Urban Forestry Commission

URBAN FORESTRY COMMISSION Minutes of May 25, 2023 IN PERSON MEETING Room 208 Municipal Building MEMBERS PRESENT MEMBERS ABSENT ALSO PRESENT Jane Harris, Chairwoman Chris Holden, Public Works Director Bob Grimm Steve Cronkite- guest Jon Morris Chris Donnelly- staff Dave Meyering 1. Roll Call Jane Harris, Chairwoman, called the meeting to order at 4:35 pm, in Room 208 of the Municipal Building at 245 DeKoven Drive. The roll was called and a quorum was determined. Review of Minutes Motion: To approve the minutes of March 23, 2023. Moved by Bob Grimm; seconded by Jon Morris; approved unanimously. After being accepted, it was noticed that the name of an Arbor Day honoree was misspelled. 2. Old Business Tree Warden Report 1) Director Holden shared that the list is complete for the 23/24 year for tree removals. In addition, quite a bit of the stump grinding that is on the current list has been completed. Chairwoman Harris stated that there is a large stump at the corner of High Street and Park Place that needs to be done. It was also noted that there are several on Bartholomew Road. There is a leaning tree, also on Bartholomew Road, which needs to be looked at. There is some additional work that will be done before the end of the fiscal year. Chairwoman Harris stated that an email was received from the head of maintenance and security for the Russell Library that two trees in front of the building are in desperate need of work. Several limbs are in close proximity to the roof, limbs regularly fall and there is root damage to the surrounding sidewalks. She recommended they be pruned as the trees are otherwise healthy. Director Holden stated that there is a way to grind down just the affected edge to create a smooth transition so that the roots no longer pose a trip hazard on the sidewalk. Chairwoman Harris noted that trees on Main Street are in desperate need of pruning. A tree in front of the Buttonwood is marked for removal. Several trees on Daniels Street have been marked for removal. Public Works Report 1) Chairwoman Harris shared that Deputy Director Weissberg is going to come up with a tree management plan for Main Street. She will be providing him with the inventory she did roughly a year and a half ago. There was discussion about enlarging the tree wells. Account Balance 1) Approximately $5,400.00 is remaining in the UFC account. There is $1,468.10 remaining in the general tree fund. There is still roughly $40,000 encumbered for J&J to perform more work. Some of these funds may be able to be transferred over and used for the final plantings for this fiscal year. Chairwoman Harris stated that Prides Corner quoted $4,689.40 for the plantings they already know need to be done. Spring Tree Planting Sites 1) Chairwoman Harris believes that she ordered enough trees to use up the money that is remaining. Recommended Street Tree planting list. 1) Chairwoman Harris sent Director Holden the recommended street tree planting list. She will be forwarding the tree watering list. She also recommended additional training for the Parks Department as there was damage to the trees from what she suspects are the tree trimmers. 3. New Business 1) Tree Symposium Report- the Arbor Day celebration was mentioned, which went well. There were a lot of people in attendance. The symposium went well and the presenters were great. 2) Beech Tree- the beech tree on the South Green looks good. There is a possible proposal coming for its maintenance. 3) Serra Drive- There are some green ash trees on Serra Drive that are dying or completely dead. Some are green and losing their bark. Some have recovered. 4. Other/Correspondence  None at this time. 5. Public Comment  None at this time. 6. Adjournment Motion to adjourn at 5:40pm. Moved by Jon Morris; seconded by Dave Meyering, approved unanimously.