Urban Forestry Commission

URBAN FORESTRY COMMISSION Minutes of July 25, 2024 IN PERSON REGULAR MEETING Room 208 Municipal Building MEMBERS PRESENT ALSO PRESENT Jane Harris, Chairwoman Howard Weissberg- Acting Director of Bob Grimm PW Carl Lecce Chris Donnelly, City Forester Steve Cronkite, Vice Chair Janine Janaki, Resident 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. 2. Public Comment Janine Janaki spoke about getting the public involved in caring for the trees and the possibility of some sort of monetary incentive; as well as her idea of “un-gardening” and wanting to use a public space to demonstrate that option. Acting Director Weissberg will assist her in finding a space to use, possibly the medians that the City maintains. 3. Review of Meeting Minutes Minutes from June 27 meeting approved. Motion made by Steve Cronkite, seconded by Dave Meyering. Motion passed unanimously. 4. Old Business Tree Warden Report-no formal tree warden report. Deputy Tree Warden Romano has been going through the list of issues. Acting Director Weissberg informed the Commission that the tree canopies on the roads that are being paved will be trimmed after paving. Public Works Report- Discussion about tree failures on Ribera Drive. Account Balance- General Tree Account- Downtown Business District tree pit bid-Discussion about containment systems for tree pits and evaluation of vendor proposals. DEEP Tree Inventory Grant-City Forester Donnelly, Chairwoman Harris and Vice Chair Cronkite met with Mayor Florsheim and Chief of Staff Bobbye Peterson regarding an RFP for digitizing the database. Steve Cronkite moved to rescind the motion made at the June meeting to send the money back to DEEP, Bob Grimm seconded. All in favor, motion passed unanimously. Wesleyan Hills Pool & Tennis Club Proposal-Discussion regarding validity of rejection from the Westfield Management Company and possible next steps wither with that location or obtaining an alternate location. DEEP Environmental Justice Grant- Status of tree plaque order-Last of tree plaques from 2023 and 2024 were planted by Charwoman Harris and Bob Grimm. Watering Schedule-Acting Director Weissberg will coordinate with Rick Romano regarding watering and tree bags. Soil delivery to Arboretum-Acting Director Weissberg will ensure that soil is delivered. Replacement trees for Serra Drive and Cranberry Lane-Chairwoman Harris and Rick Romano will work together on this. ArbNet Report-Discussion of requirements including marking trees on the city’s GIS System, creating a mission statement, 4. New Business- Steve Cronkite would like to use Polyphosphate 30-which is good for helping Beach Trees to fend off Beech Leaf Disease-on an American Beech in the Arboretum. The Commission often takes August off, but Chairwoman Harris recommended a meeting to be held on August 22 in room 208 at City Hall. 5. Other/Correspondence-none 6. Adjournment-Meeting adjourned at 5:55pm .