Tree and Storm Water Advisory Board on October 14, 2020

Agenda

7:00 pm, via Zoom 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, public health and safety concerns require City of North Liberty public meetings to be held electronically, so as to limit the spread of the virus. The public is invited to submit questions and comments in advance of the meeting for consideration submitting them to the City Clerk Tracey Mulcahey via email at [email protected].

This meeting may be accessed live by the public on the internet at northlibertyiowa.org/live, on Facebook at facebook.com/northliberty or on YouTube at www.youtube.com/channel/UCrCw6ipAPjJnd-olpRgPJcg. You can also attend by phone; call 1 (312) 626 6799 with a touch-tone phone and to enter the meeting ID 844 1816 0525 and six-digit meeting password 41956173. Meetings are rebroadcast on cable and available on-demand on northlibertyiowa.org.

  1. Call to Order
  2. Approval of the Agenda
  3. Approval of Minutes
    1. January
  4. Public Comment
  5. Board member update
    1. Vacant seat
    2. Election of Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary
  6. MidAmerican Trees Please Grant 2020 update
  7. Arbor day Proclamation
  8. Derecho update
  9. Storm Water update
    1. Storm Drain painting open to the public with use of cost share money
    2. Stormwater infrastructure maintenance issues due to limited outreach and public interaction
    3. Drainage area cleaning and grading
    4. Tree and brush removal and mowing
    5. Sink hole repair due to improper installation of storm sewer
  10. Old Business
    1. Any issues from past meetings
  11. New Business
  12. Adjournment
    1. Next Meeting date: January 13, 2021, 7:00 pm

Minutes

Meeting Called to Order: 7:01 PM

Present: Darice Baxter, Ben Curtis, Mike Wolfe, Guy Goldsmith, Michael Burrill, Kevin McGrane, Abdouramane Bila

Minutes Respectfully Submitted by Ben Curtis

  1. Call to Order

Burrill called the meeting to order at 7:01PM.

  1. Approval of the Agenda

Curtis motioned to approve. McCrane seconded. All in favor. Agenda is approved.

  1. Approval of Minutes

Curtis approved meeting minutes of January 8, 2020.

  1. Public Comment

No public in attendance.

  1. Vacant Board Seat

Curtis has moved to Tiffin and will be unable to continue serving the Board. The Board welcomes Abdouramane Bila. “Bila” has been living in North Liberty since 2012 and has 2 kids in the Clear Creek Amana School District. Bila joined to find a way to improve North Liberty.

  1. Board Elections

Bila volunteered to Board Chair. Burrill volunteered for Vice-Chair and McGrane volunteered for Secretary role. Curtis motion to approve slate, Darice seconded. All in favor.

  1. MidAmerican Trees Please Grant 2020 Update

Goldsmith updated committee on the City’s 202 grant for $5,000 for new trees at the new dog park. The City was awarded $1,000 and 68 new trees were planted. Next round will come out in early 2021.

  1. Arbor Day Proclamation

Goldsmith provided an update on the City’s annual Arbor Day proclamation. Normally it would have been in April but was postponed to October. It was read on October 3rd. The proclamation helps the City maintain status as a Tree City USA, which the City has been awarded for 24 years straight.

  1. Derecho Update

Goldsmith provided an update on storm damage from the April derecho. The City spent a month cleaning up the city from fallen trees and hauling all the materials to the public works storage areas. The City allowed residents to bring their debris for about a month. The City hired a contractor to take down a lot of trees and that is still ongoing. The City has accumulated 13,000 square cubic yards of material, which will all get ground up into mulch. There are no future street pick-ups planned and there were no trees lost at the dog park from high winds. Goldsmith estimates about 5% of the City’s tree canopy was lost. Bila submitted the idea of allowing residents to pick up mulch and compost in the future.

  1. Storm Water Update

Wolfe reported that the Storm Drain painting program is open to the public. Cost share can be granted. Designs should be submitted ot the Stormwater Coordinator. City will cover $150 in supplies. So far 7 have been completed around town and pictures are available on the City’s website. The program will continue through 2021.

Stormwater Coordinator notes that outreach has been limited due to COVID. Coordinator can meet individually with residents, but public events are limited. Wolfe has been working more with Public Works team in wake of derecho.

NEW BUSINESS

  1. Goldsmith mentioned that if there are ideas/concerns from other residents, those topics can be part of future agendas.

McGrane mentioned that along the bike trail, south of Zeller, lots of trees have been cut out. Wolfe noted this was intentional as part of the Muddy Creek streambank cleanup.

OLD BUSINESS

  1. None to report.

CONCLUSION

  1. Next meeting January 13, 2021, 7:00 pm via Zoom tentatively. Meetings quarterly (January, April, July, October).
  2. Adjourn: Call to adjourn at 7:34PM by Curtis. Seconded by Abdouramane. All in favor. Meeting adjourned at 7:35.

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