Notice: Proposed Changes to Oak Wilt Fund
At its May 2025 meeting, the NWACA Board voted to put half of the Oak Wilt fund balance, as of the end of January 2026, into a fund for wildfire prevention. A program to use these funds is yet to be developed, after giving the neighborhood until the end of November 2025, to respond with any opposition.
As context: In 1997, Oak Wilt infected Rockledge Drive and several streets nearby. Neighbors in the area organized a fundraising effort to have trenches made around almost two blocks that were infected. In 1998, there was nearly $30,000 in excess from what was given for the trenching (including $5,000 from the City of Austin, since it was their contracted tree trimming crew that brought in the disease on unclean tools). That money was turned over to NWACA to act as custodian. Since that date, NWACA has managed an Oak Wilt account used to reimburse neighbors who need to treat oak wilt on their property. The Oak Wilt Fund has grown to $38,187, as of June 1, 2025. In the decades since the fund was established, several thousand dollars have been paid out, but in recent years there have been very few requests for reimbursements.
This notice will be posted in the monthly NWACA Newsletter, NWACA Notes, and Facebook. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please email [email protected].