Shade Tree Management Board

Shade Tree Management Board Madison, NJ 07940 Minutes of February 15, 2018 The Shade Tree Management Board held its regularly scheduled meeting at 8:00 AM on Thursday, February 15, 2018 in the committee room of Hartley Dodge Memorial, 50 Kings Road, Madison, NJ. Call to Order at 8:02 by Chairman Gene Cracovia. Reading of the Sunshine Law. Present: Gene Cracovia, Nancy Bruce, Stephen Miller, Brian Monaghan, Vince Licari, Paul Allocco, Ken O’Brien, Alice Wade, Tom Salaki, Judy Honohan, Joan Maccari- liaison from Environmental Commission Absent: Carmela Vitale – Council liaison, Alan Andreas Guests: Lauren Monopoli and Chelsea Hamilton, two students from Drew University conducting a canopy study of Madison Minutes: January 2018 minutes approved as submitted. Public Contacts/Correspondence: Any calls have been routine. Vince, Brian and Alice did a second inspection of trees to be removed and explained to homeowners the reasons for the removal. One call concerned a Landmark Tree on Noe. The beech tree at the train station was also the subject of a call. Vince explained the need for the pruning and the deep feeding of the tree though it remains in decline and will likely survive only six to seven more years. The columnar spruce may also be removed in the near future. Gene received an email from Steve Stocker requesting STMB support regarding a borough solar array location. STMB took no position as the information was incomplete. Council Liaison report: no report Committee Leadership Meeting: Board members received copies of Best Practices to be followed by any Borough Board member. Borough Tree Status: Goal is for all to use Excel spreadsheet for data. Quadrant windshield survey teams (prune, remove, plant) are: Gene and Judy: NE Alice and Brian: SE Steve and Nancy: SW Tom and Alan: NW Park Ave. (NW) is a candidate for tree plantings in which the DDC might have an interest. Locations on the “do not plant” list should be available to the teams and updated when the property changes ownership. Barton Nurseries has been awarded the contract for purchase of 105 spring 2018 trees. Alice will explore tree care signage (content, dimensions, materials) to be used on Borough trees in approved construction areas. STMB members were asked to review the resident tree planting letter so as to make it clear that every effort will be made to plant the tree at the designated site. TCC: No report Parks Advisory Committee: Green Goats has been contacted for a quote to provide goats to browse nuisance plants in fenced areas. Development of a dog park is on hold until a suitable, agreeable site is identified. FMST: Tom presented a vision for Summerhill Park to Council. Existing trails would be formalized using Open Space grant money. Additional tree plantings are planned. Treasurer’s Report: Honor Tree has completed work on Burnet and that cost will be billed against 2017 budget. 2017 Budget $117,650.00 Expended this month (Honor Tree) $4,752.50 Total expended 2017 YTD $93,109.11 Encumbered 2017 $7,595.25 Unexpended 2017 $24,540.89 Budget 2018 $117,650.00 Encumbered 2018 (Richview Consulting) $4,500.00 Old / New Business: ArborPro database: Ken will inquire as to office usage. Steve will request userid/passwds for Judy and Alice. State Seedlings: About 500 seedlings will be distributed with the help of Drew students. Hardwood seedlings have been requested. Madison Green Vision Forum: April 19 at Drew University. Madison Environmental Commission is coordinating. All public and private Madison K-12 schools are being invited to speak to their vision for a green Madison. STMB has numerous commitments (needing volunteers to staff) this spring. Green Forum- April 19, Green Fair, May Day / Arbor Day (May 5). Other: Tom presented an idea for testing effectiveness of expanded tree pits and deep fertilizing by using two fading honey locusts on Waverly. He also described informal “green drinks” gatherings where anyone interested in a Greener Madison could gather to chat about anything. Guests: two students of Lisa Jordan are continuing work on a tree canopy study to assign a value to canopy which directly correlates to housing value. By April, using iTree they expect to have a report to present to STMB. Steve has agreed to liaise with the students and they plan to provide us with a results poster before Arbor Day. Submitted by Judy Honohan