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TREE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MINUTES
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JUNE 28, 2005
ATTENDANCE: Don Nelson, Chair; Laurel Lindstrom; Peter Viteretto; Rich Whitehead
NORWALK TREE
ALLIANCE: David Tracy
NEIGHBORHOOD
TREE LIAISONS Mary Beth Becker
STAFF: Hal Alvord, Paul Sotnik, Department of Public Works
ABSENT: Dan Brookshire
CALL TO ORDER
Mr. Nelson called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m.
APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE TREE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETINGS OF:
TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2005
The following corrections were made to the minutes:
Page 2: The paragraph under Discussion Coordination with the Head of the Harbor Developer should read as follows:
Ms. Lindstrom reported that Mr. DiScala gave a presentation to the East Norwalk Neighborhood Association. The focus was on the overall land use. There was a lot of discussion about different housing units that are going up but nothing specific to landscaping during the presentation on the East Wall Street area.
Page 4: 4th paragraph, last sentence should read as follows:
She suggested that the TAC look at other areas such as the area around the remodeled train station at East Norwalk, since it also is a high profile location.
5th paragraph, 1st sentence add an Adopt a Spot following - together and come up with.
5th paragraph, 2nd sentence: correct spelling from wether to whether. Add: because the large Adopt A Spot signs can be as unsightly as billboards. Also, if the landscaping was to be a community project, the standard Adopt A Spot sign would not be appropriate following install a sign in that area.
6th paragraph, 2nd sentence add this site has historic significance, and because of its high profile location it should be given special consideration by the City. She suggested that if signage be placed at this location, that the City place a sign indicating that it - following Ms. Lindstrom stressed that.
** MR. NELSON MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS CORRECTED
** MR. WHITEHEAD SECONDED
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2005
The following corrections were made to the minutes:
Correct the page numbers
Page 2: last paragraph; add - a link could be placed on the main public works webpage (or the homepage of the City website) that would take viewers to a page specific to the Citys tree program. That page could be colorful and inviting and contain links to all the tree-related information following Ms. Lindstrom inquired if.
Page 3: 5th paragraph, 2nd sentence: add Ms. Lindstrom asked
if the following and install new planters.
Add planters were on the list. Mr. Alvord indicated that he did not know
of planters at that location. Mr. Nelson confirmed that the planters here
also needed to be replaced. Mr. Alvord following Liberty Square.
Page 3, last paragraph, 2nd sentence add construction
following regarding the.
Add but the lawsuit would not help prevent tree removal which had already
begun following interchange at Main Avenue.
Add the following sentence Mr. Nelson asked that a copy be made available
for the Committee to review.
** MR. NELSON MOVED TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES AS CORRECTED
** MR. VITERETTO SECONDED
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
DISCUSSION STATUS OF INNER CITY GRANT
Mr. Nelson reported that they received a grant from the State of Connecticut to place an arboretum at the Columbus Magnet School and to add trees to Ryan Park. After discussions with the principal and assistant principal, they came up with a timetable and will plant in the fall.
Mr. Viteretto said that they need to plant the trees out of the compacted area and will discuss that issue with the principal. Mr. Nelson said that the principal asked Parks and Recreation to seed the softball field so that it can be used for soccer.
Mr. Viteretto said that he will discuss what species of trees to plant with Mr. Bociek and the selection will take place shortly. He added that he usually likes to select trees when the do not have their leaves, but in this case they need to select the trees as soon as possible.
Mr. Nelson said that there was some discussion about changing the configuration of Ryan Park. He will follow up with Mr. Lo and Mr. Moccae.
DISCUSSION STATUS OF TREE PLANTING PROGRAM
Mr. Alvord reported that he and Mr. Sotnik reviewed the list of 108 requests for trees. Most of the residents have not received their property line checks. The Almstead contract was signed by Almstead. Once the contract has been fully executed, Almstead will be ready to fill about a dozen requests.
Mr. Sotnik explained that they are trying to bundle 20 30 tree requests in a group. Mr. Alvord said that they will not be able to fulfill 100% of the requests because of issues such as site lines, wires, property lines, etc.
Ms. Becker asked how the requests for trees were prioritized. Mr. Alvord said that they need to put a system in place. Mr. Sotnik said that it would be helpful to have guidelines, so that they can make those decisions in the office.
DISCUSSION STATUS OF TREE REMOVAL PROGRAM
Mr. Alvord said that he has nearly 200 work orders for tree related issues. The current Almstead account is exhausted until the new fiscal year begins on July 1st.
DISCUSSION STATUS ON UTILITY COMPANY TRIMMING
Mr. Alvord said that the website has not been activated at this point.
CL&P has not given notice that they are ready to move into Norwalk. They are coming in from Darien. Once they give notice, it will be posted on the website once it is activated.
DISCUSSION ADOPT A SPOT ISSUES
Mr. Alvord said that he has had some request from people who are interested in the Adopt A Spot; however, these people are asking DPW to add or remove curbs and do paving at the spot. Mr. Alvord said that they will not respond to any of those requests. He said that if someone adopts a paved spot, the DPW will dig up the pavement. In addition if the infrastructure is broken they will fix that.
Mr. Viteretto asked what the consequences were if a sponsor does not properly maintain their spot. Mr. Nelson said that he will develop a warning letter to send to the sponsors. The letter will let the sponsor know that if they do not maintain their spot, their sponsorship will be removed.
Mr. Viteretto asked what happens to an abandoned spot. Mr. Alvord said that the spot is paved over. He said that he has a very restricted workforce and does not have the available staff to cut and mow those spots. Mr. Viteretto expressed concern about the paving.
Ms. Lindstrom asked if current Adopt A Spot sponsors will be requested to sign a new authorization form. Mr. Alvord said that the problem will be how to get them to sign the authorization. They will break down the list by Deputy Tree Warden areas and have them look at the spots to determine if they are abandoned or not cared for. The goal is to have the current Adopt A Spot sponsors sign the authorization.
The Committee discussed signage. Mr. Alvord said that the existing sign ordinance is very restrictive. The intention of that ordinance is to limit the number of commercial signs in the City. Ms. Lindstrom said that the sign could have similar information, but would not be the standard green sign. She would like to see something more attractive or historic. Mr. Viteretto said that the City ordinance has to be accommodated and that the Adopt A Spot signs have to be consistent.
Ms. Lindstrom said that she prefers different signs and would like to see the City put in the landscaping as opposed to volunteers, so that the site would not be an official Adopt A Spot. The sign would announce a specific location. Mr. Nelson said that it sounded like Ms. Lindstrom was creating new City parks. Ms. Lindstrom said that some cities have budgets to maintain those areas.
Mr. Alvord said that this is a question of priorities. The DPW is not in a position to fund or request money for that type of work. He said that he would encourage volunteer Adopt A Spot efforts as much as possible. Mr. Alvord said that he would like to start an Adopt A Street program.
REPORT INCIDENTS OF ILLEGAL CUTTING
The Third Taxing District hired a company to remove trees along Gregory Blvd. Mr. George Leary, the General Manager at the Third Taxing District was contacted and was told that he needs to obtain permits to remove trees or trim trees.
Mr. Sotnik mentioned that there had been reports of illegal cuttings at 11 Harstrom Place, 33 Bayview Avenue and Orchard Hill Road that were being investigated.
Ms. Lindstrom asked if the tree removal program information was on the Citys website. Mr. Alvord said that it is not there yet.
Mr. Viteretto left the meeting at 7:05 p.m.
DISCUSSION NEIGHBORHOOD ACTIVITIES
Mr. Nelson said that the Coalition of Norwalk Neighborhood Associations has been meeting. Ms. Becker said that they have met to discuss what they would like to see in the West Avenue area.
DISCUSSION NTA ACTIVITIES
AWESOME TREE CONTEST
Mr. Tracy said that the Awesome Tree contest is ongoing. The publicity has been a challenge; however, The Hour has agreed to publish pictures of trees. Mr. Tracy will talk to the editor about getting the entry forms published in the newspaper.
STATUS OF TRANSFERRING INVENTORY DATA TO DPW
Mr. Tracy said that thanks to the Volunteers, they have made great progress. Now they have to filter the information they have gathered.
Mr. Alvord suggested that they add the type of tree to the in information. Mr. Tracy said that is the one piece of information that takes the most time. Mr. Alvord said that they do not have to be specific. Mr. Whitehead agreed and said that in the industry, if a tree is identified as an Oak that is specific enough. Mr. Alvord said that it would be helpful to have a map.
SELECT DATE FOR STAKING TRAINING FOR VOLUNTEERS
The Committee suggested the following dates:
July 12th or July 13th from 6:00 p.m.
NEW BUSINESS
Ms. Lindstrom suggested that the Committee receive the minutes earlier. Mr. Alvord explained that he tries to get the agenda and the supporting materials out to the Committee, three business days in advance of the meeting, but this month he was short staffed because a number of staff had to take their vacation before the end of the fiscal year.
Ms. Lindstrom noted that until the minutes are approved, they are not available to other groups.
Mr. Alvord explained that the minutes are sent to the Committee for review and corrections and once they are approved, they are posted on the website. Ms. Lindstrom said that the people who read the minutes on the website, are not going to re-read the approved minutes.
Mr. Alvord said that in an effort to save time during the committee meetings, he and Mr. Sotnik review the minutes for typos, misspellings, or incorrect names. Once they make those corrections to the minutes, they e-mail them to the Committee members along with the rest of the materials. Ms. Lindstrom said that she is concerned that the Committee does not see the original minutes and those other Committee members do not have an opportunity to provide their input.
Ms. Lindstrom said that the minutes should go to each member for their review and then sent back to the office. Once the corrections are made, the corrected minutes could again be e-mailed to the Committee. Ms. Lindstrom said that it would only take three minutes to send the minutes to the Committee members.
Mr. Alvord explained that Gwen does not have distribution lists on her version of Outlook, therefore, each e-mail she sends has to be typed in. Ms. Lindstrom said that there are others in City Hall who can do distribution lists. Mr. Alvord reiterated that Gwen does not have the capability to create distribution lists on her version of Outlook.
Mr. Nelson suggested taking the input of the Committee members and sending those corrections to the secretarial service for corrections. Mr. Alvord said that would not be appropriate. Mr. Nelson said that he wants to get the accurate information to as many people as possible. Mr. Tracy asked if Telesco Secretarial Services would e-mail the minutes to everyone on the distribution list. Mr. Alvord said that they would not.
Mr. Nelson suggested that the Committee review the original minutes and make the changes at the meeting. Once the minutes have been approved by the Committee, they will be posted on the website.
ADJOURNMENT
There was no further business and the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Rosemarie Lombardi
Telesco Secretarial Services
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