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City Council and the Mayor's office should not cede responsibilities on the matter of funding tree canopy development and that creating an advisory board regarding the issue, modeled after the Lakewood Community Relations Advisory Commission or LASWAB, makes more sense. He did caution that both of these groups have floundered at times, meeting when a serious issue arises and then floundering once the issue is moving in the right direction. Councilman Bullock agreed that some form of group designation is needed and that having some form of formal capacity could make interactions with the public more meaningful. He suggested 3 areas where a tree group could make an impact: citizen oversight of projects,public education on the private side of the property line, and incubation of new proposals or difficult ones such as a mature tree ordinance. He dissected the differences between a commission, task force, and advisory board, concluding that forming an advisory board could work well. Councilman Rader noted that meeting with the animal control officer at LASWAB meeting's enables the dissemination of accurate information and asked the members of the former tree task force how they felt about creating a tree advisory board. Mr. Palmer indicated that an advisory board could work and that he would be happy to lead an hour-long tree educational program for citizens at the library once a quarter. Rader added that sending board members to block clubs would be a great alternative as well. Councilwoman George expressed her support for creating an advisory board structure over that of a commission. Mr. Perry agreed, stating that the advisory board structure is the way to go. He committed to attending all of the groups meetings and noted that the tree task force recommendations served as a good foundation for policy in his department. He stated that the City has an active tree action plan that has gone beyond the group's recommendations, however the weakest link of that plan is public education. He expressed his support for the group attempting to reach across the private property line to encourage tree canopy growth. Mayor Summers added that when people at the committee hearing go to recruit members, they should be clear about why they are being recruited and that there is a need for people willing to knock on doors and complete the public education component. Councilman Rader stated he will work with the Council Clerk to come up with a new version of legislation creating a tree advisory board and will unveil it once it is drafted. He invited any of the former tree task force members to send any suggestions to him. Councilman Anderson stated he is in favor of the advisory board effort and stated that this designation gives the board opportunity to show their merit,just as LASWAB had to do in years past when people attempted to remove it. Council President O'Leary asked for feedback on the current number of board members, which is 5 as of the current legislation. He questioned whether a large group that can do aggressive outreach is needed or if it should be smaller in order to meet quorum. Rader stated that ex officio positions should not be included in the number and Bullock suggested it should replicate LASWAB. Rader stated that there are 200 people serving on board and commissions in Lakewood and keeping the seats filled on the board may not be easy. David Sangree suggested