Bee City USA

Bee City USA Committee January 10, 2024 7:00pm Term Exp. Members Present Absent 6/30/2026 Maria Ulloa-Bustos X 6/30/2025 Anahi Espindola X 6/30/2025 Ariela Haber X 6/30/2024 Marc Pound X 6/30/2025 Terra Virsilas X 6/30/2026 Jennifer Lindstrom X 6/30/2026 Frank Cifaldi X Staff Liaison Brian Barr X Also present: Sheryl DeWalt, contract secretary. The Bee City Committee meeting was called to order by Ms. Ulloa-Bustos at 7:09 pm. 1. Review and approval of agenda Ms. Espindola motioned to accept the agenda and Mr. Pound seconded. Motion carries 6-0-0. 2. December 2023 minutes Ms. Espindola motioned to accept the December 13, 2023, minutes with one amended change. Ms. Virsilas seconded. Motion carries 6-0-0. 3. Bee Lab Updates Ms. Ulloa-Bustos sent out the seed germination plant list. The lab will have some plants and Ms. Ulloa-Bustos also harvested some seeds and will need to clean them to see if they are viable for planting. There will be a Winter Seed Germination workshop on January 13 from 10:00am-2:00pm and Ms. Ulloa-Bustos will send out the invitation to the committee. Discussion took place on how many seeds to order and possibly ordering from Hudson Valley rather than Ernst Seeds. Ms. Espindola stated she may have some partridge pea seeds. Ms. Ulloa-Bustos will also be checking on the plants left at Davis Hall. 4. Annual Report The Annual Report has been completed for the committee and turned into the City of College Park. 5. Municipal Scene The February topic will be on growing tables/zones on Maryland native plants – Ms. Lindstrom will have the article to Mr. Barr by January 19. Ms. Espindola volunteered to contribute an article on Nighttime Lights for the month of July. The google sheet is active for committee members to choose a month and topic: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lY_MYS_8GqpwNnoBuClnUWWFesNYYAf-P- bIBKCIyuo/edit#gid=0. 1 7. Bee City Certification Renewal The Xerces Society renewal is due at the end of February. Ms. Ulloa-Bustos is working on it and will send to the committee to review prior to submission. 8. Next Meeting The committee was gracious enough to change the February meeting date to February 12 due to a conflict in Ms. DeWalt’s schedule. The City Clerk’s office will be notified of the date change. 9. Member Updates Ms. Espindola will be going on maternity leave and most likely return in July. The committee has decided that she should remain a member, but it will be noted that she is on leave. Mr. Pound will be moving out of state in May and has formally resigned from the committee as Councilmember Hew indicated there are several others who have turned in applications. Mr. Pound indicated he would like to attend meetings, as a guest, until he moves, if his schedule permits. The committee suggested having a good-bye and good luck luncheon for Mr. Pound in April. Ms. Espindola motioned, and Mr. Pound seconded to adjourn the meeting at 7:55pm. Motion carries 6-0-0. Respectfully submitted by Sheryl DeWalt, contract secretary. 2