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Montebello Condominium Unit Owners Association |
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Advisory committee on Landscape Design and Management |
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Committee Meeting |
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1. The Chair called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
Members present: 6 Members absent: 1 Board Liaison: Present Guests: None
The minutes of the November 17, 2005 meeting were approved as written.
Other Communities: There were no further contacts with other communities and no new communities identified.
Update to Consultant Roster: A member identified Chris Sclar, the IPM Coordinator at Longwood Gardens.
A member interviewed Tony Vlahakis, Acting IPM Specialist at the National Arboretum. He has been there for 11 years and previously worked for 10 years at ChemLawn. While the Arboretum does not provide consulting services, he suggested that we:
· Obtain several estimates and, above all, ask a lot of questions of both the consultants and contractors.
· Go to well-known companies. Even a place like Behnkes might be able to provide consultation.
· Especially with the contractors, be sure to examine the credentials they claim, especially since some contractors may promise qualifications or capabilities they don't have.
· With regard to individuals who will do the work, be aware of the supervision provided. Oversight is absolutely necessary.
Mr. Vlahakis believes there is no reason why we cannot reach a pesticide/herbicide-free environment although he does recommend some fertilizer for young plants. He underscored the importance of soil testing, but said that his information shows the University of Maryland does not do such testing anymore. He recommended:
Agricultural Analytical Services Laboratory Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802 Tel: 814-863-0841
or the University of Delaware, A&L Eastern Agricultural Laboratories in Richmond, or the Brookside Laboratories in New Knoxville, Ohio.
A committee member asked if we would be interested in a candidate who resides in Michigan. The committee agreed that if the individual had worked for a local community, the candidate might be worth pursuing. He will look into it further.
RFP Review: The Chair identified new material provided to the committee, i.e., the results of the December 2004 Montebello soil test, a draft describing how the pre- and post-emergents are applied, the last three Notices to All Residents re the application of herbicides, and a re-draft of the RFP package. The main question was how to fulfill our TOR by June 30, 2006 (our sunset date).
There were two issues:
1. If IPM consultants prefer to see our grounds in the non-dormancy period, the earliest they can do so is at the end of March or the beginning of April. This makes a June 30, 2006, deadline virtually impossible to meet. However, Management prepares for bidding the landscape maintenance contract in late June/early July, and our inputs will be useful to the RFP prepared for that contract. Also, the MCUOA budget is voted on each October. All costs for that contract must be submitted for the BOD’s September Work Session. 2. With regard to the TOR specification to hire a “design consultant,” we had learned that many of those we had identified were not interested in doing this specific kind of work and that design consultants can be extremely expensive. The committee’s concern was how to find a suitable candidate and stay within budget.
Committee members discussed various ideas. Among these were:
· Broadening the “design consultant” category to include individuals from the IPM consultant category (benefits include having experience with a qualified individual with whom we have already developed a good working relationship, potentially reducing the cost since our research so far suggests that IPM consultants cost far less than design consultants);
· Emphasizing the reduction of chemicals by making a selection for the design component from the IPM candidates;
· Modifying the RFP to include the requirement to include proposed landscape modifications that reflect the IPM recommendations;
· Hiring a leader who will have both the technical expertise we require and command the respect of the community with regard to his/her recommendations;
· Bringing in individuals who might discuss ideas with the committee various ideas for meeting our objective. These individuals would be drawn from government and not-for-profit organizations, e.g., National Wildlife Federation; and,
Combining the names of both IPM consultants AND design consultants so that we send the RFP to everyone we’ve identified and they can decide whether or not this is something they want to do.
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Mr. Vlahakis believes there is no reason why we cannot reach a pesticide/herbicide-free environment although he does recommend some fertilizer for young plants. |
December 1, 2005 |
