City Council Study Session Summary 2009 02 24

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City Council Study Session Summary DATE Page 3 of 7 the structure to stay in Louisville and remain a public building. A public use is the first choice; a second choice would be private use. This is a great structure to save. The owners offered to contribute towards moving the structure. Members will do everything it can to move the structure. The building has been stabilized, just needs to be moved. The cost of relocating the structure will depend on how far the structure will be moved. The structure would be a great public building, as there is a need for more community space. HFAB Commissions addressed City Council next. A summary was provided by an OSABIHFAB commission member. HFAB discussed educating contractors on protecting trees. A prime example of not protecting trees is the zero effort being made to protect trees during the construction of Louisville school. A board member discussed the rules, and standards and what we measure against. The International Society of Horticulture has decided a set of standards for trees to assist in decision making and creation of an ordinance. There is a well established process in the forestry service. A representative informed council and staff that the tree farm at Isabella went under, and Boulder County bought the property. Trees have been offered to communities recovering from tornadoes. The trees have been tagged. HFAB feels strongly about the acquisition of trees, as wholesale prices are around $300. Forty percent of the trees are in good shape. The program has 100 or more trees coming to the HFAB program. One final comment from the tree board was that Dean and Joe have been excellent additions to the City of Louisville. The OSAB spoke next. The OSAB noted the concern and need, for quite some time, for a responsible weed management plan. The boards had great examples to work from and were guided by the strongest plans when developing the weed management plan. The weed management plan started in June, 2008. A great deal of time was spent with the plan, and included staff members. The goal is to ensure the City is implementing an integrated weed management program that incorporates a progressive response and pro-active plan. The plan provides for a more aggressive weed management plan, which includes the use of less pesticide. There is a list of weeds that are required to be eradicated and those on a list where municipalities are encouraged to eradicate. This is a strong plan, but would also like to work on web-site program outside of inclusion in the plan. The City does give notice to spraying in neighborhoods. Board members commented that a neighbor used noxious chemicals that landed on the community gardens. A buffer has been placed around the garden. Boulder County manages the tenant farmer that is located near the community garden. The contract allows the farmer to use chemicals. There is no proof that the chemicals were the cause of the damage to the gardens. Herbicide damage is easily identifiable. OSAB will have an individual assess the cause of damage, if occurs again this year. A question was posed, "Will Boulder County consider changing the guidelines of the tenant farmer?" The tenant did double the buffer voluntarily, as well as Boulder County providing a buffer. There is a mutual agreement with Louisville in reference to those properties. Louisville can request