05-09-18 Street Tree Committee MinutesKALISPELL STREET TREE COMMISSION
MEETING HELD May 9, 2018
Present: Members: Judy Rosefeld Cox, Andrea Davidson, Tony Nelson
Guest: Bette Albright
Staff: Fred Bicha, and Lisa Simmer
Public Comment
There was no public comment
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Old Business
Arbor Day Review
Fred suggested members review and discuss their tasks associated with Arbor Day and make
notes about what might need to be done differently next year. Andrea and Bette both said they
heard statements regarding the morning being too long for the children. Bette said that a couple
of teachers had suggested that the time needs to be broken up with a snack time. Bette suggested
next year the letter to the teachers suggest the children bring a snack with them and that this is
incorporated into the schedule. Fred explained that the scheduling is one of the hardest aspects
of the planning process and he is open to ideas or help with this task from a board member.
Discussion was held regarding contacting School District #5's kitchen that currently provides
healthy snacks to afterschool programs and free lunches in the summer to see if they had any
interest in having a snack booth or two, promoting healthy lifestyles and providing snacks,
during a morning break time. Members expressed the desire to try and get two bird groups as
they are the most popular. Fred said that he would really like to see a tree climbing station for
participants in the future. Fred said it does have its limitations with only one group being able to
climb, however in there might be the option of bringing in the rock climbing wall for the other
group to equal it out. Fred said this is just something he would love to do at a future celebration.
Members discussed future locations, agreeing that they all thought Woodland Park was a good
location and it could be held there again.
Fred read his list of notes he had about the celebration which included the following comments.
Fred being cc'd on all correspondence related to the stations, so he can be aware of the
progress and status.
Consideration of dropping a station and incorporating a snack.
Asking Wild Wings Recovery if it's possible for them to do two booths instead of one.
Tony commented that The Bird Lady said she hoped to be back next year, which would make for
two bird booths.
Volunteer turnout was exceptional this year. Fred said Rick really had it figured out and in
addition to Rick's forest service volunteers, volunteers from RLK Engineering, Parkside Credit
Union and one from the public turned out to help plant trees.
Members discussed that there was a lot of pizza left over, which they felt was mainly due to a lot
of the booth volunteers needing to pack up and leave immediately due to their schedules. Tony
said he wished we could have gotten a head count on how many people actually ate. Andrea
mentioned that the tree planting volunteers finished up way earlier than lunch was served and did
not stick around. Fred said he noticed that volunteers did eat in waves and he wished the group
could find a way to have a lunch that was more enjoyable and that promoted a fellowship of
everyone wanting to eat together. Tony suggested we attempt to get a head count of people
eating next year to help plan quantity of food at the event in future years. It was also mentioned
that pizza has been served for two years in a row and the majority of the booths are the same
from year to year. Members agreed that next year they consider upping their game on food and
change the menu up as an incentive to volunteers to take the time to eat. Tony noted that he told
Wild Wings Recovery to take a pizza with them which they did as they had to head out. Fred
said next year when they ask for t-shirt sizes they could also ask if their group plans to stay for
lunch. Lisa said someone had a good idea when they suggested taking the leftover pizzas to the
Arbor Day party at the brewery as it was well received by patrons.
Other comments regarding the day included:
• Tony said volunteers were thankful for Terry transporting them and their equipment to
their booth locations in his 4 wheeler.
• Bette said she sent thank you notes to the superintendent and the high school students
who volunteered.
• Fred said he sent thank you's to the booth volunteers and had it on his list to get the
sponsors thank you's including a t-shirt. Fred said each thank you letter to booth
volunteers includes a picture of their booth.
• Fred said he was way too busy this year to give the media task enough attention and he
will need someone else to take care of that in future years so it is handled more
adequately. Fred said he hopes a board member can take this on and give it the attention
it needs. Fred acknowledged that Barb emailed the paper numerous times which did
result in getting a photographer at the event.
• Bette told Fred she would get a bill from the transportation department for him to
process. Bette stated the first estimate she received from the school district for busing
was $575, however less buses came so the bill should be less. Members discussed and
decided in the future they will be more adamant in the requests for all buses to be at the
event by 9:00 am, due to the fact that numerous buses were late this year, arriving as late
as 9:20. Fred said the high school volunteers arriving this year at 8:30 am was perfect.
• Fred said he would summarize the teacher survey and send results out to members.
• Fred stated sponsorships were great this year and Terry did an excellent job.
• Fred said he feels the ceremony was one of the weakest areas of the event, stating he
wasn't sure why exactly, however it became very rushed. Bette said that bus drivers
stated they were leaving in 15 minutes, just as the ceremony was starting even though the
ceremony was not running that late. Corralling of kids was noted as a possible factor and
Bette said she was directing the student volunteers to move the kids faster to the
ceremony. Fred said he'd try to make a clearer map in the future, taking out such things
as trees in the aerial view. Andrea asked if the group should consider moving the
ceremony to the beginning of the event, noting it might be beneficial to corral the kids in
one location in the beginning before sending them out to stations. The group agreed
changing the ceremony time is worthy of discussion in future planning. Bette suggested
that having four speakers is probably too long for 3rd grader's attention span and
suggested only two speakers.
Tony noted more shovels are needed and suggested two shovels per class at each tree, for
the class tree planting.
Judy said she hasn't seen Maggie with Kalispell Brewing Company to discuss how she
thinks the Arbor Day community outreach party went. Judy said she felt that people had
a good time, especially the kids and that Barb did a great job with lots for the kids to do.
Members agreed it was a worthwhile community outreach to promote Arbor Day to
people who might not have otherwise realized it was Arbor Day. Fred said he felt like it
was a perfect component to add to Arbor Day.
Members thanked Bette for her help.
Host Tree Board Educational Awareness Event
Fred provided an update that he never heard back from the Farmer's Market about the TB having
an information table. Judy said that Farmer's Market does have one date in August that allows
for informational booths and the board should still try and get in on that. Fred asked Tony to
pursue that after he provides the contacts name and number.
Tony reminded everyone the board agreed that the Picnic In The Park concert series booth was
unsuccessful and only three members from the public showed interest. Tony said he was
struggling to think of other venues. Andrea mentioned that perhaps partnering with a nursery
and one of their presentations might be an option.
50150 Tree Planting Program Update
Fred provided a brief update on the 50150 program stating that there are almost 25 tree requests
and there is money available for 27 tree planting. Members shared their experiences with
canvassing neighborhoods and talking to residents, noting that the majority of responses were
positive. Fred said that the majority of requests coming in are for areas that the members
canvassed, which indicates that the door to door promotion works better than other promotion
methods. Fred said that there are people who want trees who already have trees and do not have
the space and he is forced to say no.
FVCC & Trees
This topic was tabled due to Terry's absence.
Engage Citizens in Volunteering for Tree Maintenance
Andrea provided Fred with handwritten changes to the letter regarding this subject, stating she
couldn't make changes to the digital copy. Fred suggested the next step would be to make a list
of people and organizations the letter could be sent to. Andrea suggested Judy might be of
assistance with the list due to her knowledge of groups such as the garden club, what they might
be willing to do, etc. Members suggested the list include Parkside Credit Union, Applied
Materials and other businesses that may have employees participate in volunteer work. Andrea
suggested members think of some type of signage or acknowledgement for the business who
participates.
Misc. Business:
Arborist Hire
Fred briefed the group on the arborist hire, noting that there were 7 applicants and they have
been narrowed down to possibly 4 that will be interviewed. Fred said he is currently scheduling
the interviews.
Contractor Update,
Pruning — Fred noted that the East side of town is undergoing a pruning of approximately
250 trees identified in the last inventory update
Stump grinding — Fred said a 124 stump grinding contract is in progress, with
approximately 50% ground out, but still needing dirt and leveling.
Inventory — Fred informed members another 20% inventory will be starting the first week
of June and information gathered will be used for the next maintenance contract.
Small Tree Board Retreat
Andrea mentioned that she learned at the last Small Tree board Retreat she attended that a lot of
other communities have free mulch available for citizens and she's aware that the City of
Kalispell also offers free mulch, however does not know where it's at. Andrea asked if the board
wants to discuss this further and consider promoting this.
Andrea asked for input regarding her thoughts that maybe signs providing information and
promoting trees could be put up temporarily near good boulevard plantings such as out by
Costco, First Interstate Bank and Hu Hot on Hwy 93 N.
There was no other business and the meeting adjourned at 5:00 pm.
Approved unanimously at the June 13, 2018 meeting.