Loading...
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.