CITY OF PICKERINGTON

TREE COMMISSION

CITY HALL, 100 LOCKVILLE ROAD

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2009

REGULAR MEETING

6:30 P.M.

 

 

  1. ROLL CALL.  Ms. Carter called the meeting to order at 6:35 P.M., with roll call as follows: Mr. Goodrich, Ms. Carter, Ms. Shelts, and Mr. McKinley were present.  Mr. Malone was absent at roll call but later in the meeting attended.  Edward Drobina and Angie Perrine were also present.

 

  1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES of April 27, 2009, Regular Meeting.  Mr. McKinley moved to approve; Mr. Goodrich seconded the motion.  Ms. Carter, Ms. Shelts, Mr. McKinley and Mr. Goodrich voted “Aye”.  Motion carried, 4-0.

 

  1. COMMUNITY COMMENTS.  No comments. 

 

  1. REPORTS.   
    1. Street Tree Report

Ms. Carter asked if anyone had heard about the trees being damaged on Lockville Road.  Mr. McKinley stated there had been at least 10 or 12 trees damaged/vandalized on Sycamore Creek Street as well.  Mr. McKinley stated the trees had to be removed it had appeared they had been run over by a car.     Mr. Drobina stated the trees were small ones.  Ms. Carter asked if they knew who did this.  Mr. McKinley stated no, this happened in the middle of the night.  Mr. Drobina stated this happened right before school had let out for the summer.  Ms. Shelts commented it seems to be the season for this kind of activity.  Mr. McKinley stated that he had not heard about the damage on Lockville Road.  Ms. Carter replied this was something that she had heard about.  Mr. Drobina commented that trees had to be re-staked.        

 

 

       5.    SCHEDULED MATTERS.

                  a.   Tree Preservation Update. 

Mr. McKinley asked about the trees planted by the new schools.  Do they fall under the City Arborist?  Mr. Drobina stated that the trees are on private property so they are the schools responsibility.  Mr. McKinley stated he wasn’t sure how that worked with the schools, they had planted many trees. 

 

 

    1. Emerald Ash Borer.

Ms. Carter asked if everyone had the chance to look at the pictures.  Mr. Drobina stated that he had printed hard copies for them to pass around and take a look at.  He stated the pictures show the ash tree and what the Emerald Ash Borer has done to it underneath.  Ms. Carter asked how long they think it has been there.  Mr. Drobina commented probably last year.  The City Arborist, Gregg Ellis and Lisa Bowers, Urban Forester from the Ohio Department of Agriculture found them on the tree and the insects tested positive.   Ms. Shelts asked if the Urban Forester had any recommendations for us.  Mr. Drobina stated that the tree is located at Arby’s and this is private property.  Lisa Bowers has sent him a draft letter and Mr. Drobina is going over this letter to send to the owner.   Ms. Shelts asked if the Urban Forester had any suggestions for the City to do.  Mr. Drobina commented that the City has an Emerald Ash Borer plan and basically the City is not going to do anything until the trees die.  Ms. Carter asked if the City had requested any grant money for the removal of the trees.  Mr. Drobina stated the City has requested grant money for the trees.  But the City has not heard back yet if we will receive any money.

 

Ms. Shelts asked if an article should be placed in the newspaper regarding the Emerald Ash Borer.  Mr. Drobina replied that we can always call and have a reporter write a story for the newspaper.  Mr. McKinley suggested that the Mayor’s letter that goes out would be a way to let people know what’s going on.  Ms. Carter thought that was a great idea.  Ms. Shelts wanted to let people be aware that the commission is following up on this matter.  Mr. McKinley stated that he would contact the Mayor’s Administrative Assistant about the letter.             

 

    1.   Arboretum.

      Ms. Carter asked if anyone has been down to the  Arboretum, she   questioned

about the mowing. Mr. Drobina stated that the City Arborist will be                                            mowing next week that area.  Ms. Carter wanted to know if Gregg Ellis could mow farther back from the trees so the name plates could be seen.  Mr.  Drobina commented he would get with Gregg and let him know about her request.  Mr. Drobina also mentioned that Mr. Ellis had placed the dedication  plaque for Diana Fuller by the tree. Ms. Carter asked Mr. Drobina about moving the tree name plate back to make it harder for vandalism.  He would talk to Gregg Ellis about the name plates replied, Mr. Drobina. 

 

Mr. McKinley asked when do you think Gregg Ellis plans on retiring.  Mr. Drobina replied that Mr. Ellis doesn’t plan on retiring this year.  He has changed his mind several times.          

                                                                    

    1.  City Beautification Campaign.

Ms. Carter stated that the City is looking for volunteers to help around town.  There are many projects and the City is short staffed.  Ms. Shelts stated the NHS (National Honor Society) at the high schools requires community service.  Maybe we could get some volunteers that way. 

 

Ms. Carter mentioned that the City is trying to plant perennials instead of annuals and has planted some at the Arboretum to help give it some color in the area.  Continued discussions went on about how to get the Arboretum back to the way it used to look and the condition of the old covered bridge.

 

Ms. Shelts asked about having some signs made to place where the Arboretum is located.  More discussions went on regarding what kinds of signs, the locations, the costs and possibly someone donating a sign.  Mr. Drobina stated that Angie Perrine could order the signs once they decided what kind they wanted and where they wanted them placed.    

                              

  1. COMMUNICATION.    No comments.

 

 

7.   OTHER BUSINESS.     Mr. Drobina stated that the Tree Commission has three members                            

whose terms will be expiring this year.  He would get with Lynda Yartin on how we                        handle appointments and etc.

 

Ms. Carter stated she would like to talk about possibly combining Parks & Recreation and the Tree Commission.  Mr. McKinley asked what she meant by that.  Ms. Carter stated she would like for the two to communicate with each other since the Arboretum is located in the park.  Ms. Shelts stated she didn’t know if the two committee’s could be combined because of the Tree City USA criteria.  Ms. Shelts asked if anyone would like to go and attend the next Parks & Recreation meeting.  Mr. McKinley stated that whoever attends this meeting needs to ask if the Parks has any plans of restoring the covered bridge that connects to Arboretum.  After discussion, Mr. McKinley moved to change next months meeting to Wednesday,  July 29, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. Mr. Malone seconded the motion.  Ms. Carter, Ms. Shelts, Mr. Goodrich, Mr. McKinley and Mr. Malone voted “Aye”.  Motion carried, 5-0.

 

Mr. Malone clarified that the meeting change would be just for the month of July only.  They would go back to regular meeting time in August.  Ms. Carter asked if an e-mail could be sent out to remind everyone.  Mr. Drobina replied that he would have Angie Perrine send them the e-mail. 

 

       

                                                                                                                                                                                         

      8.   ADJOURNMENT. 

            Their being nothing further, Ms. Carter moved to adjourn, Mr. Malone seconded the motion.   Mr. McKinley, Ms. Shelts, Ms. Carter, Mr. Goodrich, Mr. Malone voted “Aye.”  Motion carried, 5-0.  The Tree Commission adjourned at 7:20 P.M. on June 22, 2009.

                                                                                                                       

 

 

 

 

 

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

 

 

________________________________

Angie Perrine, Administrative Assistant

 

 

________________________________

Edward Drobina, Service Manager