Arborist Advisory Council Meeting Minutes, October 29, 2007

Members Present

Ted Armstrong, Wes Davis, Lois Stack, tish carr, Dave Newell

Members Not Present

Art Batson, John Lamanna

Staff Present

Debbie Davis, Ann Gibbs, Bob Batteese

Reading/Approval of Minutes

tish called the meeting to order at 11:00 a.m. tish reviewed the minutes from the previous meeting and requested a statement from her regarding insurance certificate be deleted. The minutes from the February 26, 2007 meeting were approved as amended.

Program Update

Debbie reported on the numbers of exams administered. On September 12, 19 of the 20 participants passed the exam. The range of scores for the landscape exam was 55-94%. The range of scores for the utility exam was 49-90%. On September 19 an exam was given to 25 employees of Lucas Tree Experts. 20 of the individuals passed the exam with scores ranging from 70-91% for the landscape exam and 61-92% for the utility exam. So far 16 people have signed up to take the exam scheduled for December 5. She also reported on the process involved to administer the exam orally. Lois mentioned there was a session at NE Grows in 2/08 that might help potential arborists prepare for the plant identification section of the exam.

Complaints

Ann updated on a few complaints. Mark Randlett from the AG’s office sent a letter to Gil Lamarre’s lawyer regarding more complaints of his advertising and working without a license and reminding him that he had still not paid what was agreed to in the consent agreement. Mr. Lamarre subsequently paid the outstanding interest. Mark Randlett indicated that Mr. Lamarre has hired a new attorney. Ann also reported on a request to write a letter interpreting the definition of compensation in the arborist statute to be used as evidence in a lawsuit to settle a dispute concerning a paint job on piece of equipment. Another arborist called complaining that he can’t apply for city arborist work because we have a record of a complaint against him. Finally, a woman was concerned about the behavior of a licensed arborist she had contacted who she felt had caused unnecessary damage to her property. The council discussed this last issue and suggested she take her concerns to small claims court.

Review Suggested Rule Changes

Ann reviewed proposed changes to the rule discussed in March 2006. The group suggested other changes with the idea of presenting some of these ideas at the spring industry meetings. One recommended change was to require EHAP training for applicants taking the Utility Exam. It was agreed that it was important to make folks aware of where to go for this training.

Phone Book Public Service Announcement

There appears to be no interest in this now on the part of the phone companies and this may be due to the pending takeover of Verizon. Fairpoint seems to be the company most likely to succeed and Wes Davis will contact them regarding these ads.

Future Directions

The members agreed there is a need to think of venues and media for ongoing education. Dave Newell has a contact at a real estate company and will check to see if there is an opportunity to get the arborist brochures distributed to new home buyers.

Agenda Topics for Next Meeting

Next meeting is scheduled for February 11, 2007. Topics to be discussed include; updates on rule changes and press release geared to the public.

Meeting adjourned at 2:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by,
Ann Gibbs

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