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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-02-16 Arborist Advisory Committee Minutes Harry Kim Mayor County of Hawaii ARBORIST ADVISORY COMMITTEE Aupuni Center 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 Hilo, Hawaii 96720 ·· Phone (808) 961-8288 Fax (808) 961-8742 · Minutes Meeting on February 16, 2006 Planning Department Conference Room ‚ Aupuni Center ‚ Hilo, Hawaii Present: AAC members: Chairperson LeonardBisel, Michael Kraus, Jan Anderson, Sharron Stanbro & Esther Imamura (Planning staff) State and County Agency Representative: Diane Noda, Corporation Counsel Gordon Heit, DLNR Public: Rene Siracusa CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 10:10 a.m. by L. Bisel, Chairperson. INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBER, SHARRON STANBRO Sharron Stanbro was introduced by Chair Bisel. ELECTION OF OFFICERS It was moved by J. Anderson and seconded by M. Kraus to re-elect L. Bisel as Chairperson. Motioncarriedunanimously. J. Anderson moved and S. Stanbro seconded the motion to re-elect M. Kraus as Vice Chairperson. Motion carried unanimously. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES It was moved by M. Kraus and seconded by J. Anderson to accept the minutes of the November 17, 2005 meeting as submitted. Motion carried unanimously. PUBLIC STATEMENTS None. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Change in agenda order to accommodate the public: 2.Signs for the Mango groves: R. Siracusa reported that while she, L. Bisel, E. Imamura and J. Anderson were on a site inspection in Puna to mark the placements for the four Mango Grove signs, a County crew was cutting mango saplings and branches along with some lama, hala, noni, albezia and cecropia trees. Since it appeared to be more than clearing in the Countys right-of- way for line-of-sight, she contacted Ralph Fike (Department of Public Works, District Road Overseer of Puna) and mentioned that there are procedures required by the Exceptional Tree Ordinance prior to any work on the Mango Grove trees. She also mentioned that there may be native species which are on the list of Federal Endangered Species within the Grove. R. Siracusa mentioned that Malama O Puna was willing to set up workshops and put together educational material to help the crew identify the Exception Trees and the endangeredspecies.AfterconsultingwithR.FikeandJ.SumadaoftheDepartmentof Public Works, it was agreed that 3 lists be prepared: 1) endangered native trees, 2) native trees that are not endangered, and 3) €rubbish trees. Illustrations, their probable location on the island, as well as leaf €templates are proposed to be placed in trucks to aid the County crews. A University of Hawaii at Hilo student will be helping to put together the materials. Anyone interested in helping or who has suggestions or sources of materials can call R. Siracusa at 965-2000. R. Siracusa also suggested that the Committee write a letter to the Department of Public Works to inform them that if the trees are listed as an endangered species, its protected even if its not on the Exceptional Tree list. Chair Bisel will prepare and forward a draft letter to Corp. Counsel Noda for her review. Corp. Counsel Noda did state that although its not within the parameters of the Committee as set forth by the County Code, it was a consensus of the group. She recommended that a copy of the letter be sent to the Mayor. NEW BUSINESS 1.Mr. Francis Benevides, Sr.s traffic safety concerns regarding the Banyan Tree at the formerGreenOnionRestaurantsiteonKilaueaAvenue: G.HeitconcurredwithMr.Krausthattoaeratethetreewouldirreparablydestroythe integrity of the tree. Thetreewas recently maintained and the canopy raised. Since the concernwasrelatedtotrafficsafety,ChairBiselwillfollowupwithPublicWorks. G. Heit also mentioned that since the new restaurant opened down the road, a lot of patrons are parking under the tree and there is concern about debris falling from the tree. Some signs may be posted in this area. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 1.Ordinance No. 05 158 regarding the Quinine Tree at Kalakaua Park: E. Imamura distributed copies of the Ordinance to the members for their file. Although the Ordinance mentioned renumbering of the trees, it was the consensus of the group that the tree should have remained on the list with a notation that it is no longer with us. M. Kraus stated that we should expect normal attrition since one of the criteria for an Exceptional Tree is its age. We will start having maybe one tree every three or four years die or be removed. Although R. Siracusa suggested that those trees should be replaced, the Committee acknowledged that it wouldnt be considered an exceptional tree. S. Stranbro mentioned that on the west side of the island, a huge banyan tree that was cut down should have been protected. The people in the area planted another one in its place. Corp. Counsel Noda stated that the next time a tree is no longer alive, we could leave it on the list but amend the Ordinance to say deceased or removed and include the date and other relevant information, thereby still having a record of that tree. 2.Signs for the Mango groves: As stated earlier, Chair Bisel reported that the placement for the four signs were based on R. Siracusas recollection of the original locations. TheCountys Traffic Division mentioned a new process that the County has to follow called €The One Call Center. Its a company in Oregon which helps in identifying underground utilities in the area, whether or not there are any lines or not. We have to locate the signs in relation to some fixedobjectandgettheirapprovalfirstbeforeinstallingthesigns.SincetheDepartment of Public Works provided the signs, Chair Bisel said wed take care of it. We need to physicallylocatethearea.ThePohoikiendhastheintersection,butonthePahoaside, we may have to use property boundaries and/or GPS coordinates. 3.Logo Contest ‚ Award at Council and Display of Entries: Rose Foggia was unable to attend the December 21, 2005 County Council meeting. A ten minute break was taken at 10:50 am to see if the award ceremony could be placed on theCouncilsMarch1,2006agenda. Themeetingreconvenedat11:00am. E.ImamurawillrevisetheoriginallettertorequestbeingplacedontheCouncilsnext Hilo agenda. This letter will then be taken over to the Council office after this meeting. In reference to the display of entries, J. Anderson will be aided by S. Stanbro in setting up the display in Hilo as well as in Kona. All entries will be displayed with recognition of two as honorable mentions by title only, no monetary awards. All entrants will be notified of these exhibits. Chair Bisel will prepare letters to the three judges expressing our appreciation for their time and effort in helping with the contest. There will also be a press release to announce the displays and R. Foggias award presentation at the County Council. 4.Draft letter to Haili Church regarding the False Kamani Tree: J. Anderson noted that the Committee is strictly advisory with no enforcement authority. The letter, in chronological order, is almost done. M. Kraus stated that he tried to meet with them and they never gave him an appointment. Chair Bisel mentioned that the information he gave to the representatives from the Church Board when they came to our meeting was pretty specific - what they were planning was going to be detrimental to the tree. M. Kraus mentioned that he did walk around the tree with the groundskeeper and explained to him what was appropriate pruning and what needed to be done, pointed out individual limbs to him, etc. J. Anderson will finish up the letter and present it at the next meeting. 5.Hawaii County Planting Plan: Chair Bisel stated that we will continue to keep it on our agenda. However, we were recently preoccupied with the signs for the Mango groves and the Logo Contest. J. Anderson mentioned that the archives are about 80% organized. S. Stanbro will be helping with the last 20%. NEW BUSINESS 2.Exceptional Tree nomination by Mr. Shaun McElhannon for a Banyan Tree in Hawi Town (TMK: 5-5-10:3): M. Kraus did a site inspection but could not determine which of two trees was nominated. The next time hes in the area, hell check with S. McElhannon to verify the candidate. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS None. ANNOUNCEMENTS The next meeting will be held on Thursday, March 16, 2006 in the Planning Department ConferenceRoomat10:00am. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 11:20 am. APPROVED: April 13, 2006 Hawaii County is an equal opportunity provider and employer.