02-14-18 Street Tree Committee MinutesKALISPELL STREET TREE COMMISSION
MEETING HELD February 14, 2018
Present: Members: Terry Richmond, Judy Rosefeld Cox, Andrea
Davidson, Tony Nelson and Rick Moore
Staff: Fred Bicha, Dusty Gage, Lisa Simmer
The meeting was officially called to order at 4:01 pm by Terry Richmond.
Public Comment
There was no one from the public or public comment.
Approve Minutes
Members unanimously approved the January 2018 minutes.
Current Business
Arbor Day brainstorming
• Students and School District 45 communications
Fred told members that Barb and Bette are working together on logistics regarding the schools
and the students' attendance. Fred said that the letter is ready to go to the teachers and Barb is
working on acquiring the list of the actual 3rd grade teachers and number of students. Fred stated
that Bette is working on the transportation component, which he has been told is going great this
year.
• Sponsorships/Fundraising
Fred said that sponsorship letters were mailed out and he would check on the number of letters
mailed and get Terry some copies when he is back in town. Fred said the fundraising goal would
be approximately $4,000.
• Environmental Booths
Fred told members that Tony had been in touch with him and said he would be mailing out the
environmental stations letters the following day. Judy asked what she could do to help with the
stations. Fred replied that it's common that some organizations from previous years drop out and
she could help by reviewing the list of possible organizations or even ones we haven't thought of
to help fill those voids. Fred answered the question of how many booths we would like to have
with the answer and explanation of the more the better. Fred explained this is so booth hosts can
take adequate breaks and such. Fred told members that there may only be one bird booth this
year. Terry said he hopes the goat's booth will be back. Fred said he hopes to get Lone Pine this
year.
• Lunch/Food
The group discussed food options and agreed that pizzas were inexpensive and an easy, good
way to go. Using Costco again versus other places was discussed, and it was decided that best
route would be Costco for quantity and price. It was decided not to buy fruit as it wasn't eaten.
Locations of lunches for both volunteers and students was discussed, acknowledging that
everyone would be spread out in Woodland. It was suggested that Barb ask teachers if they
would like students in the big pavilion next to the playground or if they would prefer their lunch
break away from the playground equipment.
Location- Woodland Park
The pros and cons of closing of the park to the general public was discussed. Discussion
included the cons of the increased traffic and users of the park, versus the pro and thought
process of Arbor Day being a community event encouraging the public to attend. Fred suggested
that possibly the park remained closed to the public until noon. It was noted that a special event
permit would be needed from city hall for street closure. Fred said he would ask the police
department to provide extra help to assist with safety concerns.
• T-shirts - Fred
Fred said the new logo is already being incorporated into the mailings. Fred said he spoke with
the t-shirt business and they said the graphic will work fine on a shirt. Members agreed that
heather gray would be a good shirt color. Lisa asked that the distribution of the volunteers t-
shirts, particularly the volunteers who planted trees be handled differently at the next Arbor Day.
Lisa explained that shirts are pre -ordered according to size and sorted into bundles and labeled
with the organizations name on it. Lisa said this past celebration, the booth and high school
volunteers checked in and received their bundle of shirts and that went smoothly but when it
came to the DNRC volunteers, our lead people were just walking up and saying they needed a
particular size(s) for volunteers out in the field. This did result in some board members not
getting shirts. Fred said for future reference the shirts would be given out to the organization as
a whole bundle of shirts labeled for them and if the size they ordered wasn't what they wanted,
they would need to find someone to trade with. Terry suggested that people be encouraged to
order a size bigger than they think they need due to how different t-shirt sizes run depending on
the manufacturer.
• Volunteers
Fred told members he plans on having 20 trees planted throughout Woodland Park by volunteers.
Fred mentioned that the sponsorship letter also states that volunteers are welcomed. Lisa told
Judy she felt her idea at the last meeting of having the garden club work on a project in
Woodland Park was worthwhile, if they would be interested. Fred agreed that if the garden club
would be interested in working on a project, he would put something together for them.
• Logistics
Fred said that had talked to Dave and he is willing to help out, although he will not be at the next
meeting. Fred said he feels like it is important for each member to review their tasks and make a
list of what their needs are for items they might not have readily available, so that others could
assist on acquiring these things. Member discussed whether porta potties will be needed at
Woodland and it was determined that they may need one or two in various outlying areas based
on what the map will look like, even though there are three bathrooms at Woodland Park. The
seating capacities of the pavilions were discussed. It was suggested that the table and chairs
utilized near the camp center in summer for day camp be brought in earlier and used for Arbor
Day.
• Media — Fred
Fred informed members the logo has been announced and published on the KPR FaceBook page
and is also on the sponsorship pages. Members were encouraged to like KPR's FaceBook page.
• Community Outreach - Judy
Judy asked about the seedlings for the brewery, who would be paying for them and how Fred and
board members envisioned this proposed project to work. Fred acknowledged the question
regarding how they would be paid for is vital. Judy asked members to send her a picture of a
seedling as a visual to use for discussing the idea with the brewery. Members discussed various
methods and thoughts regarding the "how to's" of incorporating the brewery, seedlings and
promoting Arbor Day. Judy said she would call Maggie and see if they are even interested and
want to be involved.
Miscellaneous Business
Field Up Date
Dusty provided an update on the pruning work crews have been accomplishing, noting that most
recently parks urban forestry crew has been pruning small trees. Dusty explained the importance
of pruning of small trees, stating maintenance when trees are still small make a huge difference
in the life of the tree and timing is everything. Dusty informed the group they had officially
finished pruning and removals on both 61' Ave W and 71' Ave West from Center Street to 11t'
Street. Dusty said the crew's touched just about every tree on these avenues with the exception
of a couple of trees that Flathead Electric will either be removing or pruning due to powerlines.
Dusty told members he feels there is still a lot of tree work he would like to see accomplished at
Woodland Park before Arbor Day. Dusty explained they will shift their work schedule
depending on the weather, such as doing small trees when the weather is bad. Dusty said there
are some good leads on possible seasonal employees who may come on in the summer and who
have solid forestry experience.
Miscellaneous
Members asked Fred to discuss the email he had set out regarding a free tree board training
webinar series put on by the State of North Carolina. Terry said he had mentioned to Fred the
possibility of watching the series with other members and then discussing it afterwards and how
it might be applicable to Kalispell. The series has various subjects and will run at 10 am
Mountain Time, March 21 sf (Planting), May 16t' (Municipalities and Development and
Construction), July 18t' (Power of Partnerships) and October 17t' (Pruning). After discussion
members decided to attempt to view these as a group, based on who could attend and if the staff
could find a location and the technology for them to do so. Fred said he would send the email
out again and look into getting the city hall conference room.
Fred said he would like to discuss the small tree pruning workshop listed on the strategic plan.
Fred said he has briefly discussed it with Dusty and would like to host this event in spring.
Terry suggested Old School Station as a possible location. Fred said that may be a good choice
and another possibility would be the Kidsport's complex. After discussion members selected
May 5, 2018 as the tentative date, however did not select a location.
There was no other business and the meeting adjourned at 5:00 pm.
Approved unanimously at the March 21, 2018 meeting.