3-27-07

 Members present: June Hutson, Roger Vonder Bruegge, Bill Ruppert, Paul Loida, and Judy Wickersham. Curt Carron, as City liaison, and Councilman Joe Godi, as Council liaison, were also present. Jenny O’Toole was excused. 

One guest present: Mary Ellen Dick who lives at 233 East Adams had come to observe.

The meeting was called to order at 7:06 pm.

Citizen comments: none.

I.                    Minutes: the minutes from 2-26-07 were approved with one change.

II.                 Communications

Judy Wickersham received an email from Justine Gartner at the Missouri Department of Conservation that the supplemental material she received for the Arbor Day Tree City USA Growth Award was good and she would forward it to the National Arbor Day Foundation. Judy Wickersham expressed appreciation for Justine Gartner’s personal attention to our application and her helpful suggestions.

III.               City Liaison Report – Curt Carron

A.     The seedlings have been ordered and are due early in April.

B.     Another Volunteer Day was held March 17. The date may account for the fact that a smaller crowd than usual was on hand. There will be a follow-up event on April 14. Curt Carron is contacting scout troops and the high school for help. He reported that the areas in Kirkwood Park that have already had honeysuckle removed are showing evidence of many good things like wildflowers coming up and growing.

C.     Paul Loida asked about Curt Carron’s replacement on the KUFC. Curt Carron didn’t know. He said Public Works is overloaded with assignments and staff levels are down.

IV.              Council Liaison Report – Councilman Joe Godi

A.     Lorri Grueber has formally resigned from KUFC. Her pending replacement, Susan Renard, has been placed on the April 5 City Council agenda for Council approval. She brings excellent qualifications to the Commission: she has a degree in horticulture, she is a certified arborist, and she is employed as the Superintendent of Parks for the City of Clayton.

B.     June Hutson invited Councilman Godi to the next meeting.

V.                 Jr. Treekeepers – KUFC member Paul Loida

A.     North Glendale’s graduation has been scheduled for April 27 at 2:10. St. Peter’s is May 4 at 10am. Tillman’s is to be announced.

B.     The seedlings are coming in soon. They need supplies, specifically 2300 paper towels and rubber bands. Paul Loida said he has enough plastic newspaper pouches left over from last year. He will take care of the instruction sheets. Distribution is scheduled for all the elementary schools and the Early Childhood Center. The individual schools determine what grade or grades receive the seedlings.

C.     He is working on getting the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to provide some publicity, but so far he has not heard back from any contacts. He will work on other sources as well.

D.     Ken Edscorn contacted him and said that Joan Murphy is working on getting a contribution from the Rowena Clark Garden Club.

E.      Paul Loida said he is working on getting a tree for North Glendale from Forest ReLeaf. He said they usually plant a tree or two right where they hold the graduation ceremony at North Glendale.

F.      Roger Vonder Bruegge asked how the Jr. Treekeepers will be able to purchase supplies when Curt Carron is no longer our liaison to the city. June Hutson said she emailed Mike Brown for clarification on this, but he has not responded. She will email Betty Montano to see if Betty can find out.

VI.              Commission Items

A.     The Tree Code subcommittee is scheduled to meet Friday, March 30, at 8am. Bill Ruppert presented the Webster Groves Tree Manual as a model for developing Kirkwood’s.

B.     The Commission received a request to remove a Sweet Gum tree at a new construction site at 909 Cleveland. Curt Carron distributed photos and site plans. The original site plan called for a driveway to go around the tree, but now the owner wants to remove the tree and put in a straight driveway. The matter was discussed at length, including the possibility of recommending that the owner plant a tree somewhere else on his property to compensate for the loss, but Roger Vonder Bruegge objected. In the end a motion was passed allowing the owner to remove the tree. Judy Wickersham made a motion that we recommend sending a letter to the owner and enclose the KUFC brochure of recommended street trees marked “for your consideration.” The motion passed.

VII.            Other Business

A.     America in Bloom: Bill Ruppert reported that the mayor read the proclamation officially entering Kirkwood in the competition. The kickoff is scheduled for March 31 at the “Brunch with the Bunny” event. The judges have been announced, and they are Norm Kleber, who works for the LESCO Corporation, and Melanie Riggs, a landscape designer. The judges are arriving June 27. Bill reviewed what he has so far for the urban forestry section of the municipal report. He felt it was necessary to include a statement under “Arboricultural Advisement” that the city does not have a professional horticulturalist on staff. He said this project will be easier next time. He also announced a new landscaping project for the west entrance to City Hall.

B.     Bill Ruppert recommended that in the absence of Curt Carron and Ken Yost at future meetings, we have “themed” meetings and invite an appropriate city staff person to attend. Curt Carron said the proper procedure would be to submit a schedule of meetings to Mike Brown and see what his comments are. He said that in the absence of a staff liaison we should direct communications through Betty Montano.

C.     Bill Ruppert said we need to preempt Commission member openings on KUFC. It’s important to strategize the diversity of interests and occupations for commission members. He said he would like to see a business owner or a developer serve to lend their perspective on issues we discuss.

D.     Bill Ruppert said that Donna Poe would like to pursue a T.R.I.M (Tree Resource Improvement & Maintenance) Grant for downtown Kirkwood targeted to tree replacement. Proposals are due June 1.

E.      Bill Ruppert said a woman called him about improving the small island in her neighborhood which would be greatly improved with a little pruning and mulching. Part of the difficulty is that right-of-way trees such as these are not assigned to any property.

F.      Roger Vonder Bruegge asked if anything is happening with the plan to improve the south entrance to Kirkwood. Bill Ruppert replied that they have received a permit from the Highway Department to prune the trees, but that is all so far.

VIII.         Adjourn: the meeting was adjourned at 9pm.

Next meeting: April 24, 2007.

The City is interested in effective communication for all people. Upon request, these minutes can be made available in an alternate format, such as audio tape, by calling 314-822-5894.