Tree Advisory Commission Meeting

TREE COMMISSION MEETING DATE: Wednesday, September 4, 2019 TIME: 1 :30 P.M. PLACE: Urbana Public Works Department, 706 Glover Avenue, Urbana, IL MINUTES Members Present: Carol Augspurger (Chair), Jackson Bird, Bridget McGill, Michael Stevenson (Vice-Chair), Staff Present: Derek Liebert. Kevin Sanderson Members Absent: Marshall Bellville, Stewart Berlocher, Jacob Torres Others Present: None Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m. Roll call was taken. Approval of the March 6, 2019 Meeting Minutes Michael Stevenson moved to approve the minutes for the March 6, 2019 meeting. Jackson Bird seconded the motion. The motion was approved. Public Input There was no public input. Former Business Carol Augspurger said that during the last meeting the commission spent quite a bit of time discussing planting species from Southern climates. She asked that we add an agenda item to the next meeting for an update on this. New Business a. Tornado Damage (Removals & repair) Kevin Sanderson passed out information detailing the damage that occurred during the tornado that touched down over Memorial Day Weekend. He also distributed information on costs for cleanup and repairs. Carol Augspurger asked where the money for these costs will come from. Kevin said the mayor will be asking for donations from residents. Carol also asked how much time it took out of the Arbor crew’s schedule. Kevin said that it put the crews about two weeks behind. Derek Liebert asked what the assessment system is that they used and Kevin explained. Derek also thought that the crews did an amazing job in responding.  TREE COMMISSION MEETING Carol asked if there is anything the committee could do to help. Kevin said commission members should encourage residents to sign up for the coop program. b. Fall replacement planting lists Kevin Sanderson gave an update on fall replacement planting lists. He distributed a spreadsheet with detailed plans. Carol Augspurger asked what source they would be using. Kevin listed a few places he plans to get quotes from. Carol also asked if this is a normal load. Kevin said there are about 83 and normally there would be 100. Derek Liebert mentioned that the park district might be working on this soon too and they should look at possibly ordering trees together. Michael Stevenson asked how the trees get here. Kevin said the nursery would usually ship on their own. If it is close enough his crew may go pick them up. Carol suggested to not totally exclude the higher percentage tree species and to plant younger ones. Bridget McGill asked if anyone has ever done a private property tree inventory. Kevin said he doesn’t think so and it would be a very time consuming project. c. Tree Deserts in Urbana Carol Augspergur spoke about a concern that was brought to her attention from a resident on Pennsylvania Avenue about a lack of trees in that area. She suggested the commission members think about taking a proactive stance in making this a tree lined street like others. She also suggested looking into other tree deserts in Urbana. Carol asked if it is possible to get a map of the City of Urbana from the sky so tree deserts could be identified. Kevin suggested looking at the site treekeeper.com/urbana. Jackson Bird wondered if utilities could be causing tree deserts. Adjournment Michael Stevenson made a motion to adjourn, Bridget McGill seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 2:16 p.m. The next meeting of the Urbana Tree Commission will be held on Wednesday, December 4, 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