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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBTB mins 2_15_06Bozeman Tree Advisory Board Meeting Minutes February 15, 2006 Noon to 1:05 pm City Hall conference room Bozeman, Montana Meeting Participants Board members: Shelly Engler, Anne Foster (secretary), Liz Galli-Noble (chair), and Gene Keith. Others present: Jennifer Robbins, Bozeman Forestry Department. Meeting Minutes Approval No meeting minutes were approved for the January 18, 2006 meeting because there was not a quorum at that meeting and consequently only notes were taken. Board Membership Anne Foster has decided to stay on the Board. The Board requested that Liz speak to Chris about staying on the Board. With him out of town so much these days, the Board is basically functioning with four and not five members. Comment: We should plan to invite our new City Commission liaison (Jeff Kraus) to one of our next meetings, but we need to have a plan/strong agenda for that meeting before inviting him. Update: Bozeman Tree Cost-Share Program Jennifer was asked to give the Board an update on the 2006 cost-share program. Thus far, the following species have been selected: Emerald queen Norway maple (20 trees,1½” diameters) Japanese tree lilac (10 trees) Debating on ash trees (may not use due to borer problems) Bur oak (20 trees) Brandon elm (20 trees) A total of 50 trees in the past; this year 70 trees. The program starts on April 3, 2006. Possible Board Projects for 2006 Tree Board Communications with the City of Bozeman Tracy Oulman, the neighborhood coordinator, is aware of the Board’s interest in Bozeman projects concerning trees. As chair, Liz will be on Tracy’s mailing list as the Board representative. As Liz receives notices of up-coming events/issues/projects that may be of interest to this Board, she will share that information with the other Board members at Board meetings. It is then up to the individual Board members to follow up with their interests and contact Tracy or other City staff for notification on specific events/issues that they wish to pursue. Liz also mentioned that she was asked if the Board wanted to be involved in a Bozeman Advisory Board Survey. All Board members agreed to be available for this survey. N. Rouse Project tree planting project. The Board needs to think about how it can be involved in this project. We need more information on the project timeline and project needs. We asked the Forestry Department to look into this for us. Liz is interested in getting involved in this project. 25th Street Project This would be a limited tree planting effort near Emily Dickenson School (west side of school). It could be done in conjunction with an Arbor Day event. It will be important to invite active parent participation in this planting project. Shelly volunteered to help pull the project together; she also volunteered to help with follow-up tree watering; Liz is also willing to help with watering this summer, if needed. We need to check with the City Forester about this project. The new Bozeman City Library There is no funding for landscaping in the overall library budget. The Board is interested in pursuing this project. Liz will talk with the City Manager and ask how the Board might get involved in this project; would it be appropriate (can we) write a grant to help fund tree planting? Logo for the Tree Advisory Board Jennifer was asked if she had progressed on the Board logo. She has not due to other work commitments and time constraints, but thought that she might have time to work on it in the near future. Jennifer explained that she would need to get Ryon’s approval to work on this project. The Board reviewed what they had in mind for the logo with Jennifer. Motion: To have the Chair ask Ryon for approval to allow Jennifer to use city time (up to 20 hours) to work on the Tree Board’s logo. Motion was seconded and passed. This discussion led to follow-up questions from the Board: *Do we have discretionary spending from the Forestry Department’s budget to pay for these types of actions (namely, design of our Board’s logo)? *Does Ryon have a line item in his budget specifically for Tree Board activities? If so, how is it typically spent? *If the Forestry Department does not have money budgeted for the Board, do we need to ask the City Commission for $500 or $1,000 per year for Tree Advisory Board expenses? As chair, Liz volunteered to visit with the City Manager in the future and ask him about this issue. Gallatin Valley Water Issue Discussion on this issue needs to continue. The Board all agrees that water quality, use, and availability is a major concern for the Gallatin Valley, now and in the future. The Board would like to work with other city boards on this issue. Brochure This item was tabled for later discussion. The next Tree Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 29th at noon in the City Hall conference room. Several suggested agenda items for the March 29 meeting are: Does the Forestry Department have guidelines for city owned trees? What species are encouraged? Street Tree Master Plan—produced by the Tree Board.