City Council

PARKS & RECREATION SHADE TREE COMMITTEE MINUTES Tuesday, September 24, 2024 Activity Center 12:00 P.M. MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE: Matt Hill, Ken Knoch, Tyler Smith, Brandon Lerwill, Lee Washburn, Duston Edwards, Brian Stevens, Sam Ellsworth, Jim Francis, David Vest (via phone) CALL TO ORDER – Matt Hill Matt Hill called the meeting to order at 12:06 p.m. CITY REPORT  Shade Tree Member Reappointments – There are 5 positions coming up at the end of December. Matt Hill and Sam Ellsworth want to renew their positions. Ken Knoch, Kim Johnson, and David Vest would like to step down at the end of their term. This will open up 3 new spots that will need to be filled. The City is currently trying to fill the previous vacant spot and has a possible candidate. Once someone applies the application goes to PJ and then to the mayor for final approval. Because Shade Tree is having a hard time finding members, the city was going to check into possibly having Brian Stevens, and Brandon Lerwill as official members of Shade Tree.  Next meeting is scheduled for October 29, 2024. APPROVAL OF MINTUES May minutes approved by Sam Ellsworth 2nd Ken Knoch. CURRENT CITY FORESTRY STATUS  Forestry Progress – Forestry and Horticulture are in the process of replacing trees at certain parks and streets. o Freeman Park o Snake River Parkway o 25th/Hitt St 1  No current removals are being done at this time and are being added to a winter removal list. There is a lot of spring storm damage still around the city and there are plans to take care of a majority of it this winter.  Fall Plan- There are many more trees being replanted to replace those that have died. Some pest control will be happening to try and keep trees healthy. East 25 th St. will get trimmed. The entire roadway is breaking our clearance ordinance and they are accumulating dead. Memorial is going to get trimmed in preparation for Christmas lights. There is some tree spading that will happen as soon as trees go dormant on 25 th St. GENERAL TREE DISCUSSION  Shade Tree Meeting Yearly Calendar – The 2025 shade tree calendar was passed around for people to view. The meetings will be the last Tuesday of the month at noon. No meetings will be held in the months of June, July, August, November, and December. Shade Tree members voted and it passed with 4 yes and 0 no.  Update of the Forestry Master Plan – Staff has started making changes to their template master plan. Progress has paused for a moment so that summer work could get done. Once winter hits and things slow down a little bit more, staff will finish the master plan.  Update of Tree Ordinance – The work group changed the ordinance and it was reviewed and sent to Tyler and Josh for their feedback. It was then sent back for some edits and because of summer work has been paused until some things slow down. It was also brought up that Parks employees, especially the Forester, need to have the ability to review site plans. All too often trees are getting planted in the wrong places and this could help avoid some of the current problems that are happening. Another comment was that the public would like to see the plans or have access to view the plans.  Update of UCF Grant – The City was awarded the grant, and staff met with the state coordinator to go over the project. The project includes removing some Willows along Willowcreek and some trees along River Front Drive. The state coordinator is going to send over some documents that will then need to go to PJ for approval before work can get started.  Tree Protection Plan- Legal currently has it and they have sent over some suggestions. As soon as those changes are made, it will get sent back over to legal for another round of edits and then continue to council.  Park Tour- We were unable to do it with our schedule during the summer and felt that with a change of committee members it would be unnecessary until the new members were appointed.  Power Update - Power has contracted Davey trees to do some removals in the Nathan and Sunnyside neighborhood. Most of the trees being removed are Poplars which are not allowed as utility trees. This process has been extremely expensive for the power department. 2 ANNOUNCEMENTS AND ADJOURNMENT  Update on Foresters ability to review plans.  What to do when a landowner removes a mandatory tree.  Shade Tree wants to plant a memorial tree for Randy Westergard. Meeting adjourned but at this point not enough members to officially adjourn. Next meeting will be October 29, 2024. Meeting recorded by Duston Edwards 3  PARKS & RECREATION SHADE TREE COMMITTEE MINUTES Tuesday, October 29, 2024 Activity Center 12:00 P.M. MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE: Matt Hill, Ken Knoch, Brandon Lerwill, Lee Washburn, Duston Edwards, Brian Stevens, Kim Johnson, David Vest (via phone) CALL TO ORDER – Matt Hill Matt Hill called the meeting to order at 12:03 p.m. CITY REPORT  Next meeting is scheduled for January 28, 2025. APPROVAL OF MINTUES September minutes approved by Ken Knoch 2 nd Kim Johnson. CURRENT CITY FORESTRY STATUS  East 25th Street Status – Forestry and Horticulture are planning on trimming East 25 th the week of November 11th. Plans are to start on Woodruff and head east towards Channing. Those trees are in the worst shape and need the most, dead, wood removed. Some replacements are planned for the area but will not be going in until spring of 2025. The island on Holmes at the West end of 25Th will not be getting any new trees until there is a plan to redo the island. The island needs a couple of fixes to ensure that trees do not continue to die there. The first is fixed irrigation, and the second is a barrier for road salt.  End of Year Report- This was tabled until the next meeting but a member wanted a brief idea of what would be discussed since their term would be ending at the end of the year. Forestry and Horticulture had accomplished a ton throughout the year. They o Sprayed 2500 tree rings in various parks o Mulched 470 trees 1  o Trimmed most of the Hartert neighborhood for overlays o Trimmed 13th-16th street for overlays o And various other projects. GENERAL TREE DISCUSSION  Randy Westergard Memorial Tree- It was decided at the last meeting that a tree should be planted in honor of Randy Westergard for the service he provided the city of Idaho Falls and the Shade Tree Committee. Possible locations include Sugar Mill Park, Winco Substation, and the triangle on Northgate Mile. It was brought up that it should be planted in the summer time around his death date and should remain on the agenda until a spot is found and the tree is planted.  Update on Landscape Plan Reviews – Tyler has done some checking around to see how access could be granted to Lee to review landscape plans. Because of cost, it is unlikely that Parks and Rec will get a third account to the program that plans are submitted to. Until then a plan is in place for Tyler to have meetings with appropriate staff to go over plans and review them.  Replacement of Mandatory Trees– It was brought up at last Shade Tree meeting, if the city could do anything about businesses removing trees around and on their property. Brian Stevens mentioned that in the planning and zoning ordinances as long as the trees are shown on site plans the city could enforce that they be put back. If there is a complaint about possible missing mandatory trees, Brian recommended that a person fill out a code enforcement complaint online. Code enforcement would figure out whose code it is to enforce and send it out to them. If a complaint is called in to Lee, we email it to Kerry Beutler. He will determine if it violates their code and kick it back to us to decide how we want to proceed as far as getting the tree replaced.  Forestry Maintenance Plan Update- We have officially begun to make changes to the template that we found. The forestry maintenance plan is critical for us to accomplish because it is part of the UCF grant that the city was awarded. It needs to be finished by 2026.  Power Update – Power is looking forward to a good freeze so that the leaves will start to drop off the trees. If the leaves are still when we get snow it could cause branches to break off and disturb power in some areas. They also have Davey trimming trees in the St. Charles neighborhood and they will move on to Dale after. ANNOUNCEMENTS AND ADJOURNMENT  Add Arbor Day to agenda.  Keep end of year review on agenda.  Shade tree is still looking for new members. Meeting adjourned but at this point not enough members to officially adjourn. Next meeting will be January 28, 2025. 2  Meeting recorded by Duston Edwards 3  APPROVED 04.10.25 3/13/25 SISTER CITIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES The February 13, 2025 Sister Cities Advisory Committee meeting was held in Room 310A of Building 3 at College of Eastern Idaho (1600 S 25th E, Idaho Falls, ID 83404) and via Teams. ACTION ITEMS​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 5:41 PM Roll Call and Confirmation of Quorum ●​ Present: Chloe Doucette, Amanda Logan, Cindy Ozaki, Laura Combs, Jake Durtschi, Sunny Katseanes, Caroline Combs, Lisa Armstrong ●​ Absent: Julie McMurtrey, Catherine Smith (City representative) Approval of February 13, 2025 Meeting Minutes ●​ Cindy requested clarification regarding the title “city representative” vs. “secretary.” ●​ Laura requested a correction from “Skyline High School” to “Skyline Activity Center. ●​ Chloe made both updates. ●​ Laura moved to approve the amended minutes; Jake seconded. Motion passed unanimously at 5:44 PM. Approval of Reimbursements ●​ Adult Association annual Zoom subscription: $159.90 ●​ Jake moved to approve a $159.90 reimbursement to the Adult Association for their annual Zoom subscription coming from the Administrative line of the Sister Cities budget; Laura seconded. Motion passed unanimously at 5:45 PM. DISCUSSION ITEMS​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 5:45 PM Review of Idaho Falls Sister Cities Advisory Committee City Code ●​ The Committee discussed inconsistencies, particularly regarding Chair appointment (annual election vs. mayoral appointment). ●​ Amanda to follow up with Catherine about ordinance update with City Council ●​ Committee Roles and Membership Clarification ○​ The Committee discussed voting vs. non-voting roles and engagement impact. ○​ Concerns about membership requirements (nonprofit, education, INL) and exclusion of charter/private schools. ○​ Consideration of “unassigned” non-voting roles. ○​ Amanda clarified staggering of committee members’ terms; the Chair’s term aligns with the Mayor’s. Mayor Casper is not seeking re-election. ●​ Rather than adding a Treasurer, the Committee discussed streamlining reimbursement tracking using a Google Form and spreadsheet.  APPROVED 04.10.25 Advisory Committee 2025 Goals ●​ Install the sign in Friendship Garden ●​ Expand the exhibit at the library, perhaps revisiting engaging with other cultural institutions like the Art Museum and Arts Council. ●​ Continue our processes that we have established for oversight of money, but spend more of our time focusing on the other goals with emphasis on the youth connections. ●​ Continue enhancing engagement with the community (event booths, but let's explore other ideas too). ●​ Increase business connection and collaboration. Updates from the City ●​ Department of Commerce mission to Japan begins May 31. ●​ June 7: Meetings and receptions with Tokai-mura in Tokyo. ●​ Discussions ongoing for 2025 visit. ●​ Amanda will follow up with Catherine about opportunities for Committee involvement, especially with City Day. Report from Sister Cities Adult Association ●​ Japanese delegation visiting September 10–19 ●​ City day and formal event: September 12 ●​ Yellowstone trip: September 16–17 ●​ Weekend homestays planned ●​ About 15 participants; Mayor Yamada not attending this year due to timing of elections ●​ Lisa offered to coordinate school visits ●​ Possible activities: INL tours, local business visits ●​ Cindy to request delegate bios/interests Report from Sister Cities Youth Association ●​ Caroline: Recent meetings focused on language and culture ●​ Laura: 11 students and 3 chaperones going to Japan ●​ Fundraiser at Snow Eagle: April 24 ●​ Sushi night at Skyline Activity Center: May 9 ●​ Recent presentation to homeschool group at public library ●​ New membership interest reported Community Outreach ●​ Social Media, Traditional Media, Websites ○​ Cindy found the Adult Association website credentials; she and Chloe will evaluate options. ○​ Amanda encouraged event promotion for broader reach ●​ Local Educator Grants ○​ No current applicants ○​ Lisa working with teacher involved in Smithsonian programs  APPROVED 04.10.25 ●​ Presence at Community Events ○​ Youth likely available for summer events and parades ○​ Juneteenth: June 14 (tentative plans) ○​ Sunny noted INL may have less involvement this year ●​ Friendship Garden Sign ○​ Interest in including Japanese language ○​ Amanda suggested exploring holding a ribbon-cutting event during the Adult delegation’s visit this fall visit ■​ Chloe to check on installation timeline ○​ Placement of the sign is TBD ●​ Museum Exhibits ○​ “Not Your Model Minority” well received ○​ Nisei Trials exhibit concluded ○​ Upcoming: “Signs of the Times” may tie into Friendship Garden signage ●​ Library Signage ○​ Includes QR codes to Sister Cities websites on a poster with the cultural book recommendations near the koi pond ●​ Sponsorships and Local Business Involvement ○​ Potential to involve businesses during delegation visit ○​ Youth Association also seeking gift donations ●​ New Business ○​ Date and Agenda Items for Next Meeting ■​ 5:30 PM on Thursday, April 10 at CEI ■​ Remove “Library Signage” from agenda ■​ Rename “Museum Exhibits” to “Community or Cultural Exhibits” ■​ 4th of July parade discussion (Jake has trailer) ■​ Finalize Google Form for reimbursements ADJOURNMENT​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 7:21 PM