Bee City USA

Bee City USA May 10, 2023 7:00pm Via Teleconferencing through Zoom Final Minutes Term Exp. Members Present Absent Staff Brenda Alexander X 6/30/2023 Maria Ulloa-Bustos X 6/30/2025 Anahi Espindola X 6/30/2025 Ariela Haber X 6/30/2024 Alan Hew, Chair X 6/30/2024 Marc Pound X 6/30/2023 Jim Sauer X 6/30/2025 Terra Virsilas X Also present: Michael Ellis, UMD; Sheryl DeWalt, contract secretary The Bee City Committee meeting was called to order by Alan Hew, Chair, at 7:03pm. 1. The agenda was reviewed. Mr. Pound made a motion to accept with amended changes. Ms. Espindola seconded. Motion caries for approval 6-0-0. 2. The April 12, 2023, minutes were reviewed. Ms. Espindola motioned to accept the minutes with amended changes. Mr. Pound seconded. Motion carries for approval 6-0-0. 3. City activities: a. The final bee hotel was installed at City Hall on the Yale Avenue side on the patio deck. b. Bee City recertification has been approved by the Xerces Society. c. Bee Hotel sign for the Girl Scout’s bee hotel arrived and was shown to the committee members. The sign will be installed very soon. d. The table skirt has been ordered. e. The Bee City Street signs (2) with the new logo will be ordered. Most likely, one will be installed near the Albion area by the bike trail and one on Greenbelt Road. Discussion about having a combined Bee City/Bee Campus sign at City Hall. Ms. Alexander will ask for approval from the City and Mr. Ellis will ask for approval from UMD since City Hall is a shared building. If approved, the request was made to have the sign on the front side of City Hall. f. The Proclamation for Pollinator Week will be done at the June City Council meeting. 4. Bee Lab USGS update. Mr. Hew, Ms. Ulloa-Bustos, and Ms. Virsilas have been working on transplanting plants. About 1130 plants have been transplanted. There are cells that need to be transplanted into pots in a few weeks once the weather stays warmer. Mr. Hew is still anticipating having plants available for the June 17 pollinator event. As a reminder that volunteer days at the lab are Thursdays from 3:00pm-6:00pm and Saturdays from 10:00am- 2:00pm. 1  5. Pollinator Event – June 17. The event will be from 1:00pm – 4:00pm at the UMD Arboretum Outreach Center, rain or shine. If it rains, the vendor tables will be sent up in the stadium garage which is by the Arboretum Center. Waiting on confirmation for the movie to be shown at the Gildenhorn Hall at the Clarice Center at 1:00pm. Invitations need to be finalized and sent to the vendors. Ms. DeWalt volunteered to contact the surrounding municipalities: Laurel, Greenbelt, Berwyn Heights, District Heights, Prince George’s County, University Park, and Howard County. Mr. Ellis will work on advertising the event at UMD. 6. Municipal Scene – June – Pollinator Week and Pollinator Event on June 17 – Ms. Espindola 7. May 6th parade update. Much smaller parade than July 4th. Sean Phelan, who assisted with the Good Neighbor Day event at the American Legion, dressed up in a bee costume and walked with the committee. Seed packets of Black-eyed Susan, Partridge Pea, Coreopsis, and Milkweed were handed out. Copies of the Xerces X-kids booklets and flyers on the June 17 event were also handed out. 8. The trail plantings around the Girl Scout’s bee hotel by Calvert Hills look good. The plants are growing very well. 9. Ms. Virsilas mentioned an AP article she had read concerning that No Mow months are not necessarily the best for the environment. She will share a link to the article with the committee. 10. No Mow April survey will be available to the residents. The same questions used in 2022 should be appropriate to use for 2023. Ms. Alexander will send the questions to the committee to review and once approved, she will work with communications to have the survey set up on the City website. 11. The Advisory Board Member Reception event is next Friday, May 19. Please make sure that you RSVP to the City Clerk’s office if you plan to attend. 12. The next meeting is scheduled for June 14, 2023, at 7:00pm. The committee would like to meet in person. Ms. Alexander will inquire about the use of Davis Hall. Ms. Espindola made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Pound seconded. Motion carries 6-0-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:20pm. 2