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HomeMy Public PortalAbout02-21-2018 Minutes Tree Board Regular meetingPage 1 of 2 Minutes Tree Board 9 a.m. Feb. 21, 2018 Town Barn, 101 E. Orange St. Present: Chair Andrea Lewis, Casey Collins, Vice Chair Frances Harris, Tim Logue, Bryan Stuart, Liz Waters and Greg Yavelak (ex officio) Staff: Public Space Manager Stephanie Trueblood Guests: Phyllis Simon and Sarah Meadows Item 1: Call to order, roll call, and confirmation of quorum Chair Andrea Harris called the meeting to order at 9 a.m. Public Space Manager Stephanie Trueblood called the roll and confirmed the presence of a quorum. Item 2: Additions to the agenda and agenda adjustment There were no changes or adjustments. Item 3: Approval of minutes from Oct. 18 and Nov. 15, 2017, meetings Motion: Vice Chair Frances Harris moved to approve the minutes as presented. Tree Board Member Casey Collins seconded. Vote: Unanimous Item 4: Request from Town of Hillsborough to remove four mature trees from the Town Hall Campus Trueblood proposed removing three black walnut trees around the parking lot at Town Hall Campus because falling branches and fruit have damaged cars. The fourth tree is near the Town Barn and needs to be removed because it would be too damaged by grading for an addition to the Town Barn. Trueblood noted the town has planted two American chestnut trees at this campus and family members of former Mayor Fred Cates wish to plant a red maple as a memorial to him. With those plantings, no more suitable places to replant large trees are available, Trueblood said. Motion: Harris moved to approve removal of the four trees as proposed. Tree Board Member Liz Waters seconded. Vote: Unanimous Item 5: Review mid-year expenditure report and review draft Fiscal Year 2018-19 budget Trueblood reviewed that most of the FY18 budget has been spent on the removal of dead trees in the town right of way. About $2,000 is left. Trueblood would prefer to hold on to that funding until May in case a large tree needs to be removed this spring. Trueblood reviewed the draft budget for the next fiscal year. She explained that the draft budget for the Tree Board is proposed to be the same as the current fiscal year, so there would be $5,200 for new plantings. Page 2 of 2 Item 6: Brainstorm Bee City Initiatives for 2018 Trueblood noted that Sarah Meadows and Phyllis Simon were present for this discussion. They are Garden Club members who are assisting with Bee City initiatives. Also, Simon is interested in filling the vacant seat on the Tree Board. Attending a meeting is one of the prerequisites before an appointment to the board. There was interest in placing small chicken wire over the bee hotel materials to keep people and animals from pulling out the bamboo tubes and other materials. Trueblood noted it is important to document what the Garden Club and other organizations are doing so she can compile that information in the annual Bee City report. Trueblood reviewed last year’s Bee City initiatives. The Tree Board, staff and guests then worked on a list of Bee City initiatives for this year. It was suggested that businesses and other groups be involved during Pollinator Week. There were also suggestions of showing a bee movie outdoors and getting residents involved in creating a “pollinator highway” with pollinator-friendly flower beds and container gardens on private property. The initiatives list for the year also included: • Pollinator planting in dry pond on Riverwalk • Butterfly garden and monarch waystation in Turnip Patch Park • April 15-16, 2018: Garden Club of North Carolina workshop in Chapel Hill • April 27, 2018: Earth Evening booth (subcommittee is Member Tim Logue, Meadows and Waters) • May 4-5, 2018: Master Gardeners/Garden Club plant sale and pollinator outreach • Gro-Smart pollinator-friendly plant outreach: Waters • Library poster contest for National Pollinator Week: Trueblood and Meadows • Garden Clubmonthly articles in The News of Orange • June 16, 2018: Cates Creek Pollinator Garden “Meet the Garden” event for National Pollinator Week Item 7: Updates • Hillsborough Garden Club: Lewis reported the Garden Club will plant the flower bed in the West King Street parking lot with pollinator-friendly plants left after the plant sale. • Staff updates — Trueblood reported that: o The dry pond on Riverwalk greenway has been planted. o A new flower bed will be created outside the stream buffer in Turnip Patch Park. Those working on it will be careful not to transplant stilt grass from the former garden. o The Cates Creek Park stormwater retrofit has been completed with stormwater funds. o Information about the Bee City USA renewal is in the agenda packet. o The Parks and Recreation Board has adopted a Murray Street Park master plan that calls for a change in landscape which will involve planting the hillside with native grasses and creating a bird park. Item 8: Adjourn Lewis adjourned the meeting at 10:24 a.m.