Everett Tree Committee

CITY OF EVERETT BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS AND TREE COMMITTEE Tuesday, October 1, 2019 6:00 PM Spruce Hall The meeting was called to order at 6:00PM Board members present: Michael Yates (Chair), Linda War Bonnet, Sergiy Ryzhonkov, Laura McMurray, Katrina Lindahl Members not present: Tom Norcott, Megan Burger, Pamela Gerla Council Liaison Present: Council member Brenda Stonecipher Staff present: Bob Leonard, Parks Asst Director; Paul Crane, Public Works Environmental Permit Coord; Danielle Marks, Parks Admin Asst Review and Acceptance of Minutes: Board chair asked for acceptance of the meeting minutes from September 3, 2019. A correction was noted to Laura McMurray’s name in the member reports. Motion to approve the minutes of September 3, 2019 with the noted correction. Motion/Second/Approved (m/s/a) unanimously to accept the minutes with the noted correction from the meeting held September 3, 2019. Acceptance of Meeting Agenda: Staff made a recommendation to table the Facility Use Policy and proposed revisions to the November meeting. Board Chair asked for acceptance of the agenda as revised. Motion/Second/Approved (m/s/a) unanimously to accept the agenda as revised for October 1, 2019. Member Reports Sergiy Ryzhonkov – A recent visit to Silver Lake park and waterfront trail by Emory’s was clean and nice. Laura McMurray – Spoke briefly about a library presentation provided by forest management regarding climate change and the effected change of what trees to plant where. Katrina Lindahl – Citizens have been noticing Maple and Hemlock trees dying off and, in their opinion, the cause is climate change and the current drought situation. Linda War Bonnet – Shared her ideas of future park development, and in lieu of regional park development, promote smaller neighborhood parks to encourage community engagement. Michael Yates – Attended a recent presentation at the Everett Library which showed the history of Bayside Community and Clark Park. Noticed Grand Avenue Park Bridge has seen a lot of traffic. Thanked Park staff for helping with the recent flood situations at Bayside Park and Bayside Pea Patch. Shared he found a website that lists all of Washington Municipal Tree policies and suggested this might be a resource to reference when revising the city’s tree policy. The Bayside Neighborhood will partner with the downtown business district for a Halloween event. Director Report Bob Leonard, Assistant Director reported on the following: • Discussions regarding the Clark Park Gazebo will continue. • Staff will look at the 6-year CIP and identify potential grants for this year’s grant cycle. Availability of staff resources and work load capacities will drive the application processes. Council Liaison Report Brenda Stonecipher reported on the following: A Council Budget Committee meeting will take place before the Council meeting at 5pm. The Council meeting agenda is light. The Public Safety Committee will meet on the 16th with the major topics of discussion to include the moratorium about marijuana stores and red light cameras. The Climate Action Plan committee is working on a proposal to forward to Council. The proposal is to prioritize the actions and phase in priorities. Tree canopy is included in the action plan, which includes greenhouse and fossil fuel effects. Citizen Comments - No citizens in attendance. Tree Committee Staff Report Public Works Tree Report, provided by Paul Crane The August Tree Review Data report was provided to the board for review. There were no trees planted due to summer weather and drought conditions. A concern was raised about the lack of citizen requests for planting in the fall. A suggestion was made to disseminate information about tree planting. Parks Department Tree Report, provided by Bob Leonard Parks staff have performed vegetation management at Silver Lake, Walter Hall and Lions Park. Pruning has been performed in line with CPTED to improve visibility. Central Business District (CBD) areas also had some branches pruned up. Along West Marine View Drive, near North and South View parks, staff is removing the Rosa Rugosa bushes that have outlived the life cycle in that space and will be replaced with grass and a variety of trees to add color to the area, and easier maintenance. Rucker Streetscape The Rucker Streetscape plan was provided to board members. Approximately 130 trees will be planted in Rucker Streetscape project. Potential planting varieties and specifics to the Rucker Streetscape plans were reviewed and discussed, as well as the stressed importance of the right tree planted in the right space. Irrigation is included in the streetscape. Discussion Items Facility Use Policy. This agenda item was tabled to a future meeting. Annual Retreat Planning Board members requested consideration for another planning retreat to take a deeper dive into discussions relevant to the Board, identifying priorities for calendar year 2020, and to create a 2020 work plan. Board member suggestions for retreat content included: • Public information distribution on tree care, proper pruning techniques and ways to get involved. • Climate Action Plan  • Colby strip trees, to include discussion with an independent arborist and possible educational opportunities for residents. • Define processes on how to capture data for tree canopy. • Personal goals of being a Board member. • Identify park deficit areas and discuss potential future park growth opportunities in those areas. • Revisit the Pros Plan and look at the next growth phase, as well as undeveloped Parks land. • Look at property management and ways to expand inventory and discuss surplused properties and the potential use for park use purposes. The next steps are to identify top five action items, propose a date, time and location for the retreat. The proposed month is January, with a proposed meeting location being at the Van Valey House. Tree Ordinance Revisions Review, presented by Bob Leonard Staff presented the revisions to the Tree Ordinance, as it was included in the agenda packet. Section 3. Board concerns included the oversight of other departments that prune trees with chainsaws, who may not have education on how to properly prune trees. Potentially use a single source management of street trees, such as Parks director or Public Works director and address in the policy. Section 5. Needs to define “all city owned property…” as a performance evaluation. Section 7. Tree committee members should be redefined and outlined in the policy not the Ordinance. “Stakeholders and residents of Everett” should also include business community and a more defined list of stakeholders. Tree Committee – Education Opportunities & Prioritization Update Reviewed the list of educational opportunities brainstormed in September, as well as new ideas: • Finish the short list of trees on website and update • Heritage Tree/Tree Walk – Interface with the Cultural Commission • Have an information table at Sorticulture staffed by Board members • Promote street tree program via social media and Mayor’s newsletter • Education on proper pruning of trees • Education around Arbor Day Celebration • Outreach at Neighborhood meetings • Consider an “Ask the Tree Committee” opportunity on the city’s website that volunteers • Heritage Trees – Solicit nominations of trees at Sorticulture. The policy may define a Heritage tree. • Review the website and make suggested improvements. Ideas and work to be brought back to the next scheduled meeting: • Tree Short List – Katrina, Michael and Paul Crane will begin to develop and updated the tree short list then promote at Sorticulture and on the website. • Website review and suggested improvements. Linda will review the website and bring ideas back to the next meeting. Information Items Department Update, presented by Bob Leonard Council and Administration: • Morgan-Madison Park project has been updated on the project webpage and will continue to be updated monthly. • The Port Gardner property to partner with PW to offer more park amenities and elements on under used utility properties, with possible MOUs with neighborhoods. • Clark Park Gazebo and altering ideas will be presented to the Bayside Neighborhood meeting. • Special Events Permit Coordinator processes should be routed through Carol Thomas, Cultural Arts director. • Rucker Streetscape plan was reviewed and plan drawings were shared with the Board. Current Projects: • Staff reviewed the project updates as listed in the Department Updates handout provided in the agenda packet. o Phil Johnson Ballfields Project. o Lowell Sport Court and Dog Park (by Lowell Riverfront trail and connects the development trail with neighborhood and park). o Lower Howarth MRC Grant (Pigeon Creek). o Forest Park Playground replacement project. The playground will be shut down during construction, and has a completion set for early spring 2020. Future Projects: • Sport court renovations. • Heavy project load planned for 2020, which will impact grant application processes. Community Engagement and Recreation Opportunities Specific to Parks & Community Services: • The list of upcoming events provided on the Department Update were reviewed and highlighted. Other Business Meeting Adjourned @ 7:41pm Next meeting: November 5, 2019 in Spruce Hall at Forest Park Respectfully submitted, Danielle Marks Administrative Assistant