Columbus, Georgia

MINUTES OF MEETING



OF THE TREE BOARD



May 7, 2003





A quarterly meeting of the Tree Board of Columbus, Georgia was held at 12:30

p.m. on Wednesday, May 7, 2003. The meeting was held at the Public Services

Building. A proper notice was mailed to each member in advance of the

meeting. Present at the meeting were Ken Henson, Jr., Gloria Battle, Dr.

George Staton, Carlton Franklin, Joanna Wilkins, Susan Kleto, and Gloria Weston

Smart. Absent and excused were Milton Anthony and Andrea Richardson. Absent

were Hal Averett and Dr. Elizabeth Dreelin.

Also present at this meeting were ex-officio members Rachel Buice and Scott

Jones.

Chairman Dr. George Stanton welcomed everyone to the meeting. On motion of

Susan Kleto, with a second by Gloria Weston Smart, the minutes of the March 12,

2003 minutes were approved. On motion of Gloria Weston Smart, with a second by

Susan Kleto, the April 2, 2003 minutes were also unanimously approved.

The next meeting is currently scheduled for July 2, 2003. The Board agreed to

meet on July 9 and have our training meeting from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 on this

date.

Rachel Buice gave a presentation. During this presentation, she played a

Georgia Forestry CD. The CD discussed the value of urban forests and herb and

tree planting. Some of the highlights were:

1. There is 39 degree difference in temperature between a parking lot and the

area away from the parking lot. In Atlanta, they did actual measurements in

the parking lot at Turner Field where the temperature in the parking lot

outside Turner Field where the temperature was 129 degrees and then went over

to Grant Park where the temperature was 90 degrees.

2. American Forests recommends 40% coverage of an urban area by tree canopy.

3. Having viable trees will help with compliance with federal air quality,

water quality, and other regulations.

4. The size of the planting area will often determine the size of the tree.

For example, the 200 square foot area minimum for a parking lot in Columbus is

not enough space for most trees. This limited area will ultimately result in

less growth, less size, and less survivability.

Rachel then reviewed the master tree plan for parks by showing everyone the map

and distributing information on all parks. There was a brief discussion about

citizen expectations on park maintenance. Some parks need to be mowed on a

regular basis for use. Others need to be left alone, but are mowed anyway.

Part of the problem is that citizens have different expectations on park use

and park appearance.

Gloria Weston Smart suggested we form a committee to review the parks and

establish priorities for tree planting. We would then have a list so we would

then have priorities and could direct developers to priority areas when there

was alternative compliance and there was no alternative compliance needed or

available close to a development. Joanna Wilkins agreed to be chairman of the

committee which will consist of Susan Kleto, Gloria Battle, and Carlton

Franklin.

Dr. George Stanton passed out the City conflict rules which had been sent by

the City Manager as an interoffice communication. Scott Jones handed out a

tree ordinance implementation update memorandum which showed that, after seven

months, 93 plans had been reviewed.

Dr. Stanton also announced that the National Urban Forest Conference would be

held on September 17 through 20, 2003 in San Antonio, Texas. The Georgia Urban

Forest Council has $1,000 scholarships available. All members of our board are

eligible to apply for scholarships. There being no further business, the

meeting was adjourned.



_____________________________

KENNETH M. HENSON, JR.

Secretary



_________________________

DR. GEORGE STANTON

Chairman