REGULAR MEETING OF DECEMBER 4, 2012
MIDLAND CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS
7:00 P.M.
MINUTES
1) Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Chairperson Frank Altimore
2)
Roll Call:
a. MEMBERS PRESENT: Altimore, Bovid, Carney, Kelley, Metevia, Rankin, Rice, Steidemann
b. MEMBERS ABSENT: Carlson
c. OTHERS PRESENT: Bart Heil, Parks Supervisor
3)
Minutes of November 7, 2012: Metevia motioned, Steidemann seconded to
receive minutes of the meeting of November 7, 2012. Motion passed 8-0.
4)
Call to Audience:
None
5)
Public hearing on proposed recreation fee changes
for 2013: Murphy reviewed the
proposed recreation fees as presented to the Commission at their November
meeting. A public hearing was conducted
with no public comments offered.
Steidemann asked if there would be any exceptions to the band shell
rental, and Murphy replied that fees would be waived for community events such
as Memorial Day and Chemical City Band concerts. Steidemann also asked if the rental fees for
fields at Emerson pertained to the entire park, to which Murphy responded the
fees only apply to the use of the ball fields.
Rankin asked if deposits were required to reserve ball fields and
whether there was an additional charge for clean up services. Murphy responded that deposits have not been
required to date and clean up is included in the event fees. Kelley motioned to
recommend the fees as proposed to City Council at the upcoming joint meeting
with the Parks and Recreation Commission and the City Council. Steidemann seconded. Motion passed 8-0.
6)
Division Report – Forestry update: Parks supervisor, Bart Heil, gave an update
on the forestry operations throughout the city.
Heil reviewed emerald ash borer (EAB) status for street trees, parks and
wild areas. Of 3,500 street-side ash
trees, 2,200 are undergoing treatment, and 1,300 will be removed (some of the
removals have already taken place). In
addition to conducting a street side inventory, the City entered a field trial
with Michigan State University’s Entomology team to look at insecticide
treatments. The City chose to use
TreeAge® to systemically treat trees based on this field study. About 2,000 outlawn trees were treated by
contractors and 200 treated by in-house crews in 2011 and 2012. The plan is to re-evaluate these trees
starting in 2013. Heil reported already
seeing some failed treatments where staff chose to treat trees that ended up
having too much damage to survive. In
parks, staff have treated about 400 ash trees and marked another 200 for
removal. The next area of concern is the
wild areas where the plan is to only remove trees that pose a safety
concern. The remaining ash in these wild
areas will be left in place untreated.
To free up in-house crews to concentrate on EAB, the City has contracted
out stump grinding and tree planting this past year. With tree planting, the focus is planting the
right tree in the right place, and diversity of trees to help protect against
future species-specific diseases. In
addition to removal of ash trees, the City removes 200-300 trees annually based
on disease, safety hazards or physical damage.
Heil also reviewed tree marking, including blue marks made by Consumers
Energy, for utility clearance purposes, green marks indicating EAB treatment or
removal, and orange marks indicating future removal of the tree by the
City. Heil reported that Dutch Elm
disease had a heavy resurgence in 2012.
Other forestry responsibilities include trimming for sidewalk clearance,
blocked street signs, and intersection visibility. Heil shared future goals of proactive pruning
and treatment, zero net loss of outlawn and park trees, and a 100% inventory of
all outlawn trees.
7)
Project Report:
Murphy shared a picture of the new Hintz Park playground that was
installed with funds from the Arthur Hintz Park fund held at the Midland Area
Community Foundation. The project will
be completed in the spring when new metal mesh picnic tables, park benches, and
trash receptacles will be installed.
8)
Old Business :
None
9)
New Business:
a.
Forestry grant for tree planting: Murphy shared that the Parks Department
recently received a grant for $5,000 from the Urban and Community Forestry
Program through the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Forest
Service. The grant provided funds for
tree planting in the right-of-way. The
grant covered the purchase of the trees with the City covering the labor cost
to install the trees as a match to the grant.
Twenty additional outlawn trees were planted as a result of the grant
funds.
b.
Murphy reported that pavilion D, the largest pavilion
located at Emerson Park across from Currie Stadium, has been taken down due to
structural concerns. The pavilion had significant
rot in the main structural support beams as well as along the edges of the
roof. Temporary repairs were done this
summer to ensure the safety of the pavilion so the City could honor
reservations for the remainder of the picnic season. Staff is looking at options for replacement,
and Murphy will keep the Commission updated as plans develop.
c.
Murphy reminded the Commission that there is not a
regular scheduled meeting in January.
d.
Kelley inquired if the City had looked at a plan to
install artificial turf at the Civic Arena.
Murphy responded that the Civic Arena and the Golf Course are no longer
managed under Parks and Recreation, so questions related to the facilities need
to be directed to the respective facility managers.
10) Adjourn: Motioned by Metevia, seconded by Carney to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed 8– 0. Meeting adjourned at 7:39 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Murphy
Director of Public Services