Tree Advisory Commission Meeting

TREE COMMISSION MEETING DATE: Wednesday, December 5, 2018 TIME: 1 :30 P.M. PLACE: Urbana Public Works Department, 706 Glover Avenue, Urbana, IL MINUTES Members Present: Marshall Bellville, Stewart Berlocher, Jackson Bird, and Michael Stevenson (Vice-Chair) Staff Present: Michael Brunk (City of Urbana Arborist) Members Absent: Carol Augspurger (Chair), Bridget McGill Others Present: Elizabeth Abraham Call to Order In the absence of the Chair, Michael Stevenson, Vice-Chair, called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. Roll Call Roll was called and a quorum was present. Elizabeth Abraham was introduced as a guest. Approval of the September 5, 2018 Meeting Minutes Marshall Bellville made a motion to approve the minutes for the September 5, 2018 meeting. Stewart Berlocher seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously by a voice vote. Public Input Elizabeth Abraham, a resident of Urbana who lives on E. Michigan Avenue, shared her concerns for lack of trees in that area. She presented results of a door-to-door survey she conducted to gage interest of homeowners on that street in whether they would want a tree on their property or not. She would like the City to consider planting more trees in that area and is willing to help in whatever way she can. Mike Brunk gave an explanation of past practice with getting new tree plantings into areas like this. He explained the high volume of removals has directed present focus to be more on replacements. He also gave details for Urbana’s cost sharing tree planting program and targeted replacement plans to explain how budgeted funds are used. Mike explained that he thought the City could target E. Michigan  TREE COMMISSION MEETING Avenue for a few trees a year and for spare or extra trees that may become available each planting season. Elizabeth Abraham will help define which houses on that street want trees. The City will start putting more efforts in that direction as budgets and resources allow. Mike Stevenson asked what the timeline would be for planting trees there. Mike Brunk said possibly as soon as next fall. Jackson Bird suggested giving Elizabeth literature and materials she can share with her neighbors. Former Business a. Native Tree Definition Mike Brunk distributed a categorized native tree listing of the City’s trees that Carol Augspurger compiled. He also provided copies of the Champaign County Forest Preserve Native Tree List and the USDA Advanced Plant Search that she used for her database. Mike suggested commission members study these documents, look over the percentage breakdowns and think about future goals. Members should be prepared to discuss this at the next meeting. Michael Stevenson said that one of the things to consider is climate change in the future. Stewart Berlocher said we need to know what plants survive in heat zones south of us. Marshall Bellville suggested a good place to start would be USDA zones for temperatures in zone 6. Contacting the universities in that area would be helpful. b. Update on New Cooperative Tree Planting Program Marketing Mike Brunk presented new signs that have been created. The goal for these signs is to show the public that trees are being planted and for them to see how they can get involved. He also shared a new publication that will educate people on the benefits of parkway trees and future planting goals. Marshall Bellville suggested that starting with a couple of trees with these new signs in Elizabeth’s neighborhood on E. Michigan would help her efforts. Mike Brunk said that all trees for this spring have already been allocated to different spots, but this is a great idea. If any trees do become available he will keep this in mind. Michael Stevenson pointed out an issue with the payment option in the publication. Mike Brunk will look into it. New Business a. 110 N Cottage Grove Sweetgum Storm Damage  TREE COMMISSION MEETING There was a report of damage to a car at 110 N. Cottage Grove due to storm damage to a sweetgum tree. Mike Brunk gave an explanation of how the situation was handled and how he utilized the opportunity to go over storm damage cleanup and inspections with the forestry crew. b. Under the Canopy 3rd Edition Project Mike Brunk provided an update on Under the Canopy publication. There has been great interest in distributing this publication across the state. Demand for this publication has increased. Michael Stevenson asked for a clarification on the costs IDNR are covering for this. Mike Brunk said we are still working out the details with that. c. Fall 2018 Tree Planting Report Mike Brunk distributed copies of the report and gave updates on new trees. There was a discussion on tree species selections. d. 2019 Meeting dates Urbana Tree Commission meetings will be held the first Wednesday of March, June, September and December. Adjournment There being no further business, Stewart Berlocher made a motion to adjourn, Jackson Bird seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 2:51 p.m. The next meeting of the Urbana Tree Commission will be held on Wednesday, March 6, 2019 at 1:30 p.m. at the Urbana Public Works Department, 706 South Glover Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61802 Tamra Jane Corbin Recording Secretary Urbana Tree Commission