport
Road. The goal is to have the garden improved by the time of the bike races in May. As reported last month,
funding from the private sector has been obtained. Approval to proceed with the project is anticipated soon. Jason
Testman will provide Barbara with an estimate for clearing the area, and the committee in the coming weeks will
assess potential plant materials and develop a plan.
Greenbrier Street Banners - Anna Forbes suggested adding double-sided color banners to the light posts to
improve the gateway along Greenbrier Street. The banners could provide a visually appealing welcome to
Charleston. Large-scale, simple designs were discussed, and Anna shared possible mock-ups. Permission from the
state will be needed. She and Barbara Rose will explore costs and feasibility for production and installation.

City Hall Urns – Jason Testman, Lisa Dobbins, and Barbara Rose shared various options. Jason proposed
planting a blue princess holly in each urn for year-round greenery with seasonal decorations. Lisa suggested
purchasing all décor at once for efficiency. The décor can be stored and re-used.


City Gardens Committee Update/Ideas:

The subcommittee (Lois Crichton, Lisa Dobbins, Donna Graham, Barbara Rose)

 • met twice to brainstorm and discuss improvements.
 • identified high-traffic areas for possible enhancements.
 • sourced red, white, and blue bunting for the May bike races and Fourth of July.
 • proposed continuing the living wall (and other beds) with patriotic color plantings.
 • proposed bike race welcome signage along Leon Sullivan faux green fence: "Charleston is on a roll" with
 bike wheels or "Charleston, WV” as a gateway to the city. There was much discussion on this topic and
 possible designs, whether to include words or not on wall.
 • Flower Baskets: 100 baskets of red begonias planned; Barbara Rose may add 200 flags.
 • Wertz Ave Park: Seeking small planters and bunting; gathering community input.
 • Elk River Bridge: Exploring nighttime lighting, baskets on railings, and bunting.
 • Parking Garage Planters: Switching to red, white, and blue petunias instead of pink.
 • Ruffner Park: Adding concrete planters with flowers to stone pillars on new stone wall.
 • Butterfly Garden: Considering red zinnias for added visibility.
 • Court Street Beds: Adding Hellebores to reduce excess mulch.

The subcommittee plans to come to the next MBC meeting with specific recommendations and pricing.

Dickinson Street Garden –Marjorie Cooke reported on her discussion with Donna Graham about improvements
to the small garden at Quarrier and Dickinson Streets, which needs maintenance before the spring and the bike
race. A subcommittee will meet and recommend new plants and possible architectural elements. Marjorie
requested the city remove a storm-damaged magnolia. She will email Mike Davis about its removal and inquiry
about whether tulips had been planted in the garden.

Mary Price Ratrie Greenspace - Jason Testman and Susan Shumate have talked with Susie Salisbury about park
status and improvement ideas. Fountain does not work. Adding plant material and color to the space were
discussed.

BID Update
Lois Crichton provided an update from the February 18th BID meeting. The search for a citywide trash can style
is ongoing. It was suggested that we work toward standardizing citywide trash cans with the mayor’s approval,
ensuring all new city cans follow a uniform design. Lois will speak with James Yost of GAI to request a single
trash can model for the BID, the city overall, and the future Capitol Connector.

Ruffner Park Update
Brent Webster presented a report on behalf of Mike Davis. Flowers and two concrete urns for Ruffner Park have
been ordered and hanging basket flowers have arrived. Work is underway on spring flower beds, mulching, and
cleaning up the lower Kanawha Boulevard area following recent flooding.

 Tree Board Matters

Community EquiTree Grant (Tree Inventory) Update:

Brenda Craig-Ellis reported that three tree inventory firms gave presentations that included software
demonstrations. Attendees included City Manager Ben Mishoe, Anna Forbes, Chris Higgins, Donna Graham,
Mike Davis, and Brenda Craig-Ellis. Davey Resource Group received the highest evaluation score, and the
committee will attempt to negotiate a lower price. The software contract is offered for three years. Anna is
pursuing alternative grant funding for the $125,000 tree inventory project. Anna noted the federal funding remains
uncertain in the wake of the recent federal executive orders.



With no further business, Anna Forbes concluded the meeting.



Respectfully submitted,
Marjorie Cooke, MBC Recording Secretary