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09-24-2007 TBMTree Board Minutes September 24, 2007 Members Present: Newt Potter, Dale Redetzke, Laura Poser, Steve Cook Members Absent: Corey Stearns Also attending: = Mark Schnobrich, City Forester The meeting was called to order at 5:PM and the minutes of the August 27,2007 meeting was approved. Items of Discussion: Cost associated with boulevard tree maintenance and removal Mark discussed the proposal to share the costs of boulevard tree maintenance with adjacent property owners. It was proposed at the last Tree Board meeting that costs of tree removal be shared on an 80/20 basis with adjacent property owners with the City of Hutchinson paying 80% of the tree removal costs and the adjacent property owner paying 20%. U.S. Forest Service studies have shown that boulevard trees increase property values by 1% or more in those neighborhoods that have well maintained trees. The program is being proposed as a more responsive and responsible way of sharing the true costs of tree ownership on the boulevards. An example given was an average 18 inch diameter boulevard would tree would cost the adjacent property owner $108.00 or $6.00 a diameter inch to remove. These costs would include removing the tree, grinding the stump and planting a new tree on their boulevard. As being proposed now, the adjacent property owner would be billed quarterly for the removals with replanting taking place either in the same year as the tree removal or the following spring. Tree removal petition th Mark presented a petition received August 30 from Heather Kvale of 317 Circle Dr SW requesting that a 16 inch diameter Honey Locust tree be removed from her boulevard for health reasons. The petition was signed by 10 of the 15 residents living on that street. Discussion followed with Mark stating that the tree was a healthy locust tree and that he had discussed the trees removal with the resident at 317 Circle Dr SW earlier this summer. Mark stated that he told Heather Kvale that the city was reluctant to remove the boulevard tree based solely on the adjacent property owner’s request. Mark told Heather that if she could wait to see if the health problem diminished over the summer that maybe the tree was not the health problem and it would then not need to be removed. Nothing was heard from the 317 Circle Dr SW resident until the petition was received on August th 30, 2007. Newton Potter questioned why all 15 residents did not sign the petition. Mark did not know the answer to that. Newt asked Mark to contact one resident , Steve Bailey, as to why he did not sign the petition. After further discussion the board voted in favor of removing the tree if in fact a health problem was caused by its presence on the boulevard. Find the Biggest Tree Contest rd Dale Redetzke said he had contacted the 3 Grade coordinator Nisha Withers and she requested that we wait until next spring to hold the contest. The board all agreed to wait until spring 2008. Energy Tree Report to the Utilities Commission Mark stated that the date had been set for October 31, 2007 at 3:00PM for the Tree board to present the 2007 Energy Tree Report to the commission. Mark will contact each member to remind them of the date and time prior to the meeting. Mark will have the report completed and ready for review by the next Tree board meeting. Other Business Tree Contractor Certification; Mark discussed the pro and cons of requiring tree contractors to be certified by the City in order to conduct business within the city limits of Hutchinson. Currently tree contractors just submit a certificate of insurance to the City verifying that they have minimal liability coverage. This assures that both public and private tree owners are covered for damages should they occur. Mark stated that some communities go much further than that and not only require proper insurance but also require that at least one member of the tree firm be an ISA \[ International Society of Arboriculture \] Certified Arborist. Some communities also require that tree firms show evidence of continuing education within their field and that they follow standard safety precautions in respect to personnel protection equipment and gear. Mark talked about the importance of having reliable contractors in the community during extreme conditions such as tornados and storms to protect citizens from fly-by-night operations that do not conform to current arboricultural and safety standards. The board discussed the need for such a program here in Hutchinson and suggested that maybe such a requirement as certification would be called for when a tornado or other situation arose. They also requested that Mark look into what other contractors in town are required by the City of Hutchinson to have a license. The Meeting was adjourned at 6:10 PM. Respectfully submitted Mark Schnobrich City Forester