Beautification & Tree Commission

Edwardsville Beautification and Tree Commission Minutes Meeting -November 28, 2017 Present: Bob Pfeiffer, Dennis Pluta, Wilma Jene Bond, Susan Bautsch, Becky Standefer, Larry Lipe, Barb Giardina, Kim Schoenfeld, Chris Farrar. Absent: Benna Denue, David Sirko, Tom Burns. Call to Order: Susan Bautsch chaired and called meeting to order at 6:31pm. Reports: Minutes from October 24 approved with motion by Barb and seconded by Wilma Jene, all in favor. Budget- $3,446.00 reported on expense report – Becky is questioning invoice on this amount. Large amount that they are not sure is correct for line amount in Community Relations which covers 50/50, Arbor Day and flower pot packets. Project allocations for budget are for welcome signs. Membership: Dennis will contact John Gavin after the holidays about student participant. Pin Oaks- sick oaks have been removed and others have been trimmed on Schwarz Street. Old Business: Clock Tower Tree- Illinois Native Service berry tree has been planted with additional plantings planned for spring. Benna would like to see article in Intellingencer about clock tower history and plantings. 50/50 tree program- Barb reported 49 participants with $9,800 invoice. $1,600 has been reimbursed. Tammy is sending out postcards to remind people who have expressed interest in the program. Barb acknowledged that Julia wrote a wonderful article about 50/50 program in Intelligencer. City Website- Benna will watch city website and keep us posted on website progress. Arboricultural Specifications Manual- everyone should keep working on manual and report in January. Forestry Conference- Susan and Kim attended. Susan asked Merideth Perkins to come to our January meeting to talk to us about Heartland Conservancy and someone we could hire. Susan signed up as volunteer for Heartland Conservancy. Mission Statement for EBTC- Benna is working on EBTC mission statement. Canopy/tent purchase- BJ Printables has 9x9 or 10x10 size tents. They cannot screen print the banner but they can use a hot press. Maybe look at some catalogs? New Business: Winter pots: One pot was destroyed by erratic driver who smashed the pot in front of court house. Bob is trying to find that person to help pay for a new pot. Welcome signs: Dennis put up fresh pine Christmas swags that cost $10. They look very nice. Two Winter Markets- Parks department has the true single event Winter Market on December 2. Goshen Market has named the extension of their market in winter as “winter market” also. It is held in the basement of New Song church. Chris suggested we have the Parks department “outside Winter Market” longer that one single event- perhaps a couple of Saturdays after Thanksgiving to sell more crafts for Christmas gifts. Letter written from our commission concerning Green Space ordinance – It is a 200 year ordinance for property development with 10% green space requirement. In lieu, developers could make a $12,500/acre payout to buy out the green space requirement. City is looking at changing the cost of the buy-out with the price going up. Developers will not like an increase in price. Would we as a commission be willing to write a letter to the planning commission to encourage more green space instead of offering a buy-out option? Owe Dennis $3 -for Poinsettias for public works department and mayors office. Meeting adjourned at 7:17pm Next Meeting January 30, 2018- 5th Tuesday of January Respectfully submitted: Kimberley Schoenfeld