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Member Cicha asked regarding the buddy trees, what species of tree did the Parks <br />Department like planting underneath the Ash Trees. <br />Mr. Taylor indicated the Parks Department has a street tree masterplan that is <br />followed which has twelve or thirteen different species. They are dead set on not <br />putting the City in the same situation as other cities have done twice now by using <br />anywhere from twelve to fourteen species. The reason it started at eleven or twelve <br />was because the State said the City could only use grant funds for certain species. <br />The City will plant, with City dollars, outside of those eleven or twelve species that <br />the State allows. The City is being as diverse as possible in the replanting. <br />Mr. Johnson indicated another thing is that they are going to use the best value <br />approach where the City is going to work with a vendor that has a strong amount <br />of expertise and they have already listed a potential expansion of the existing tree <br />inventory and the tree species list for a vendor. <br />Member Joyce asked regarding water of the new plantings, who is responsible to <br />do that, and he wondered if that is something in the RFP. <br />Mr. Taylor explained in the RFP there is the watering and planting included as a <br />part of it. Boulevard trees have been watered by the contractor; the park trees have <br />been watered by the City. <br />Member Joyce asked if there is any anticipated tree loss due to the draught from <br />this year. <br />Mr. Taylor indicated they are not seeing a lot right now. Their normal disease and <br />hazard year has been right on par to what the City is usually at. Obviously, the Ash <br />decline may have accelerated a little bit because of the draught but he did not think <br />that of the trees planted there has not been a lot of loss because they have been <br />watered right away. <br />Member Misra thought the Parks Department had a good plan and it is good to hear <br />they are focusing on the diversity of species being replanted. It occurred to her as <br />she looked at the death curve that over the next three years the City will see almost <br />double the number of trees going out that has already been seen. She thought it <br />will be very dramatic in the next couple of years. She wondered if there is any kind <br />of encouragement for private homeowners to also take a look at their own trees and <br />start to replant, sort of like a buddy system. <br />Mr. Johnson indicated that is a great question and has been listed in the current draft <br />of their RFP as a value add. Sort of putting this to the vendors on whether it is an <br />educational component, whether there is some sort of component to potentially <br />discount. Staff does not know exactly how that would look but ideally, they can <br />help the City with that piece, with the awareness piece of the private trees. The <br />other piece that staff has tried to do to the extent that they are able is to do the green <br />Page 3 of 6 <br />