Tree Board

Montpelier Tree Board Minutes November 5, 2015 5:31 - 6:43 pm Montpelier City Hall In attendance: John Snell, Abby Colihan, Jeff Schumann, John Akielaszek; Volunteers Bob Troester and Ellen Doyle; Tree Warden Geoff Beyer, Zack Simpson Invited Guest: Gwen Kozlowski UVM Extension: Vermont Urban & Community Forestry Program Old Business The meeting minutes from the October 1st meeting were approved. Public Comment Bob Troester stated that the on-line downtown tree map has been updated Discussion with Guest Gwen Kozlowski John Snell began the discussion with a brief history of the Montpelier Tree Board which was started in 1992. John S has been on the Board from its inception and Abby for almost as long. Gwen stated that she was the volunteer coordinator for Stewards of the Urban Landscape (SOUL) and the First Detector Program. She mentioned that the Conservation Summit for the Conservation Commissions around the State would be held this Saturday (November 7th) at Vermont Technical College in Randolph and the theme would be 100 Years of Town Forests. The program was to include some recognition of outstanding volunteers. She also mentioned the Resilient ROWs Program being coordinated with the Agency of Transportation with the goal of updating manuals for urban and rural roads. She has also been involved with the Caring for Canopy program whereby 20 towns will have street tree inventories conducted and develop management plans for their trees. These inventories are being added to the VT Agency of Natural Resources Atlas as a data layer. When asked what Gwen could do to assist us, John S mentioned that it would be good to increase the level of communication among the towns (for example, learning what trees have other towns been successful in planting and growing). A possible ListServe system was discussed. Geoff mentioned that it would be good to have a Tree Warden Conference; Gwen echoed this as the Advisory Council for her program has indicated that the UCF Program needs to “step up its game” in regards to Tree Wardens. A possible combined Tree Warden/Tree Boards Conference was discussed. New City Website The new Montpelier website is up and running. John S mentioned that pedestrian walking maps will be added including a tree walk map. We discussed other educational information to include on the Tree Board webpage including tree planting depths, avoiding the volcano mulch syndrome, guarding against weed-wacker and mower damage, etc . It was suggested that residents be directed to our webpage by placing notices in the Front Porch Forum. Compost Applications to Downtown Trees Thanks to Lynn, Sarah, Bob and Ken for adding compost to downtown trees! Book Garden Planting John S indicated that a Gingko tree has been planted in front of the Book Garden store and it needs a guard; He placed 4 stakes as a protective measure. The old tree in that location was over-watered and that caused its roots to rot. John S has spoken to the store owner who apparently was watering the tree to excess. The planted tree could reach a height of 30 feet. Tree Siting Workday – Pilot Project Jeff reported (for Lynn) on the St Paul Street workshop where John S showed us how to identify tree and shrub planting sites. The goal is to plant trees and/or shrubs on private property after the landowner agrees to care for the planting; the trees will come from the nursery. John S mentioned that 2 dozen trees had been planted on private property on Barre Street so the concept can has been shown to work well. Gwen mentioned that Branch Out Burlington has had a similar program and send e-mail reminders to homeowners when conditions (like droughts) necessitate watering by the landowner. Update on Nursery Jeff reported that the trees have all been tagged and the rows are marked with stakes so the nursery inventory now has row numbers to identify tree locations. Trees which are amenable to fall planting will be identified. There are 38 trees in the nursery and all have some sort of mouse guard. Update of tree maintenance downtown John S suggested that we give the oak located in front of Splash until next Spring to see if it will recover. A workday will be held on Sunday, November 8th (11 am) to remove the guard and grates around the green ash tree in front of the Courthouse and see why that tree is failing. Update on Large Tree Pruning Geoff reported on work done on Liberty Street and removal of dead elm trees along the way to the City Garage. The dead maple at the Union Street School has also been removed. Ellen noted that the beavers had taken down a large tree along the bike path near the Montpelier HS. Tree Stewards Conference Jeff reported on the conference. One highlight was a walk in the Park in Bristol to observe root girdling, tree root flaring, etc. The conference was valuable because it allowed people from all over the State to connect and discuss tree matters. It would have been helpful for some presenters to provide information of a more technical nature. New Business: Capitol Improvement Project John S mentioned that tree plantings will be considered in conjunction with bigger projects. Thank you to Dave Brunell for his many years of service to the City ; Dave is moving to NC and will be replaced by Alec Ellsworth. John S proposed that two regular workdays a month be established. He suggested, and the Board tentatively approved, the first Saturday in the month (10 am-12 pm) and the third Thursday in the month (12- 2 pm). This would enable folks to schedule workdays in their calendars well into the future and enable planning for those tasks that repeat themselves on an annual basis. John S will send an e- mail to the Board members and volunteers to get feedback on this system. Next meeting at City Hall: Thursday, December 3rd, 5:30-6:30