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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01_29_05_brw CITY COUNCIL January 29, 2005 ROLL CALL - PRESENT: Alderman Bernstein Alderman Rainey Alderman Tisdahl Alderman Jean-Baptiste A Quorum was present. NOT PRESENT AT ROLL CALL:Aldermen Wynne, Moran, Newman ABSENT:Alderman Kent and Feldman PRESIDING: Mayor Lorraine H. Morton A SPECIAL MEETING of the City Council was held Saturday, January 29, 2005 for the purpose of considering the Capital Improvement Program budget. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Morton at 9:07 a.m. in the Aldermanic Library. Alderman Rainey moved that Council convene into Closed Session for the purpose of discussing matters related to litigation pursuant to 5 Illinois Compiled Statues 120/2 (c) (11). Seconded by Alderman Jean-Baptiste. (11) Litigation, when an action against, affecting or on behalf of the particular public body has been filed and is pending before a court or administrative tribunal, or when the public body finds that an action is probable or imminent, in which case the basis for the finding shall be recorded and entered into the minutes of the closed meeting. Roll call. Voting aye – Aldermen Bernstein, Tisdahl, Rainey, Jean-Baptiste. No nays. Motion carried. (4-0) Alderman Wynne was present at this time. At 9:13 a.m. Alderman Wynne moved that Council reconvene into open session. Seconded by Alderman Jean-Baptiste. Motion carried unanimously. Mayor Morton reconvened the meeting in the City Council Chamber at 9:22 a.m. City Manager Julia Carroll announced staff would complete the presentation on the technology projects they were unable to do last week; hear a presentation on the tree inoculation program and end with a general discussion if there was time. 2005/06 – 2009/10 Capital Improvement Plan Information Technology Project Review Management & Budget Director Pat Casey reported the fiber project, which was installed in an agreement with Northwestern University, allows the City to have fiber to all buildings which gives a high speed connection and the ability to increase disaster recovery capabilities. This will save money on the number of servers and telephone lines needed to operate City functions. The City has replaced 140 personal computers; eight back office servers and 40 printers. They have designed a new Data Center at the Service Center, which will give redundancy of services if one data service goes out. This is important to keep financial systems and 9-1-1 systems running. They also will have a disaster recovery plan. Facilities Management has helped with this and technological staff in Information Systems will install this without having to go to outside vendor, saving the City money. Mr. Casey explained the City has a schedule to replace PCs every three-four years, depending on use and activity. The phone/voicemail system upgrade and consolidation is a three-year plan. He reported that the City is beginning to replace voice mail systems and consolidate some telephone services. The City is placing internet-based security cameras that are connected by fiber. They waited for fiber and found it much more economical than the coax systems. In response to Alderman Jean-Baptiste, Mr. Casey stated that security cameras will be at any place that handles cash. He explained 2 January 29, 2005 that installation of fiber allows the City to have fewer servers. Before fiber came in, each building had a server to run its computer operation. They had to run information systems and a telephone switch. Fiber enables them to eliminate some of those because the connection is so fast and reliable. Individual servers are not needed in each building now. They plan to centralize this in the Police Department and the Service Center. Each will act as a data center and will be redundant so if there are problems in one, the other one automatically kicks in. The fiber project was designed in a loop so if any piece of fiber is dug up in the street by a construction project, they have a backward path so they don’t lose services. That is one side. The other side is the telephone. Technology now is going to Voice-Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phones. The technology the City has is old PBXs and switches, which are expensive to buy and maintain. Switching to VOIP phones will save money. Instead of an expensive server with an expensive maintenance contract, they will go to a simple Windows server that handles VOIP and costs less to buy and maintain. Alderman Jean-Baptiste asked for a budget memo to quantify how the savings are achieved. Alderman Rainey asked what is done with personal computers that are replaced? Mr. Casey said those in good shape were given to employees who don’t need such high-end computers. There are different levels to the machines. Those that can be used replace older computers. Old computers not passed on are sold. She had not seen any sale of computers. Mr. Casey said that was because they have been unable to get anybody to bid on them. What happens to them? Mr. Casey said they are stored at the Service Center. She asked if these computers were usable by anybody? Mr. Casey responded that they are usable for anybody who wants to use them for basic Internet service, basic word processing and spread sheets. She suggested it was a crime to have usable personal computers in a warehouse that could be used by people in the community. She suggested they figure out how to disperse these machines to whomever wants them. Mr. Casey said they would come up with a program. Ms. Carroll said staff would come up with a policy to dispose of these computers and make them available in an “as is” condition. That policy will be brought back to Council. Mr. Casey explained the three-year plan to replace City telephones. The library will be done the first year. Currently it has no voice mail. They have a telephone switch that will be replaced with VOIP and consolidated into the Civic Center network with similar voice mail now at the Civic Center. The second year they will replace telephones at all recreation buildings. The third year they will look at doing unified messaging, which is integration of desk top e-mail, voice mail and fax services so a person can do all from his or her personal computer. Hopefully this will get rid of the need for fax machines in many offices. Alderman Rainey asked if the City has the ability to scan all of the documents to start eliminating some of the paper. She knew the budget was scanned. Mr. Casey said the City has some document retention policies, however, it takes time to implement a document retention policy and it is very expensive. They have to identify all documents, index them and determine how they would retrieve them, which would take sophisticated equipment and well written retention policies. It has been looked at informally through the years, but to do that citywide would be costly. The City has always had other needs to get them where they are now; he thought the City was finally doing well in the technology area. That is in their long-term vision but they need to spend money wisely. Alderman Rainey acknowledged Evanston has come a long way; said she can go to other communities electronically, read their minutes and in some cases watch their meetings. He said it was a matter of getting the right equipment and the right people. In the budget office they have people who can put the budget and budget memos on quickly. To coordinate minutes, index them, and put them where they can be found is a bigger challenge. Alderman Rainey said she had not found a community that has its entire budget online. City Manager Carroll asked if the City has a strategic technology plan? Yes. Ms. Carroll said if Council was interested in a full electronic document management system, which other communities do have or are beginning to put in place, she wanted direction on whether staff should pursue that. Mr. Casey was correct, that it is an expensive proposition and, given other priorities, she did not know how important that was to Council. If it is important, staff can look into the cost and make that part of next year’s capital plan. Alderman Rainey said she did not think any of them knew enough about it to give direction. She suggested the manager give them some information to get them thinking about it. Ms. Carroll said it is an intense project to get started. She has worked in a city that had that and it was great. People could search for ordinances and contracts and find them quickly. She would put together an explanation of the process and preliminary costs; said a consultant would probably be needed to do the job. Mr. Casey reported the Data Center will be constructed, tested and operational by fall 2005. 3 January 29, 2005 He said the City’s financial software would have an upgrade. They are looking at accounts receivable, which will allow all bills to be in one place. Staff believes cashiering software is important. Currently the City has stand alone cash registers in various places. This would allow an integrated system so they can better know where and when cash comes in. This would mean faster deposits, reconciliations and streamlining of the process. In summary, Mr. Casey stated that staff recommended acceptance of the 2005/06-2009/10 CIP, approval of the 2005/06 budget; the bond sale of $6.5 million for property tax supported bonds and an initial $1.3 million for non-property tax support which is the citizen’s share for alley improvements. Urban Forestry Policy Issues and Dutch Elm Disease Report Mayor Morton commended Parks/Forestry & Recreation Director Doug Gaynor on the report and staff for the information. Mr. Gaynor also thanked staff who contributed to the report. Mr. Gaynor reported that last year the incidence of Dutch elm disease jumped from a five-year average of 3.5% to 6.3%. Nearly 800 trees citywide exhibited symptoms; 230 parkway elms, 160 other public elms and 350 private elms were removed. At a September 1, 2004 special meeting, City Council authorized the City to immediately inject up to 100 public elms and $30,000 was allocated. Eighty-eight trees were injected costing approximately $10 per diameter inch. Council also authorized $75,000 to conduct a survey of elm trees. The request for proposal was developed and the City has received responses to it. Seven options were asked to be considered. One was to place this survey in the GIS mapping so in the future they won’t need to do surveying. Some options included other tree species in addition to the elms to address known future threats to the urban forest. Mr. Gaynor said they needed to deal with policy options. Any injection program will be a major change from the current policy of disease control through sanitation methods. Elms on private property remain a complicated issue. They need to be mindful that other potential threats are real and may require extensive resources. Parks & Forestry Superintendent/certified arborist, Paul D’Agostino, went over the current sanitation method of control that has been in place since Dutch elm disease entered Evanston in the 1950s. The three step process involves scouting on a two week rotation. Two employees scout from the beginning of June through early September. The second step is testing samples they take to see if symptoms of the disease, which are taken to the Water Department, where the samples are cultured to confirm or not whether disease is present. The third step is prompt removal of those trees once they confirm the disease is present. The Forestry Division also does cut-outs. When they see a tree that is less than 5% infected, they remove the diseased section within 48 hours. In 2004, 125 cutouts were done more than ever before. So far 89% of those trees have survived. The City has had a Dutch elm Disease Insurance Program in place since 1984. This eases the burden of the removal costs from privately owned trees that become infected. The annual premiums range from $50-130 dollars. The actual removal cost the City picks up on insured trees ranges from several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. Current Reforestation Plan. Mr. D’Agostino said the current plan focuses on species diversity. The recommendation is that no one species represent more than 10% of the urban street tree population. When the initial tree inventory was done in 1999, they discovered that maple, ash, linden and honey locust trees were over that 10% so they have temporarily stopped planting those varieties on parkways. The current species list has 50 different species representing 27 different types of trees. The reason the types of trees are fewer than the species is that numerous species of oaks and new hybrid elms comprise one species. Current choices of species are limited by nursery availability, which has improved greatly in the last few years, many based on their requests. Tree planting has doubled from 325 to 650 each year, which should allow the City, barring unforeseen large removals, to get to a fully planted status in four years. Fungicide Injection Program. Mr. D’Agostino explained a fungicide injection program involves injecting Arbortec20 4 January 29, 2005 directly into the base of a tree. Called macro-infusion, it involves an immense amount of the product diluted with water. An example would be a 30-inch tree -- 72 ounces of the product are diluted with 144 gallons of water and pumped into the base of the tree. Depending on weather conditions it could take 30 minutes to three-four hours. This process only prevents the tree from becoming infected when the Elm Bark Beetle feeds at the top of the tree. It will not cure an infected tree nor does it prevent a tree from becoming infected from root grafts. That can happen when two elm trees are near each other’s underground roots connect. A tree that has not been injected and contracts the disease can travel through the root system into a nearby tree. Trees of 10-inch diameter or less cannot be injected. Holes are drilled into the base and a small tree does not have the cambium layer to survive repeated injections. Dutch Elm Disease Injection Program Issues. Mr. Gaynor stated a full-scale citywide injection program is unprecedented from research done at various universities and other cities. Large scale trenching is not feasible in the majority of the parkways due to underground utilities and restricted root zones. There are two types of trenching. One is to prevent root graft and the other is outlawed (it used chemicals that prevented the roots from connecting). Hybrid elms have been planted on the parkways for more than five years and local nurseries have only had large quantities available for the past two years. Injection effectiveness is highly dependent on the location and health of the tree. Under ideal circumstances it lasts for only three years. This means any tree injection in 2005 will need to be injected again in 2008 to maintain the DED program. Once the program is started and, as long as it is deemed effective, they would have to continue it. Nearly 200 trees have been injected over the past two years and that puts them on a different three year cycle. The method recommended to try and make sure elms don’t infect other trees is more intense scouting. Small trees and all private trees remain a threat to other elms. Currently there are legal issues as to what the City can and cannot do with privately owned elms. Mr. Gaynor said the entire urban forest is comprised of 28,000 public trees. Other threats to the forest are the Asian Long Horned Beetle and the Emerald Ash Borer. The Asian Long Horned Beetle has been contained just south of Howard St. The state of Michigan has lost 16 million ash trees. Fifteen percent of the trees in Evanston are ash trees. The critter is now in Indiana and that state has looked at methods to stop it. There is no cure and no prevention for that threat. Fungicide Injection Program Options. 1. 100% City funded program for elms in City parks and parkways in one year. 2. 100% City funded program for injection of one-half of elms in parks/parkways each year over two year period 3. 100% City funded program for injection of one-third of elms in parks/parkways each year over three year period 4. Injection program for “signature” and stand-alone trees only 5. 50/50 program for parkway and/or private trees 6. Continue existing sanitation program Mr. Gaynor said staff has looked at the injection program for signature and stand-alone trees, which are not threatened by root grafts. A signature tree could be determined by its location and size. A stand-alone tree could be a signature tree as well. He showed pictures of 23-inch, 35-inch and 43-inch diameter elm trees. Fungicide Injection Program Recommendations. Mr. Gaynor recommended the injection program that addresses signature and stand-alone public elm trees in conjunction with the City’s sanitation program. It is most cost effective, enhances current Dutch elm disease control and coincides with the experts’ recommended approach and what other public agencies are doing. This recommendation balances the City’s available resources with sound urban forestry practices. A chart with five options was shown giving the costs in the first, second, third and fourth years. The numbers were approximate until after they know their objective and the policy Council adopts. With the survey they will have more accurate information. On the cost chart, option four showed an estimated expenditure over a three-year period with a cost of $360,000 in the first year for signature and stand-alone trees. Financing would be by one-time excess FY 2006 building permit revenues to pay for initial injections. A $110,000 transfer or expenditure in the General Fund would be needed in 2007, 2008 and 2009 into a reserve to pay for future injections in 2008-09. Thereafter, an annual $111,000 transfer or expenditure in the General Fund would sustain the program. In summary Mr. Gaynor stated they need to determine objectives, the preferred program option and select an option 5 January 29, 2005 for the Tree Inventory RFP. Alderman Wynne asked the total number of elm trees? About 3,400 elms are in parks and on parkways. Did he have a ballpark figure on how many private elms there are? No. Alderman Wynne asked the number of elms under option four that would be injected? Staff estimated about 1,300 are signature and stand-alone elm trees. Mr. Gaynor thought the consultant would have to see if there is a private tree that could infect a parkway tree and to decide what to do about a private tree. The rate of success drops significantly if a private tree can infect a public tree. Alderman Wynne asked Mr. Gaynor to talk about private elms in relation to options one, two and three. She saw a root graft problem with those three. She asked if the City had any information about the degree that root graft is occurring and what options had he discussed to address this problem. She understood they could be throwing away money injecting a tree that is root grafted onto another tree. What kind of program is there that would pull a private elm into the program? Mr. Gaynor said if somebody has a signature tree on the parkway they could ask the resident to voluntarily inject their tree. They could pass an ordinance to require the citizen to inject their tree. The City legally cannot go onto private property today and do that. There could be incentive programs. The City would do the parkway tree and pay 50% or 30% of the cost of injecting the private tree with a sliding scale. He suggested deciding that after the survey is done because they don’t know how many private trees threaten the public trees. Alderman Wynne asked how long the survey would take? Mr. Gaynor said they are on schedule to start an injection program at a suitable time. The survey will take four-six weeks. Alderman Wynne asked if the City should consider putting in some kind of Ash Borer insurance if 15% of the trees are ash trees? Yes. Mr. Gaynor noted that was why they have to look at the policy of the total forestry program rather than focusing on only one portion. They have to deal with what they know and what they don’t know that could be just around the corner. In Michigan there are thousands of dead ash trees without bark. Alderman Rainey confirmed there was no cure or prevention for Ash Borer. Alderman Wynne suggested the insurance so if somebody has an ash tree or several, the property owner is not faced with thousands of dollars to have a tree removed. Alderman Tisdahl thanked Mr. Gaynor and Mr. D’Agostino for an excellent report. She asked if under Option 4 the City would be protecting a greater percentage of trees than any other community? Yes. She asked if the winter had been cold enough to limit the damage of Dutch elm disease. He said they won’t know until April. He noted in 2003-04, they had an early fall and did not know the number of infected trees because as soon as fall colors come they can no longer tell whether it is fall color or disease. They also had an exceptionally warm winter those years and a wet spring. Those weather factors all contributed to a higher incidence of the disease in 2004. She asked Mr. Gaynor to talk about damage to elm trees due to repeated injections. He explained when a tree is injected they move the earth away from the tree and drill holes into the base. Every time they drill a hole they are breaking the seal, the cambium layer, which runs nutrients up the tree. The more holes put into a tree, the less opportunity that tree will have to take nutrients up. Alderman Rainey said this staff report was one of the best she had seen. She asked if he was satisfied with the aggressiveness of the City’s sanitation program and could that be stepped up. From what she had read over the past few years, the sanitation program, pruning, cleaning up and cutting out is really a key element in saving the elm population. Mr. Gaynor thought the recommendation of the combination of the continuing sanitation program and the addition of injections of signature trees would be a good effort at prolonging the life of elms. Currently the City has two teams of two people who go north and south scouting and look at every tree in Evanston in a two-week period. With four teams they could identify the disease more quickly. They can go by Tree A and not see it for another two weeks. If it contracts the disease in two days, it means 12 days go by before that tree is identified. With more personnel, trees could be taken down quicker, but he was not recommending more personnel. Alderman Rainey asked about the extra aggressive strain of the fungus. What does that mean and what proof is there of that? Certified Arborist Mark Younger explained that research had identified several strains of the disease. Some will move over several months and the tree will show evidence of disease. They noticed one strain last year that moved through a tree in several weeks. Alderman Moran said in going through reports from universities, potential damage to trees was discussed and there was a lack of history. One suggestion was to inject all the signature trees in one year. His concern was about boring holes into all the signature trees in one year when there is an issue that this is significantly injurious process. If there are 1,200 6 January 29, 2005 signature trees and they are injected in one year and it turns out that implementation of this process is injurious, there will be a problem because they have done them all. He assumes these would be the nicest, most mature trees. He would hate to find out, retrospectively, that there was an injury rate higher than they would want and be in a serious situation. In the Purdue University remarks on page 18, he noted their recommendation regarding fungicide was that the injections can be done on a preventative basis for selected high-value trees located in high disease risk areas. Repeated injections are discouraged due to physical damage that results from the injection process. He asked if the City could develop some history about effectiveness. He suggested experts consider this procedure to be potentially risky. If it were risky, would they not be well advised to inject signature trees in high-risk disease areas as opposed to doing all of them. If there is a beautiful elm tree somewhere where there has been no disease, aren’t they better off to leave it alone and if they are not sure whether injecting the tree is risky or not, he did not know how they would develop selectivity to deal with his concern. Mr. Gaynor said they have to do a balance; this is a new technique and there is not much history. The City is looking at results over the past few years that show this is effective. It has not injured the signature trees, because the larger the tree the more spread out the injections are. If the program spreads injections out over two or three years to see how it would go, they won’t know if there damage. They will be in the second or third cycle before they can make that determination. In that amount of time, the City would be no better off than today with just the sanitation program. Waiting six to nine years, they will lose 200-300 trees. So there is a balance and probably a risk. Mr. D’Agostino explained the reason they chose signature and stand-alone trees is that they are healthy enough to undergo the process and they have enough history. They saw that the holes from previous injections had healed over. On large healthy trees the sites will heal over in a three year period. The next injection is made at an offset and when they get to the third or fourth injection, those wounds are within the interior of the cambium layer. Staff has worked with GIS to map previous losses of elms. Any place there is a concentration of elms is a high disease area. Alderman Bernstein asked why the injection, which goes to the top of the tree, doesn’t affect root grafts. Mr. Gaynor stated that trenching methods, introduced years ago, were used on root grafts and had nothing to do with tree injections. Alderman Bernstein was talking about a method in which the roots are severed. Mr. Gaynor said if there was a tree on the west side of Ridge and another on the parkway across the street, that would be a barrier to root grafts. Alderman Bernstein asked if they had to inject all signature trees within a 50-ft radius? Mr. Gaynor said they use 50-ft. to determine the root graft area. He noted a street is a barrier. A sidewalk or driveway is not a barrier, due to different depths. The report discussed separating roots on the parkways. Alderman Bernstein confirmed that unless all trees are injected within an arbitrary distance of a signature tree the method would not be as effective as it could be. Alderman Bernstein asked if there is a natural predator for all trees; he thought limiting the species to 10% was a good idea. Mr. D’Agostino said there is a natural predator to all trees. Herbicides were used that actually killed the roots to a certain width. Alderman Bernstein asked when a tree is cut down and the stump is not removed, if the root structure survives? When he has cut down a tree, the roots continue to put up volunteers. How do they negate the disease transfer from the roots. He wanted to save trees here, but if they are doomed from the start unless they do every healthy tree in town both public and private areas, he did not know where they were going. Mr. D’Agostino said the concept of the sanitation method is prompt removal. They cut the tree down to the base before the disease has traveled to the root system. Even if the stump is left there is no disease. Mr. D’Agostino said if a tree is not cut down promptly, the disease can move into the root system. Part of the problem is due to the new strains that are traveling so quickly that even after 30 days the disease has traveled to the root system and it is too late. Alderman Jean-Baptiste asked how they determine if the disease has traveled to the roots and to leave or remove the stump? Mr. D’Agostino said the tree stump is always removed. They can tell where the disease has traveled under the bark where it changes color, which is called streaking. Alderman Jean-Baptiste asked why all roots would not be removed from a sanitized tree. Mr. D’Agostino said if the disease has traveled to the roots it can infect another tree. Removal of the entire root system is not feasible. Alderman Jean-Baptiste asked if a diseased tree was removed near a healthy tree, how do they avoid spread of the disease through the root system? Mr. D’Agostino said the concept of sanitation is to cut the tree down before it has traveled to the roots. Alderman Jean-Baptiste asked if the 88 trees that were injected in the fall were signature trees? Yes Alderman Jean-Baptiste noted in Northbrook 243 trees were injected in 2000 and only five trees were lost; asked if they know the usual percentage of loss there and were they saying there would have been a higher incidence of loss if those trees were not injected. Yes. Alderman Jean-Baptiste stated that the recommendations seem to be driven by effectiveness of the sanitation method, injection of signature trees and some 7 January 29, 2005 budgetary caution. He asked the weight of the budgetary concern in the recommendation? Mr. Gaynor said staff tried to look at the overall management of the urban forest of nearly 28,000 trees on parkways and in parks. They don’t want to have more than 10% of any one species. They looked at the cost of injecting 3,400 public elm trees and if they did not address the private trees, that could threaten the public trees they inject. That is 3,400 of the City’s 28,000 trees. If the ash tree becomes threatened, how do they manage that. If they put $1million into elm trees and next year the Ash Borer comes in they will have to deal with that. They don’t know what will happen with the Asian Long Horned Beetle. That critter attacks maples, oaks and other species. They are trying to manage the entire forest, rather than saying they will inject all the public elms without knowing how they will deal with the rest of the urban forest. He said when somebody has a 40-60-ft tree in his or her yard, it is an emotional issue. Alderman Jean-Baptiste asked to review the cost of a 50/50 participation program with residents to address private elms. Mr. Gaynor said it was difficult to give a number. If they did all of the signature trees and thought there were 1,300 of them, of those 1,300 trees, they don’t know how many private trees are within the radius discussed earlier that could infect them. That won’t be known until the survey is done. When they know that, they used $12 per diameter inch in projections. They got 88 trees injected for just under $10 a diameter inch. Numbers will move when they get refinement. If they adopt a program, it cannot be started until trees leaf out because they don’t know the trees infected last fall that they were unable to identify. He could not give a dollar number on a 50/50 program other than to say if the injection program cost $10 per diameter inch, the private owner would pay $5. Alderman Jean-Baptiste asked if there was another community that has a citizen participation program? Mr. D’Agostino said there are other communities that have a 50/50 program but it is not based on the number of trees. Those put in a budgeted number as expenditure and it is a first come, first served basis for residents. When the money is used up, others have to wait. Alderman Rainey has read there was no disputing the effectiveness of pruning, removal and injections and that the issue of root grafts and control seemed to be critical in all the literature. She noted the University of Illinois recommendation on fungicide injections stated the thinking throughout the prevailing literature, “Fungicides are suggested only when high value trees are in danger and the community has an excellent sanitation and root graft control program.” She has not heard much about Evanston doing root graft control or removal and was concerned about that piece. Mr. Gaynor said when a tree is cut down, they grind the stump down 12 to 8-inches below, the tree stops growing, so that roots don’t continue to move. Do they know that the roots are already connected ? Staff knows there will be some loss and that is why they are vague about how many trees will be injected in the second and third cycle. The best scientific research from the universities the City contacted recommends a combination of methods, which is pretty much what they are doing. Mr. D’Agostino explained the problem with trenching is that on parkways, there is a problem with utilities and the restricted root zone the trees are in. If there is an open area in a park and they need to separate the roots, the unrestricted root zone allows the tree to keep growing and remain standing on its own. When a tree grows in a restricted area like a parkway, if they chop between those trees that is more than 1/3 of the root system and would create a hazard because they eliminated a lot of the support for the trees to stand. In open areas and large properties it is practical to do trenching. Mayor Morton asked what is wrong with what the City has been doing with its elm trees? Mr. D’Agostino said there was nothing wrong with it. When the City started this program in the late 1950s and early 1960s Evanston’s program was a model that other communities followed. There was a high incidence last year of the disease for a number of reasons. She asked if losing trees over time was a law of nature? He said eventually a tree will die no matter what is done. They are preserving trees as long as they can by using the sanitation method. Mayor Morton asked if funds to inject trees last fall were in the budget? Mr. Gaynor said funds were taken from several sources and they did not go over budget. She asked if they were currently injecting trees, since $100,000 was authorized and they injected 88 trees? Mr. Gaynor explained that $30,000 was authorized to inject trees and the City has no funding to continue the program. It was recommended that instead of putting this into the 2005-06 budget, that this matter be brought to Council during budget deliberations for direction. When Council makes a decision on what the objective is, and the policies, they will create a budget and put it into the 2005-06 budget. Alderman Wynne found in Option 4 the issue of private trees being root grafted to signature trees troubling. If the signature tree is valued, and if they decide not to inject that tree because it is connected to a private elm was of concern. Is there a way to inject signature and stand-alone elms and look at injecting any privately connected tree as well? Mr. 8 January 29, 2005 Gaynor said that would be included in their recommendation once they have the number of private elms that could infect public elms. That was why staff asked for direction on the survey. Does Council want staff to have private elms identified that could threaten public elms to determine cost and some kind of 50/50 program or pass an ordinance. Alderman Wynne asked how disease resistant are recently planted elms? Mr. D’Agostino stated all the hybrid elms are doing fine in resisting Dutch elm disease. One variety, the pioneer elm, was found to have another small disease problem. Alderman Rainey was concerned about the discussion of injecting private elms; did not support the City paying for injecting private elm trees; said there was nothing less important or less majestic about a signature tree that is not within 50-feet of a public tree. She thought they would run into a problem if the City starts supporting private elms 50/50 within 50-feet of a public elm and predicted an outcry that the private elm is as important as the public elm and all add to the beauty of the City. She urged them to tread softly on the issue of public money used for private trees. Citizen Comment: Junad Rizki, 2784 Sheridan Rd., demonstrated the size of a 10-inch tree and a signature tree with a tape measure; suggested many elm trees could die here. In the early 1990s he asked the City to replace a parkway tree in front of his home. The City had stuck a lot of staples in the tree, but don’t do it anymore. He has one of the oldest new species elms planted there and it is doing well. The City needs to inject all the elms, which are 12% of the tree population now. If they adopt the recommended policy, they will lose 8% and be down to 4%. The City already spends significant money on elm trees. The sanitation method costs close to $500,000 so the City has a significant investment and is going to let that disappear. He thought they have the money to do this. He was not happy that the City signed a contract with U.S. Equities and handed over a lot of money to them. It appeared to be $300-400,000 for Civic Center consulting work. He said that Evanston has been at the forefront of environmental issues i.e., the closing of the incinerator at Evanston Hospital, so taking a more aggressive approach is not untypical for the community. He urged them to stop playing politics. Deborah Hirshfield, 2002 Harrison St., had noticed potential losses under each option except Option 4. She wondered why there are no potential losses in the recommended option. She asked why so many trees were allowed to be chopped down and how many people are getting salaries to cut down trees. How would their jobs be affected if there was a different policy. People move here for architecture, the landscape and the lakefront. She said all those things are being eroded. She asked Council to exhibit vision to preserve the legacy of Evanston. It already looks more like a strip mall for Northwestern University, with commuter condominiums and a condominium ghetto for Chicago. The face of Evanston is changing and now it is losing its trees. These were her perceptions as a long-term resident. She asked that trees be taken care of. A tree on their property was affected, the tree was cut down and they waited too long to have the stump removed. Some of the stump is still above ground She asked for answers to these questions. Leigh MacIssac, 1123 Noyes St., was present at the September 2004 meeting when Council authorized $30,000 to inject the 88 trees and authorized a tree survey. She was upset as a taxpayer that the survey had not been done and with the staff recommendation of Option 4. She recalled they were all here when the town came together and Council agreed to inject 100% of the elm trees. She said that university experts will give a conservative recommendation. She wanted Evanston to be the groundbreaking town that injects all elm trees. Evanston is the kind of town to be the first to do this. All other communities will follow Evanston’s example. She thought that Evanston was becoming conservative. Common sense would tell you that it is less expensive to inject the trees than to cut them down. The Ash Borer was brought up and the Asian Long Horned Beetle has always been a threat. Since there is no cure for those, why don’t they save the trees they can? There is a cure for Dutch elm disease and how can they not try to save these majestic trees. A 100-year old tree cannot be replaced. She predicted they will have hundreds of people at Council meetings if they don’t do everything they can to save the elms. She said that people have questions and don’t know a lot about elm trees. She suggested a whole section on the website with facts and answers to questions asked that day. Also suggested an ordinance be passed that if a property owner had a private elm tree within 50-feet of a public elm, they have to inject that tree and have a program for low-income residents. She suggested the number of tree scouts be increased. Louis Silverstein, 1211 Leonard Pl., has been injecting his elm trees since 1988 and they are flourishing. They did that because when they moved here they came to a community, which consists of his neighbors and the trees. Those trees are part of his family. When his parents and brothers died, he took their ashes and planted them in the roots of the trees. 9 January 29, 2005 His children who live here will have a connection with the family when he is gone. He said a tree is not just an urban forest, not just a tree, it is part of the community, family and why people live here. He read from the book Earth Prayers: “Consider the life of trees, aside from the axe. What trees acquire from man is inconsiderable. What man may require of trees is immeasurable. From their mute forms there flows a poise and silence of lovely sound and motion unto wind. What peace comes to those aware of the voice and bearing of trees. Trees do not scream for attention. A tree or rock has no pretense, only a real growth out of itself, close communication with the universal spirit. A tree retains a deep serenity. It establishes in the earth not only its roots system but also those roots of its beauty and its unknown consciousness. Sometimes one may sense a glisten of that consciousness and with such respect to feel that man is not necessarily the highest form of life.” He urged that all trees be inoculated. When he puts his family budget together he does not look at his stand alone children or strongest children, but at all children and asks what does he have to do to prevent all children from becoming ill. All elm trees of Evanston are part of their family. Mayor Morton noted this was the first time she had heard this dimension to a discussion and appreciated his remarks. Greg Krogstol, Minneapolis, certified arborist with a forestry degree from the University of Wisconsin, has dealt with Dutch elm disease and the injection process for about six years including at the City of St. Louis Park, MN, which does cost sharing with private and public trees. The certified arborists here have been under tremendous pressure with the increased incidence of Dutch elm disease. He would recommend they inject some or all of the elms, whatever they decide but cost sharing works. The system is set up so a homeowner pays a portion of the cost of treatment. What they have not talked about is the loss of property value when an elm tree is lost; about shade and energy increases that occur in homes without trees. Any resident in their right mind would enter into a cost sharing program if they have an elm tree that will reduce their energy costs and pay for them in the long run. There is a lot of hang-up about 50-feet radius. A number was put in that is an estimate. Sanitation greatly decreases the likelihood of root graft problems and that is what Evanston’s Forestry Division is working on. He urged them to look at increasing sanitation. Staff may say sanitation is good going into 2005 but, if 2005 is like 2004, they may want more sanitation money. He stated that with sanitation the disease can be stopped from going into the roots and transferring to other trees that are 10-feet away. Virginia Mann, 3004 Normandy Pl., said they need to talk about what is the best use of Evanston tax dollars. She said they currently have the opportunity to spend $87 dollars to save an elm tree or spend $3,050 to cut it down. It does not make sense to continue cutting trees down when for $87 they can save that tree. Who wants to tell their neighbor whose trees provides shade, lowers cooling costs in summer and watering for their lawn that enhances their home’s value that their tree is not a signature tree. Rather than spending $87 annually to save that tree, they will spend $3,050 to cut it down. That tree won’t be here in five years when there are no ash or maple trees left. Elm trees are the trees they can and should save. Parents inoculate their children to protect them from disease. They have an opportunity to save the elm trees that add to the ambience of the community. If the elm trees are not saved today and the ash trees and maple trees go away, Evanston will look like a cornfield by the lake instead of the beautiful community they have now. Joni Mitchell sang the song, “You don’t know what you have until it is gone.” One stanza is “They took all the trees and put them in a tree museum and charged the people a dollar and a half just to see them.” She urged they not rely on people to save their own trees. One of the things that make Evanston a great community is its economically and socially diverse population. Some can afford to inject their trees, but not everybody. There should be a tree canopy over streets, even for those who cannot afford it. Peter Mattox, 2531 Hastings St., recalled late last summer the community clearly voiced support for a City injection program and was pleased when Council voted on September 1 to move forward. He was led to believe that the 2005-06 budget would include funds for tree injections. The A&PW Committee recommendation to staff was to develop a funding mechanism for public trees and present it in the 2005-06 budget. Instead they are revisiting an array of options again. He appreciated time set aside to address trees that day. He found the recommendation of Parks & Forestry troubling; said it was not prudent to address only signature elm trees in tandem with the sanitation program. It was not effective in 2004. Option 1 which calls for full city funding of public elms is the only sensible course of action. Option 1 is estimated to cost $1.1 million in its first year. He suggested this be recalculated to reflect an injection cost of just under $10 per diameter inch. He said the analysis was also flawed because it did not demonstrate the significant savings that will be achieved when all the public elms are protected by injections. In 2005 they see a partial benefit of injections but the report indicated 100 trees might be lost to Dutch elm disease. Still, 100 trees were less than the 230 that were cut down 10 January 29, 2005 in 2004. The difference of 130 trees not cut down would result in a savings of about $400,000 in 2005. This calculation uses the cost of $3,050 to cut down a tree, grind the stump and replant. Savings would be even more significant in 2006- 07. This year it makes economic sense to invest in trees to save money over the next three years. This is no different than information about the technology plan they heard earlier, which is invest now to save money later. He urged Council to focus on residents who have indicated support for 100% injection of public trees. Miriam Davidson, 1428 Noyes St., chose to live in Evanston because of the beautiful elm tree canopies; has visited the University of Illinois, which has many trees and is beautiful. The City has many replacement trees that are not as beautiful as the American Elm. She was glad they have stopped planting the honey locust; noted the gingko seems popular but does not canopy and is not majestic. She noticed several types of oak trees that are strong and hardy except for the wilt problem. It is not a great street tree because it has acorns that damage property and go into the sewer. A private person cannot get a tree injected for $10 per diameter inch. They need to consider the City’s great purchasing power and people who own privately need to be able to piggyback that cost. She suggested it was hard to manage signature trees. The community has talked about how to save the elms for at least two years. Introducing the signature tree complicates the process. The signature tree will have to be defined according to inches, what stands near it and will prolong the discussion. She was surprised after the unanimous vote to include the injection program in the budget that it was not included; understood the City needed more time to do more research. The report was amazing. She thought the signature and stand-alone trees would be another way to waffle and to wait until fewer people were speaking for the trees. It was evident at the September 2004 meeting that Evanston residents do care. Alderman Jean-Baptiste thanked all who spoke to the Council about trees; said there may be some misunderstanding of the process and Council must determine the best way to proceed. The City responded immediately when it became clear the extent of the crisis. Citizens input helped clarify the options and criticisms of them. He wished they could engage in more give/take to come to a clear understanding of how to go forward. Nothing exists in isolation and is in the context of monies available. He thought the intent was clear to try and save the trees. Alderman Tisdahl requested the report be put on the Internet. Mr. Gaynor said it would be put on the web and be available at the Ecology Center, library and Clerk’s office. Alderman Rainey stated she would have no problem setting aside money in the budget to implement Option 4, the staff recommendation. However, they don’t have the survey and when they get it, may discover that Option 4 should be extended or increased. None of them know what the survey will show. She could not recommended going beyond Option 4 without information from that survey. Mrs. Carroll asked if the survey could not be done until the trees leaf out? Mr. Gaynor stated the injection program cannot begin until trees leaf out. At the next Council meeting, with direction, staff is ready to make a recommendation to award the survey to a consultant. Mrs. Carroll said if approved at the February 14 meeting, when would the survey begin? Mr. Gaynor said it depended on when the consultant mobilized, perhaps a week or two, then it is a four-six weeks process. Mrs. Carroll said the question staff wants answered is how many trees are to be surveyed – private elms as well as public elms? Mr. Gaynor said staff wants to survey elms in parks and parkways, and private elms within an area of public elms and ash trees. Mrs. Carroll said it would be on the next A&PW Committee agenda. Alderman Wynne asked to see the numbers with an estimated cost of $10 per diameter inch, which seemed to make a significant difference. Mr. Gaynor responded that this would be bid. Alderman Wynne also asked what is spent annually on elm trees. There was discussion of whether to meet February 5 or February 12 and agreement to meet February 12 if needed. There being no further business to come before the Council, Mayor Morton adjourned the meeting at 11:29 a.m. Mary P. Morris, City Clerk A videotape recording of this meeting has been made part of the permanent record and is available in the City Clerk's office.