HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-STAC-2015-06-10City of Ithaca Shade Tree Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes
June 10, 2015
(Minutes Approved by Commmittee July 8, 2015)
Present: Jeanne Grace, Judith Maxwell, Paul Paradine, Debra Statton, Keith Vanderhye
Forester’s Report:
Everything is planted except the Elmira Road trees. Court Street is planted except for
some bad sweet gums to be returned for a refund. Water bags are on the trees
Jeanne’s intern started this week and is doing well. It’s a full‐time position for the summer.
Flexi‐pave is being used on the block of Aurora where the restaurants are and the block of Tioga where the
post office is.
The lacebark elms by the post office are coming out and being replaced with sawtooth. Jeanne is also
taking out 2 elms on Aurora on the Seneca Street end because their form is bad. She’ll also take out one by
Viva and one by the Alehouse.
Replacements will be bought locally. All of them can be tall trees. Plantasia has hardy rubber trees which
look similar to the elms on Aurora Street, so can keep the look uniform. Plantasia also has honey locust
and swamp white oak.
Other small, newish trees that aren’t doing well will come out and be replaced in fall.
Jeanne’s comments on the Planning Committee agenda: Maguire proposes for the parking lot by
Greentree to take out one tree in bad shape and plant 2 others, but is still proposing only 5%. Jeanne will
send in the comment again that we want 25%, and porous asphalt.
The Elmira Road project is going okay but 3 weeks late.
The Commons is supposed to be substantially complete by July. Anything that’s ready by June 30 can be
planted but for anything ready later will wait until September to plant. Several of the white redbuds are not
looking good and one is dead so we’ll ask that these all be replaced. There is structural soil in the planting
holes but also rubbish and garbage. Jeanne is asking that all the rubbish come out before trees are planted.
Native plants have been put in the planting beds –trout lilies, ferns, etc. This stuff won’t last long in this
habitat. (Trees for the Commons are Shumard oak, Espresso Ky. coffee tree, Shademaster honey locust, and
Frontier elm.)
Around Ithaca, three tree species are not doing well. Lacebark elms didn’t leaf out, willow oaks have their top
2/3 dead, lots of catalpa Dwarf Nana died. Homestead elms look bad too, with few leaves but lots of seeds.
Siberian elms (zone 2 or 3) are all yellowed, coming back slowly, the new growth looks terrible.
The next big project is to do the flexi‐pave. Want to get trees in ASAP before midsummer.
Next meeting Wed, July 8, 4 pm, Cooperative Extension minutes respectfully submitted by Debra Statton