Mike Lilly named Rehoboth Beach’s new arborist

Rehoboth Beach has announced Mike Lilly as the city’s new arborist, a position left vacant for nearly a year.

“It’s exciting,” said Lilly, during an interview Nov. 26.

Lilly, 27, took over Nov. 4, and introduced himself to city commissioners during a meeting Nov. 15. His official title is urban forestry and parks manager.

Prior to Rehoboth, Lilly worked at Bella Terra Landscapes for the past seven-and-a-half years. He said he started in an entry-level manual labor position before working his way up the ladder to foreman, then project manager, and then to operations manager for the division that included softscaping, hardscaping and irrigation systems.

Lilly said there are a number of benefits that come with having worked in the local landscaping industry, including a good relationship with a lot of the local landscaping companies and designers that he’ll be working with in his new capacity.

“I know a lot of the code already because I had to work within the code,” said Lilly. “Now, I’m just reading every day, so I can recite it when needed.”

Lilly said things have piled up over the past year, and a good portion of the first month has been spent figuring out what to tackle first. Topping the list, he said, is the work required for the city to continue to be recognized as a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation.

The city’s former arborist, Liz Lingo, left about this time last year after seven years when an opportunity arose for career advancement. Lilly said he’s meeting with Lingo soon to pick her brain on other issues.

Prior to working locally, Lilly was born in northern Delaware, but spent the majority of his life in West Virginia. He said he did a lot of hunting, fishing and tending to three large gardens at home.