[0:02] everyone um to our Oakdale Treeboard meeting Um we have a full agenda today

[0:08] We'll go ahead and I'd like to call this meeting to order Uh first we'll start with

[0:14] roll Um and I'm Marge Sagetter I'm filling in tonight for Nick Canola our

[0:21] um president who can't be here Um I'm Marge Sagster as I mentioned Uh and we'll go ahead and go down the list Um

[0:28] Glenn Jacalto acting chair I can I can take care of that for you Okay So uh

[0:33] Commissioner Pearson present Thank you Commissioner Jacalto

[0:39] Commissioner KD acting chair Sagsteter here Commissioner

[0:45] Bender present Commissioner Sella here Uh Chair

[0:52] Canola Okay we have a quorum All right Thank you Um okay Uh thank you Let's go ahead and

[1:00] do the pledge of allegiance

[1:05] I aliance to the flag of the United States of America to the republic for

[1:10] which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for

[1:16] all

[1:21] Okay Thank you Um the agenda has been preset I'd like to get a motion to

[1:27] approve the agenda I move we approve the agenda as presented Second All in favor I I All right Um

[1:37] let's go ahead then Um approval of the minutes from our January 21st 2025 regular

[1:44] meeting Um has everyone had a chance to take a look and review the minutes and are there any comments

[1:54] I move we accept the minutes as presented Second Okay Um all in favor I I

[2:04] decline No Okay Um the motion passed the accept those meeting minutes Thank

[2:10] you All right Uh open forum is next on our agenda Um that's usually a time when

[2:17] we can ask anyone in the audience or any of our board members to speak up and talk about anything hot topics about

[2:23] trees that's not on the agenda That's not on the agenda Thank you

[2:31] Actually I have one thing if nobody else does Uh anyone from the audience want to

[2:37] speak All right Um I just want to let everybody know um that ARP is offering a

[2:42] class again at the Discovery Center on October 3rd um from 1 to 3 A ARP and um

[2:49] it's on prairie plants and I'm not sure the exact topic but mark your calendar if you're interested It's a free class

[2:55] We had one last year Mike Bender and I hosted um a tree uh little tree trek uh

[3:02] after the class and this time we'll go out to the prairie and um take a look So anyway just that's something coming up

[3:08] Not specific to trees but of course there are trees in the prairie So thank you Anything else in the open forum

[3:18] All right Well that's good You have to close the forum Oh I do have to close it Um can I have a motion to close the

[3:24] forum Just gave it to close That's it Thank you me tonight All right

[3:33] Uh tree board review Uh we have old and new business Old business is first Our 2025 work plan which has been presented

[3:41] in January The draft was presented to um the council um in our uh work meeting Uh

[3:49] it's let's see it's it's quite a ways in here Um so it includes our our three

[3:57] basic community um events and then uh public education and awareness efforts

[4:03] that we're trying to make sure people know what's going on about trees in the community Uh we need to get an approval

[4:09] for this I believe a formal approval So can I get a motion to uh u present this

[4:15] as planned to the council You may want to ask first if the if staff has any comments on Oh any comments from the

[4:22] staff on that Yeah thank you acting chair There there is none from staff Just as a reminder this is the same plan

[4:27] that the uh commission reviewed on the January 21st meeting It was then submitted to council Council reviewed at

[4:34] the February 25th meeting and had no recommendations or requests for changes So seeking um just approval to adopt as

[4:41] presented All right Thanks Corey All right Then we need a motion to adopt this as written I move we accept the 202

[4:50] 2025 treeboard work plan as presented Second

[4:55] Second Thanks Mike I know it's a slim pickings All right Um motion's approved

[5:01] Thank you Um on to new business We're chugging along Um so there's a new chapter 22

[5:09] article 6 disease control and tree trimming that we want to talk about Um

[5:14] this was sent to board members ahead of the meeting Um it's a little lengthy but

[5:20] um could we maybe get some background on this Yeah acting chair I can I can take that Um certainly So um throughout

[5:27] conversations with city staff and um you know the ongoing presence of Emerald

[5:32] Ashboard developing um throughout the city and especially in private uh properties we um as staff asked uh

[5:39] brought this forward through the administrator for um seeking just some clarification and review to our city council u as the ones that set that

[5:46] direction on uh how do we you know the appropriate steps to

[5:51] take in responding to uh emerald ash or trees or infected trees which per our

[5:57] code con constitutes a nuisance tree um on private property uh recognizing that

[6:03] there can be some pretty significant cost to that and uh you know as code states um currently which we'll get to

[6:10] on how we are doing it now compared to way other communities are doing it So I'll I'll briefly run through the memo

[6:15] here Won't read it word for word but um just reme reminding the commission that uh we're just looking for feedback um

[6:22] for council consideration that we can take forward to them Uh they specifically requested that the tree board review um provide some input um

[6:29] and guidance from them from your perspective But um as as mentioned on the thing ongoing um efforts uh you know

[6:36] with the urban forest and the increasing amount of emerald ash bore into trees

[6:43] there's for property owners that uh there is an opportunity depending on the quantity the location of where those

[6:49] trees are that it can have some some pretty uh high consequences for financial con you know constraints to to

[6:55] different individuals That's one aspect of it As it states on our current city code is that our forester Mr Melhorn um

[7:05] would could do an inspection on a property If he uh felt that there was a nuisance tree on the property he would

[7:11] submit that information to the council If the council agreed with that uh we

[7:16] would at that point then send a letter to the property owner and from the date of that property or that notice they

[7:23] would have 20 days to remove uh that tree If they chose to not or did not

[7:29] meet it in that deadline um then the city would uh abate that tree uh we

[7:34] would coordinate likely with a contractor to do that removal and then the invoice and all related cost would

[7:41] be uh sent to the uh parcel owner uh property owner uh not tenant the

[7:47] property owner of that thing If they failed to pay within 30 days then we could special assessment under uh you

[7:54] know Minnesota statutes which is alignment with what we do for special assessments for uh road construction

[7:59] projects and stuff like that So related to um in preparation with that recognizing council also had some

[8:06] questions related to what the cost for abatement was for different things Uh our forester Melhorn did some research

[8:12] on it and there is some uh estimates for abatement expenses So as you can see in

[8:18] the thing a tree in the backyard that does have some obstacles um with approximately a 22-in DBH if we did a

[8:25] full removal stump restoration and everything it's about $3,200 per tree Um

[8:30] obviously with the front yard there's some differences there uh the cost is a little bit less and then depending on

[8:36] the diameter of that tree But it kind of it it's meant to give um you know the commission and it'll ultimately be

[8:42] provided to the council just some some underlying estimates of what that cost

[8:47] could be uh to a property owner if uh required to remove that Um looking

[8:52] around to uh some different uh communities or city forester and myself did some research and just collaborated

[8:59] some things together Uh ultimately uh briefly going through the what you'll see here through all these there's a

[9:05] pattern that's very similar Um city of Stillwater uh forester shall notify in writing um the property owner has up to

[9:12] 30 days to remove it per city code Um if the city performs uh the work that the

[9:19] all those expenses will be uh transferred onto the property owner If

[9:24] the property owner fails to uh pay those then same similar situation those abatement costs can be uh assessed to

[9:32] that parcel and importantly note that the Stillwater city staff report that

[9:38] they only take action to remove the nuisance on private trees on a complaint basis Uh city of Roseville uh not not

[9:45] much different Um the forester would notify if they do see a tree that needs

[9:50] to be abated remind the property owner of the code the it requires 20 days after the date of the notice for those

[9:56] to be removed Uh one unique thing to Roseville is that they within 5 days of

[10:02] receiving it they can file an appeal that would ultimately go through their tree board and then city council um all

[10:08] within uh 21 days following the notice Ultimately if the if the property tree

[10:14] has to be abated by the city that those costs uh similar to the other communities um would be transferred to

[10:21] the property owner paid within 30 days Anything not uh paid within 30 days will

[10:27] be collected over a uh through property assessment over a 5-year period on real estates Uh similar to Still Water and

[10:34] what you're going to find in other city staff report that they only take action to remove the nuisent trees um on a

[10:39] complaint basis White Bear Lake Uh very similar uh abatement notices requiring

[10:46] 20 days um following the notice received by the city If they the property owner

[10:52] fails to remove it city will pursue uh proceed with the removal um and assess

[10:58] the cost against the said property There is a little bit of a a difference with the city of White Bear Lake and

[11:04] discretion to defer payments of a special assessment depending on if they meet uh a few different categories of

[11:10] age Um the uh depending on the abatement requirements of the city and then also

[11:18] uh if it would create a hardship for the applicant And as described in their code

[11:23] a hardship is described as an owner whose household income does not see exceed 80% of the most recent median

[11:31] household income data So um but there again similar to the other codes uh the

[11:36] city of White Bear Lake has adopted this uh code Staff did not take action against nuisance uh trees on private

[11:42] property a city of Egan uh as aligned with the others city forester uh would uh notice

[11:50] that to the property owner um the next two will be fairly similar that is a little bit unique thing where if they

[11:57] don't feel that there's an intimate uh threat to other trees surrounding that

[12:02] that um and because of maybe dormcy it's hard to tell what the actual uh uh

[12:08] living condition of that tree is there is an ability to delay a further inspection until the growing season or

[12:14] the next uh the next upcoming growing season If the um same tree is still

[12:21] deemed to be need to be removed but uh not an imminent danger to the others the

[12:26] city forester has latitude to identify a timeline that they can work with the property owner It's not a specific set

[12:32] amount of days that they have to have it removed from uh differently If that uh

[12:38] uh tree is infected or it ultimately becomes an intimate um threat to surrounding trees the city forcer shall

[12:45] notify that property owner and then they are subject to uh at least uh removal within 20 days of that receiving that

[12:52] notice uh very similar to the other ones Uh if the property owner fails to remove

[12:58] city shall abate and uh the property owner is responsible for

[13:03] uh reimbursing the city for those charges uh within 30 days of the invoice

[13:09] Anything over 30 days shall be considered delinquent late penalty fee and also uh potentially charged as a

[13:16] special assessment uh city of Egan staff report that they'll in they will inspect for infection in um trees on a complaint

[13:24] basis only They would try to work with the property owner to educate and encourage them to remove the nuisance

[13:30] independently However if the uh property owner fails to do that then they would um move forward with the action of the

[13:36] city code And lastly uh city of Woodbury just adjoining to us Uh very similar to

[13:42] city of Egan with uh non-inimate debt threats that they can uh be deferred for

[13:48] a reinspection um outside of the dormcy season Forester um and property owner

[13:54] will uh outline a timeline of when that tree needs to be removed Uh depending on the situation if they fail to uh remove

[14:01] it the city uh will proceed in having that abated And under the their public

[14:07] improvement chapter which is very similar to the special assessment stuff that we've already been talking about if the danger of the tree is intimate um to

[14:15] a threat to other trees surrounding the area the property owner u must be abated within a specified time U they don't

[14:22] have anything that outlines a specific date That would be just up to um from our understanding that they work with

[14:27] the property owner to set that Um one unique thing to the city of Woodbury

[14:32] that they most recently did pass uh to help with recognizing that there can be some uh constraints with the expense

[14:39] related to trees is they have um reallocated $500,000 a year mark

[14:45] $500,000 to um be spent between 2025 and 2027 and it's a one-time allocation and

[14:52] a property owner could um receive reimbursement or be have a

[14:57] tax deferred um assessment on that uh over the

[15:02] amount of the actual removal cost dictates the term of how long that

[15:08] assessment goes out the higher they can go to a property owner can have up to potentially

[15:13] $20,000 Um and so that's obviously the the most extensive and then with a uh

[15:20] the less impactful cost would be uh at a lesser amount but it they they have a fee schedule that they've worked out but

[15:27] it's a a one-time thing just meant to help with that And once the it's first come first serve So once the $500,000

[15:33] has been expended that's it Then they're deferring back to the property owners Um

[15:38] then uh just through the council the the recent council discussion um through the workshop that we mentioned previously

[15:46] again council believes that uh enforcing the code of ordinance is essential However there's acknowledgement that

[15:51] modifying the code of ordinance uh could enhance public safety for numerous different things where this is your

[15:57] neighbor's property It could be infrastructure that uh maybe those trees are around power lines or something that

[16:03] uh when they do go down from a storm uh could knock power out to different properties or anything because of a

[16:08] property didn't debate it Um but initially they've some of the discussion points that they've uh participated in

[16:14] and also are are looking for um uh feedback and consideration for

[16:20] consideration from the tree board is is um the suitability of creating a repayment process similar to street

[16:26] assessments Um they also are looking for some feedback or some consideration related to the removal um after property

[16:33] owner has been notified to abate and so what's the timeline for that Is the 20 days that is existing in our existing

[16:40] adopted code appropriate um or should that be adjusted and how the uh how the trees are identified Are they complaint

[16:48] basis Is it something that we want to uh that the council should direct where

[16:54] it's uh through part of a different form of the inspection process for a property if they're on another site or anything

[17:00] like that Um uh but ultimately in in a nutshell there

[17:06] was an awful lot there but um certainly happy to answer any additional questions or anything from that but uh looking for

[17:13] feedback from you for um council consideration I've got a question on the

[17:18] 20 days with um so much emerald ashbor going around a

[17:24] lot of quote unquote reputable tree tree removal people are busy So if would it

[17:31] be possible if if you're notified by the city forester and you you uh call up a a tree

[17:40] company and they say "Yeah what we can get to you but it'll be a month and a half." If if they've got that on record

[17:48] would that be um acceptable that they would bypass that 20 days then I think

[17:55] that you know that's I I'm I'm not going to I I'm not

[18:00] here to answer that question This is feedback that we're looking from you to provide You know if you're if that's a

[18:05] suggestion that you would like to make towards the council to consider we can I think there's got to be some leeway

[18:12] because um to get a reputable um tree removal it's I I think most of

[18:21] them are pretty well booked up I was just talking to somebody about Still Water and they were talking about

[18:28] they were asking how Oakdale was doing with their emerald ash removal and I said it looks like they're doing okay

[18:34] and they were mentioning Stillwater They said Still Water's got an awful lot of them that have been standing for a long

[18:40] time So that means that you know the the reputable people are busy So yeah Yeah

[18:48] certainly a valid point and I think uh one that's in alignment to some questions that were raised by the council of what that appropriateness is

[18:55] for that I would have to concur because of my personal experience of having a

[19:00] tree fall and it took me a couple of weeks to get someone to be able to come

[19:06] over 20 days might be a little tight but if I can understand certainly making

[19:12] arrangements within the 20 days that that was going to be and and and thank you for for mentioning that

[19:18] commissioner that's that was going to be a distinction question I was going to ask is are you referencing

[19:24] the maintaining the 20 days um requirement as adopted but with

[19:32] supplemental documentation that you have a plan would be permitted to uh delay

[19:37] that this advice for the 20 days um based on there Okay So a written

[19:46] conting is that what you guys are you're thinking or at least be on the schedule being able to say on the schedule Yeah

[19:53] But you'd want evidence of that probably right Yeah I I would think should even

[20:00] even tree removals they're subject to the weather too Uh yeah point So

[20:10] I've got a question perhaps a moot question but is there a distinction between the city easement versus the

[20:16] properties private property owners area Yes If it's in city rightway or on city

[20:23] property the city will remove it Okay Because that's not clear at all in any of the the notes you've got in here

[20:28] These are meant um to be specifically focused towards trees on private property

[20:36] Yeah I'm not sure the people a lot of people know about the city easement issue though is a question Yeah Yes And

[20:42] our our forestry team has a has a real um comfortable grasp on where we're at

[20:48] in our public spaces of what's left especially um you know those that u might be out in the public and you know

[20:55] those you know whether it's in a right of way or something like that and are uh continue to actively triage those and

[21:01] address those you know as appropriate and we'll continue to do that But this this conversation here is um more

[21:07] directly focused on trees on private property for a property owner that might

[21:13] not be aware that you know what can happen with that tree or you know what

[21:19] how not removing it what kind of safety concerns that could that could bring um to maybe not them themselves but you

[21:27] know a neighbor or something if you have a tree leaning over onto somebody else's property or it could be something in

[21:32] your front yard and um an individual walking down the sidewalk on stuff like that So that's that's really where uh my

[21:39] understanding is the basis of this You know when we talk about nuisance trees we're talking right now about emerald ashbor but it covers a lot of other you

[21:46] know species and and diseases and stuff like that But with the quantity of you

[21:52] know EAB and trees succumbing to that that disease where does you know at what

[21:59] point as it's adopted um the city our forer would go um and could do an

[22:06] inspection and and automatically notify council could be required that that property owner removes that tree and um

[22:15] there's recognition of that importance that I think the council's asking for your input more related to are the terms

[22:22] of that uh our current ordinance appropriate uh given the

[22:28] quantity that we're seeing in different areas and whether that be the time and recognizing what some of these costs are

[22:35] How how could that be is um from your perspectives and and your guys' is

[22:40] knowledge base Where do where do you feel that um

[22:46] that level of urgency should be you know sticking tight to the 20 20 days and you

[22:52] know recognizing that there could be some some fiscal hardships if um you

[22:58] know there is some options for uh that uh the council has discussed about you

[23:04] know working through that special assessment process with some um you know how that looks you know for repayment

[23:10] and that but ultimately anything related to this topic is you know we appreciate that feedback but specifically to trees

[23:17] on private property The only other comment I could have is my personal experience I had an emerald

[23:25] an ash tree that I was having serviced and taken care of and all of a sudden I

[23:30] woke up one morning and the tree had split in half Half was on my neighbor's fence Fortunately it didn't go the other

[23:36] direction and take out my neighbor's shed Uh but it took me a while to find

[23:43] somebody that could come out and get it So it was marginal if I would have been in the 20 days But

[23:49] also how do people know if the tree is going to be I didn't know there was a problem with the tree I was having it

[23:55] treated for emerald ashbor and I thought everything was copacetic but it was certainly not Is there any facility to

[24:01] help people determine if some of these ash were in bad shape Yeah certainly our city forester Mr Mel Horn is is happy to

[24:08] you know assist with inspection or reaffirming for property owners just as it states in the code Now that we you

[24:13] know in determining whether a tree is is diseased obviously um there is uh numerous other uh private entities that

[24:21] are wellversed in in tree disease and in their overall health So um there's uh numerous options besides the city

[24:27] forester but by uh any any homeowner can call public works and set up an appointment with our forester to to come

[24:34] out and have a consultation with them about it Yeah The way this is written right now it's they've got 20 days after

[24:40] they're notified by the city forester Correct So anything can go on you know

[24:45] weeks before or months before that Yeah And and and just to clarify the way it's written now the forester if he inspects

[24:52] a property and and not notices a diseased tree he is to or a nuisance

[24:57] tree he is to report that to the city council They are the ones that would uh determine that yes it does meet the

[25:04] expectations of the the guidelines of a tree and then that letter will be sent out after that time So it's it's not

[25:11] necessarily immediate like the next day because we would have to be waiting until the next council meeting

[25:20] Um if I can move on to another question I have Um do you know what the dates of these ordinances are for these other

[25:27] cities Because I'm just I think it's interesting that um they've all been adopted but there's been no action taken

[25:33] Are they all very brand new and there hasn't been time or I mean I'm I'm just not um clear how common this issue is

[25:42] and are people like not taking their trees down if they look dead Yeah You

[25:48] know that the purpose ultimately for this Yeah Yeah Good good question acting chair But um I can't um you know I don't

[25:55] believe that we're in a position to clarify when other communities created those ordinances and stuff Um you know

[26:02] our forer Mhorn um did make direct contact with representatives from those communities to just reaffirm how they

[26:09] are um actively participating and in enforcing the ordinance Um and it's it

[26:14] it appears to be similar in numerous other uh situations It's a tool that's in place if they um at this point they

[26:22] haven't determined that it's one that they're ready to fully execute um in that stuff And that's where I think that

[26:29] um uh we're at as an organization I can say from city staff as we come to those places and and can recognize the

[26:35] financial hardship that some of that you know those trees where if there's even one tree like we've talked about at over

[26:41] $3,000 that can be a thing and we're happy to um fully execute the the code

[26:47] as adopted But uh with the increasing quantity now that you know uh EAB has

[26:53] been in the area for some time and we're really starting to see those effects of those untreated trees or um trees that

[27:00] um were not previously removed the the quantities of those in those private areas are are going to significantly

[27:06] increase So I I see not only Oakdale but other communities um you know having to

[27:13] will probably be adjusting some of that practice should that you know be in their purview um or decision that that

[27:19] they want to do So is the city forester or crew

[27:25] monitoring the the trees in in Oakdale so that uh that they will be notified or

[27:33] I I would think that's kind of a hard task to go through the entire city looking for So is it also then neighbors

[27:41] can also call in I guess I'm I'm a little vague as far as what the

[27:47] complaint is Is it primarily just the city forester or is it anybody can file

[27:53] a complaint Well anybody can file a complaint with you know the city notifying of it whether it's in a public

[28:00] space or not Uh Mr Mel Horn and his team have a a very good grasp of where uh

[28:07] where remaining ash trees are on city property or in our right ofways but we do not inventory trees on private

[28:14] property Um so those would be um you know could be complaint driven could be

[28:20] per the city code Now we could you know be tasked with um if directed to do uh a

[28:27] required inspection of them all There's some concerns about you know staff that

[28:32] the timing that that would take and and the logistics of tracking all that if we

[28:37] start uh going down different directions but I think that's feedback that the council's looking for from you guys of

[28:43] what you know what do you as the as the tree board think is a a reasonable

[28:50] direction to go moving forward um as a again uh for consideration as they they

[28:56] decide uh if it warrants an an amendment to our current code as adopted

[29:07] It seems to me that there would be um not capacity for our crew to inspect

[29:12] every tree that could come in as a complaint And I think about even in our parks you know I don't know if all of

[29:19] our the nature center you know anything that's near a a walkway has been removed

[29:24] yet And and so just the capacity of having Tim andor the crew members go out

[29:30] and inspect all those it's got to take an hour or some time Um so is there a

[29:36] possibility of having um an inspection by Rainbow Tree Care or some other

[29:41] reputable company come in and do an inspection or will it have to be one of our employees Yeah I think that you know

[29:48] the council can ultimately provide that direction You know per city code it's it's related to staff that are required

[29:54] to do that and that's similar to other communities um you know uh a traditional

[29:59] uh civilian is not permitted to access backyard properties and stuff like that

[30:04] but for various inspection reasons or you know those city codes and ours do permit city staff to to do that stuff

[30:11] and if if it's directed that that's what the council wants we'll figure out a way to make it work Okay Um you know make

[30:18] some adjustments to some other things Um obviously recognizing that we're still working to abate you know the last um

[30:26] you know I would say the last phases of our our ones that are are there but ultimately you know reassure you that

[30:32] from a public works standpoint and organization based on the council's direction that we would do that But uh

[30:38] we're also confident that the council recognizes the the amount of effort that that can take in staff time and we'll be

[30:44] acknowledging of that and and you know develop a plan that with us that unders

[30:50] recognizes that Do tree removal companies have like in

[30:56] Woodbury's case a deferred plan so that when they contract with people to remove

[31:02] it especially if it's like three or four trees or something do they kind of have

[31:08] a pay a pay as you go kind of plan or something of that nature that I mean you

[31:15] know these are pretty expensive prices for some people So that I would think

[31:20] that we might want to have something where we either can defer uh payments or

[31:27] uh set up some kind of assistance but I guess that's more of the city council's

[31:33] whether the you know the budget could uh sustain something of that nature and and

[31:39] I can't speak for um nor would it be appropriate for me to speak for the private side of that but I think you

[31:45] commissioner what you're getting at is is information that the council's seeking you know thoughts from from uh

[31:51] this commission on if if you feel that because of what those costs would be it is appropriate to consider some sort of

[31:58] a um assessment process similar to what we do with our street reconstruction

[32:05] stuff like that would be um certainly could alleviate some of those costs And

[32:11] by no means is is that that the city's um you know ultimately assuming those

[32:17] costs but we're just you know supporting and helping the property owners for the greater good of you know what's the

[32:22] public safety standpoint whether it's um your property or your neighbors property or whatever I assume you're talking

[32:28] about something like the program the city council had set up for arranging loans with a local bank um was under a

[32:37] reduced interest rate Yeah Yeah Very similar to not specific where we would

[32:42] set up a loan for each property u um for that stuff But through like a street reconstruction project you know we

[32:48] assume um through the budget process we plan and um uh finance that project

[32:53] initially and then those assessments for the percentage of um you know frontage that you have you each property gets

[32:59] assessed amount and that's deferred over an x amount of years and and that's where um you know certainly could

[33:06] continue to do that um and just ensure that that's a part of this process So um

[33:11] but there again that would be in a process where uh the city would ultimately be the ones that would

[33:18] coordinate the removal and stuff like that This it still allows the property owner and would encourage them where

[33:24] they can to abate that on their own uh uh with that But if it comes to the fact

[33:30] that you know for numerous reasons which could be financial or you know a variety

[33:36] of different things that um each and every one of us can can face that um how

[33:41] do we you know is it appropriate that the council allows that uh assessment to be

[33:49] paid out over a period of time so that one the property owner um can become in

[33:54] compliance of the city code uh but yet do it in a way that not not only uh

[33:59] promotes public safety for the numerous different avenues we've already discussed but also uh doesn't

[34:05] intentionally put an undue hardship on that property owner You know we're

[34:11] obviously a you know a tree city community and and um you know appreciate

[34:16] the forest canopy that we have and um and want to continue to promote that not

[34:21] defer somebody you know from removing it not wanting to replant And um how can we

[34:27] how can we do that for them in a way that wants them to continue to to

[34:32] replace those trees and and take care of those trees in a way that does ensure safety for others

[34:41] Well if I can take um a quick summary of I think you know our input here is at

[34:48] least on my notes Three things that it sounds like we maybe have a agreement or

[34:53] at least some concern about is the 20-day time limit to maybe extend that a bit um in whatever way that makes sense

[35:01] Um the inspection process making sure maybe we have a contracted inspectors or something if needed um to support the

[35:08] staff and then the repayment process like perhaps excuse me treating it like an assessment or something to allow

[35:15] people to go get their own loans or find their own financing Um uh I think just

[35:21] those would be um make it a lot easier for people to you know follow the code

[35:27] and be safe and um do the right thing So so just to just to seek additional

[35:32] clarification if I can acting chairs um you know for the delay in the the reference on the 20 days there's in my

[35:39] view there's two parts to that So we have the existing code that says 20 days but there's was discussion on if they

[35:44] have a plan in place right Um so sticking with the 20 days but uh

[35:51] potentially providing some latitude as long as there's an executed agreement or something that it will be terminated or

[35:59] you know taken care of in an amount of time Are you leaving that window open or are you leaving Do we Is there interest

[36:06] in stating you know you have to have it removed or have a plan to have it

[36:12] removed within the 20 days that has to be submitted but what does that end potentially look like Is there any

[36:17] feedback related to that Um my understanding would be the 20 days you have a plan or it's it's done or you

[36:24] have a plan in writing that it's done and you can submit that to the council They do we let me clarify are we looking

[36:32] at that could be like another 30 days or we looking at what if somebody uh just a hypothetical they say well it's going to

[36:39] be 6 months before they can get here Oh does that seem you know a a cap at that

[36:44] it needs to be within a certain time um based off of their vendor or if they still don't meet it within that time

[36:50] then the city would remove that You know following where I'm going with that Just seeking some clarification on that to

[36:57] pass that to the council 20 days plus 20 days I that's kind of my

[37:02] thought It I think you got to leave it more open than that It's um

[37:10] because you know like I said the if if we have bad weather that's going to set

[37:15] all those tree companies back And if you were scheduled for uh 20 days out but

[37:23] all of a sudden they lost five days of work you know you're you're back in there Sure And I don't know what if this

[37:30] is valid or not but I've been told that after an ash tree dies it you basically

[37:38] have six years until it gets to be dangerous when it starts coming down So

[37:44] you know I'm not you know too set on you know if if they go beyond it a little

[37:50] bit it's going to cause harm So so do you have a thought on where you were you

[37:56] know thinking on what that end term might look like for somebody to state that they have you know some sort of

[38:03] some sort of guidance that we can you know I would say six months is too long because if anybody's out out two six or

[38:11] two or out six months there's there's other reputable companies that are

[38:17] probably available to do it Okay You know I just I just think in in the 20

[38:22] days it's a little tight but it would certainly be within your purview to suggest to the homeowner that maybe they

[38:27] need a different vendor at that point Yeah Or or maybe go what I think it was

[38:33] said before add add an additional 20 days on So now you've got 40 days total

[38:38] but you've already as you stated once the uh city forester notifies them

[38:45] there's still a time period between uh between that time and when they get the final letter that

[38:52] starts the 20 days So they got quite a bit of time So if I'm understanding

[38:58] correctly uh at least um from what you're stating

[39:03] commissioner is that you know f maintain the existing 20-day timeline uh for

[39:08] required abatement If within that timeline they would have

[39:14] to provide documentation that they have an executed contract potentially with a private company If they do it's uh that

[39:21] is extended another 20 days If they don't um if it's not abated within that

[39:26] 20 days then the city um would um the suggestion would be then it would revert

[39:32] back to the city forester could coordinate that um thing that removal and abatement That sounds reasonable

[39:41] Okay Certainly good good information and I'm sure the appreciate uh the council appreciate and take into consideration

[39:47] as they're as they're figuring that out And then uh one on your second part that

[39:52] uh you mentioned acting chair is just about the uh investigation process is if

[39:58] you could clarify for me a little bit more what that looks like you know probably more specifically to is that um

[40:06] where we are is it complaint driven um inspections or is it where um are you

[40:12] suggesting that uh council should consider maintaining the existing process that staff um start

[40:20] incorporating a a mandatory inspection process into their I guess it's a it's a

[40:25] workload issue as from my mind um you know how many uh people on staff are are

[40:31] certified tree inspectors And I know Tim you must be but how are there other

[40:36] staff members that can go out and do this So maybe it's not as big of a concern as I'm thinking it might be if

[40:42] you're the only one and and you have other work to that has to be done So how do you you I guess

[40:48] you prioritize this because it's public safety and get out there but I know there's x number of hours in the day So

[40:56] I mean is that something we could contract another company who has certified inspectors to come if we need

[41:02] it I think that if if it um if it came to the point of a required inspection

[41:09] across the board we you know certainly we'd have to look at operations and and uh work with the administrator to decide

[41:16] you know what's the best way to move forward to meet the expectations of council Um I certainly I I don't know

[41:22] what that would look like right now There's a lot of different options out there but um I think that one thing that

[41:28] the council um one important thing that the council was looking for um some

[41:33] feedback from the tree board on for their consideration in this is is it appropriate to uh continue as written

[41:42] where it is um you know inspections uh could be done at the uh discretion of

[41:49] the council and as obviously staff or um that's available or is there uh interest

[41:57] in uh being a complaintbased inspection Um you know certainly two very

[42:02] distinctly different um situations there So

[42:07] I think you're already on complaint based from the document right And uh I think all she was suggesting was if it

[42:14] gets to the point where there are too many trees to be inspected for one

[42:19] person to carry on consider the option for the city council to give you the

[42:25] option to hire uh staff from services from existing companies

[42:31] Yes I think that's what she's meaning Just to clarify right now city code is not complaint driven our Oakdale city

[42:39] code Numerous not to be confused with the code of other communities and what they're actually doing with that where

[42:46] they have a code um these other communities that we referenced that state that forester shall inspect

[42:52] They're stating that they don't go and do the inspection unless it's complaint based driven Our code um states that the

[42:58] forester authorized agent if we have reason to believe that uh there is a nuisance on a property then we would go

[43:05] inspect That actually sounds better to me too Yeah because you know we're basically

[43:11] talking about emerald ashbor but if it's oakwilt or twoline chestnut bore those take a long time before they start

[43:18] showing up So um I don't think I would want to spend my tax dollars hiring some

[43:26] company to come around and inspect trees just to see if they're diseased I think we should keep it as it

[43:33] is keep as the code is now Okay Okay Yeah that's good information and we can

[43:39] um uh we'll definitely take to the to the council for their consideration as we um evaluate this uh our existing code

[43:48] and the appropriateness of it as adopted moving forward And I I appreciate your comment about complaint driven I I think

[43:55] our code that our code is a better choice on that Yeah good feedback Thank you for that

[44:02] Um I don't uh certainly happy to answer any other questions that you might have

[44:07] or field any more comments that we can share with the I have one more authorized agent Would that be uh um

[44:13] when it says city forester or authorized a agent twice in here Um would that be like a certified inspector Yeah tree

[44:20] inspector Okay Can we just change the wording in there I think authorized agent isn't clear very clear We can look

[44:27] into it might be um through a definition in an earlier aspect of the of the

[44:32] overall city code because that could be you know I I would have to reaffirm but I'll certainly take that into

[44:37] consideration that that I think that would help for me to be clear about it

[44:43] is who who's an authorized agent to to state that

[44:50] Thanks All right And then it sounded like we were all maybe in agreement about the repayment process We need to

[44:56] make sure people have time to to deal with us financially Um and the city you

[45:02] know can help us to do that as indiv as private citizens So you're you would

[45:07] encourage the council to consider that um some form of um it just makes sense

[45:13] It's what we do with the streets you know So okay Good feedback Okay Happy to

[45:20] take that back to the council All right

[45:25] All right Anything else on um that discussion Thank you for your input

[45:31] everybody Um let's move on the agenda to um excuse me other updates Our staff

[45:37] lays on um what's happening this I'm going to defer to uh Mr Melhorn forester

[45:42] for some updates Yeah So the city forestry department is

[45:48] considering not renewing our treatment contract for ash

[45:54] trees Um we are getting caught up with our EAB management on our public

[46:00] spaces Um we are currently researching a grant for removing and replacing

[46:05] diseased and hazardous trees in public spaces If I might make a comment if you

[46:10] use the other mic that mic has a problem and shouldn't shouldn't be used There's a a yellow tag there

[46:20] Maybe start over Tim You did cut out Thanks The forestry department is

[46:26] considering not renewing our treatment contract for ash trees We are um

[46:33] currently getting caught up with our removal um and

[46:39] replacing our diseased trees in public spaces We are also researching a

[46:46] possible grant for removing and replacing diseased and hazardous trees

[46:52] in public spaces And treating the terminally ill

[46:58] is expensive and not very coste effective Um which I also recently was

[47:04] affirmed by at a training I

[47:10] attended Forestry staff has also been working hard on the abatement of other nuisance trees throughout the

[47:19] city And then specifically for the Pete Grassy Arbor Day tree giveaway

[47:26] um the check-in list based on your feedback we will provide an alphabetical

[47:32] list by last

[47:37] name And that's it

[47:45] Just a reminder to everybody that um the locations changed this year for the

[47:50] treat giveaway So if you're watching on TV don't come to Walton Park It's it's

[47:56] going to be at the fire station the North Fire Station and a drive-thru like we've had Correct Rain or shine The

[48:03] firemen didn't even know that Yeah In that station Well hopefully they'll know it by the giveaway day So so in the res

[48:12] uh registration is there you know kind of like please note kind of a thing So

[48:18] it's quite clear in in the registration that this has been moved so you go to

[48:23] this site and such Yeah Yes Okay And April 1st is the the sign up start right

[48:31] 8:00 in the morning I'm guessing Correct Um I don't I can't confirm on the actual

[48:37] timeline of when that'll start but um yeah that is And then our staff this year one thing we've changed a little

[48:42] bit is uh working together collaboratively with our communications department and then our public works

[48:48] admin to reaffirm um with uh those that did sign up for a tree to remind them as

[48:54] it gets closer that here's the that you did sign up for this It's upcoming on this date Here's the date that you

[49:00] should arrive So hopefully that um obviously had some feedback from last year that there's some people that maybe

[49:06] forgot about the event at all Um which is easy to do and then they maybe uh

[49:12] forgot about what time they had to show up so they just showed up And so we'll put some extra effort into that this

[49:18] year to help try to communicate with people and obviously during that process we'll make sure that they're aware of

[49:23] you know the location um at the North Fire Station Excellent Thank you Yeah that that was discussed last meeting

[49:30] that yeah if a followup would really appreciate especially since the site's

[49:35] being changed and and we do seem to at least the last couple years gotten a lot

[49:40] of no shows so that that would help Yep Yeah we have we have a plan in place for that this year We'll hopefully uh

[49:47] hopefully address that and and uh staff have already discussed a uh a post afteraction review just to see what what

[49:54] worked uh and what didn't and and hopefully continue to you and every year you know make finite adjustments and do

[50:02] do the best that we can um for that Hopefully um you know to clarify for

[50:07] those uh members of the commission and that stuff that are looking to attend that and participate into that we'd ask

[50:14] you to arrive about 15 minutes early um to uh uh get set up and we'll get you

[50:19] into your you know the workstation areas and um task So that way once people do arrive we hopefully uh don't get behind

[50:26] right from the start I'd like to take this opportunity to just officially thank the city of

[50:33] Oakville for doing this This is a a really nice deal Not a lot of communities um you know we are a Tree

[50:39] City USA city We have recognition for that and um I just so appreciate that

[50:45] the city does this and the people that come through are just so grateful So I

[50:50] want to just formally say thank you for doing this Certainly an event that um

[50:56] that staff appreciates and it's it's nice to uh you know there's there's a lot of work that goes into it but it's

[51:01] um as you mentioned there's it's it's for the right reasons and so we're happy to support that and be a part of that

[51:08] And the people who come through are impressed The trees are lovely and nice size specimens So um I think it's a it's

[51:15] a nice investment back into the community by council to keep approving um this expenditure every year So please

[51:22] pass that on to council for us Absolutely Thank you Absolutely

[51:27] All right Anything else Tim That wrap it up Okay Well thanks So that'll be our

[51:34] next big event coming up Um so we'll move on then on the agenda to board member updates Is there anything um from

[51:41] the board that um I stopped out at the uh nature center and got the updated

[51:48] tree track and I want to make sure that Laura Lindmeer gets a lot of credit

[51:53] because she's the one that put all this together So this is the new one It's uh

[51:58] quite a bit easier to read than the last one So excellent We don't need a microscope to

[52:06] read the font Excellent Thanks for bringing this So it's all done It's as

[52:11] updated as we can make it right now And and Mike thank you for your work You've done a lot of work Laura Laura also I

[52:19] know And Laura for making us a great map Um and hopefully these maps are now out in by the front door of the Discovery

[52:26] Center Yay I picked it right off the shelf Excellent Excellent So and then

[52:31] it's on a little bigger paper I think So legal size so that helps Thank you So

[52:37] stop out the discovery center and pick up a tree track map and take a walk

[52:42] learn about trees Um anything else from the board members No All right All right

[52:50] Then we move to council leaison

[52:55] Good evening commissioners Um first I want to thank you for your very thoughtful feedback on the um let's see

[53:03] chapter 22 article 6 Um it was really interesting to listen to you I know Corey took all of the notes um and will

[53:09] send back to us So thank you so much I really appreciate that Um wanted to just

[53:14] It wasn't part of my notes originally but earlier today Oakdale did share the tree giveaway on Facebook Um and it does

[53:22] say note new location and that um set an alarm for Tuesday April 1st at 8 a.m to

[53:27] reserve your free tree So um April 1st indeed I knew I saw it earlier when I was scrolling so I pulled it back up

[53:33] while you guys were talking Um we have been busy in the council and I um

[53:39] understand that they keep saying it's not usually like this council member Moore It's not usually like this but

[53:45] it's been busy Um we have spent a lot of time talking about the park system plan update and the pedestrian and bike plan

[53:53] update And so there's been some really healthy discussion um with how we move

[53:59] forward how we look forward and how we prioritize some of these So um it's been kind of exciting And we've been watching

[54:04] the public works building going up um which is incredibly satisfying right to

[54:11] check in on those pictures every once in a while So um that is all I had as far as council updates I am happy to answer

[54:17] any questions and Corey I just want to thank you for your facilitation of that discussion So thank you Do you guys have

[54:23] any questions When is the park the public service um building open Is that

[54:29] this fall Yeah October to November of 202 It is this fall Okay Right Good luck

[54:34] with that Yeah Thank you Any other questions Thank you so much for your

[54:40] time commissioners Thank you You're welcome All right Um I think that's it We move on to

[54:48] adjournment and adjournment Um I need a motion to I move to adjurnn

[54:54] Second All in favor I I All right Thanks everybody Have a good

[55:00] night Enjoy our spring I think for a day till tomorrow delay delay