Shade Tree Management Board

Shade Tree Management Board Madison, NJ 07940 Minutes of April 18, 2019 The Shade Tree Management Board held its regularly scheduled meeting at 8:00 AM on Thursday, April 18, 2019 in the Committee Room of the Hartley Dodge Memorial, 50 Kings Road, Madison, NJ. Call to Order by Chairman Gene Cracovia. Reading of the Sunshine Law. Members present: Alan Andreas, Gene Cracovia, Judy Honohan, Vince Licari, Stephen Miller, Tom Salaki, Nancy Bruce, Members absent: Brian Monaghan, Alice Wade Liaisons present: Ken O’Brien (DPW) Absent: Maureen Byrne (Council), Paul Allocco (Parks), Joan Maccari (Environmental), Borough Staff present: Frank Russo, Lisa Ellis Minutes: March 21 minutes approved as submitted Public contacts/correspondence: A non-borough ash tree at the Luke Miller house likely is in decline. It and several borough ashes at the rear of property will be evaluated once in leaf. Council Liaison: No report Borough Tree Status: Contacts/removals/pruning: Trees lining roads scheduled for paving in 2019 will be pruned to raise branches to 13 feet from road surface. Spring tree plantings: Letters to residents have gone out. One or two on Central have asked to not plant a tree and Vince has responded to them. Quadrant markings need to be done ASAP. New resident requests: Museum of Early Trades and Craft needs a replacement tree. Lathrop and Rosemont both have one request for trees. STMB should honor requests by using otherwise designated spring planting trees when possible. Arbor Day will be celebrated at Borough Hall on May 4. A number of dignitaries have been invited and all local schools are participating. All STMB members are encouraged to attend. Tree seedlings will be distributed for free at Drew University from 10 to 6 on April 26. Financial Report: Final Madison 2019 budget will be voted at April 22 Council meeting. It includes the Waverly Place plantings as a separate capital expense line item and can be spent into 2020. 2019 budget $119,500 Expended February Honor Tree $5,865 Tree King $3,220 Total expended YTD $9,265 Encumbered 2019 $94,080 Unexpended 2019 $108,873.21 Remaining Balance $14,793.21 TCC (Technical Coordinating Committee): Alan is working on two new cases and will be submitting a report. Parks Advisory Committee: Trails at Memorial Park are being mulched. Two fallen trees at Summerhill are being removed today. Cut logs in parks can be removed by residents for use as firewood. The committee will be walking trails with Mayor Connelly and Councilwoman Bailey. On high school Service Day students will help DPW move bricks from around the forge building, remove ivy and paint the wood trim white. Friends of Madison Shade Trees (FMST): There is a talk on Old Growth Forests scheduled at the library. New brochures will be available at Arbor Day celebration and any extra tree seedlings from Drew will be given away. The tree nursery has many trees ready for removal and replanting. FMST will be participating in the April 27 Green Fair at the library. The Canopy Tree presentation will be given at Grace Church on May 3. Old/New Business: Judy shared highlights of the Core Training at Rutgers. The proposed tree ordinance is under attorney review. Action Items:  Steve will provide Gene the unexpended numbers from the past two years’ budgets.  Judy will send all members a copy of Commission legal guidelines received at Core Training.  Tom will set a meeting to begin prep work on Waverly plantings.  Vince and Gene will do Noe planting markings.  Tom will mark Loantaka and St. Vincent Martyr.  Gene and Judy will mark Greenwood and Central.  Steve will work with DPW to get tree removal updates entered into Arbor Pro. Submitted by Judy Honohan