01-25-2018 Agenda and Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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City of Mounds View — Tree City USA Standards' Mounds View is proud to be recognized as a Tree City USA community since 19832. To qualify as a Tree City USA community, you must meet four standards established by the Arbor Day Foundation and the National Association of State Foresters. These standards were established to ensure that every qualifying community would have a viable tree management program and that no community would be excluded because of size. Standard 1- A Tree Board or Department Someone must be legally responsible for the care of all trees on city- or town -owned property. By delegating tree care decisions to a professional forester, arborist, city department, citizen -led tree board or some combination, city leaders determine who will perform necessary tree work. The public will also know who is accountable for decisions that impact community trees. Often, both professional staff and an advisory tree board are established, which is a good goal for most communities. The City of Mounds View relies on trained Public Works/Parks Department resources, contracted professional foresters and/or arborists for tree care decisions. Private tree contractors performing services within the City shall be licensed, and perform under the direction of a certified arborist or forester. The Mounds View Parks, Recreation and Forestry Commission duties are to advise the City Council regarding reforestation programs and may also be asked to review tree inventories, preservation and landscape development plans within the City. Standard 2 - A Tree Care Ordinance A basic public tree care ordinance forms the foundation of a city's tree care program. It provides an opportunity to set good policy and back it with the force of law when necessary. A key section of a qualifying ordinance is one that establishes the tree board or forestry department —or both — and gives one of them the responsibility for public tree care (as reflected in Standard 1). It should also assign the task of crafting and implementing a plan of work or for documenting annual tree care activities. The City of Mounds View defines tree management requirements and guidelines through multiple chapters within the City Code. Standard 3 - A Community Forestry Program with an Annual Budget of at Least $2 Per Capita City trees provide many benefits —clean air, clean water, shade and beauty to name a few —but they also require an investment to remain healthy and sustainable. By providing support at or above the $2 per capita minimum, a community demonstrates its commitment to grow and tend these valuable public assets. Budgets and expenditures require planning and accountability, which are fundamental to the long-term health of the tree canopy and the Tree City USA program. To meet this standard each year, the community must document at least $2 per capita toward the planting, care and removal of city trees —and the planning efforts to make those things happen. At first this may seem like an impossible barrier to some communities. The City of Mounds View budgets for forestry related activities such as City staff time and contractor services, equipment, planting, pruning, disease management and removal.