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Menomonie Urban Forestry Board Minutes Wednesday, May 20, 2026 @ 1:00pm – Council Chambers 1st Floor - City Hall –in Menomonie, Wisconsin Committee Members Naomi Cummings (2.0 hrs.) Keith Gilland (6.0 hrs.) Barbara Hauck (2.0 hrs.) Monika Herrmann (Absent) Liz Usborne (Chair) (5.0 hrs.) Dave Williams (Absent) Ryland Erdman (0.0 hrs.) Porter Swartz (4.0 hrs.) Nolan Dowd (Absent) Others present: Judy Zimmerman (Guest), Megen Hines and Derek Kahl Roll Call: Chair Liz Usborne called the meeting to order at 1:00 pm. Public Comment: None. Approval of Minutes: MOTION by Gilland, SECOND by Hauck to approve the April 15, 2026 meeting minutes as written. Motion carried. OLD BUSINESS: Arbor Day Event Recap: The committee recapped the successfully Arbor Day Celebration held at the Menomonie Public Library. All agreed the event went well and the event received media coverage from multiple entities including WQOW News 18 and the Leader-Telegram. Liz’s speech was also included in the Library’s monthly e-newsletter. The committee thanked Liz for her great speech and discussed how the speech could be shared in other news outlets. 2026 Field Day for Tree Planting Recap: The tree planting went well with many volunteers thanks to UW-Stout students from Keith’s & Dr. Julie Beston’s classes, Urban Forestry Board members and city staff. Timing was difficult due to trees coming during Earth Week. Discussion on how to move forward with this project in future years and how to include students. Ideas included getting trees in the spring but placing them in the City’s gravel bed until fall planting so we could plan ahead with schools and working with existing groups/events that are already in place to help plant trees. UW-Stout Campus Exterior Development Committee: UW-Stout has been designated as a Tree Campus University. Keith was unable to attend the last meeting of this committee due to teaching schedule conflicts. Creation of Urban Forestry Board Welcome Packet: The committee discussed the Arbor Day Foundation Tree Board Handbook and what elements they would like to include in a Menomonie-specific welcome packet/handbook. Barb Hauck agreed to come up with ideas to start drafting content for the packet and will meet with Megen to discuss prior to the June meeting. The committee will discuss the draft content at the June meeting. NEW BUSINESS: UW-Stout Wood Toys Project: Hines attended a presentation by senior UW-Stout engineering students on a project they’ve been working on all year to create wooden toys from ash trees that were cut down from the City boulevards. This is the culmination of a three-year project utilizing ash wood from the City. They presented the City with a wooden duck and tractor from the project. The City is storing several ash logs for Professor Kevin Dietsche to continue utilizing ash wood with his students. Parking Lot Items: Parking lot items were reviewed and suggestions were made for additions. Additions included adding trees planted to the Trillion Trees Pledge and scheduling a tour of City forested areas in lieu of the July meeting. Keith volunteered to come up with a draft list of locations to visit. The tour will be added to the June 2026 meeting agenda. Urban Forester Report: Several trees removed due to recent storm damage earlier this week. 73 trees are being delivered by Legacy Trees on Tuesday, May 26, 2026 and will be planted that week. City Council Report: No notable recent Council actions that have pertained to this board. Items for Next Meeting Agenda: • Welcome Packet Discussion • UW Stout Campus Exterior Development Committee Update • July Field Trip Planning Discussion • Trillion Trees Planting Pledge Update Next Meeting : - June 17, 2026, 1:00 pm, City Council Chambers 1 st Floor – City Hall. Adjournment: MOTION by Gilland, SECOND by Erdman to adjourn at 2:04 pm. Motion carried. Megen Hines Recording Secretary