Tree & Landscape Board

Approved: 072016 M&C Somers Gardiner APPROVED Minutes of the Tree and Landscape Board City Hall, City of College Park June 15, 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- N/A Laura Salers, Contract Secretary Mr. Smith called the meeting to order at 7:06 pm. 1. Approval of Meeting Minutes: The minutes of the April 20, 2016 meeting were reviewed. Motion: To adopt the TLB meeting minutes as written. Moved: Mr. Krouse Second: Ms. O’Brien Aye: Unanimous Nay: 0 Abstain: 0 2. Planning Report: Mr. Beavers gave an update which included the following highlights:  Submitted proposal to Safe Routes to School Program for funding to create sidewalks in the area around Quebec Street and Berwyn Road in the Berwyn neighborhood.  New street, Randolph Macon Avenue, is under construction in Old Town. It is partially funded by the Community Development Block Grant program of HUD through Prince George’s County. Sewer and other utilities are being installed.  The Program Open Space allocation will be $114,711.84. A portion is proposed for use as additional acquisition money for the Hollywood Gateway Park property and the remaining balance of approximately $96,000 used for a potential fitness trail around the Hollywood Shopping Center.  Submitted a grant application to the Maryland Bikeways program for a feasibility study and 30% design for a 10-foot-wide side path along the northern side of Paint Branch Parkway from Rt. 1 to the Trolley Trail connection.  Toured a potential site for an urban agriculture area near Metzerott Road in Acredale. The 2-3 acres of land is owned by the University of Maryland. This would be used more for a production food center than a community garden.  Mr. Smith asked for an update on Hollywood Park at Edgewood and Rt. 1. Mr. Beavers reported although it’s not one of his projects, he can report there has been 1  some difficulty acquiring the additional parcel of land needed and it appears to be moving toward resolution. 3. Public Works Report: Ms. Alexander provided updates on the activities of the Public Works Department. Highlights include:  Spring tree planting has been completed. (30 trees)  Summer annuals have been installed.  100 cubic yards of playground mulch has been received and will be distributed between the Calvert Hills and Old Town playgrounds.  Crews have been busy weeding and have begun watering, due to lack of rain.  New mowing contract may be needed for the remainder of the mowing season. There have been challenges during the current company’s reorganization.  Bid went out for contract tree work for the remainder of the fiscal year.  MD Dept. of Environment implemented a new permitting process for composting facilities. The City has filed the necessary forms and minor edits have been made to the City’s operational plan. The new permit is expected to be issued by the end of the calendar year.  There is a new Assistant Director at Public Works, Robert Marsili. He will be handling operations and facilities.  Modular building at Public Works has been removed. It will be replaced by a new modular building and will house offices, staff lockers, restrooms and a lunch space.  Ms. Alexander has been riding through the city with Pepco planners. There will be heavy line clearing activity in North College Park and numerous trees are slated for removal due to their condition and health. 4. Arbor Day Program: Due to heavy rain showers, the program took place inside the 4th grade classroom at Holy Redeemer School. Representatives of the City, TLB, College Park Lions Club and the MD DNR were in attendance. Mayor Pro Tem Dennis read the Arbor Day proclamation signed by Mayor Wojahn. The MD DNR forester awarded the City with its Tree City USA designation and presented a plaque to Mayor Pro Tem Dennis in recognition of this achievement. The children presented posters and shared what they learned about Arbor Day. Representatives proceeded outside to assist with the planting of two persimmon trees along the Trolley Trail. 5. Visibility Concern: Ms. O’Brien shared a concern regarding high grass and weeds in the median on Route 193 westbound, just before the Baltimore Avenue overpass. It has created a blind curve. Ms. Alexander shared that College Park doesn’t manage that strip of land but it will be reported to the responsible agency. 6. Discuss Mock-up of TLB Website: Mr. Smith shared the current draft of the website. Suggestions from the last meeting have been added. Each meeting agenda will be posted on the website along with a link to the minutes from previous meetings, which are housed on the City’s website. Mr. Smith will replace holder-text and replace stock photos with new photos before sending materials to Ms. Alexander, at Public Works, for posting. 7. Think About Meeting Agendas Prior to Meeting: The TLB reviewed House Bill 217 and discussed the need to post the meeting agenda publically, 24 hours prior to each TLB 2  meeting. The TLB will adhere to these guidelines by submitting their agendas to the City Clerk’s Office for posting on the City’s website. The TLB also plans to include the upcoming agenda on the front of the new TLB website. 8. Tree Canopy Enhancement Program Policy: The new Tree Canopy Enhancement Program is currently funded in the FY 2017 City Budget. This program is a mechanism to increase the tree canopy in the City and to supplement the right of way canopy. The TLB will begin drafting details of the policy via email and will finalize it at the next TLB meeting in July. Items to consider are:  Requirements of the program, restrictions, minimum tree size, limits on requests.  Develop a booklet to include a list of preferred trees, categories of small, medium and large trees, photos of the trees and a brief description of the tree.  Share stewardship information to educate residents on the importance of maintaining existing trees on their property. 9. Hazardous Trees (Mr. Krouse’s Agenda item from April meeting): Mr. Krouse asked the TLB to consider asking the City to develop a clear official policy regarding hazardous trees, specifically who is responsible for determining if they are hazardous and then what happens next after a tree is determined to be a hazard. It was suggested that City staff out in the City on a daily basis, such as Code Enforcement and Public Works staff, could assist the City by reporting potentially dangerous trees. Ms. Alexander shared that many of these trees would fall in the nuisance category of the City Code, under Property Maintenance. Mr. Krouse will review the City Code and City website to see if the policy can be better highlighted to encourage preventative action before physical injury and property damage occur from a fallen hazardous tree. 10. Wrap Up, Confirm Next Meeting: The next meeting of the TLB will be July 20th at 7:00 pm. A motion was made to adjourn the meeting by Mr. Krouse and it was seconded by Ms. O’Brien. Meeting adjourned at 8:47 pm. 3