HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-STAC-2009-07-29Shade Tree Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes
July 29, 2009
Present: Nina Bassuk, Judy Fogel, Tony Hanna, Dan Klein, Pamela Markham, Judith
Maxwell, Debra Statton Guests: Bill Gray, Superintendent of Public Works, Ray Benjamin,
Acting Superintendent of Streets and Facilities
Bill and Ray are here to speak to the Committee's concerns about Andy's long absence and about the
lack of follow through or communication about ongoing tree projects in the City. Bill assures us that
he expects the issues surrounding Andy's leave to be wrapped up in a couple of weeks, so that Andy
will be back at work as City Forester.
He touches on the hiring freeze and the 2 vacancies in the department (in addition to the forestry
technician position) as well as the department's current short- staffed situation (down 3 staff currently).
Filling the 2 vacancies is taking awhile because the jobs have to be posted. Also, since the technician
will work closely with Andy, hiring for this position is waiting until Andy can interview the
candidates.
Committee members cite some of the casualties of this period of departmental disruption: the
pecans planted in a project with ACS were cut down without warning, historic oaks at ACS are also
suddenly gone. There's a huge dead linden in DeWitt Park. The Ithaca Garden Club's decision to
sponsor a full -time garden intern to work with Andy in Conley Park couldn't happen due to Andy's
absence, so no work took place in Conley Park. No Youth Employment Service crew supervisor was
hired this year, so no pruning got done at Stewart Park. The one hundred or more trees planted along
Rte 13 last fall and this spring have not had tree gators put on or been watered at all, and so are dying.
Several Committee members plea for action to save these dying trees. Ray thinks he can
probably get a crew and truck out to water them.
After Bill and Ray leave, Dan says two mature crabs by Moonshadows on the Commons are in
imminent danger of being cut down because of underground pipe repair needed there. He also
alerts the Committee to the threat to the Commons posed by a draft for a Commons redesign plan
presented by Sasaki landscape architects from Boston. Written notes from a meeting between them
and the Commons Redesign Committee a month ago refer to a starling problem and suggest that the
trees need to come out. Dan tells us that although people at the meeting thought it a mistake to take
out all the large trees, this opinion wasn't included in the written notes, and this worries him.
Dan says that the City is paying $500,000 for a study to generate 3 redesign possibilities to give
to Common Council around the first of the year. Some malls being talked about as models are in
Boulder, Colorado and in Charlottesville, Virginia; look on the web to see them and their features.
He thinks this is an opportunity for those of us knowledgeable about the history of the Commons
to type up and present to the Committee what we know, starting with the fact that the starling problem
has already been resolved. Nina will get the ball rolling on STAC's behalf and draft some thoughts,
then send her draft around to Committee members for their additions before sending it to Jennifer
Kuson, City liaison to the Redesign Committee. Their next meeting is around Oct 1.
Next meeting is Wed 2 Sept. Minutes respectfully submitted by Debra Statton