Minutes from the September 24, 2013 meeting

Board Members Present:  Brenda Douce, Joe Laforest, Michael Mitchem, Al Potts, and Jeannie Rigdon.

Visitors Present:  Duncan McClusky

SAVANNAH LAWSUIT
A woman in Savannah was awarded $12 million in court when she was hit by a falling tree limb.  http://savannahnow.com/news/2013-08-22/jury-awards-woman-12-million-against-savannah-fallen-limb-case#.UkLgBD-GdI0

TREES
There is a tree at 10^th and Tift where the base of the tree looks bad.  Davey Tree may not have surveyed this tree and the thought was that this tree is on the list to be removed.

There is a large pecan tree across from First United Methodist Church on 12^th Street that has been reported to be leaning towards the street.  The person is afraid the tree will fall over. 

There is a large pine tree in the middle of the old Anne Belle School with a branch that has broken off and is hanging.  The tree is not on the right of way but could be a hazard with the number of children playing in the playground. 

An oak tree at 614 Ridge Avenue has been dropping limbs

A limb fell out of an oak (?) tree at 710 Park and landed near the garbage can.  The homeowner wants the tree removed. 

Joe will email the board the addresses of the trees to be reviewed.

BOARD MEMBERSHIP
The board heard a report that Victoria Watson has submitted a request to be released from being a Tree Board member. 

GEORIGA URBAN FORESTRY COUNCIL MEETING

The Georgia Urban Forestry Council (http://www.gufc.org/) will be meeting on October 23-24, 2013 in Columbus, Georgia.  Tree Board members can write an essay about why they want to attend this meeting and what knowledge they hope to bring back to their job.  The people selected from these essays will receive a $135 scholarship to pay their registration for the meeting.  No one from the Tift County Tree Board was interested in attending.

DOGWOOD TREES
Jeannie Rigdon has marked a couple dozen dead dogwood trees around the old Anne Belle Clark School that can be removed.  Joe Laforest is going to contact the wood turners in the area to see if they would be interested in the larger pieces of wood.  There was a discussion about how to dispose of the remaining smaller pieces of wood. 

ABAC TREE CAMPUS CERTIFICATION
ABAC has been working hard on receiving the Tree Campus Certification.  They have completed most if not all the requirements and the report should be submitted by December. 

LIABILITIES
There was a short discussion about who would be liable if a tree or part of a tree caused damage by falling in Tifton.  The city has known about the hazardous tree situation for some time due to the Davey tree inventories.  However, the Tree Board has no authority and can only recommend actions to the city.  The Tree Board should not be liable if anything did happen. 

Minutes from the August 27, 2013 meeting

Present:  Joe Laforest, Michael Mitchem, and Jeannie Rigdon.

Visitors Present:  Duncan McClusky

TREE REMOVED

A tree near the intersection of 12^th Avenue and Ridge. 

TREES TO BE REMOVED

Another tree at 1019 Ridge Avenue will be removed soon. 

There is a tree across from the American Legion on Moore Highway that was looked at and should be taken down. 

HISTORIC DISTRICT

An anonymous person provided $9,000 for the historic district.  One suggestion is to use these funds to remove dead dogwood and maple trees.

FUTURE PLANTINGS

The suggestion was made to only use containerized trees next time and to choose one or two streets in the historic district to concentrate on.

The green menace strikes again! Human health effects of Emerald Ash Borer

PBS NewsHour just published a piece on How Removing Trees Can Kill You as related to the loss of ash in Detroit, Michigan as a result of Emerald Ash Borer. 

Geoffrey Donovan noted "Increased rates of death from cardiovascular and lower respiratory mortality in the counties with emerald ash borer. And interestingly, what we found was the effect got bigger the longer you had an infestation, which makes sense because it takes two to five years for a tree to die typically."

I've always touted the fact that trees in urban environments make it a better place to live. It takes something like this to make you appreciate just how important they can be!

Minutes from the May 28, 2013 meeting

Board Members Present: Joe LaForest, Michael Mitchem, Al Potts, and Jeannie Rigdon.
Visitors Present: Duncan McClusky

HOLLY TREES
The holly trees have been replaced with two trees waiting to be planted. The remaining two trees will be planted when the locates have been completed. Joe LaForest, and Jeannie and Steve Rigdon will remove the burlap and wire to plant these trees.

TREE WATERING
The city is watering the plants twice a week. Jeannie and Steve Rigdon have been carrying buckets of water in their truck to water the new trees.

TREE CAMPUS
ABAC is interested in the Tree Campus designation. Al Potts and Joe LaForest have been invited to attend one of the campus meetings regarding this recognition attempt.

TREE INVENTORY
The city has the Davey Tree Inventory and information on new trees being planted has been added to the inventory.

JUNE MEETING

The June meeting will be cancelled.

Minutes from the April 23, 2013 meeting

Members Present: Brenda Douce, Joe Laforest, and Michael Mitchem.
Visitor Present: Duncan McClusky

HOLLY TREES

Very few of the holly trees that were planted recently for Arbor Day have survived. Joe Laforest has discussed the situation with David Cleveland of Cleveland Tree Company and the trees will be replaced with another holly variety. Due to scheduling conflicts the week of May 11th will be the first available time to replace the dead trees. However this may be getting too warm to plant so may have to wait until next spring. Next year the recommendation is to only transplant trees that are in containers.

  DAVEY TREE INVENTORY

The Davey Tree electronic inventory has not been updated to show locations for trees planted during Arbor Day or trees that have been recently removed.

Minutes from the January 22, 2013 meeting

Members Present:  Joe LaForest and Jeannie Rigdon.
Visitors Present:  Duncan McClusky, and Michael MItchem.
ARBOR DAY
The ceremony honoring Arbor Day will be held on February 15th at 9 AM at the new Peanut Commission location.  Mayor Jamie Cater and County Commissioner Grady Thompson will read proclamations honoring Arbor Day.  Joe will talk with Don Koehler about what tree or trees to plant.
TREE PLANTING
ON Saturday February 16th there will be 85 trees planted in 24 locations in the historic area of town.  The locations are marked on a map and with red or pink flags.  The Tree Board will be contacting Boy Scout leaders to see if there are Boy Scouts to assist with the project. 

The trees selected may come in containers ranging in size from one gallon to 30 gallon pots.  The longer a tree is in a pot then the better chance of root problems with the tree.  The trees will be delivered from the nursery to the city complex on Armour Road.  There was a discussion about how to distribute the trees.  The city can deliver the trees to the locations on Thursday or possibly Saturday.  The trees may be deposited in a central location and volunteers will move the trees to where they are needed.  Joe Laforest may work with someone else to pick up the trees from the city complex Saturday morning and transport them to the locations. 

Joe will post the list of tree locations to the Tree Board blog and will send it out to the Tree Board members via email.

The city will handle the locates and drilling 24 inch wide holes 18 inches deep to plant the trees.  The dirt should not be removed.  The holes will be covered with traffic cones to keep people from accidental falls from the holes. 

The tree planting will start at 9 or 10 AM in the morning.  That afternoon the trees should receive some water.  Joe Laforest will prepare a flyer advising homeowners of how to care for their trees. 
Charles Styer will be contacted to record the tree plantings with his camera. 

If anyone asks about having a tree planted in their yard they should be told another planting will take place next year.  Their name and address will be recorded as well. 

TREE REMOVAL
Joe had information on four trees that need removal.  They will be posted on the blog and forwarded to the City.