Westminster Tree Commission

Westminster Tree Commission MINUTES OF MEETING Wednesday, August 12, 2015 56 West Main Street, 4:30 PM 1. Attendance: Commissioners - Chairman, Steve Allgeier, Commissioners Cindy May, Howard Wilt and Richard Wilbur Staff - Eric Schlitzer, Marge Wolf, Samantha Parthree and Andrew Gray Visitors - Brian Rhoten, Jessica Fitzgerald, Beth Sanders, Carroll County Forestry Department, Ryan Wetzel, Baltimore County Park Ranger and Dr. Mona Becker 2. Approval of Minutes a. The Commission approved the minutes of the July 8, 2015, meeting on a motion by Commissioner May, seconded by Commissioner Wilt. 3. Old Business a. Heritage Tree Trail Update – Chairman Allgeier discussed reprograming some of the existing QR codes for the new part of the tree trail. Ms. Fitzgerald told the Commission that the existing QR codes on the first part of the tree trail cannot be moved and reprogramed. New QR codes must be put on the newly tagged trees along the second part of the tree trail. Ms. Wolf told the Commission that she wants to be able to put all the tree trail information on the city’s server. b. Update on Tree Workshop – Ms. Fitzgerald reported to the Commission that all speakers have been lined up and Bartlett Tree Experts have put the workshop info rmation on their webpage. Ms. Parthree gave an update on the current number of people who have registered. Ms. Parthree said that once registration closes, shirts will be ordered based on the total amount of registered participants. Registration closes on September 16th; we will send the shirt order in on the 17th. Shirts will be received on the 30th. c. Volunteer Street Pruning Program – Ms. Sanders, from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Carroll County Forestry Department, explained the Roadside Tree Law and Tree Experts Law to the Commission. Ms. Sanders explained how pruning street trees without a trained expert can cause damage to the integrity of the street. Ms. Sanders also mentioned that care must be taken while pruning trees. Trained certified experts know how to prune trees to prevent future problems from occurring. Ms. Sanders told the Commission that if it wants to take part in a tree pruning day, the Commission should focus on a park or mulching street tree beds. A discussion was raised about the placement of rubber sidewalks around street trees. Rubber sidewalks would be durable around the roots, accommodating growth. Chairman Allgeier told the Commission that he would like both Carroll Community and McDaniel College to become a “Tree Campus”. He told the Commission that Towson University and The University of Maryland College Park both have this designation. 4. New Business a. State Forester mapping Ash Trees in Westminster – Chairman Allgeier mentioned to the Commission about the State Forester wanting to map Westminster’s Ash Trees in GIS. We do not know where the City’s Ash Trees are located and we need to have an inventory so we know what trees to save because the Emerald Ash Borer, which is making its way east, is expected to kill many of the Ash Trees in and around the area. b. New beetle expected to kill Ash Trees in and around Maryland – Ms. Sanders told the Commission that the Emerald Ash Borer is a very serious problem. Ms. Wolf mentioned that the main Ash Trees that the city should focus on saving are around City Hall, the parks and along Main Street. Ms. Wolf wants the city to put information about exotic pests on the city’s website. A suggestion was made to create an informational video about the Emerald Ash Borer to create public awareness. c. Sustainable Community Committee – Ms. Wolf explained the Sustainable Community Committee to the Commission and the areas of Westminster that would be part of the Sustainable Community Program. Ms. Wolf asked if the Commission would be in favor of meeting four times a year as the Sustainable Community Committee after the regular Tree Commission Meetings. Chairman Allgeier made a motion to accept, seconded by Commissioner Wilt. The motion was passed. 5. Staff Reports a. Ms. Wolf told the Commission members that she would like the Commission to go to Wakefield Valley to inventory the trees in the park. Commissioner Wilt asked if the city is expanding the tree identification program to Wakefield Valley. Ms. Wolf said yes. 6. Commissioner Reports a. Commissioner May brought up discussion about the Carroll County Historical Society sidewalk. Mr. Rhoten told the Commission that saving the trees would be very expensive and an engineer would have to redesign the sidewalk to make the existing conditions work. Chairman Allgeier told the Commission that he wants to see if he can have stakeholders on the issue attend the next meeting. b. Chairman Allgeier explained the “I-Tree” software program to the Commission. This software will allow the city to efficiently manage its tree inventory. 7. Adjournment a. The meeting was adjourned on motion by Chairman Allgeier and seconded by Commissioner Wilt at 5:35.  Official Roadside Tree List for the City of Westminster, Maryland Small Trees  Amur maple  Hornbeam maple  Tatarian maple  Purpleblow maple  European Hornbeam cvs. "Fastigata"  American dogwood  Kousa dogwood  Cornelian cherry  Goldenrain tree  Purple-leaved plum  Oriental cherry  Ironwood  Japanese snowbell  Amur Maackia  Acer ginnala  Acer carpinifolium  Acer tataricum  Carpinus betulus  Cornus florida  Cornus kousa  Cornus mas  Koelreuteria paniculata  Prunus cerasifera  Prunus serrulata  Ostrya virginiana  Styrax japonica  Maackia amurensis  Medium Trees  Hedge maple  Red maple cvs. "Autumn Flame," "Autumn Glory," "Bowhall," "Gerling," "OctoberGlory," "Red Sunset," "Tilford"  American Yellowwood  Thornless honey locust cvs. "Imperial," "Moraine," "Shademaster," "Skyline"  Carolina silverbell  Callery pear cvs. "Aristocrat," "Bradford," "Fauriel," "Chanticleer," "Redspire"  Sargent cherry  Littleleaf Linden cvs. "Greenspire"  Chinese elm  Zelkova  Acer campestre  Acer rubrum  Acer rubrum  Cladrastis lutea  Cladrastis lutea  Gleditsia triacanthos  Halesia Carolina  Pyrus calleryana  Prunus sargenti  Tilia cordata  Ulmus parvifolia  Zelkova serrata