Agendas and Minutes

Ashland Parks & Recreation Commission (View All)

Bee City USA Minutes 9-26-18

Agenda
Wednesday, September 26, 2018

MINUTES  FOR BEE CITY USA - ASHLAND MEETING
 
September 26, 2018
North Mountain Park Nature Center
620 North Mountain Ave.
 
3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
 
 
  1. CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME
 
  1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
    1. Approve Minutes from previous meeting
      Joel moves to approve the minutes.  Nancy abstained, as she wasn’t present at the last meeting.  All the rest voted in favor.
    2. Review Action Items from previous meeting
      We would like a Bee City USA sign to put in the window of the chamber of commerce, 9x9” sign printed in color and laminated.

        Kristina will kick that off by asking the Chamber what size sign they want in their window.
      The rack card project is waiting for someone to design it.  Libby offered to put together the layout, once everyone agrees that the text and images are final. 

        The committee will finalize the text and images they want on the rack card, and create a pencil sketch of the layout. 
        Once the content has be decided upon, Libby will put together a rack card in Publisher.
 
  1. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
    1. Open Forum – No members of the public attended
 
  1. ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS TO THE AGENDA

    The group wondered whether Jeff McFarland would be interested in being on the subcommittee.  Mike Oxendine should be invited to participate in one of these Bee City meetings.
      When date and agenda are set for winter meeting, we will invite Mike Oxendine to attend.
      Joel will reach out to Jeff McFarland and ask him to join the subcommittee. 
    Jim Lewis would like the Bee City group to make a suggestions and recommendations regarding rose gardens and native trees in parks and along streets.  Is there a message this group wants to communicate about Lithia Park to contribute to the Lithia Park Master Plan?  Establishing recommendations for the Lithia Park Master Plan could be a goal for 2019.
    Kristina would like to take a field trip to a pesticide free rose garden in Eugene or Corvalis.

      Kristina will draft a letter of thanks to the City Council for not using glyphosates, and we can use the letter to highlight the scientific confirmation of glyphosate impact.
     
  2. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
    1. Update on additional Bee City USA signage – Libby
      The sign is up on Siskiyou Blvd, in the median across from the university. 

        Kristina will get a photo of the sign and send it to Libby to use as a Facebook post.
    2. Increasing monarch conservation awareness
        Kristina will purchase two of the monarch posters, the group agrees that Kristina will buy two posters of her own choosing. 
    3. July 15 Tour – Libby
      We want to stress that the next tour will feature NEW and different gardens.  We want to limit the number of repeat gardens.  Middle of July is too late; the last weekend of June or pollinator week would be a good time.  We would like to do better advertising, and be more inclusive throughout the region by fliering in Medford. Suggest opening some gardens on Saturday and some on Sunday which would allow some of the gardeners to visit other people’s gardens.   
    4. Update on Garden Applications, nomination form – Nancy
      Since the tour, Nancy and Kristina have approved six gardens and nominated five more.  And that makes 47 approved gardens at this time. 
      Nancy has been revising the garden application form, and has created a cover letter to be sent along with the form when we notice a good garden.

        Kristina will send Libby a new version of the application form.
        Libby will PDF the new application form and put on the web. 
      Nancy would like to see more businesses in the list, so we ought to proposition more businesses to get involved.
    5. Review of Riverwalk Garden work to date – Carolyn
      On August 2nd, they started work on the Riverwalk pocket park pollinator garden.  Lots of work was accomplished, and the site was prepared in about 3 hours.  The center section is solarized, and the front section is cardboard and mulch.  Kristina and her husband have redone the solarization, with black plastic. On Thursday September 20th we requested support from the Ashland Parks Foundation.  The Foundation declined the request. 


       
VI. NEW BUSINESS
  1. Next steps for Riverwalk Garden – Carolyn
      Libby is willing to put up to $200 from the Nature Center Budget to help purchase plants for the Riverwalk Pollinator Garden. 
      Carolyn will go back to the HOA to determine how much they can throw in to the pollinator garden project. 
      Subcommittee members can donate plants from their own gardens to the cause. 
      A planting design needs to be created, and then we will seek out cost reduction on plants from local nurseries.
    The crab grass isn’t completely gone yet.

      Libby will ask when/if a park employee with certifications could help them apply Burn-Out.
    The next phase is to have a meeting about irrigation, then take the plastic off, and put cardboard down, and cover with top soil and bark.
    The team suggests planning and planting the front section this winter/spring and continuing the weed abatement (and crab grass removal) project next summer in the middle. 
  2. Discuss 2019 Tour Plan
    Kristina proposes having the tour be the second to the last weekend in June. The group considered a two day pollinator tour, taking place all-weekend, with 9 gardens open on Saturday and 9 gardens open on Sunday.  Kristina would like to get businesses and the chamber involved.  At lunch time, any tour participants could have lunch (for a discount) at a local restaurant with a pollinator themed menu. 

      Kristina will propose the pollinator tour lunch idea to the Chamber of Commerce and ask them to spread the word. Also find out whether the Chamber thinks that our proposed June date might be open for engaging local restaurants.
  3. Review 2018 Calendar - Kristina
      Kristina suggests that we give a Bee City Update to the City Council soon.
    Skip doing a City Source article this winter. 
  4. Update on the Grove garden – Kristina
    The garden has been weeded twice.  The plants are not thriving because the soil is not rich.  Nancy suggests that we need soil amendments. 

      Kristina will provide fish emulsion, and Nancy will apply. 
    There will be a December meeting of the Signs Committee.  We will bring a mock up for a banner to the Signs Committee. 
    NOTE: After the meeting, Libby followed up on the banner idea.  Unfortunately, there is a City ordinance that prohibits banners from staying up for more than 7 days.  Other staff members have tried it with informational banners outside the Grove and gotten dinged.  We may need to go with a permanent sign and get the appropriate permissions for it.
  5. Set date for goal-setting meeting to determine 2019 BCUA action items.
    Goal setting meeting should be in the first two weeks of December. 

      Libby suggests that everyone submit two potential goals for consideration at the December meeting.
     
  1. OTHER ITEMS FROM COMMITTEE MEMBERS
            
  1. UPCOMING MEETING DATES

    December 5th 2:00-4:30. 
      Libby will email everyone with the meeting date.
 
 

 
 
Action Items
  Kristina will ask the Chamber what size sign they want in their window.
  The committee will finalize the text and images they want on the rack card, and create a pencil sketch of the layout. 
  Once the content has be decided upon, Libby will put together a rack card in Publisher.
  When date and agenda are set for winter meeting, we will invite Mike Oxendine to attend.
  Joel will reach out to Jeff McFarland and ask him to join the subcommittee. 
  Kristina will draft a letter of thanks to the City Council for not using glyphosates, and we can use the letter to highlight the scientific confirmation of glyphosate impact.
  Kristina will get a photo of the sign and send it to Libby to use as a Facebook post.
  Kristina will purchase two of the monarch posters, the group agrees that Kristina will buy two posters of her own choosing. 
  Kristina will send Libby a new version of the Approved Pollinator Garden application form.
  Libby will PDF the new application form and put on the web. 
  Libby is willing to put up to $200 from the Nature Center Budget to help purchase plants for the Riverwalk Pollinator Garden. 
  Carolyn will go back to the HOA to determine how much they can throw in to the pollinator garden project. 
  Subcommittee members can donate plants from their own gardens to the cause. 
  A planting design needs to be created, and then we will seek out cost reduction on plants from local nurseries.
  Libby will ask when/if a park employee with certifications could help them apply Burn-Out.
  Kristina will propose the pollinator tour lunch idea to the Chamber of Commerce and ask them to spread the word.
  Kristina suggests that we give a Bee City Update to the City Council soon.
  Kristina will provide fish emulsion for the Grove garden, and Nancy will apply. 
  Libby suggests that everyone submit two potential goals for consideration for 2019.
  Libby will email everyone with the meeting date.

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