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Home My WebLink About2020-02-23 Tree Board MinutesTree Board Meeting Tuesday, February 23, 2020 @ 5:15 p.m. Held via Zoom Meeting Minutes 1. Welcome and introductions (in order of speaker) a. Aaron Huotari b. Erica Cassidy Dubois c. Steve Taylor d. Tracy Willette e. Gregory Edwards f. Cayla Moore g. (Tree Board member Lovern Stockwell - absent) 2. Review of Tree Board ordinance 284-9 a. Discussed ordinance requirement of landscape architect and arborist on the board. Neither of these professions are represented on the board though David Rice, city employee, is a certified arborist and fills that need. b. Erica Cassidy DuBois suggested that it may make sense to investigate a change to the ordinance as a certified landscape architect is not easy to find, at all, and finding one that is willing to volunteer for the board is even harder. Since the city is in more of a tree maintenance mode, rather than an aggressive growth/planting mode, it may make sense for the ordinance to be changed to reflect the fact that city employees provide forestry and landscape expertise and board members provide guidance. i. Aaron Huotari will bring this suggestion to the council for discussion 3. New tree nursery project update a. New tree nursey on city owned Finson Rd property is being prepared for planting. Grandview Ave nursery will be closed. Discussed layout of nursery. b. Compost site is co-located on site and the plan is for compost to be used for planting and mulching trees. Tree Board members agree this is a good use of compost. i. Gregory Edwards suggested that another good use of the compost would be for the Downtown Bangor Partnership Beautification Committee to enrich the soil when they do the spring planting. Poor soil needs amendments and this sounds like a good use for the compost. We targeted Spring 2022 for supplying this as the composting will start this Fall. 4. Seedling supplier options a. The former tree supplier for the city has closed. We are looking for a new supplier and would like to find a Maine supplier, if possible. i. Aaron Huotari will investigate our options and get back to the committee. b. The suggestion was made to contact adjacent municipalities to see where they procure their trees. i. Tracy Willette is going to reach out to his forestry contact in Bath. ii. Aaron will reach out to some other Public Works Directors. c. It was also suggested that we should be aware of the potential for out of state trees to bring in pests. 5. Species selection for nursery a. Discussed 10/20/30 rule - rule of thumb suggests an urban tree population should include no more than 10% of any one species, 20% of any one genus, or 30% of any family. b. Current tree inventory shows that we are over suggested guidelines on all three rules. Our tree inventory is not complete nor up-to-date. This may be skewing the data. i. Discussed initiative to have Forestry department update GIS database as they are touching the trees throughout the year. c. Species concentration may be a product of the location e.g. we have a lot of the same types of trees in the downtown area because they are the only one that can handle the low water availability, the high traffic, pet urine, etc. d. Species selection should be researched to develop a list of trees that would fit certain areas. A list that would be hardy for downtown, a list for areas that can’t grow too high, a list for areas that can’t accommodate a wide tree base, etc. i. Aaron Huotari will work Forestry department to develop lists e. Discussed the city stance on Oak trees and the general difficulty of finding trees that provide canopy but don’t drop nuisance foliage or fruit. 6. Review of spring 2021 tree planting list a. The majority of the planting list is replacement of trees that were cut down last year. b. Discussed the ability of residents to request trees. Again, would like to have a list of suitable trees to provide a resident when it comes time to plant, to give them preference. We generally give residents their preference. c. 2021 planting is scheduled for mid-April through early May. d. Discussed tree planting at West Market Square. The old tree stump is too close to underground utilities to use a stump grinder. Gregory Edwards said this tree was the shining star of the downtown and really makes an impression to visitors. i. Discussed strategy for removing stump so we can replace with a larger tree ii. May require people to get in there and dig it out by hand. iii. This is a decision that needs to weigh the value of a tree, the cost of the work, and the impact on the downtown vibe. iv. Aaron Huotari will talk with Betsy Lundy and City Manager to assess this project. e. Discussed viability of planting tree is moveable planter but decided the size tree we are looking for would have a high mortality rate in a container. 7. Update on GIS Tree Inventory project a. Some inventory work completed last year. Started using tree numbering system to help identify trees. More work planned for this spring. b. Forestry Department should start updating database regularly in March as they prune and/or remove trees. 8. 2020 Tree City USA application status a. 2020 application submitted. 9. Project Canopy Planting Grant discussion a. We have an awarded Project Canopy Planning Grant in progress to help fund the Bangor City Forest management plan i. The forest management plan is approximately 85% complete b. Discussion around whether we should apply for a Project Canopy Planting Grant to help with this year’s tree planting list and starting tree planting in the nursery i. During Project Canopy Grant Training session it was announced that they are expecting a lot of applications so competition will be high. ii. Tree Board members feel we should apply for a grant despite having one in progress, as the number of trees we will need this year is high due to not planting any last year. 10. Tree donation request @ Chapin Park a. Former resident, Don Sawyer, has made a request to replace a damaged tree at Chapin Park and add another tree to honor his deceased son. Requested a couple sturdy trees and mentioned “top quality maple trees.” b. Tree Board approves request and asks for us to consider our early diversity conversation. i. Public Works will do an inventory of existing trees in Chapin Park to make a determination of the appropriate species to plant. c. Request will need to go to Government Ops Committee for approval. 11. Tree removal requests a. 212 Randolph Drive has requested that the tree on right of way be removed. Tree is in good health. b. Resident has repeatedly said that they tree will fall on her house and injure her as she sleeps. c. Tree Board does not see how this tree will crush the house if it falls. While they have compassion for the resident’s concern they cannot see the tree being a threat. d. The value of having a great neighborhood canopy is evident as you drive down this street and removing a tree without good cause doesn’t make sense. e. All Tree Board members present voted to not authorize removal of the tree. 12. Additional items for discussion a. Discussion about tree planting on Main and Columbia Streets. Gregory Edwards will be entering those as work orders in the Qscend service request system. 13. Next meeting date a. Next meeting will be scheduled for September Tree Board Members Name Term Expires Dubois, Erica 2023 Edwards, Gregory 2022 Moore, Cayla J 2023 Stockwell, Lovern 2022 Vacant 2022 Huotari, Aaron City Employee Rice, David City Employee Taylor, Steve City Employee Attachment 1