Tree & Landscape Board

Minutes of the Tree and Landscape Board City of College Park Virtual Meeting July 17, 2024, 7:00PM Term Exp. Members Present Absent Staff David Wigglesworth, City Arborist Staff Dutch Nagelvoort, Asst. Director of Landscaping 06/30/2026 Christine O’Brien, Chair 06/30/2027 Todd Reitzel, member 06/30/2025 Emily Friend, member 06/30/2027 Vickie Brewster, member 06/30/2027 Sharon Crissinger, member Alexa Bely, CBE representative1 Tekoa Sultan-Reisler, City Intern ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1Left @ 8:00pm Also Present: Carleveva Thompson, Contract Secretary Ms. O’Brien called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. 1. Introduction of New Board Members Ms. Brewster introduced herself to the Board. 2. Review and Approval of Meeting Agenda: The Board reviewed the agenda, and the review and approval of the drafted CBE letter was added. Motion: Approve the July 17, 2024, meeting agenda as amended. Moved: Ms. Friend Second: Mr. Reitzel 3. Approval of June Meeting Minutes: The Board reviewed the meeting minutes of the June 26, 2024, meeting and edits were made to the minutes. Motion: Approve the June 17, 2024, meeting minutes as amended. Moved: Ms. Friend Second: Ms. Brewster Aye: Unanimous Nay: 0 Abstain: 0 4. Public Works Department Report: Mr. Wigglesworth shared the following highlights: a. Tree Permits  8 Removals approved  0 Pruning approved   0 Removal denied  0 rescinded  0 not required b. Contract Tree Work-Right of Way Trees – Contract tree work started 2 weeks ago. c. Residential Property Tree Planting – 67 trees planted d. Summer Intern - Ms. Sultan-Reisler started a map for the pollinator gardens and bee hotels. e. Urban Master Plan - Emailed Davey Resource Group and waiting for a response. 5. Green Space and Landscaping Report: Mr. Nagelvoort shared the following highlights:  Rain drought and heat wave continues, so the team is continuing to water annual beds to newly planted and young trees.  Bee City has purchased a 3-inch caliper Oak tree to be planted North of the future Hollywood community garden at Davis Park.  Landscape crew is being more efficient with weed control. 6. CBE Report: Dr. Bely shared the following highlights:  Electric/manual lawn equipment incentive program: 45 rebates given to date.  Green Awards: 2 awards given to residents that had native landscaped yards.  Green Events for Fall: Planning 2 events, 1 event will be showing an environmental film, and the other event will be a town hall.  Storm Drain Painting: New storm drains to be painted this summer.  Climate Action Plan – CBE approved and was sent to City Council for review.  Bee City Committee Update: Distributed native plants at Hollywood Farmer’s Market and plan to install more bee hotels.  Curbside Compost Program: Promoting use of the program to residents. 7. Old Business a. Municipal Scene Articles  Watering – September (Ms. O’Brien) o Future Topics  Japanese Knotweed  Solar Companies and Trees  Adopt A Park   Tree Planting  Spring Cleanup  Woodland Tree Act  Lesser Celandine b. Development Update – The Autoville development was presented to City Council. c. Favorite Tree Contest Planning – The Board discussed creating a favorite tree contest for the City. d. Video Planning – The Board discussed creating a how-to video for watering trees. Ms. O’Brien volunteered to create the video. The location will need to have a water hose available. 8. New Business a. CBE Letter – Dr. Bely informed the Board of changes made to the CBE letter. Ms. Friend motioned to approve the changes to the combined letter to be sent to City Council. 4 members in favor; no opposed, 1 abstention. Motion carries 4-0-1. b. City’s Tree and Landscape Website – The Board reviewed the Trees page on the City’s website and suggested changes that should be made to make the website easier to use and locate request forms. Ms. Friend also discussed the idea of uploading a picture of invasive plants to the City’s app to alert Public Works of the location of invasive plants. 9. Next Meeting Date The next meeting is scheduled on August 21, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. 10. Adjournment Ms. Friend motioned to adjourn the meeting. Second by Mr. Reitzel. All members in favor; no opposed. Motion carries, 5-0-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m.