[MissoulaGov] Goals for Council

Sat Feb 13 09:04:50 MST 2010

Jim and patrick thanks for the lessons and kind words. Forget the trees, I think I will just focus my energies on building a taller fence.

BOB, WOULD YOU PLEASE REMOVE ME FROM THIS LIST. THANKS.

From: pnooney at earthlink.net
To: ectbo at hotmail.com; jmcgrath at missoulahousing.org; bjaffe at ci.missoula.mt.us; missoulagov at cmslists.com
Subject: RE: [MissoulaGov] Goals for Council
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 2010 01:21:26 -0700

RE: [MissoulaGov] Goals for Council

The urban forest is an interesting
concept, almost a looking-glass wanderlust to a treasured past.  I
remember growing up in a small town where outside my backdoor were a 1000 acres
of unmanaged woodlands—a wonderful time.  Now maybe a quarter of it
remains, the rest developed into high-density housing.

The suggestion of getting foresters from
the government (yes, the university is the government) or their professional
advice is only part of the pie.  Forestry deals primarily with sustainable
habitats on a landscape scale.  Urban forestry needs a blended approach, more
toward the older traditional view of ecology.  This approach merges
forestry, horticulture and biological concepts.  It could also incorporate
composting, biomass production and a number of other “green”
concepts.  Whatever, it should be more holistic in action and long-term in
thought. 

I would certain caution against the
temptation to imagine funding from universities and other government
entities.  Everyone is broke, bankrupt or on the dole.  If you need
money, go to AIG or the banks or China.  There is certainly no more tax money to be had from us
overly stressed taxpayers.  So, whatever is done has to be within our
existing means.

Finally, I want to comment on your advocacy
for “…a strong coalition of folks to address our neglected urban
forest.”  On a quick read, the statement infers that our urban
forest has been neglected by a nefarious force.  But then I realize that “our”
is the possessive form of “we”.  In that case, the statement
infers that we neglected our urban forest, which is truer.  The solution
then lies with what each of us can learn and do to care for the piece of urban
forest within our little domain on each of our blocks in each of our
neighborhoods.  That would be doing something within our means without
relying on Big Brother to save us from damnation.

Patrick

-----Original Message-----

From: missoulagov-bounces at cmslists.com on behalf of Eric Taylor

Sent: Thu 2/11/2010 6:14 PM

To: bjaffe at ci.missoula.mt.us; missoulagov at cmslists.com

Subject: Re: [MissoulaGov] Goals for Council

Hay there,

I would like to see the council take a stab at addressing our city's urban tree
situation. The outlook for the street trees in the older neighborhoods and
parks is not good over the next 25-30 yrs.

One would think that a town with a University Forestry School, a Forest Service
Regional Headquarters, a city Urban Forester, and numerous sustainability
organizations, it would be feasible to bring together a strong coalition of folks
to address our neglected urban forest.

Trees provide so many benefits to individuals, wildlife, the community, and the
environment.

A thriving urban forest would be an awesome gift to leave for our great grand
kids.

Thanks, Eric

________________________________

From: BJaffe at ci.missoula.mt.us

To: missoulagov at cmslists.com

Date: Tue, 9 Feb 2010 12:33:12 -0700

Subject: [MissoulaGov] Goals for Council

Hi,

We are scheduled to have a discussion tomorrow afternoon regarding goals for
the council.

Here is the referral I made back in April of '07:

Hold a structured discussion regarding the goals we have for what we want to
accomplish over the next

year. Hopefully concluding with a list of tasks and some kind of action plan
for how those things will

happen.

Ed has reluctantly agreed to take up this item in COW on Wednesday.

Marilyn posted this one:

Among other things already mentioned, I want to see the city save money and
maintenance costs by increasingly using native plants and non turf areas as
much as possible. Labor and water costs make annual flowers and expansive lawns
expensive.

Where turf lawns are needed, I would like them maintained using integrated
management methods (composting, aeration, proper irrigation, prudent herbicide
applications). We asked parks for a turf management plan several years ago-
let's re-visit this. Proper management saves money.

Here are a few of mine:

I would like to see us do something meaningful in the realm of affordable
housing. Both in the area of regulation and financing.  Slow progress is
being made but I would like to see us step it up.

Sidewalks: We have got to come up with a better way to do sidewalks. The street
maintenance districts could play a role in this.

Urban Forest: We know the trees are dying. If we want to maintain one of the
most defining aspects of the character of Ward 3 we will need to take much more
aggressive action to maintain the urban forest. Maintenance districts may also
be a part of this.

I'm curious if folks have suggestions for what they would like to see the City
Council / City of Missoula accomplish in the short and long term.

Thanks,

Bob

Bob Jaffe

Missoula City Council, Ward Three

1225 South 2nd West

Missoula, MT 59801

(406) 880-2052

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