Shade Tree Management Board

Shade Tree Management Board Madison, NJ 07940 Minutes of September 19, 2019 The Shade Tree Management Board held its regularly scheduled meeting at 8:00 am on Thursday, September 19, 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, Brian Monaghan, Stephen Miller, Tom Salaki, Alice Wade, Nancy Bruce Members absent: Vince Licari Liaisons present: Ken O’Brien (DPW), Joan Maccari (MEC) Absent: Paul Allocco (Parks Advisory), Maureen Byrne (Council) Borough Staff present: Frank Russo and Lisa Ellis Minutes: August minutes approved as submitted. Public contacts/correspondence: Owner on Stonehedge has been cautioned regarding potential tree damage from construction. The secured bond will be held until tree survival is no longer in question. Council Liaison: No report Borough Tree Status: Fall planting: 14 white oak trees will arrive October 1. The planting sites remain the same. The sweet gums planted on Main St. are not seedless, as ordered. They should be relocated away from school sidewalks or simply replaced. Contacts/removals/pruning: Only routine contacts this month. The Honor Tree contract (2 year) expires 12/31/19. An RFP for pruning, trimming and tree removals will go out after review by STMB. STMB will likely maintain the same (2019) budget in 2020. An elm tree, thought to be disease resistant, had to be removed from 5 Hillcrest. Windshield surveys: NW needs to complete. 2020 Tree requests: To date 130 requests for trees have come in as a response to the STMB Electric Bill enclosure. A letter of explanation will be sent to any resident not getting the requested tree. The Main Street project will replace 20 trees in 2020. Financial Report: The budget changed to $130,500 in May. It was incorrectly recorded in the minutes as $130,000 in July and August. Any balance remaining unencumbered in late December will be used to remove and prune in Summerhill Park, prune in the new dog park and along streets scheduled for milling in 2020. 2019 Budget $130,500 Expenditures- Honor Tree $4,210 Tree King $1,220 Total expended YTD $44,591 Encumbered $61,540 Unexpended $85,909 Remaining Balance $24,369 TCC (Technical Coordinating Committee): Three cases reviewed: movie theater on Lincoln Place, a parking garage at Giralda Farms where there are linden trees possibly effected, a development on Brooklake with Alan Andreas as developer. He will ask Vince to cover for him to avoid conflict. Parks Advisory Committee: State of the Parks presentation is scheduled for the upcoming council meeting. At that time, Parks Advisory should be changed to official Committee status. Friends of Madison Shade Trees (FMST): FMST has funds which can be used to plant up to six street trees requested by Lathrop residents. STMB will support this effort. FMST will move nursery trees to the MRC meadow. Old/New Business: Waverly Place Trees: Pre-concepts drawings have been submitted to DDC. Next step is to convene a meeting of all vested parties. Tree Ordinance: Remains in the hands of the attorney for review. STMB must review the ordinance before it is presented at Council in November. There is a need to expedite this process. Bottle Hill Day: October 5, STMB will share a table with Parks and FMST. Volunteers are needed. Action Items: Ken: Will get a revised tree pruning/removal specs to Gene for review before it is released. Ken: Will inform Cerbo that they delivered incorrect sweet gum trees. Tom: To check on linden trees near Giralda parking garage construction site. Tom: To oversee volunteer list for Bottle Hill Day. All: Visit each tree planting request site in your quadrant to determine suitability of planting and recommend appropriate tree. Submitted by Judy Honohan