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growth habit, etc...). We want to avoid planting trees that have known disease susceptibility, or • those that require a lot of maintenance to keep them looking good. I haven't had a chance to poll my colleagues on their tree planting policies yet-but I will try to do that next week, and have results for you in September. I will have a policy for your consideration in September. On another note, Anita has asked me if the city can negotiate a cooperative service agreement with the THE Nursery Center at the U of M. This is a research facility that provides tours, expertise, and research results to urban foresters. For instance, they do studies of root pruning, Dutch elm disease, Oak Wilt research, planting depth studies, and trials of new hybrids (such as the new Elm varieties). They have to pay rent to the U of M for their field areas, and need help defraying this cost, as they are a research, non-profit organization. This is a valuable resource to our staff, and I'd like to find out if the Council would support a small donation to them for 2005. (I've attached a photocopy of the latest tour agenda so you can see the kinds of things they are working on). Consultant/Contract Review Policy: I have given this some thought, and here is a list of the consultants or contracts we're currently working with, and the nature of their agreement with us: En ineerin~: HR Green. This is a yearly contract. I am planning to send out RFP's on this • contract in September. I would recommend a 5-year cycle on this contract. Leal: Prosecution, Martin Costello. This is a yearly contract. I am recommending that we combine prosecution services with civil legal services for 2005. It represents a small cost savings, but more importantly allows us to utilize CK Law for prosecution of code enforcement cases, which Martin Costello will not handle for us. Leal: Civil, Campbell Knutson (CK Law). This is a yearly contract. As with prosecution and engineering, we renew them at the beginning of the year by state statute. I believe that unless there are major issues with the service being provided, or the cost of that service, that the Council should direct the Administrator to review the two legal contracts on an as-needed basis. The nature of a legal contract is that staff, council and the city attorney build more of a working, day-to-day relationship over time, thereby making it difficult to assess those contracts on an issue-oriented basis. Clearly, if there are serious concerns, those contracts should be reopened; however, generally it won't be necessary to do it on a specific cycle. Auditor: Kern DeWenter Viere, Ltd. This was renegotiated last year, after an RFP. Staff recommends a 5-year cycle for review and RFP if necessary. Planning: Short Elliot Hendrickson, informal contract. This is not a "contract" in that we have a written agreement for ongoing services. Instead, we negotiate these contracts on aproject-basis. And, if there is any hourly work (plan review, zoning review, etc...) that we need a consultant for, it is billed on an hourly basis. Therefore, these are always open to change, and staff is able • to consider other consultants for these roles if needed.