During the March meeting, the village of Panama agreed to wait on a previously discussed beautification and tree project until next year after looking at things more in depth. P-J photo by Sara Holthouse

PANAMA — The village of Panama, which has previously been discussing potential ideas for a beautification and tree or shrub planting project, has decided to hold off on the project until next year when everything has been considered.

During the March board meeting, Mayor William Schneider said part of what they had been looking to do was participate in the county’s tree program, which he discovered is a tree and shrub sale every year. The deadline for purchasing is April 1 and they offer a lot of different species.

“I would like to table us doing any kind of purchasing until next year, because I think what we need to do is look at the list of offerings and then as things grow out this year take a look at where we might be able to put some things,” Schneider said. “And the other thing is that they’re kind of delicate because they come to you bare rooted and are just little twigs, so they can be tough to get started in places.”

Schneider questioned if people would be willing to deal with something small like that because of the extra work it would need. He added that what the village needs to do is see how things grow and how other projects such as sidewalks turn out and then see what they might want to try and get. There was a suggestion of when the village gets some trees or shrubs and to start to grow them in a pot.

Additionally, there are many options listed as a part of the county tree and shrub sale, including cerberus berry plants, which the village had previously expressed interest in getting. This program is something that Schneider said he had not looked at in a long time and has evolved greatly in that time.

“So, there are a lot of things I think we need to take into consideration and then make a formal plan for next year, and then put in an order,” Schneider said.

A big part of that plan is knowing where the village would like to plant these trees, as opposed to having people come in and ask them to plant them places. Village Trustee, Todd Eddy, said starting them off in pots to get the roots growing would be a good plan.

Schneider said by waiting until next year they would have time to look at everything more in depth and then be able to “really do some things”. Other things to consider is the need to trim some existing trees that the village already has, which have already led to some problems earlier on.

The village board agreed to wait on purchasing any trees and to see what they already have and where things might be able to go until next year.

“I want to see where the sidewalk project goes, see what space we have, and then go from there,” Schneider said.