Arborist Advisory Council Meeting Minutes February 15, 2005
Members Present:
Wes Davis, Dave Newell, Ted Armstrong, tish carr
Members Absent:
Art Batson, Lois Stack, Bob Levesque
Staff Present:
Terry Bourgoin, Debbie Davis, Ann Gibbs
Minutes from the January 10, 2005 meeting were accepted as written. tish thanked Terry for putting the minutes together.
Staff Update
Debbie gave statistics on licensees and the test given on 2/2/05. She mentioned that there are 528 currently licensed arborists and 81 who have not renewed their license. Unlicensed arborists have until the end of March to renew their licenses without having to retake the exam. During the last exam, 9 participants took the exam with 6 people passing one or both exams.
Update on recent complaints
Terry handed out information being sent to Gil Lamarre containing a draft complaint filed by the Attorney General's Office. The complaint addresses violations to both the arborist licensing law and the unfair trade practices act. These papers will be served by a sheriff, so the process should move forward. Wes asked if Gil Lamarre could take a test and get a new license? Terry said he is now under a consent agreement with which he has not complied, therefore he needs to fulfill this requirement before he would be considered for another license. Wes had an inquiry from a landowner who was taking a tree down and not leaving the ground. This person indicated that he didn't need a license. Terry mentioned that he does need a license because he is taking a tree down. If this person was only pruning from the ground, no license would be needed. Wes asked what the consequences were for Gil Lamarre? Terry mentioned there could be fines, he would be permanently enjoined from advertising and performing arborist work (which is his primary occupation) unless he was licensed, and would have to resolve any outstanding complaints. If he violates the court consent agreement, he would be held in contempt of court and could be taken to jail.
Enforcement Process
Terry distributed and reviewed a draft of an Enforcement Process for Arborist Complaints. He asked for comments at a future meeting. One comment suggested was to include that letters are sent by certified mail. Debbie will put this information in a flow chart for the next meeting. tish asked if this could be handed out at the MAA (Maine Arborist Association) meeting? Debbie hoped she would have it available by the MAA meeting in March.
Arborist Legislation
No LD (bill number) yet, but it is currently known as LR 369. Terry reviewed the text of the changes. Rep. Lerman has agreed to sponsor the legislation with John Piotti and Pat Flood as cosponsors. Other potential cosponsors include Kim Davis, Ken Gagnon & John Nutting. The final proposal had to be submitted today with the list of sponsors. tish encouraged the members of the Council to get lots of support for this bill. Hopefully the bill will not be heard until after the MAA meeting in March. Ann mentioned folks should contact their legislators, especially those on the Ag and Forestry committee, where the bill will be presented. Ann provided a list of the members on the Ag and Forestry committee. tish asked if someone should talk to Verizon, a public utility, that would be losing an exemption? Ann worked with their lobbyist on another matter and will get his name to Terry who will contact this individual. (Note: The bill now is LD 861 An Act to Amend the Arborist Licensing Law)
Study Guide Costs
Terry spoke with Global Engineering regarding the ANSI standards and was given a price of $25.20 per copy for the Z-133 and $34 for each of the A-300 standards. tish will check with Art regarding any discount he could get. It was determined that if the cost for the ANSI standards was too high then we might include abstracts of each of the sections in the study guide. tish will look for abstracts for the A-300 standards (pruning, cabling and bracing, fertilizing) and for the Z-133 standards. Debbie and Ann will work on a version of the Study Guide for the next meeting.
Exam Questions
Debbie will print a list of the exam questions sorted by category. They will be provided to Ted, Dave, Lois and tish, who agreed to review the questions by the next meeting. Debbie and Ann will work on printing these off using the categories in the Tree Climbers Guide. One of the goals is to see if the material covered by the questions is included in the study guide.
Apprentice Licensing
tish thinks it would be useful to discuss this issue and then share it with members at the MAA meeting. Ann reviewed the meeting notes from April 13, 2004 and read what was recommended by the group at that meeting. Terry suggested that staff put together a "dummy rule" with the criteria included from the April 13, 2004 meeting. This would give something for the group to review and discuss at the next meeting. In order to make any changes regarding the apprentice category, the Department's arborist rules would have to be amended, which would require public input. Terry noted that the biggest problem with requiring experience working with a licensed arborist would be that anyone now working without a license wouldn't be able to take the exam until they had worked for a year under a licensed arborist. Encouraging unlicensed individuals to take the exam and becoming licensed is the major recommendation the Department staff provides when a complaint is received. One way around that would be to include a grace period before the experience requirement was made effective. Terry will check with Mark Randlett at the AG's office regarding the fact that these changes could prohibit someone from working until they have fulfilled an experience requirement. The group suggested bringing this issue up at the MAA meeting for information.
Agenda topics
For the next meeting the topics suggested include: the apprentice license category, exam questions, legislation, an update on the study guide and, discussion on the development of a clearer definition for supervision by a licensed arborist
Next meeting March 14, 2004
Respectfully Submitted
Ann Gibbs
Terry Bourgoin
