Village of South Barrington Conservancy Commission met June 18.
Here is the minutes provided by the commission:
CALL TO ORDER by Commissioner Bodkin at 7:05 p.m.
ROLL CALL:
• Commissioners present:
Diane Bodkin, Aga Rasvi, Corinne Chrystall,
Guests: Nancy Munao
APPROVAL OF MAY 2020 MINUTES:
Motion made by Commissioner Razvi, seconded by Commissioner Bodkin. Motion approved.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Three Regency residents have been picking up paper, cans and trash in the Conservancy and on Bridges Drive. Bodkin thanked them in an email and will send a thank you to the Regency Social Director to place in a newsletter.
The South Barrington Garden Club has indicated an interest in holding an Outing meeting at the Conservancy in July, August, or September. Bodkin referred them to the Village Hall office to obtain a permit for more than 15 persons.
There has been a noticeable increase in residents of South Barrington and nearby villages using the Conservancy grounds for a wedding, birthday celebrations, kids’ play and just quiet reading and writing. Persons interviewed by Bodkin state they like the Conservancy because it is quiet, open space, and clean and inviting.
Mayor McCombie has canceled the Fall Fest scheduled for September. It is not known if this includes the Scarecrow Event as well.
AGENDA :
I. MAINTENANCE:
Dimonte and the Mound
Ron DiMonte sprayed the northeast corner of the Mound.
The area will still need the dead weeds to be removed. Commissioner Chrystall offered to use a weed whacker and rototiller.
Commissioner Razvi recommended eco-friendly weed killer:
2 qt. vinegar, 1 c. salt, 2T dish detergent and water to make a spray solution. Commissioners will experiment using this combination in the Showcase Garden and on the mound.
Dylan’s Hours
Bodkin reported Dylan has worked 55 hours to date. Work tasks include: raking debris in the Serenity Garden, planting new plants in the Showcase, deep intense weeding in the west end of the Showcase, creating a weed free area around the entrance Smoketree, loading the rain barrel with water for the Garden Club’s Butterfly Garden, trimming suckers on the arboretum trees, weeding the evergreens in front of the mound, cutting down big dead branches in the Serentity garden. Bodkin stated when the weeding work is complete in the Showcase, Dylan will be helping on the mound and in the Serenity Garden.
Tree Care
Bodkin reported on three current trees either dead or in distress in the Conservancy arboretum: a 40’ dead Linden near the east picnic table, the Scarlet Oak planted for 2019 Arbor Day in September, and the Black Tupelo at the exit to the parking lot. She has emailed this information to Bob Palmer, Village Administrator. Bodkin stated she will start sending a monthly Tree report to Palmer with the status of the trees in the Conservancy. This monitoring and action function comes as one of the Tree City USA requirements to have persons designated to monitor and maintain the health of the trees in the village.
II.CAPITAL PROJECTS COMMITTEE
A. Mound Erosion Plan
Commissioner Chrystall reported her landscapers will be available in two weeks to help with the rock feature on the erosion path on the mound. Commissioner Razvi offered his time and knowledge to walk the site and determine best actions. Razvi and Chrystall agreed to meet on site this coming Saturday, June 20 to survey the issue. Razvi would like to borrow the Village Engineer’s Surveying equipment to measure the slope.
B. Showcase Garden Report
Bodkin reported the garden is all planted and weeded except for a large sunny area at the base of the Observation ramp. New plants for sun will be needed there. Dimonte has been hired to spread mulch between the plants in the weeded areas in two weeks. Bodkin will flag several Lupine and Columbine seedlings that have come from the seeds of the original flowers planted last fall.
C. Serenity Garden Report
Commissioner Basati emailed to commissioners her color sketch of her vision for the landscaping in the Serenity Garden. Commissioners commended her on a very nice sketch and agreed that the first step should be selection of the benches, boulders, and sitting areas. Commissioners agreed wood benches would be best- soft, natural, and inviting. Commissioners agreed that the focal Silver Maple needed a few benches, but that it would be good to have a few others scattered throughout the gardens for visitors to pause and reflect. Chrystall suggested giving the village residents the opportunity to donate benches. Boulders were discussed as additional reflection seats and accent pieces. Bodkin reminded the commissioners that $500 was requested from the village for help in moving the boulders from the west area of the Conservancy to a needed site.
Commissioners discussed materials for the entrance pathway, suggesting mowed grass, landscape stones from the Mayor’s donation, and possible synthetic soft rubber. Basati and Razvi will discuss these possibilities and decide on a path. They will consider the potential stone piled by the garden club’s Butterfly Garden.
D. New Tree Signs
Bodkin renewed her request for commissioners to submit to her before the July commission meeting, their six assigned trees with title, name and a few lines of interesting information about special uses, legends, what the tree is known for. The printing company emailed a few symbols that can be used for shape, leaf structure, bird attraction, flowers, etc. without additional charge.
The typed information needs to be sent to Bodkin days before the July meeting because there will still be several proofing phases for commissioners to go through before sending to list to the Mayor and Board of Trustees for final approval before the printer.
III. PROGRAM COMMITTEE
A. Arbor Day
Bodkin reported that DiMonte still has the Swamp Oak he bought for the Arbor Day 2020 celebration that was canceled due to the virus social restrictions. He suggested planted it and having the celebration later. Bodkin will discuss the issue with the Mayor again. The site Bodkin and Dimonte determined is in the south field where the beaver damage occurred. Commissioners suggested that Dimonte carry water containers as he mowed the trail, and commissioners could easily water a newly planted tree weekly for the first month till established. It was suggested to hold the planting till fall in cooler weather rather than summer days. Bodkin also reported that the Scarlet Oak planted last Arbor Day is showing signs of great stress with splitting bark around the full circumference. She asked Bob Palmer to check with arborist John Kelly as to diagnosis and treatment.
B. Eagle Scout Project
Bodkin reported the Eagle Scout candidate is in communication with her and his adviser to move along with the floating island project. Bodkin sent videos of the project she envisions with 4” PVC pipe for the structure instead of wood. The project includes netting and coir pallet sandwiched in between another layer of netting, all attached to the PVC pipe with nylon zipties. Commissioner Razvi suggested using nylon roping to create a matrix for the bottom of the island, adding a layer of fabric weave to keep the growing material from washing away, and using peat moss within the enclosed PVC pipe to hold the medium for the plants’ roots. Razvi also suggested starting with a smaller 5’ x5’ enclosed section using the peat moss medium and then, if successful, creating another duplicate of the 5’ x 5’ section. Bodkin will discuss the filler material with the scout. Another issue will be the method of installation, as the water level may not be high enough for kayaks to skim across the surface. The scout may have to wait for more rain to raise the water level for installation. The island will be secured in place with wire cord, chain and bricks.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion was made by Commissioner Chrystall, seconded by Commissioner Razvi to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m.
https://southbarrington.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2020.06-18-min-cc.pdf
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