HomeMy Public PortalAbout02-17-2021 Minutes Tree Board Regular Meeting
101 E. Orange St., PO Box 429, Hillsborough, NC 27278
www.hillsboroughnc.gov | @HillsboroughGov
Tree Board Minutes | 1 of 2
Minutes
Tree Board
Remote regular meeting
9 a.m. Feb. 17, 2021
Virtual meeting via YouTube Live
Town of Hillsborough YouTube channel
Present: Vice Chair Frances Harris, Casey Collins, Tim Logue, Liz Waters and Greg Yavelak
Absent: Chair Andrew Lewis and Bryan Stuart
Staff: Planning Director Margaret Hauth and Public Space Manager Stephanie Trueblood
Guests: Sarah Meadows
1. Call to order, roll call and confirmation of quorum
Vice Chair Frances 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 with four members present.
2. Agenda changes and approval
The agenda stood as presented.
3. Minutes review and approval
Minutes from regular meeting on Jan. 20, 2021
Motion: Member Tim Logue moved approval of the minutes as presented. Member Casey Collins
seconded.
Vote: 4-0. Ayes: Members Collins, Harris, Logue and Liz Waters. Nays: None.
4. Discussion items
A. 2021 Bee City initiatives
Sarah Meadows, a member of the Bee City subcommittee of the Hillsborough Garden Club, shared plans with
the board. Pollinator Week will take place June 21 – 28. Plans include a pollinator scavenger hunt, a
wildflower seed giveaway, educational bookmarks, and possibly a pollinator week or Bee City USA banner.
Other initiatives include producing yard signs that state “This is a pollinator habitat.”
Staff and board members shared other ideas including featuring ground bees, featuring local beekeepers,
giving away local honey, and clarifying that native hybrids are not as helpful for pollinators.
B. English ivy outreach
Tree Board Minutes | 2 of 2
Logue said members were working on submitting photos and an article to The News of Orange County. The
town is also circulating the video, placing an article in the March newsletter, and publishing a news release to
post on the website and share on social media.
5. Updates
A. Hillsborough Garden Club
There was no additional report.
B. Bee City Subcommittee
There was no additional report.
C. Staff and board updates
Staff and board gave brief updates. Trueblood said she is not making a FY22 budget request for the
reforestation project but is seeking grant funding to start that project. She is requesting $10,000 instead of
$5,000 for the Tree Board budget so that there is additional money to plant new trees every year.
Trueblood reported that Bill Harris is continuing to pursue solutions for boxwoods that are deteriorating on
town property. She suggested that this may be a topic for a future Tree Board video, considering boxwoods
on many private properties are suffering and some aren’t. Once people figure out which species are resilient
to the current ailments, that information can be shared.
Trueblood added that the town needs to create habitat for bees each year to qualify as a Bee City. She thinks
creating pollinator habitat in Hillsborough Heights Park would be helpful.
When asked, Trueblood said it’s not a good time to organize an ivy removal workday but tree board members
can work in small groups. Three members gathering is OK. Four members constitute a quorum and a meeting
notice has to be issued in advance.
6. Adjournment
Harris adjourned the meeting at 9:37 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Stephanie Trueblood
Public Space Manager
Staff support to the Tree Board
April 21, 2021