Call to Order

President Ken Simons called the meeting to order at 9:00 A.M. Those present were Board Members:

§ Kirk Brown

§ Kimberly Thielen-Cremers

§ Jim Hermann

§ Ken Holman

§ Fletcher Johnson

§ Gary Johnson

Those absent were:

§ Michael Max

§ Bob Slater

Approval of Minutes

Member Johnson moved and Holman seconded the motion to approve the minutes of the April 7, 2003 regular Board Meeting as submitted. Motion carried.

Member Holman moved and Johnson seconded the motion to approve the minutes of the December 8, 2003 regular Board meeting as submitted. Motion carried.

Announcements

§ Member Johnson confirmed that Brian Loeffelholz would present his Master’s thesis topic Impact of Land Use Planning on Oak Forest Health and Oak Forest Extent at the January monthly MnSTAC meeting.

§ Member Thielen-Cremers announced that MNLA has scheduled a invasive species workshop (e.g. Emerald Ash Borer, Asian Longhorn Beetle, Gypsy Moth) for February 2004

§ Member Holman recommended that Steve Shimek give a presentation on Emerald Ash Borer at the Green Expo.

Old Business

Executive Secretary

Member Holman reported that the contract with Tree Trust to provide clerical support to MnSTAC would be executed by January 14.

February Monthly Meeting Program

Member Holman reported that State Forester, Mike Carroll, would present the annual State of the Urban Forest report and would be accompanied by reports given by representatives from U of MN, Tree Trust, USFS and MNFRC.

Monthly Meeting Location

Member Thielen-Cremers confirmed that the 1^st floor conference room at the MN Department of Agriculture at 90 west Plato Blvd, St. Paul has been reserved for the regular monthly MnSTAC meetings for the entire year.

New Business

Green Expo Meeting with Legislators

Member Hermann suggested that the scheduled gathering with legislators at the Green Expo might be a valuable opportunity for MnSTAC to meet and interact with state legislators.

President’s Inventory

President Simons distributed various lists and flow charts that he prepared as part of his preliminary review and analysis of MnSTAC’s structure, role and interrelationships with partner agencies. Members were asked to provide a summary evaluation of their individual perspectives as to the role of their respective agency and MnSTAC’s fulfillment of its purpose as defined by the MnSTAC constitution.

President Simons informed the members that he will meet with each designated agency representatives, including Tree Trust, to become familiar with their respective urban forestry tasks and how they contribute to MnSTAC’s mission.

Adjournment

Member Johnson moved and Brown seconded the motion to adjourn at 11:00 A.M. Motion carried.

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Clerk President