Tree & Landscape Board

Minutes of the Tree and Landscape Board City of College Park Virtual Meeting Thursday, March 17, 2022, 7:00PM Term Exp. Members Present Absent Staff Brenda Alexander, Public Works Assistant Director 06/30/2022 John Lea-Cox, City Forester 06/30/2023 Christine O’Brien, member 06/30/2022. James Meyer, member 06/30/2021 Todd Reitzel, member 06/30/2023 Rashawna Alfred, member 06/30/2024 John Horowitz, member Dylan Burns, CBE, representative Caroline Wick, CBE representative ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Also Present: Urs Weber, Calvert Hills Green Team Carleveva Thompson, Contract Secretary Ms. Alfred called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 1. Discussion with Urs Weber, Calvert Hills Green Team Mr. Weber is the co-Chair of the Calvert Hills Green Team and provided the Board an update on the efforts the Calvert Hills Green Team has initiated to help with the removal of invasive vines. Mr. Weber explained the invasive vine removal is a new endeavor and the team has only done vine removal once and focused on removal of English Ivy. An email was sent to the team to seek volunteers for the location that was previously selected. Volunteers meet at the selected location with their own tools to manually remove the vines from trees. The team will be removing vines from another location on Saturday, March 19th. 2. Approval of Meeting Agenda: The agenda for the March 17, 2022, meeting was reviewed. Motion: Accept agenda as presented. Moved: Ms. Alfred Second: Dr. Lea-Cox Aye: Unanimous Nay: 0 Abstain: 0 3. Approval of February Meeting Minutes: The Board reviewed the meeting minutes of the February 16, 2022, meeting and edits were made to the minutes. Motion: Accept February meeting minutes as amended.  Moved: Ms. Alfred Second: Mr. Reitzel Aye: Unanimous Nay: 0 Abstain: 0 4. Public Works Department Report: Ms. Alexander shared the following highlights:  The renewal period is coming up for some Board members and members that are due for renewal will receive a packet in the mail.  Excel Tree Experts are completing the contract tree work this week. 21 trees were removed, 30 trees pruned, and 24 tree stumps grounded.  40 street tree replacements have been ordered and should be delivered next week.  The tree giveaway order was placed and 241 trees were ordered.  The Odessa Park construction will begin in April. 5. CBE Report: Ms. Wick shared the following highlights:  Continuing to move forward with painting of the storm water drains and two drains will be painted in May.  No Mow Month in April. Signs are available for residents that signed up.  Continuing to work on labeling trees along the Trolley Trail. 6. New Business a. Invasive vine removal The Board discussed if manual removal of English Ivy is an effective process versus using chemicals. Possibly having invasive vine removal as a Good Neighbor Day project was also discussed. b. TCEP Guidelines Ms. Alexander received information from the County that the rain check rebate program has expanded and there was an inquiry in what happens to the TCEP after 5 years. The Board had previously discussed increasing the TCEP’s reimbursement amount to $250, but the County offers more money under the rain check rebate. The lifetime cap on a property is being increased from $4,000 to $6,000 under the rain check rebate. Dr. Lea-Cox suggested to keep the TCEP reimbursement at $150, provide free tree giveaways, and educate residents on the rain check rebate. 7. Old Business a. Council Worksession on Urban Tree Protection Ordinance – April 19, 2022 Ms. Alexander will write an update for the Council on the activities that were started under phase 2 of the ordinance. b. Free Tree Giveaway – April 23, 2022  Ms. Alexander will create a volunteer sign up as a lot of help will be needed during the event. c. Arbor Day – April 29, 2022 d. Municipal Scene Article Articles are due by March 25th to publish in April. The article will be a reminder on the tree giveaway event. 8. Next Meeting Date The next scheduled meeting will be held on April 20, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. 9. Adjourn Ms. Alfred motioned to adjourn the meeting. Second by Ms. O’Brien. The meeting adjourned at 9:11 p.m.