Community Tree Council

1 Community Tree Council (CTC) Meeting Minutes Meeting Date: June 10th, 2019 Location: Planning Department In Attendance - Members: Nina Wurzburger, Rodney Walters, Myung Cogan, Phil Hale, Shawn Doonan, Mary Attaway, Absent: Joseph Bates, Joe Perloff, Pam Knox (traveling out of town) Staff, Guests, and Ex-Officio Members: Marc Beechuk (ACC Arborist/City Planner), Stacee Farrell (Director-Keep Athens Clarke County Beautiful) Call to Order: Nina Wurzburger called the meeting to order at 4:00 P.M. A quorum was present. Housekeeping (Secretary) Rodney Walters 4:05- 4:25 PM ● Roll Call Sign In and Membership Roster Updates: (roster was distributed for updates) ● (Action Item) Minutes - The 5/13/2019 minutes were submitted by Rodney Walters (Secretary) to CTC members on 6/10/2019 for review and edits. A motion was made to pass the minutes. The motion was seconded and the 5/13/2019 CTC minutes were approved (after corrections were made) by unanimous vote. ● (Information and Discussion) – Request that CTC consider a “parking lot” approach to help keep discussions on topic and on task according to the agenda. Anyone who would like to have a discussion, information, or action item presented to the CTC should have that item put on the agenda for the next meeting. The utilization of a “parking lot” board during CTC meetings provides a placeholder for topics that arise during discussions. Those topic can be set aside until the agenda is covered and then discussed at the end of the meeting on the agenda as listed as “Other” so these new topics may have a chance to be discussed as time allows and/or be put on the following months agenda. ● (Information- 1 minute) Answers to questions from last CTC Meeting: - When do CTC member nominee applications need to be submitted to the Mayor and Commission for consideration? Answer: by September 5th at the latest. Interviews need to be completed by the 4th week of August. ● (Information and Discussion – 5 minutes) CTC member applicant’s update - 2 new applicants Jessica McClellan and Patrick Perry (coordinate with selection committee) ● (Information- 4 minutes) Update on webpage (basic county) and tree inspection activities ● (Information- 5 minutes) Update on warrantee from Moon’s Creek about memorial TfT tree that died - They will provide another tree Treasurer’s Report: No Treasurer’s report was given. Old Business: (Information) ▪ Athens Housing Authority said it would take care of (water) the Rock Springs trees that were planted n in January if the CTC will take care of the Broad Acres trees that were planted in February. ▪ The follow up report from this years Keep Athens Clarke County Beautiful UPS grant funded tree planting event at Broad Acres is due (this will provide an additional $1000 of funding for the project).  2 New Business: Nina Wurzburger 4:30– 5:30 PM ● (Discussion) Fundraising and new funding opportunities: ▪ Fundraising strategies mentioned included the development of a CTC fundraising “pitch” and creating sponsorship packages or levels. -Part of a pitch to potential business sponsors should include public relations opportunities and advertising assets (such as having logos placed on signs, hats, tee shirts, etc.). -A Google doc should be set up so CTC members will be able to collaborate in the development of fundraising literature. ▪ How to price and communicate tree planting projects was discussed -It was generally agreed that estimates of the unit cost of planting each tree needs to be rethought. A general consensus is that the real cost of planting a 2” caliper balled and burlapped tree is $500 or more once planning, design, tree stock, and coordination of labor, equipment, and aftercare are accounted for. ▪ Potential Donors were discussed (Caterpillar and the Mayor’s Grant were mentioned) ▪ Possible and Available grants were discussed - Current grant opportunities include - the UPS grant through Keep Athens Clarke County Beautiful (Stacee) - submitting an application for a Georgia Power Grant (Nina) - a currently available Synovous grant (Shawn) 3 CTC members agreed to apply specifically for one grant each (as listed in parentheses above). ● (Information and Discussion) CTC Committee Reports: ▪ CTC Executive Committee (Nina, Shawn, Pam, Rodney) - No report given ▪ CTC Policy Committee (Shawn, Joseph, Joe, Marc) - No report given ▪ CTC Trees for Tomorrow Committee (Phil, Nina, Joe, Mary, Pam, Rodney) – TfT Committee met on 5/29/2019. A meeting report was given to the CTC (see meeting notes attached at the end of this minutes document). ▪ Social Media and Public Information Work Group - No report given. ● (Discussion) Applications for new member nominees was briefly discussed. Discussion centered on the need to coordinate a committee effort to establish a social media presence in order for the CTC effectively coordinate educational outreach and fundraising activities. ● (Discussion) Other: ▪ The Lyndon house is looking for partners for a tree planting later this year. The CTC could be a good a good partner and many conversations need to take place to identify other willing partners and the roles they may be comfortable in taking. Adjourn Nina Wurzburger 5:25 – 5:30 PM ● The next CTC meeting will be held on 7/8/2019 at 4:00 PM in the ACC Planning Office. ● The meeting adjourned at 5:40 PM.  3 Trees for Tomorrow Committee Meeting – 5/29/2019 The TfT subcommittee met on Thursday, May 30. Present were Nina, Pam, Rodney, Mary, Joe and Phil. Tree Watering Gator bags Fundraising We discussed potential donor businesses and organizations that might 1) donate funds for TfT projects either through one-time gifts or established charitable grant programs, or 2) provide access to locations appropriate for TfT plantings. Some possible funds donors mentioned were  Georgia Power,  Earthfare,  Athens First Bank,  Golden Pantry,  Barberitos,  Green Builders Assn (?),  Athens Jr. Ladies Garden Club,  various Pet Supply retailers and Vet clinics. We talked about the need to develop a standard ‘pitch’ when approaching possible donors— minimum contribution, levels of giving, recognition, etc. Potential Projects Athens Land Trust, public schools, parks, and Athens Housing Authority locations were discussed as potential project locations.  Athens Land Trust,  public schools, parks, and  Athens Housing Authority  Dog Park – Landscape Management Design (Jeanne)