Shade Tree Commission Meeting

Shade Tree Commission Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 11, 2022 Chairman Schatz announced that in compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act of 1975, adequate notice of this meeting has been provided. Pledge of Allegiance Roll Call: Jay Schatz Present George Ator Present Sue Wichterman Present Barbara Preminger Present Fiore Mannella Present Carol York Excused Carole Sick Present Mark Pask Present RuthAnne Stewart Present Shaine Meier – Council Representative Present Guest: William Kurtz, Bill Burns 1. A motion to approve the minutes of the September 13, 2022 meeting was made by Mark Pask and seconded by Barbara Preminger. The motion was approved by all present. 2. Mr. Kurtz (Yogi) asked the Commission to reconsider the denied removal request for the two Leyland Cypress trees on his property line next to his neighbor at 906 Washington Street. The trees extend above the third floor of his house and are against his neighbor’s house. The trees have a short/shallow root system and Matt Notch said that trimming the trees could make them top heavy and more likely to fall. The Commission approved the request and will charge a fee of $75.00 per tree. Yogi indicated he will replace the trees. George suggested a Sweet Bay Magnolia or and Mark suggested a single stem Crepe Myrtle. 3. Mr. Burns, representing the Cape May County Construction office talked to the Commission about his concerns regarding the Linden tree in the front yard of the Franklin Street School. Repairing the brickwork on the front of the school and adhering to the 12-foot perimeter round the Linden tree is near impossible. Using a smaller scaffolding is not possible because of safety. The Commission was adamant that the tree could not be removed. Councilman Shaine will relay our position to the City Council. Mr. Burns noted the trees on the north side have been removed. 4. Jay referred to the letter sent to Louis Belasco concerning the trees at the Welcome Center suggesting the trees that were removed are replaced with Leyland Cypress or Arbor Vitae. Jay also requested a copy of the landscaping plan. Unless a variance is needed for a property, the Shade Tree Commission is not informed about proposed changes to a property. 5. The 2023 budget was reviewed and approved by the Commission 6. Members of the sub-committee to review the Shade Tree ordinance are Jay, Shaine, George, and Carole. Shaine will coordinate with all and schedule a meeting. 7. Carol reported an issue with repairing a streetlight and trimming the street tree at 1252 Illinois Avenue. Shaine gave Carol contact information for a customer representative at Atlantic City Electric. 8. Shaine contacted the Construction office and they are willing to highlight details of the 50/50 sidewalk program on the permit applications for tree removals. A motion to adjourn was made by Mark and seconded by Fiore. All were in favor. The meeting adjourned at 3.18 PM. Submitted by Carol York