Green Space Advisory Commission

GREEN SPACE ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES Meeting Date: January 4, 2021 Location: Zoom Meeting Called To Order: 5:20 p.m. Adjourned: 6:20 p.m. Next Meeting Date: Monday, February 1, 2021 5:15p.m. ZOOM MEETING ROLL CALL: (All were able to hear the meeting via Zoom, but due to technical issues were not able to verbally participate.) NAME PRESENT ABSENT Ann Omura X Annie Russell X Bill Hoss X Carrie Coyne, Chairperson X Ginger Garrett X Jerry Pinkner X Laura Jordan X Lynnda Greene X Pam Bliss, Council Liaison X Tessa Wasserman X Yvonne Steingruby, Staff Liaison X + Michelle Clemens (staff) A reminder was given to those participating via ZOOM that the meeting was being recorded. The two new GSAC members were introduced and welcomed to the Commission: Laura Jordan and Jerry Pinkner. Approval of Minutes: The November GSAC meeting minutes were approved as amended, with one change noted. No meetings were held in December. Old Business: Future Trees of Distinction Program/Public Trees Update: Carrie Coyne updated the GSAC on the proposed changes to the current Trees of Distinction Program. The basic proposal is to move the focus to planting new trees in public right of ways. Once planted, those trees would be stewarded by the homeowners. Since they would remain public trees, they will also be located in Public Works access zones. For this reason, we will definitely need Public Works support and involvement in the program as well as approval from City Council. It would need to be determined how much involvement Public Works could be with this program, which would be primarily maintenance after the homeowner gets the tree established, mulched, watered, etc. An arborist with Public Works could then oversee the care provided by the City. This is all dependent on what Public Works is able to do and to what extent. Implementation of the program will require much discussion with the Public Works Department and City Council before it can move forward as a final plan, after first meeting with the City Manager. Carrie stated that the GSAC should solidify the program details and select commission representatives to serve on the committee to work on the presentation to City Council. She will email everyone a draft document to start with. This can be finalized at the next GSAC meeting in February. Yvonne will check with Director Scott Davis as to what format the presentation should be and whether a subcommittee can meet due to the sunshine law. Volunteer Projects: *A question was raised as to if the GSAC was in any way involved in the new development project being planned in Webster. Tessa mentioned she had attended a very preliminary ZOOM meeting much earlier. Councilperson Pam Bliss suggested the GSAC invite someone from the development committee, SG Collaborative, to a future GSAC meeting. She will email Carrie, Yvonne and Michelle the contact information for Joel Oliver and Larry Chapman. They are very much involved in the process and would be a good source of information. The plan has not been presented to the Planning Commission so there has not been any public input requested yet. Development Strategies is handling the impact study (economic, school, environmental). The plan is still very much in the beginning stages and has not been reviewed or discussed by the City Council yet. Carrie agreed a meeting with SG Collaborative would be a good idea and will contact them. She will try to setup a Zoom meeting on a date that works best for them and the GSAC members. It was agreed the GSAC should be involved in providing input and concerns. *Tessa mentioned that the Bee City USA application is still on hold and hoped to resurrect it this coming spring. An option is to use the GSAC funds in the City budget to pay for the application fee. Since Arbor Day 2020 had to be canceled due to the pandemic, there was a question if the City would still meet the requirements re: public education, events, etc. It might be better to apply later in the year after Arbor Day 2021 has taken place. *Arbor Day 2021: After discussion it was agreed that this event will take place at Blackburn Park on Tuesday, April 27, 2021. It will include the planting of 200 trees and recognition of the Trees of Distinction winners. The 2020 winners will be carried over to this year. Details will be discussed at the February meeting. *Further discussion was held regarding the proposed “Webster Tree Walk” that could be done even with social distancing, limiting the number of participants if necessary. A different park could be selected on various dates to lead a walk through the park to identify types of trees, their characteristics, maintenance needs, etc. We could possibly find out if the City Arborist would be willing to lead the walks. This could help residents feel more involved with and have more ownership in the parks. Tessa offered to contact Mark Halpin as he has lead tree walks before. It was suggested a February date be selected before schedules get too busy. Updates; Chairman: Carrie suggested the GSAC place an article in the Webster-Kirkwood Times regarding the hazards of tree topping. She has access to a great article that can be repurposed toward Webster Groves. This is an important time of year to educate the public as this is generally when the tree topping occurs. We would need to see how much the Times article would cost before being able to proceed. It was suggested we utilize other free options to get the word out: use the City’s Times page that is already paid for, write letters to the editor, use the City’s Facebook page, etc. Carrie will email everyone a draft of the article to review. Council:  The new City Manager has been hired and will begin work next week.  A company has been hired to work with the City to perform an equity audit with key staff.  The Planning Commission is meeting tonight to review rezoning possibilities. The goal is to keep a variety of housing types in the City. Their discussions will take several meetings before a plan is presented to City Council. Staff: Two hundred oak trees have to be planted for Arbor Day and can be combined with the continuation of honeysuckle sweeps. NEXT MEETING: Monday, February 1, 2021 5:15 p.m. ZOOM MEETING As a reminder, all Zoom meetings are recorded. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 6:30 p.m.