Shade Tree Committee

PARKS & RECREATION SHADE TREE COMMITTEE MINUTES Tuesday, January 31, 2023 Activity Center 12:00 P.M. MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE: Ken Knoch, Matt Hill, Rich Potter, Brian Stevens, Ronnie Campbell, Sam Ellsworth, Wid Ritchie, Jon Russell, Lee Washburn, Hollie Pettingill, Duston Edwards CALL TO ORDER – MATT HILL Matt Hill called the meeting to order at 12:07 p.m. CITY REPORT • Winter Projects o Tree removal at North Park Road. Davey Trees helped with some of the removals. Project was ultimately canceled so that money could be used for New Old Butte. May need some Roundup applied to keep the growth from coming back. o Sunnyside Canal – Trees were removed along the East Bank of the Sunnyside Canal. Some of the neighbors were upset with the removal of the trees. o Trees along Snake River Parkway and Pancheri were trimmed to meet code compliance. o Trees were starting to be trimmed along the River Walk. o Central Park – Trees attacked by Ips beetle need to be removed and other Spruce in park need treated in the spring. • Next meeting is scheduled for February 28, 2023. APPROVAL OF MINTUES October Minutes Approved by Ken Knoch 2nd Rich Potter. 1 CURRENT CITY FORESTRY STATUS • Horticulture/Forestry Division Re-Organization – Ronnie with the approval of PJ did a re- organization of the division making Lee Washburn the Urban Forester, Jon Russell the Horticulturist, and Duston Edwards the Forestry and Horticulture Tech. Duston introduced himself and has 10 seasonal years with Parks and Rec doing Cemeteries, Parks Maintenance, and Forestry and Horticulture. He has a bachelor’s degree in Biology and is a certified arborist and pesticide applicator. He also has his CDL. GENERAL TREE DISCUSSION • Review Brian’s Ash Tree Maps – Brian passed around a map of committee member’s Ash tree densities and found that most of the committee members are living in the southern part of the city. This makes mapping difficult. The committee wanted to reach out and see if John Radford’s group could possibly help with mapping. Ronnie suggests the city help map but only city owned trees. ESRI has a reporting tool that can help map out the trees. Brian wanted to know if there was literature put out that helps people identify Ash trees. Interns are needed to help with the mapping effort. Sam suggested reaching out to ISU. They have a program that helps find interns. The tree inventory is a huge priority. • EAB Pest Preparedness – Gerry was not present. Lee mentioned that the Department of Lands is working on a template for its state preparedness plan. Gerry spoke on how close they were to rolling that out in Boise at the INLA. As soon as it is official, each city will have to review it and make changes to fit the city’s needs. Hope to have the EAB plan finalized in February. • John Radford Resolution – No John Radford at this meeting and will bump him to next meeting. • Arbor Day 2023 – Lee was planning on doing Arbor Day at Heritage Park this coming year; however, it may not be ready early enough. He proposed Ryder Park be the location of Arbor Day. They are hoping that it can be held mid-May in phase two of Ryder. Lee suggested another group help with the tree planting of Heritage in late July early August. There are around 20-30 trees that need to be planted all in ball and burlap. All employees will be there to help. Matt suggests partnering with District 91 CT center for the planting of the trees with older students. ANNOUNCEMENTS AND ADJOURNMENT • Follow-up for John Radford – Report of Resolution and date for City Council Benefits of Urban Trees Presentation, then at a later date the Master Plan, then following with the Emerald Ash Borer. • Gerry to get the finalized Idaho EAB Pest Preparedness Outline. • Finalize Arbor Day 2023. 2  • Ken Knoch suggested tours of city projects and parks. Rich Potter likes the idea. Lee suggests it happen mid-summer using GIFT so that parks can be seen under stress. • Invitation to next meeting be sent out to Josh Embrey. Meeting adjourned and motioned by Rich Potter 2nd by Ken Knoch. Next meeting will be February 28, 2023. Meeting recorded by Hollie Pettingill and Duston Edwards 3