Tree Advisory Commission Meeting

APPROVED September 7, 2016 City of Urbana, Illinois Minutes of the Urbana Tree Commission Meeting Public Works Engineering Conference Room 706 S. Glover Ave. Urbana, IL 61802 Wednesday, March 2, 2016 1:30 p.m. Members Present: Carol Augspurger (acting Chair) Barbara Anderson, Stewart Berlocher, Jackson Bird, Derek Liebert, Michael Stevenson Members Absent: Chair Jeff Dawson, Darin Eastburn Staff Present: Michael Brunk (City of Urbana Arborist), Kate Brickman Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m. Approval of Meeting Minutes The minutes from December 2, 2015 were presented for approval. The motion to approve was made by Berlocher, second by Anderson, and carried by a voice vote. Public Input a. Request from Resident to Tap a City Sugar Maple at 2211 Combes Ricky Robertson, 2211 Combes Street, applied for a permit to tap a City owned Maple tree for syrup making purposes. The permit was denied by the City Arborist because of concern for the health of the tree. Robertson made a presentation on the issue and the Commission discussed the request. Stevenson moved to decline request, Berlacher seconded and the vote was recorded as 5 yeas and no nays. Request was denied. Former Business a. Urbana Park District Legacy Tree Program Agreement Brunk presented a reworked Legacy Tree Ordinance Revision that would include the Park District, as a way to combine efforts and share costs associated with Park District associated Legacy Tree recipients. It is currently being reviewed by the City of Urbana Legal Department.  APPROVED September 7, 2016 b. Reconsider 724 S. Broadway Sugar Maple for Legacy Tree Status The Commission reviewed a legacy tree nomination for a City Sugar Maple tree located at 742 S. Broadway Avenue (see attached) that had previously been denied for Legacy Tree Status. The tree was nominated in the Legacy Size Tree category. Brunk Discussion ensued. Anderson moved to recommend approval, Stevenson seconded, and the motion carried. New Business b. Status of Urbana EAB Removals Brunk reported that close to 135 trees exhibiting specific or potential signs signs of EAB were removed this winter. A local contractor will be removing an additional 40 trees in the coming months. He also noted that all Arbor Division employees had worked on the removals with the help of the Operations Division. Additionally, Brunk shared information on private tree removals and the doubling of tree planting in the next decade. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 2:36 p.m. Kate Brickman, Recording Secretary Urbana Tree Commission