Tree Board

Tree Board minutes 08/22/22 Morgantown Tree Board (MTB) Minutes, meeting of August 22, 2022 Public Safety Building conference room, 4:32 PM. 1. ATTENDANCE: MTB members Dan Brown, Greg Dahle, Donna Marie Foster, Secretary Jon Weems, Chair Dave Barnett, City Arborist Scott Cline, Urban Landscape Director Marchetta Maupin, City Council liaison Joe Abu-Ghannam, and guest Will Dean of WV News. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: D. Brown moved, and G. Dahle seconded, that the minutes of the March 28 meeting be approved as amended. The motion carried unanimously. G. Dahle moved, and D. Brown seconded, that the minutes of the April 25 meeting be approved as amended. The motion carried unanimously. 3. REPORT FROM CITY ARBORIST: S. Cline reported doing a lot of mulching and pruning, much of it to support plantings of recent years. He mentioned much damage from high winds in the Jerome Park/Woodburn area, with Public Works having to remove some badly damaged trees. He said trees and planters in front of the library had suffered some vandalism, but maples on High Street were generally doing well. M. Maupin added that S. Cline had been helping her with flower baskets since the departure of the Horticulturist who had been doing that. 4. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: A. White Park update. Progress had reportedly been slow, but it was still hoped that trails might be installed in 2022. B. Education outreach. There was consensus that the brief blackgum piece written by J. Weems had been appropriate in terms of length and information, including a quote and photo from S. Cline. C. Tree articles. Wide-ranging discussion of possible future articles included the possibility of a Halloween theme for a fall piece about maples. D. Foster offered to draft one. D. Brown suggested MTB’s September meeting be at a brew pub where each MTB member could enjoy a draft of his or her choice. 5. NEW BUSINESS: A. Combining MTB with the Urban Landscape Commission. With both volunteer bodies reduced from earlier membership levels, and occasionally meeting together to consider matters of mutual interest, combining both bodies into one commission had been proposed. However, commission members were required to live in Morgantown, and it was pointed out that nearly all MTB members lived outside city limits. It was noted that MTB members had full lives and might not regularly attend meetings of a body they could not join. B. Caperton Trail invasive species removal contract. M. Maupin reported this 3-year project had been funded, to the tune of $15K to All-Star Ecology (Brian Ward) for the first year. C. Tree swale, Chestnut St. parking lot B. M. Maupin said this project was in the  Tree Board minutes 08/22/22 design phase, with installation expected to be done in-house, largely by Public Works. D. Arbor Day. October 1 was selected as the date for Morgantown’s Arbor Day, with MTB members fanning out to do plantings in five areas of the city after a brief 9:00 ceremony at the Farmers’ Market. D. Barnett said he would arrange this and contact relevant neighborhood associations about possible participation. 6. OPEN DISCUSSION: It was agreed to meet informally in front of the library after adjournment, to consider recent vandalism and possible remediation. 7. NEXT MEETING: 4:30 PM, Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, location to be determined. 8. ADJOURN: G. Dahle moved, and D. Barnett seconded, that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried unanimously at 5:57. Respectfully submitted, _____________________ Jon Weems, Secretary