Tree Board

Tree Board minutes 11/30/15 1 Morgantown Tree Board (MTB) Minutes, meeting of November 30, 2015 Present: MTB members Dan Brown, Dave Davis, Secretary Jon Weems, and Chair Dave Barnett, City employee Marchetta Maupin, and MUB representative Ken Willis. Chair D. Barnett called the meeting to order at 4:38 PM in City Council chambers and noted that a quorum was present. D. Davis moved, and D. Brown seconded, that minutes of the 9/28/15 meeting be approved without amendment. The motion carried unanimously. Introduction: Ken Willis, MUB staff engineer K. Willis said he was attending in lieu of Ken Hacker, who had other commitments. Review of 10/3/15 and 10/21/15 working meetings D. Barnett presented a brief review of the 10/3 Arbor Day event at Paul Preserve and the 10/21 site visit to consider trees and pending landscaping near the Public Safety Building. Unfinished Business 1. Deckers Creek Trees at Marilla Park/ WV Radio Corporation (WVRC). D. Barnett reported that Bartlett has been in contact with City Manager Mikorski to say that pruning during the dormant season would be best. The next step is evidently for City Manager Mikorski to contact Ben at Bartlett and ask him to proceed with the pruning. 2. Demonstration City Grant Application. M. Maupin said plans are proceeding and could be nearly finalized once she gets certain information from city employee Damian Davis. The idea is to plant larger trees along Pleasant St., a street with heavy traffic, several parking facilities, and currently only five trees. Cost was expected to be $516 per tree, plus labor, with the trees arriving within about two weeks. M. Maupin suggested it might be time for Morgantown to put up a new “Tree City USA” sign. New Business 1. Meeting Date with Dave Bott. D. Barnett said that Dave Bott, the city’s Community Development Director, wishes to attend a joint MTB/Urban Landscape Commission meeting. D. Bott was expected to have an intern starting in January. It was suggested to invite D. Bott to attend the January MTB meeting. J. Weems agreed to bring copies of the draft city code language dealing with MTB. 2. Pruning List for Contracted Arborist. It was hoped that Bartlett might be able to prune Richwood Ave. trees near Fortney and Charles. Also, replanting was needed where area silver maples had been removed. It was believed there was enough money left in MTB’s budget to cover replanting. 3. Inventory System. D. Barnett stressed the importance of having a tree inventory system  Tree Board minutes 11/30/15 2 to make a tree pruning schedule effective. Discussion centered around the need for a city employee to manage such an inventory system. 4. Rail Trail Pruning at Event Center. A local contractor has pruned some city trees without MTB’s prior knowledge. It was agreed that a letter from MTB to hotel management is needed. Further discussion revealed that the WV Division of Forestry, via Katy Trupo, is organizing pruning workshops. It was hoped that area workers who sometimes prune will attend. D. Barnett indicated he would discuss this matter with City Manager Mikorski. 5. South Walnut St. Replanting Request. A South Walnut St. resident had requested replanting where trees have been damaged or destroyed by vehicles. With no stop sign on Cobun, vehicles often take the turn onto South Walnut too fast. Trees are often hit. Damage by pedestrians is also common. It was decided larger trees might be more likely to survive. A December “working meeting” site visit to consider the situation was scheduled for 4:00 PM Dec. 21. 6. Other New Business. M. Maupin reported that Public Works had more time in the fall for tree removals, and had been making good progress on the 2015 removal list. Open Discussion: The possibility of an expanded nursery was discussed, as was the need to do more replanting in general. Next meeting, working meeting, December 21 4:00 at South Walnut St. Motion to adjourn made at 5:50 PM by J. Weems, seconded by D. Brown. All in favor. Respectfully submitted, ______________________ Jon Weems, Secretary