Shade Tree Management Board

Shade Tree Management Board Madison, NJ 07940 Minutes of November 16, 2017 Meeting The Shade Tree Management Board held its regular monthly meeting on November 16, 2017 beginning at 8:00 AM in the Committee Room of the Hartley Dodge Memorial, 50 Kings Road, Madison, NJ. Call to Order: Gene Cracovia called the meeting to order. Present: Gene Cracovia, Penny Garman, Alice Wade, Nancy Bruce, Stephen Miller, Tom Salaki, Brian Monaghan, Vince Licari, and Paul Allocco, Judy Honohan. Absent: Carmella Vitale, Alan Andreas, and Ken O’Brien. Minutes: The October minutes were approved. The Board addressed the following items of business: Public Contacts  A resident at 24 Stonehenge Rd. sent a letter criticizing the Borough for failure to prune a ‘dangerous’ tree near their property. 2 arborists looked at the tree but did not agree with the resident. The tree was pruned.  122 Main St. – cut ½ the roots of a town tree which now needs to be removed; there needs to be discussions regarding ownership of a stand of 3 oaks near town property all of which are in decline and 2 are dangerous; a summons was issued to the owner of the property to remove the dangerous trees. Council Liaison Report  No report. Borough Tree Status  Removal / Tree Pruning - It was decided that all ashes on Burnett and Noe and certain ones in Summerhill Park will be removed. The total estimated cost was $18,490. Penny will submit the order and alert the police and high school about the project. Replacement trees will be decided on in the early spring.  Construction/Street Trees Protection - There was a lengthy discussion about the labelling of town trees at new construction sites. The prevailing opinion is that there is not enough protection given and therefore greater enforcement is required. Alice will look into the problem.  109 trees have been removed and that including the ashes the total for 2017 will be 151. TCC  No Report. Fall Windshield Survey  Penny reported that 3 of the 4 quadrant surveys have been completed. Budget Report  2017 budget $117,650  Expended This Month: $12962.50 Honor Tree Services  Total Expended YTD $79,563.25  Encumbered $13,066.25  Unexpended $38,086.25 FMST  The Summerhill Arboretum plans have been put on hold until the status of a trails grant request has been received. Nancy and Penny marked the Summerhill Park trees that are to be removed. They also mentioned that a large swamp oak will be planted as a memorial to a town resident.  It was also noted that the Board is invited to a ceremony to recognize Judy Mullins on 12/7/17 at town hall. OLD BUSINESS  ArborPro indicated that they need an address file in order to identify each individual town tree. The Borough is collecting the information and it will be sent it to ArborPro when ready. COMMUNITY FORESTRY PLAN  Nancy reported that the final draft of the new 5-year plan has been submitted to the state. PARKS ADVISORY COMMITEE  Paul said that even though hundreds of signatures have been collected, and the plan redesigned, the dog park is still on hold. He also mentioned that the bathroom at the Forge building has been vetoed. Board Adjourned 9:33 am Submitted by Brian Monaghan