Tree & Landscape Board

Approved 042016 M&C Somers Gardiner APPROVED Minutes of the Tree and Landscape Board City Hall, City of College Park March 16, 2016 Term Exp. Members Present Absent N/A Brenda Alexander, Public Works Deputy Director N/A Steven Beavers, Planning Dept. Representative 8/30/2017 Eric Hoffman, Member 11/30/2016 John Krouse, Member 4/30/17 Dr. John Lea-Cox, City Forester 8/30/2017 Christine O’Brien, member N/A Terry Schum, Staff Liaison 9/30/2016 Joseph Smith, Chair 10/31/2016 Mark Wimer, Member ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- N/A Laura Salers, Contract Secretary Mr. Smith called the meeting to order at 7:01 pm. 1. Approval of Meeting Minutes: The minutes of the February 17, 2016 meeting were reviewed and a couple of minor edits were made. Motion: Approval of the TLB meeting minutes with edits. Moved: Mr. Hoffman Second: Dr. Lea-Cox Aye: Unanimous Nay: 0 Abstain: 0 OLD BUSINESS 2. Public Works Report: Ms. Alexander reported the landscape crew has been busy with spring clean-up, bed edging, pruning, planting and mulching the smaller beds. Compost sales are in full swing. 3. Planning Report: Mr. Beavers presented a Planning, Community & Economic Development PowerPoint report. The TLB learned about city storm water projects on Narragansett Parkway and a second one off Rhode Island Avenue between Greenbelt Road and Tecumseh Street, parallel to the old Trolley Trail. There will be rain gardens and plantings in a bio swale. He also shared information about the Community Garden. Twenty 4’ x 10’ boxes are available to city residents, with possibly more in the future. 4. Latest on Arbor Day & Good Neighbor Day Event: Ms. Alexander reported that fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Harrington, from Holy Redeemer has suggested April 28th for the Arbor Day program. Her class will be available around 11:15am. The program has not been finalized yet but a tree will be planted along the bike trail near the school parking lot. 1  TLB members are invited to attend and it will be publicized for residents to attend as well. Ms. Salers from the College Park Lions Club has ordered saplings for the children in Mrs. Harrington’s class. She will deliver them to the school, along with a tag which reads “Courtesy of the College Park Lions Club and the Tree & Landscape Board of College Park”. Ms. Salers will also provide the students with information about Arbor Day and a word search or coloring page. 5. Tree Inventory & Notable Trees: Mr. Smith reported that he was unable to access the files containing the tree information. Mr. Beavers will send him a .csv file. This will be revisited at the next meeting. 6. Revamped TLB Website: Due to a death in Mr. Smith’s family, he did not have an update on the website redesign. Mr. Smith will have a mock up version of the website at the April meeting for review. 7. Letter to Council Re: John Adams Park: Dr. Lea-Cox shared photos of the site and expressed his concerns about the drainage problem and manmade paths through the grass. Solutions include paving the manmade paths, using impervious asphalt, pavers or wood chips. The TLB will hold off writing to the Council until options are explored further. The TLB will consider inviting Councilman Brennan to a meeting to discuss the area and its concerns. 8. Beltway Expansion (any movement?): Mr. Hoffman reported that there have been no updates to this project. He will keep the TLB informed. NEW BUSINESS 9. Guest Speakers: The TLB will consider inviting a representative from Casey Trees and a member of the Prince Georges Conservation Board to speak at an upcoming meeting. They will discuss what they do and explore ideas for possible collaboration. 10. Lackawanna Ditches: Mr. Krouse expressed concern for a drainage problem at the Metro end of Lackawanna. It appears that temporary ditches were dug on both sides of the sidewalk during the snow storm to help with standing water/ice. It was a temporary fix which has become unsightly and the drain is clogged. After a brief discussion and viewing the area on the computer, Mr. Krouse made the following motion. Motion: Ms. Alexander will ask the City Engineer to contact Metro to repair the drain and repair the ditches that were dug. Moved: Mr. Krouse Second: Mr. Hoffman Aye: Unanimous Nay: 0 Abstain: 0 2 11. Duval Field Renovation Update: Ms. Alexander shared the revised drawings for the Duval Field renovations. After a short discussion there were no objections by the TLB. The start date will be set after the required permits have been acquired. 12. Next Meeting and Adjournment: The next meeting of the TLB will be on April 20th at 7:00 pm. A motion was made to adjourn the meeting by Dr. Lea-Cox and it was seconded by Ms. O’Brien. Meeting adjourned at 8:14 pm. 3