We, the City Council of the City of Bath, Maine hereby establish the Bath Community
Forestry Trust for the general improvement of the urban and rural forest resources
of Bath and to accomplish the purposes listed below.
Mission Statement.
The mission of the Bath Community Forestry Trust embodies the belief that our trees,
forests, and open spaces - in combination - improve the day-to-day lives of us all.
The Trust is focused on the future; that the generations which follow will inherit
an urban environment which enhances Bath as a special place, unique in location, and
prized for its habitability by citizens, visitors, and institutions alike. Our mission,
then, while tempered by the ever changing needs of the future, shall be firmly based
upon the need to protect, to expand, to preserve, and use wisely, the forestry resources
and green spaces found within the City of Bath, Maine.
Purposes.
The Bath Community Forestry Trust is established for the following purposes:
a. To provide care and maintenance for existing public trees; establish new public
trees; and remove hazardous public trees and hazardous limbs of public trees within
the City of Bath.
b. To encourage and provide environmentally sound use of City-owned forested lands
for educational and limited recreational purposes while conserving the basic resources
for the enjoyment and benefit of future generations.
c. To provide and maintain specialized equipment as well as funding for services necessary
to carry out the above stated purposes.
It will be recognized that all of these purposes may not be addressed at any one time
due to the limitations on funding and levels of interest. The trustees deciding on
the use of income shall establish priorities based on the greatest needs as perceived
at that point in time.
Trustees.
a. Board of Trustees.
This trust shall be governed by a Board of Trustees consisting of no fewer than five
(5) members, and no more than nine (9) members who shall serve three (3) year terms.
The initial trustees shall consist of the members of the Bath Community Forestry
Committee. The Committee members shall determine how the one, two, and three year initial
terms shall be distributed, and if no agreement can be reached, then distribution
will be made by lottery. Terms shall run through September 30th. The Superintendent of Cemetaries and Parks and/or the City Forester/Arborist shall be ex officio members of
the Board of Trustees.
b. Administration.
The Board of Trustees shall determine their own rules of procedure in terms of the
management of their affairs, electing such officers from their midst as they deem
appropriate. The Board of Trustees shall meet at least semi-annually, and on such
other occasions as may be necessary.
c. Powers and Duties.
The Trustees shall act in accordance with, and in fulfillment of the powers enumerated
in Paragraph 2 above, and in furtherance of the mission statement of this Trust outlined
in Paragraph 1 above. In the furtherance of these obligations, the Trustees shall have all discretionary powers necessary and appropriate to fulfill said purposes
and the mission statement.
d. Private Gain.
No Trustee or any person who is related to a Trustee by blood, marriage or otherwise,
shall receive any compensation or benefit from the Trust directly or indirectly.
No private benefit shall pass to any organization or entity controlled by a Trustee
or by anyone related to a Trustee by blood, marriage, or otherwise. This provision shall
not prohibit the reimbursement of reasonable, incidental expenses necessarily incurred
in conducting the business of the Trust by any Trustee and shall also not prohibit
the employment and reasonable compensation therefore of persons to perform services
for the Trust under authorization of the Board of Trustees.
e. Bond.
All persons serving as Trustees shall serve without bond.
f. Assets.
The Trustees shall have the specific power to solicit funding and contributions including
grant funds, for the purposes enumerated in Paragraph 2 above. Grants shall be expended
in accordance with the terms and conditions of the grant. Contributions shall be managed so as to be tax-exempt under the Internal Revenue Service regulations.
Unless otherwise specified, contributions of funds shall be turned over to the Finance
Department of the City of Bath to be managed and invested, and protected for the
above purposes in perpetuity. The interest or income from such managed/invested funds may
be used for the purposes described in Paragraph 2 above. The Board of Trustees shall
determine by a majority vote of the Board the use and distribution of interest/income
funds. No expenditures from the principal may be made.
g. Reports.
The trust shall make a yearly report of its financial activities including a financial
report of grants and contributions received, income from investments, and expenditures,
together with a narrative of the Trust activities, and file same with the City Clerk at the City Clerk's Office, 55 Front Street, Bath, Maine. A copy of the report
shall be made available to
City Council and shall be available for public inspection.
h. Suspension of Trust.
If at some point in time the Board of Trustees does not function in accordance with
the authority entrusted in the Board by this Trust document, then the monies invested
shall be maintained in a separate, special purpose account to be invested in reasonable and prudent investments in accordance with prudent investment practices until such
time as this Board of Trustees is reformed for the purposes originally intended,
or as those purposes may be subsequently amended.
i. Applicable Law.
This Trust shall be administered and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the
State of Maine.
j. Title
. This Trust shall be known as "The Bath Community Forestry Trust".
DATED
at Bath, Maine this 26th day of January, 1995.
Click here to make a tax-deductible donation to the Bath Community Forestry Trust Fund.
