HomeMy WebLinkAboutJanuary 7 2019 EAC MinutesEcological Advocacy Committee Meeting 1-7-19
Location: Rum Village Nature Center
Committee Members Present:
Steve Sass
Alicia Czarnecki
Sarah Nerenberg
Rachel Novick
Andrew Tucker
Allison Turner
Others Present:
Hannah Teshka – VPA Naturalist
Matthew Moyers – VPA Partnerships, Community and Standards Coordinator
Brent Thompson – City Forester
Call to order – Steve Sass at 8:35 am
Welcome and Introduction of New Members
Allison Turner is a project manager at enFocus currently.
Not in attendance – Amy Kryston is pursuing a graduate degree at Notre Dame.
Vote to approve minutes from 12-5-18 EAC meeting by Sarah Nerenberg and seconded by Alicia Czarnecki.
Election of 2019 Chair for the EAC
Steve Sass has been nominated by Sarah Nerenberg and seconded by Rachel Novick.
Motion to approve Steve Sass as 2019 Chair of the EAC.
Discussion:
Tree Ordinance Update by Steve Sass
The Construction Standards and Specifications (Public Works document)
Under revision by Public Works.
The Tree Protection Plan will be referenced in the newly revised document.
EAC has been asked to review and edit two different Tree Protection Plans provided by City Forester, Brent Thompson.
City Ordinances 19.13 & 19.14:
Suggested fine structure to be added to the ordinances.
EAC has been asked to draft the edits to the Ordinances 19.13 & 19.14.
19.13 - include invasive species in the tree lawn referencing the Invasive Species Council’s list.
Be more specific with the language in the ordinances.
There will a document created on the Google Drive with the current ordinances with a spot below for notes/edits/suggested changes.
Outreach Element
Matthew Moyers and Nicole Degla, a student at the University of Notre Dame, will be working together to host a community meeting with tree nurseries about the ordinance changes. More
information coming soon.
Education Element
Educational brochure to be created by the EAC.
Earth Day/Arbor Day Event
Mud Lake Update by Steve Sass
Without doing a proper survey of the property, it would be hard to determine the ownership of the Lake.
Shirley Heinze is interested in taking care of the property. It is suggested by the EAC that Shirley Heinze take over this project. Have them contact the City about doing a survey
of the land and find a school willing to help with the surveying like Purdue University or Purdue Northwest.
Urban Forestry Recap by Steve Sass
Indiana DNR Urban Tree Coordinator would like to meet with the EAC to go over how to be an effective Tree Board.
She will be invite to attend a future EAC meeting.
Natural Resource Management Plan: Creation of the action matrix by Steve Sass
Transferring the NRMP - Topics of Concerns into action steps.
Action Items before March Meeting:
Review the Tree Protection Plans.
Create draft of Ordinances 19.13 and 19.14 by the end of January.
Reach out to Shirley Henize about Mud Lake ownership project.
Start gathering the information for a townhall meeting by the end of February.
Year-end report to the Park Board for the January Park Board Meeting.
Next EAC meeting will take place at Rum Village Nature Center on March 4th, 2019 at 8:30 am.
Motion to Adjourn by Steve Sass at 10:00 am.