Donations to sprout arboretum in Katy

The Keep Katy Beautiful Board accepted a $20,000 donation from CenterPoint Energy to pay for the construction and planting of a 3-acre arboretum in Katy City Park at the regular city council meeting Oct. 27.

The donation is part of CenterPoint Energy's Right Tree, Right Place program created to educate residents on where to plant trees to keep them out of the way of power lines.

CenterPoint Energy also will donate some of the labor needed to plant the arboretum and has pledged an additional $5,000 per year for the first three years after construction for maintenance and further development, said Brad Barnes, director of parks and recreation.

The arboretum will be located northeast of the intersection of Franz Road and Katy City Park Road in Katy City Park and will feature pathways and informative signs for each type of tree, Barnes said.

Construction may begin as early as Spring 2015, depending on how long the design phase of the project takes, Barnes said.

"One of the things we want to be careful about is selecting a planting time that will be the most beneficial for the trees; the act of planting them can be pretty traumatic for the trees," he said. "Summertime is the least desirable time, and the most ideal time is mid- to late fall or early to mid-spring. If we can get our plans developed in enough time, it's possible that we'll start planting mid-spring. If it goes beyond that, we'll want to wait until fall before we try to put anything in the ground."