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07-29-2013 TBMCITY OF HUTCHINSON TREE BOARD Monday, July 29, 2013 5:15 p.m. City Center Meeting Notes Members present: Newton Potter, Laura Poser, Dale Redetzke, Steve Cook (Council) Members absent: Corey Stearns Others Present: Mike Bahe, Natural Resource Specialist; John Olson, Public Works Manager; Meeting began at 5:15 p.m. in the NE shelter in South Park. There was a quorum present. 1. Review Tree Board meetine notes Tree Board minutes of April 29, 2013 were distributed and reviewed. 2. Tree Board Members Newton Potter (to 04/13 *, 2nd full -term) Corey Stearns (to 04/14 *, 2nd full -term) Steve Cook (Council representative) Mike Bahe (Parks representative) John Olson (Public Works representative) Dale Redetzke (to 04/13 *, 2nd full -term) Laura Poser (to 04/14 *, 2nd full -term) For meeting schedules & interest forms for serving on the Tree Board, see www.ci.hutchinson.mn.us 3. Standing Reports a) Mike Bahe made a presentation. a. So far in 2013 there have been 181 calls to forestry logged. This is in line with last year's numbers. b. There have been 5 Dutch Elm Disease notices sent in 2013. This also is in line with last year. c. Tree /stump removal contract (A), for 20 trees, has been completed. The stumps have also been done. There will be a Tree /stump removal contract (B) let in early August, which is expected to be between 12 -18 trees. d. To date, there have been 304 trees planted in 2013, with about 100 more to go. These include DNR Grant trees, energy conservation trees, and boulevard trees. e. So far there have been 20 applications for energy conservation trees. There have also been some shelter belt plantings, such as at the Greens, to conserve energy. f. DNR Grant trees planted so far is 130. 80 grant trees are currently being planted in the Rolling Meadows Addition. Tree Board Meeting Notes July 29, 2013 Page 2 g. In cooperation with Iowa State University, several trees have been injected with chemicals to control bur oak blight (BOB). It will be unlikely that the trees treated for BOB this year will show the full measure of the treatments' effectiveness. Next year will be a better indication of whether BOB treatments are effective. Bahe indicated that there is a local contractor who is interested in providing BOB treatments, so future private treatments may be available in the community h. Pruning has generally been limited to response to requests for service and minor storm damage. Public Works employees will likely be able to be do some `green' pruning fro low hanging branches and will likely begin work on Hassan St SE & Main St S between 4th Ave S and the river. Some work may begin in the area of the Recreation Center. 4. Onerational Issues and Onen Proiects a) Green Corps member a. There will be a Green Corps member assigned to Hutchinson from September 2013 through August 2014. b. The City of Hutchinson is fortunate, in that only 3 Cities won this grant to provide a fully funded staff person to address forestry issues. c. The primary function of the position will be to identify species diversification projects the City can undertake in preparation for an infestation of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). The projects identified will be broken down into logical projects that will be able to be pulled `off the shelf' to obtain price quotations, or be used by City staff to implement species diversification. b) Tree Disease /Infestation Mitigation a. The Green Corps member will be using existing data and some localized inventory work to identify the need for and to plan projects. Once there are several projects identified, staff will be able to identify some costs associated with typical projects to identify potential costs for proactive EAB activities. b. When combined with the projects identified, the total inventory of publicly owned ash trees can be extrapolated to provide some idea of the scope of future costs related to removals and replacements of trees infested with EAB. c. Considering the fact the City has looked at EAB effects prior to the infestation, the City should be in a much better position to respond once EAB makes it to this area. 5. Other Discussions/ New Business a) Quarterly Meeting schedules: 07/29/13, 10/28/13, 01/27/14. Tree Board Meeting Notes July 29, 2013 Page 2 b) Other items: a. Update on Cemetery. There have been several removals of hazard and poor quality trees at the Cemetery this year so far. As work continues on the trees at Oakland Cemetery, the desire is to replace removed trees with a number of oak species. b. Hazard Trees in Parks. Discussion was held regarding the identification of and response to hazardous trees in City parks. It was acknowledges that it would be nearly impossible, given currently available resources, to do a thorough inspection of trees in the parks. Park users, the public, and City staff can help a lot by reporting any potential hazard they see so it can be investigated. Once a tree has been identified as a potential hazard, a response plan for the tree will be implemented. It was also acknowledged that the response plan for a particular tree will likely need to be prioritized, as determined by available resources. At 6:10, the meeting adjourned. NEXT MEETING: Regularly scheduled meeting: 10/28/2013.