Welcome to uh business session.

A full crowd, no doubt.

Um, our first item is approval of minutes for business session of August 18, 2022.

Is there a motion?

So moved.

Second.

They're moved and seconded.

All in favor of approving minutes from business session of August 18th, indicated by saying aye.

Aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

The motion passes.

The city auditor.

Let's talk about the tree canopy.

Audit scope statement.

I took a picture of you.

Very awkwardly.

Good afternoon, Mayor Lucas, members of the city council, City Manager Platt, Doug Jones, City Auditor.

I'm here to present our scope statement for our city tree canopy audit.

My presentation will outline why we are doing the audit, the audit objective, the work we'll perform, and our anticipated release date.

In front of you are copies of the scope statement and presentation slides.

Trees provide significant benefits for residents, including reducing air and water pollution, decreasing energy costs, moderating high temperatures, improving public health, and increasing property values.

The parks and recreation department manages trees on city property and trees in the city rights of way, also known as street trees.

Tree management includes maintaining a tree inventory, regulating the removal of existing trees, coordinating the planting of new trees, and performing regular tree trimming treatments.

The City Council's declaration of a climate and ecological emergency in November 2021, approving an urban forest master plan in May 2020, and a climate protection plan in 2008, provide policy direction for the city to actively address climate change.

To help address climate impacts, the urban forest master plan has a goal of increasing the city's tree canopy to 35% through active management.

Because the maximum benefits from trees are not realized until trees are mature.

It is important to focus on tree preservation and expansion early and remain consistent in these efforts.

A sustained effort is needed to achieve the city's tree canopy goal.

The parks and recreation department's management of tree removal and planting is also a critical component of moving toward this goal.

While the parks department is responsible for management of city trees, the activities of other city departments, such as public works and water services, can affect city trees as well.

Successful department coordination and communication of tree removal and planting requires adherence to agreed upon policy and practices, including the collection of data.

Our audit objective is to determine whether departments remove and replace city trees in a way that supports the city's goal to increase the tree canopy.

To address the objective, we will interview city staff, review city tree related ordinances, regulations, and plans, and city department practices, as well as evaluate the city's tree inventory data.

We hope we anticipate having this audit done, I believe it is in December of 2022.

This concludes my presentation.

What questions do you have regarding the scope statement?

Mr.

Mayor, I have a question.

Councilwoman Boo.

So you focus on the removal and replacement.

Will you also address the like the maintenance, the watering, the care of the trees as well, to see whether we're doing a good job once we plant trees of maintaining those trees so we don't have to remove and replace?

We may be looking at some recommended practices related to those efforts, but uh there's an AR, a relatively new AR, and we're gonna be looking at that and seeing how that is being used and really the coordination of efforts is really important to make sure that we at least get a good start on what we need to do with the trees that we have in the city.

Okay.

Councilwoman Parkshaw.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Along those lines, uh, just wanting to make sure that you also look at um the impact of certain um oh I can't even think what you call it, but I think there's a beetle or something that is attacking certain trees.

Like I know, for example, uh in my subdivision, you know, they planted these trees that are prone to this beetle, and my tree actually just got cut down within the last month or so, several of the trees in our subdivision.

And so I think as as we look at trying to to ensure uh we maintain you know a certain percent or goal that ensuring that when we are replanting trees, that we're not plant replanting trees that are susceptible to whatever the environmental issues are that we have in this region.

That would be the emerald ash borer, and one of the uh things that parks is working on is biodiversity in the trees that we are planting, so that we're not planting more ash trees or more of a specific type in too big of a percentage.

So they're trying to get a broad spectrum of trees that we replant when we do that.

Okay, thank you.

You're welcome.

Other questions or comments.

Hearing none, thank you, City Audit.

Our next presentation is Partners for Peace.

Mayor, City Manager, Council Members, Melissa Johnson with the mayor's office.

And we are here to present on our Partners for Peace Initiative.

Um back in March of this year, the city of Kansas City signed on to participate in what is called the Harvard Bloomberg Collaboration Track.