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01-09-24 PkC Meeting MinutesCITY OF SHOREWOOD 5755 COUNTRY CLUB RD PARK COMMISSION MEETING SHOREWOOD CITY HALL TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2024 7:00 P.M. MINUTES CONVENE PARK COMMISSION MEETING Chair Hirner convened the meeting at 7:02 p.m. Roll Call Present: Chair Hirner, Commissioners Garske, Wenner, Czerwonka, City Council Liaison Maddy; City Administrator Nevinski; Public Works Director Morreim; Planning Director Darling Arrived at 7:15: Commissioner DiGruttolo Review Agenda Chair Hirner added item D. in order to appoint liaisons for the upcoming Council meetings. Garske moved to approve the agenda as amended. Wenner seconded the motion. Motion carried 4-0. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Park Commission Meeting Minutes of October 24, 2023 Commissioner Czerwonka pointed out a few typographical errors on pages 3 and 4. Commissioner Wenner noted a typographical error on page 5. Garske moved to approve the minutes of the October 24, 2023 meeting, as revised. Czerwonka seconded the motion. Motion carried 4-0. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR Barry Brown, 6050 Burlwood Court, explained that this property backs up to Freeman Park and stated that he has a number of questions for Public Works Director Morreim related to buckthorn removal. He stated that documents shared at the Council meeting last night and those for tonight state that there will be burning stacks of wood in the winter of 2024-2025 and he was under the impression that the Fire Department was not going to be involved. Public Works Director Morreim stated that this was the hand out from the original neighborhood meeting and explained that he had not changed any of that because it was just for reference. He noted at that time, the burning was part of the plan. Mr. Brown asked if the burning was still being considered. Public Works Director Morreim stated that burning was not being considered. Mr. Brown asked if the City knew whether Prairie Restorations would be mulching down the trees that are cut or blown down in the park. He asked if they would be bringing a forestry mower through and cut through all the debris on the forest floor that is already there. Public Works Director Morreim stated that as far as he knows they will be mulching, but will avoid larger downed trees. He stated that when they are mulching they will also avoid more desirable trees. Mr. Brown stated that if they would not be taking care of some of the trees that have fallen over, he has a group of volunteers that could come in and pull much of this out and then it could be chipped. Public Works Director Morreim stated that he would need to do some checking and can get back to Mr. Brown on this item. Mr. Brown asked what area of Section 1 the contractor would be doing. Public Works Director Morreim explained that they will start on the east and noted that, in general, they will go as far as they can with the budget that the City as allotted. Mr. Brown stated that he believes that if people had their druthers, they would like a cut off that goes with the paths. Public Works Director Morreim stated that he believes that was also what they were thinking. Mr. Brown stated that when he was reviewing the application and asked if the City was checking the licensing for the chemical applicators and if they would physically be checked so the City would have a record. Public Works Director Morreim confirmed that their licensing would be checked. Mr. Brown noted that there is supposed to be a staging area for any of the invasive species that is a controlled environment so it is not able to spread any place else in the woods. He asked about signage and noted that he believes that blue dye will be used alongside the application of the chemicals and explained that he had been telling people he knows to keep their dogs away from the blue dye spots. He stated that he would like to see signage with this information posted so people he does not know will also be able to keep their dogs safe from the blue dye. Public Works Director Morreim explained that the first round of treatment would only be in area 3 and will be dobbed on the larger trees/stumps. He stated that there will be signage that should be put up next week and noted that there would also be other communication through social media channels. He noted that the signs will have a QR code on them that will bring people to the project page with more information. He clarified that there would not be any treatments to areas 1 and 2 this winter and area 3 would be the only one getting treated at this time. 4. NEW BUSINESS IPM Update Public Works Director Morreim gave an overview of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in the City and also reviewed the workplan and goals. He updated the Commission on IPM activities/ treatments as well as future considerations for the athletic fields, Manor Park Pond, Freeman Park Buckthorn removal plans, general weed abatement, and Emerald Ash Borer and answered Commission questions regarding details of the program. Tree Replacement – 2024 Public Works Director Morreim highlighted some of the issues the City has been seeing with their trees, especially the ash trees. He explained that because of this, they wanted to make sure that they were looking towards the future and getting new trees established in order to replace the aging and dying trees in City parks. He stated that staff had asked the City Council for $10,000 to be used for new trees in the City’s parks which was approved. He noted that they have been in contact with Davey for recommendations of tree species for these areas. He stated that they were also looking to diversity the tree species to ensure that there is a variety. He stated that he expects that they will get the trees ordered by March and while they wait for their arrive, will work on a placement plan. He explained that they would then plan to plant them in the summer or fall of 2024. He explained that they may try to have a volunteer planting event in order to get the trees planted and noted that the Public Works Department would be responsible for watering and maintaining the trees. Chair Hirner mentioned the big pine trees at Southshore Park and noted that they have started to look a little rough and asked Public Works to take a look at them. He stated that as they plan tree replacement locations, he asked them to consider putting some in now to start getting replacements established. He stated that he feels that once the existing trees go, they will go quickly and all go at the same time, so he would like to see something done before that happens. He stated that in Manor Park there are not a lot of trees around the playground area to help shade the playground equipment and asked them to consider possibly including some trees in the area in order to help provide shade. Public Works Director Morreim noted that they are probably looking at trees that are 6 to 10 feet high and 1-2 inches in diameter. Commissioner Wenner asked when the City’s tree sale would take place and if the City was planning to offer the varieties that were recommended by Davey. Public Works Director Morreim stated that he thinks that orders will be taken in March for the tree sale but noted that there would potentially be different trees available at the tree sale than what the City will purchase for the parks. Commissioner Wenner noted that there was not a lot of keystone plants on the list and, as a Bee Safe City, she would recommend that the City prioritize native trees. She read aloud a description of keystone plants and their importance and offered to send Public Works Director Morreim more information on keystone plants for him to review prior to making decisions on the trees. Mr. Brown stated that he felt that the City was kind of winging it and didn’t seem to have a long term plan for tree placement or replacement. He stated that he feels that is something that should probably be a 3-5 year plan. Public Works Director Morreim explained that part of what the City is going to be developing is for placement and a plan beyond 2024 but noted that they were not guaranteed to have funds beyond this year. He stated that he didn’t think there was any disagreement that the City needs to plant some trees which was why they wanted to included it in this year’s budget with the plan of having a planting plan that they would develop. He clarified that the City would not receive these trees for a few months and would work on the planning portion in conjunction with that for this year. He stated that he was really focusing on 2024 and getting this process jumpstarted. Chair Hirner stated that the Commission’s input was just to pass along what they have seen in their park tours and things that may be helpful while the City is making a plan. Mr. Brown stated that in his opinion, Davey, is probably the best to do something like what the City is planning because they can go through the entire City’s public spaces and mark every tree and map all the details about it. He suggested that the City have a conversation with them to see about getting a larger plan like this pulled together for the City. Public Works Director Morreim stated that the City already has this type of information that was gathered in 2017 and offered to forward it to Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown asked if the City owned an 18 inch Morbark chipper. Public Works Director Morreim stated that the size sounded correct, but he wasn’t exactly sure if that was the exact version of what the City owned. Mr. Brown stated that he asked because he had been looking at some of the logs in the woods to try to determine what could be handled with the City’s chipper. He stated that he has walked through Freeman Park every day for the last 29 years and has noticed a big difference in how manicured the lawns are and the baseball fields are and commended the Public Works crew for doing a good job to ensure everything looks nice. Buckthorn Update Public Works Director Morreim stated that this was approved by the City Council in November of 2023 and the City has been in contact with Prairie Restoration regarding plans to begin the week of January 22, 2024. He noted that he will check with them this week to ensure that was still the plan on their end. He stated that they are planning to start putting out communication to the public sometime next week and noted that there will also be new project signs with a QR code that takes them to a page with all the details. He reiterated that they will be stump treating the buckthorn and nothing will be sprayed. He stated that the area will be marked with signage but noted that he felt the impact in this area will be minimal. Commissioner Wenner asked if there were plans for the City to apply for the same grant next year. Public Works Director Morreim stated that was still to be determined but acknowledged that it was on their radar. Commissioner Wenner asked about plans for oversight of the cleared area to ensure it was not coming back. Public Works Director Morreim explained that there would be a follow up treatment in the fall and after that, the City may potentially have grant funding to maintain it or it would be done through Public Works staff. Commissioner Wenner asked if the Commission could get a copy of the plan that Prairie Restoration had put together. Public Works Director Morreim noted that he can forward that to the Commission. Commissioner Wenner stated that she does not have an official copy of the Tree Preservation and Replacement Policy or the 2017 plan from Davey and asked if she could get copies of those as well. City Administrator Nevinski explained that the Tree Preservation policy was available on the City website but did not think the Davey tree plan was there. Public Works Director Morreim stated that was correct and stated that he can send that plan to the Commission. He explained that the 2017 plan will say S&S Tree Service which Davey has purchased. Commissioner Wenner stated that she felt it was important for the Parks Commission to understand the City’s policies. She asked if Public Works Director Morreim was familiar with the grant available from AmeriCorps for community foresters. She stated that she believed the application opens in February and gave examples of things that they can done through this grant service. Public Works Director Morreim stated that he will check into that and noted that the City had applied for a DNR grant last fall that they did not receive. Liaison to Council Meetings. January – Commissioner Wenner February – Commissioner Garske OLD BUSINESS STAFF AND LIAISON REPORTS / UPDATES City Council Councilmember Maddy gave an overview of recent discussions and activities for the City Council including the efforts to replace the Park and Recreation Director position. Commissioner Wenner asked if the Council would like any input from the Commission on this position. Councilmember Maddy stated that he would absolutely be interested but noted that they were on a fairly tight timeline. City Administrator Nevinski stated that the hope is that there will be an updated job description for this position by January 22, 2024 and that the position will be posted the following day. He encouraged the Commission to give him their comments and feedback on the position and he will relay them to the Council. Staff City Administrator Nevinski stated that Arctic Fever events have had to be adjusted due to the weather conditions and noted that they will now take place Friday evening at Badger Park. Freeman Park Trail Update Chair Hirner stated that he took a walk around and was pleasantly surprised with how well this turned out and is happy that it is now a complete loop. He expressed concern that there is no longer anything blocking the soccer field from the pond and believes that anyone kicking in the direction will have the balls just end up in the pond. He stated that he also liked the skinnier path behind Field #2 which he think will prevent people from driving their vehicles in the area, but noted that it may mean that more people will turn around by Field #3. He asked staff to keep an eye on that corner because he thinks people will be backing up into the grass. Public Works Director Morreim thanked him for this information and noted that he also wanted to let the Commission know that they are aware of a drainage issue on the part of the trail near the baseball fields and Shorewood Oaks. He explained that this was not something that they will be able to fix this winter. He cautioned that there may be some icy conditions on this section of the trail, but explained that Public Works will try to maintain it as best as they can. 7. ADJOURN Garske moved to adjourn the Park Commission Meeting of January 9, 2024 at 8:23 p.m. Wenner seconded the motion. Motion carried 4-0.