Tree Board

Montpelier Tree Board Minutes February 6, 2014 5:30-6:30 pm Montpelier City Hall In attendance: Sarah Hoffmeier, Jeff Schumann, John Akielaszek, Geoff Beyer, volunteers Bob Troester and Stephanie Olsen, and City Councilor Andy Hooper Old Business: • Minutes of January 2014 meeting were approved and it was agreed that the minutes should reflect that Jeff will continue working on improving the tree nursery. New Business: • Sarah indicated that we need to finalize the volunteer hours entries for 2013 and she will send the link for that spreadsheet. Earlier she had created and sent the link for the 2014 spreadsheet and everyone should keep track of our volunteer hours there for this year. We agreed that we are probably under-reporting the time we spend on Tree Board-related matters so it is best to make entries as soon as possible. • John gave an update on the downtown site locations inventory and passed around a Google Fusion Tables map showing the currently entered locations and the pop-up window information for each of the locations. The locations are based on a map which Sarah had put together. The locations are identified by the street they are on and the distance from a central downtown point where State Street and Main Street intersect. For example, location SS526 is on State Street 526 feet from that intersection location. John sent Geoff a copy of the form which can be used to gather information for each of the locations as some of the information will need updating. Geoff will test the form next week and will e-mail John so the latter can join him if possible. The database containing this information can be modified based on the needs of the Tree Board and John will continue to do this work on his own laptop but recommended that the Board look into obtaining a laptop and software to also house this database. • The discussion of tree planting locations led to a discussion of Bob’s observations regarding vulnerable trees downtown which do not have any guards. Bob had taken some pictures of these trees, some of which are damaged, probably due to ice and snow removal. The goal is to protect all downtown trees this year. Geoff indicated that there are 2 tree guards waiting for us (made by Montpelier High School (MHS) students). It is unlikely that Montpelier Public Works would assist us in this area. • John gave an update on the Emerald Ash Borer Preparedness and passed around a draft school curriculum which could be used in the classroom and on field trips for area students. Amy Butler had been contacted and invited to attend the Tree Board meeting but apparently could not make it. Jeff mentioned that the North Branch Nature Center also has a summer camp which could be used to educate kids on this problem. He will contact the summer camp director about this. John mentioned that it was a bit difficult to get folks attention on the EAB  problem because we do not have any dying trees here like they do in other states. Bob had sent us pictures of dying ash trees from his former residence in Michigan. Geoff suggested that MHS could create a video on the problem which we could use to increase awareness. The video could have general information about the threat and also some local aspects; for example, an interview with Bob on his reaction to finding out about the dying ash in his old hometown. John indicated that UVM Extension may have some information to put in the video but it is possible that a video has already been put together. John will check on this. John also mentioned that an assessment of ash trees on private property has not been done and property owners will need to be informed regarding this potential financial liability. Geoff made a suggestion that the survey of private property be done in the Fall when the ash leaves turn yellow. • The group discussed applying for the Canopy and Mini-Canopy grants and John gave the paperwork on these to Geoff who suggested that we could apply for a Mini-Canopy grant for an Arbor Day Tree planting and use the larger Canopy grant application for funding to get Lyndon State College students to once again do some tree inventory work in Montpelier. Geoff will take the lead on applying for these grants. It was suggested to keep Ken in the loop regarding our part of the 50% match. We also discussed the dates for Earth Day, Arbor Day and Green-up Day. These are 4/22, 5/2 and 5/3, respectively, this year. • Pruning workshop dates were discussed. There will be at least three: John Snell’s on 3/15/14 1:00 – 3:00 pm at the Co-Op Dave Wilcox’s on 3/22/14 10:00 am -12:30 pm at the Kellogg-Hubbard Library Geoff’s on 3/25/14 4:00 – 6:00 pm at the Co-Op To help get the word out, Andy volunteered to post these pruning workshops on all local Front Porch Forums. • As a reminder, Alex Canapa will be giving a talk on invasive insect pests on 2/15/14 at 7:00 pm Unitarian Church, Montpelier. John indicated that he will help her on this by providing some information on local EAB Preparedness planning efforts. • Due to uncertain weather conditions it was decided to put off scheduling any tree-related work until the March meeting. • We discussed the nursery. Jeff indicated that we need to decide what the nursery is to be used for. He had found blueberry bushes there which apparently were related to a previous effort to promote edible plants around town. It is estimated that 2/3 of the trees in the nursery would not be able to be transplanted. More discussion on the nursery and its future use is warranted. Meeting adjourned at 6:30 Next meeting: Thursday, March 6th, 5:30-6:30, at City Hall