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137 <br /> APPROVED WITH AMENDMENT 2.7.24 <br /> 449 south, we're just going by nonresidential properties. This is all commercial properties or Town properties. In <br /> 450 the broader perspective, if this doesn't happen, it doesn't mean there's a lack of tree service needs in the area. <br /> 451 It just means that to fulfill those tree service needs, you're gonna be having to travel from a lot further away. <br /> 452 Maybe same trips per day, but those trips will take three times as long and that means three times as much <br /> 453 road use. More traffic intersecting back and forth through the Rural Buffer. Already a problem. This just adds <br /> 454 more to that. <br /> 455 <br /> 456 Adam Beeman: If you, if you want to give your summary, you've got two minutes left. If you want to give a <br /> 457 wrap-up and a summary, we've got questions for you, so you're gonna have plenty of time to answer them. It's <br /> 458 just your chance to say your last bit before we dive in here. <br /> 459 <br /> 460 Craig Nishimoto provided a summary of his personal history and background. <br /> 461 <br /> 462 Adam Beeman: So, I'm going to start the questions and work our way around. <br /> 463 <br /> 464 Whitney Watson: I have three questions for you. One is about working with North Carolina Forestry. I know <br /> 465 they offer some of the same tree literacy programs that you are, and so I'd been interested in how you work <br /> 466 with them or how you might increase the way in which you work with those groups. <br /> 467 <br /> 468 Craig Nishimoto: Whenever I present to a crowd like a public library or some, a gardening club, I point to <br /> 469 North Carolina Forest Service as an offering. If you call the County Ranger, they will send someone out to <br /> 470 look at your trees, and it's a pretty good deal because it's free and sometimes, during COVID, they were even <br /> 471 sending two guys out, but it takes a long time. You might have to wait a month or two to get out there. This is <br /> 472 what I hear from clients. Sometimes their write-ups are excellent. In fact, one time a client showed it to me <br /> 473 and it looked like he copied the things that I was saying, telling the client. Other times they're not as good <br /> 474 because they have a different skill set. If you became a registered forester or licensed forester, you would <br /> 475 have to learn a lot of things that are totally irrelevant to the urban forest interface, you know, trees growing <br /> 476 near houses. And what we get to see is trees on houses all the time. We're looking for particular trees and <br /> 477 particular elements of this tree, not the health of this big Loblolly Pine tract. I think if everyone started calling <br /> 478 them, they just wouldn't have the capacity to do 75 visits a week, for example. <br /> 479 <br /> 480 Whitney Watson: Okay. So that sort of backs into the notion that you're going to have some kind of training <br /> 481 program at your site? So, if you're not working with the local forest ranger, then it seems like there's a <br /> 482 disconnect between what you do and what they do and the customer, the potential client is losing out, so you <br /> 483 might consider about that educational aspect. <br /> 484 <br /> 485 Craig Nishimoto: So, where I think the forest service is strong is on big, managing 20 acre properties or 10 <br /> 486 acre properties, land management. That's where I think they have a lot to offer. When it's what particular tree <br /> 487 and how to deal with its hazard, that's where they fall short, so even though there's something called urban <br /> 488 forestry, they mainly just do standard forestry. <br /> 489 <br /> 490 Whitney Watson: Next question, so there's a residential property or residential unit going to be on the <br /> 491 property for a full-time caretaker or will they also be working during the day? <br /> 492 <br /> 493 Craig Nishimoto: Yeah, so it's basically our security system needs to have someone there. I could imagine <br /> 494 somebody, some eco-terrorist just doesn't like the fact that we cut down a tree coming to destroy all our <br /> 495 machines. It's kind of way tucked away, so people could do that. But I got this guy that has worked with me <br /> 496 for years and he's a young guy. He would love nothing more than to do the Henry David Thoreau thing. A <br /> 497 little cabin out there with his dog and living the life, and that's what we'd like to build for him. <br /> 498 <br />