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CASE TWENTIETH ANNUAL TREE SALE AND SIXTH ANNUAL ENVIRONMENTAL EXPO By: Mark Boos, Parks/Utilities Supervisor Background: The 1994 Tree Side and Environmental Expo will be similar to years past. The event is scheduled to be held on Sa~trday, April 30, 1994 at Ramsey'Municipal Center. The Tree Sale will begin at 7:00 a.m. and th.~ Expo will begin at 9:00 a.m. Both events will conclude at 2:00 p.m. or before. The purpose o1~ this case is to receive authorization to proceed with the Tree Sale and Environmental l~xpo with potential additions or deletions from the proposed event schedule. As stated, the eventS vall be mmv!ar to years past in the primary areas and perhaps more focused in others. It is exp~ted the Committee will also recommend that City Council adopt the attached Arbor Day resoldtion. This case is formatted by subject for ease of reading and to facilitate topical discussion. Twenty Years: It seems significant that not only has Ramsey sponsored a tree sale for 20 consecutive years, but 1994 also mark~ Ramsey's 20th year as a city. Staff has discussed commemorating this anniversary at ~e Expo and possibly in conjunction with other spring events. The best idea generated was for t-shin sales as a tool to celebrate and foster community identity. This notion could be entertained separate from this case. T-shin costs and options have not been researched. The 1994 budgetiline item for the Expo is $500, which is probably not enough to underwrite the t- shin purchases. '~The suggested goal would be to have the shirts priced as inexpensively as possible, but enoggh to defray costs and not to have them too oriented to 1994 so as to have them unmarketable in the event they were not entSrely disseminated this year. Tree Sale Last year, produc.~s from seven nurseries were available. This year's invitation to the uree vendors included a surve~ which also set the stage for donated planting material for the Municipal Center and parks, rather than Brace and myself asking for donations at the end of the sale. Six nurseries have returned the[survey of the seven contacted; Morton's Nursery in Ramsey did not wish to sell. Stan Morton did texpress interest in conducting a pruning seminar as he did in 1993. The six surveys are attach?..d as Exhibit A. In years past, do~ns of groups and entities were invited to exhibit at the Expo. Some that did exhibit were not ~'e. ctly linked to the Tree Sale or Expo mission. This year we sent out invitations to many of these ~rne groups, but with no follow-up contacts. So far, "exhibitors" include Anoka County High Sch.i)ol volunteers who MI1 be handlmg the seedling dissemination; the Green Tree Committee; Anoka County Master Gardeners; Pine Cone Nursery with a Q & A booth; and possibly a few indidental exhibitors such as the Herpetology Society. II