2020-08-07 Arborist Advisory Minutes

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Arborist Committee Minutes August 7, 2020 Page 3 of 5 Mermel also mentioned about coastal zoning elevation and looking at having the right plant in the right place. He also wanted to look at how certain plants fit into planning for succession instead of a one-time installation of a plant. JB had some suggestions:  A column for endemic indigenous for non-native.  Looking at landscaping native plants  Native Forest Dedication- Expanding the property tax dedication to people doing reforestation. JB will send a list of comments to Zach. JB also mentioned that plantpono.org will show weed risk assessments that were done. You can also download spreadsheets showing why a plant is invasive or not. Carol expressed some concerns:  Bringing in plants from other places versus species we already have here.  The plant list should have a column on maintenance since some plants require a lot of maintenance and some do not. The Committee agreed suggestions or notes would be sent to Kalen and then complied as an official correspondence from the Arborist Committee. HILO INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL – FICUS MICROCARPA INQUIRY Chair Bisel informed the Committee that he spoke with the State Arborist, Angela Loo. She wanted to check if the trees in the front of the Hilo Intermediate School were exceptional. Bisel checked into that and informed Angela that those trees were not of exceptional status. UNFINISHED BUSINESS DISCUSSION OF DRAFT COUNTY PLAN OF ACTION TO ADVISE THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT AND THE MAYOR’S OFFICE TO PURSUE ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGISLATIVE CHANGES TO ESTABLISH A TREE MAINTENANCE CREW THROUGH A REORGANIZATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION Chair Bisel mentioned that this is something that was brought up by Roy Takemoto and will be kept on the agenda. He volunteered to follow up on this until it is resolved.