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2022-04-07 Tree Board MinutesF E°M� CITY OF EDMONDS TREE BOARD Summary Minutes of Virtual Meeting a° April 7, 2022 CALL TO ORDER — LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT - ROLL CALL Interim Chair Cass called the Tree Board meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. The land acknowledgement was read by Board Member Dimmick. Board Members Present Janelle Cass, Interim Chair Bill Phipps Wendy Kliment Ross Dimmick, Alternate Board Members Absent Suzanne Juergensen Andy Lyon Bill Grant Staff Present Deb Powers, Urban Forest Planner Angie Feser, Parks Director Others Present Carol Murray, President, Edmonds in Bloom Tia Scarce SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Ms. Powers announced that going forward there would be a designated notetaker taking minutes for the Board. Board Member Cass expressed appreciation for that. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion made by Board Member Dimmick, seconded by Board Member Phipps, to move New Business item 1 to just before Audience Comments. Motion passed unanimously. Motion made by Board Member Kliment, seconded by Board Member Dimmick, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion passed unanimously. AUDIENCE COMMENTS - None NEW BUSINESS 1. Parks Dept Director Angie Feser to speak about Perrinville woods and saving pocket forests. — Director Feser introduced herself and made a presentation introducing the Parks Department, introducing the Parks Maintenance Division/Field Arborist (Debra Dill); reviewing department work related to trees, highlighting the 2022 PROS Plan recommendations, and discussing parkland acquisitions. General comments and questions followed. Vice Chair Cass was pleased about the property that was donated to Edmonds and spoke in support of highlighting the area's agricultural history. Board Member Phipps questioned why the City would want to take over South County Park when it is already being maintained by the County. Director Feser reviewed the property and possible improvements to the area. Board Member Phipps asked how the City takes advantage of the Conservation Futures Grant Program. Director Feser reviewed the City's allocations/projects. Board Member Phipps encouraged Edmonds to Tree Board Meeting Minutes April 7, 2022 Pagel of 3 take advantage of Forterra for land acquisition. He also encouraged the City not to give up in efforts to obtain Perrinville forest. He asked what realistic opportunities they have to acquire land in southeast Edmonds. Director Feser explained there are some properties that are not developed. MINUTES: 1. Approval of March 3 Tree Board Minutes Motion made by Board Member Kliment, seconded by Board Member Phipps, to approve the minutes as presented. Motion passed unanimously. OLD BUSINESS: 1. Ongoing Annual Events Planning • Earth Day — There was discussion about plans for Tree Board members to be present at restoration projects happening at different parks on Earth Day. Ms. Powers will send out email reminder. The Board will provide snacks — no plastic water bottles. • TB presentation to City Council — Ms. Powers will attempt to locate a past presentation for reference. The Board will choose a presenter at an upcoming meeting. o Motion made by Board Member Kliment, seconded by Board Member Dimmick, to postpone the presentation to Council scheduled for April 26 to a date to be determined. Motion passed unanimously. • Edmonds in Bloom Garden Tour (July 17) - Tia Scarce commented they are hoping to bring in some new voices. Carol Murray, President of Edmonds in Bloom, explained they want to increase the educational aspect of the tree ID aspect of the tour utilizing a small group of experts such as Debra Dill, Deb Powers, Tia Scarce, and a student from Edmonds Community College with a maximum of four people. Ms. Powers suggested discussing at some point if a Tree Board member should be present on the tour at one of the gardens — maybe Board Member Lyon who is a certified arborist. Summer Farmer's Market Booth — Board Member Phipps reported his brother has 50-70 Douglas Fir saplings they can get for a very good price for giveaways, but they need to be picked up in Olympia, potted up ASAP, and cared for until the Board has a booth date. There was discussion about how this would be more appropriate for a fall activity. He will contact the coordinator for the Farmer's Market to get some dates for the Board to choose from — maybe one in summer and one in late fall. There was also discussion about raffling off some plants/trees from Sky Nursery. Ms. Powers suggested also including a gator/water bag to go with the mature trees. Board Member Phipps will get costs for trees/plants for raffle and sapling potting supplies. Motion made by Board Member Dimmick, seconded by Vice Chair Cass, to approve an expenditure of $200 for Douglas Fir saplings, pots, and potting soil contingent on getting a booth space. Motion passed unanimously. • Fall Arbor Day — tabled until next meeting 2. Prior Discussion Topics • Edmonds Tree Walk: logistics update — tabled until next meeting • Shared drive for TB documents, photos, etc. — Ms. Powers reviewed this. Tree Board Meeting Minutes April 7, 2022 Page 2 of 3 Update on tree code amendments —Ms. Powers gave an update on the status of Tree Code amendments. There is currently no limit to the number or type of trees that homeowners can remove as long as the property cannot be subdivided and there are no critical areas. Staff will be going to Council on April 19 to propose a preliminary scope for the Tree Code project. Ms. Powers suggested the Tree Board should have a special meeting or retreat solely dedicated to discussing the Tree Code. There was agreement that this would be a good idea. There is also a possibility that there will be a joint meeting with the Planning Board. Board Member Phipps expressed a hope that the Tree Board would be more involved with the many topics/programs to be considered for Phase 2 than they were with Phase 1. Ms. Powers was optimistic that the Tree Board and Planning Board will be very involved. Sierra Park — Board Member Phipps reported that he and Board Member Grant will take some photographs and compose a letter to be submitted to the Parks Department. They will bring a draft to the Tree Board for consideration. Tree Canopy - Board Member Dimmick thinks they may be at a stasis or even gaining a little canopy each year due to less development and growing trees. Board Member Phipps noted that there were three different methodologies used in the study. Ms. Powers discussed the study and the methodologies. There was agreement to discuss this more in-depth at a retreat or meeting. OPMA, TB Handbook — Ms. Powers will resend out the link to the training for all board members to take. Board members should send her certificates when complete. She is working to develop a handbook for board members. NEW BUSINESS (continued) 2. Status on filling recent TB vacancy — Ms. Powers reviewed the status and noted they may need to repost the Tree Board vacancy. 3. Election of new co-chair/ vice chair Motion made by Board Member Dimmick, seconded by Board member Phipps, to table this item until the next meeting. Motion passed unanimously. 4. Tree Code Impacts / Tree Fund ($212,000) — The Board had many questions about what impacts the code was actually having on the community and how the Tree Fund money was being used. There was agreement that more data is needed to make decisions. There was consensus to discuss this further at a retreat or another meeting. TREE BOARD MEMBER IDEAS AND COMMENTS - None ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:43 p.m. Tree Board Meeting Minutes April 7, 2022 Page 3 of 3