Shade Tree Management Board

Shade Tree Management Board Madison, NJ 07940 Minutes of July 15, 2021 The Shade Tree Management Board held its regular meeting at 8:00AM on Thursday, July 15, 2021 in the Borough Zoom meeting room. Call to Order by Chairman Gene Cracovia. Reading of the Sunshine Law. Members present: Gene Cracovia, Judy Honohan, Stephen Miller, Kate Bartley, Alan Andreas, Nancy Bruce, Brian Monaghan, Members absent: Vince Licari, Tom Salaki Liaisons present: Joan Maccari (MEC), Chris Schorr (Friends of Madison Shade Trees), Ken O’Brien (DPW), John Hoover (Council) Liaisons absent: Michael Pelessier (Communications), Bridget Daley, Rich Wolowicz (Arborist), Lisa Ellis (Borough) Minutes: June 2021 minutes approved as submitted. Public Contacts/Correspondence: To date there have been 139 public requests for tree evaluation. Service requests to date in July involving 12 trees: 3 to be removed, 9 pruned, 1 no action. Private tree removal permits were 13 in June involving 21 removals, 10 required new plantings. To date in July an additional 6 permits were issued for the removal of 7 trees. Council Liaison: Council approved an environmental check list for all new buildings and building permits. Also approved was the placement at DPW of a clothing and shoe recycling bin. MRC/Natural area had $350,000 approved for development of handicapped accessibility to the recreation and natural areas. Public 2021 Planting: Tree quality (from Plant Detectives) was excellent this year. There were about 12-15 tree refusals after planting letters were received. There were only two sites with last minute refusals requiring relocation of trees. Ken informed the board that he takes an active part in encouraging people to accept the street trees on their properties. This year’s trees are being documented in ArborPro. Utility mark-outs can only happen after the tree location has been marked. Each site requires a separate paper form for legal reasons. STMB has requested daily updates on planting and conflicts that arise. We will provide a list of alternative sites (parks are possibilities) to enable quick relocation. This will sometimes require site marking without prior resident letters. Windshield Surveys: NE and SE are complete. We may include park trees in next surveys where possible. Vince has been asked to survey Cole, Memorial and Niles Parks. Rich has submitted a proposal to complete a survey of Summerhill’s approximate 500 trees at a cost of $3 per tree. He will identify dead ash trees near trails that should be removed. Proposal approved. Judy will explore adding the surveyed trees to ArborPro. TCC (Technical Coordinating Committee: New signage at Madison Market is being reviewed. Drew Forest Preservation: Drew apartments (28) on Loantaka Way have been redistricted and can now be sold as condominiums. Approximate sale value $11,000,000. Drew and Madison planners are meeting to envision the future for Drew. The petition to save Drew Forest has gained 5,000+ signatures. Steering committee is encouraging people to write to the council and mayor thanking them for their support of preservation and encouraging the efforts for a win-win solution. There are weekend tours of the forest and an operational QR code on the tour. Landmark Trees: There are 19 trees on the 2014 list. Only loss was the copper beech at the train station. Next step is to notify the homeowners of the status of their tree. It may be possible to offer a free arborist assessment of the tree, provide an identifying plaque, conduct a tour of the trees. Trees are nominated for recognition. Shade Tree Chairs Meeting: Morristown, Summit, Chatham Borough and Madison chairs met to discuss challenges and successes. Challenges: new residents resist plantings, want to remove existing trees, utility conflicts. Morristown requires each member of the Shade Tree Board to earn one CEU each year. All chairs agreed to share the Drew Forest Preservation effort with their boards. Financial Report: July 15, 2021 2021 Budget $154,500.00 Expenditures- Honor Tree $3,185.00 $4,379.74 Richview $1,194.74 Total expended YTD $23,437.38 Encumbered $97,757.62 Unexpended $131,062.62 Remaining Balance $33,305.00 Parks Advisory Committee: Basketball -Pickle ball courts at Memorial Park near pool are on hold as the lease agreement is being negotiated. Friends of Madison Shade Trees (FMST Chris Schorr): Tree tags are in process. Willing to help with costs of Summerhill survey. Willing to help DPW complete utility mark-out forms for tree planting. Has contributed $500 to Drew Forest Steering committee to cover costs of educational materials. MEC: Nothing new Open Space: Nothing related to Shade Tree. Sustainable Madison: Nothing new. Submission is still in review. Action Items: Ken hopes to work with schools on a Board of Ed property tree survey. Judy will send a list of fall request sites to Gene Vince will evaluate the ivy on White Oak Landmark Tree on Glendale. Gene will contact Rebecca Bertrand of Parks Committee to establish a new Shade Tree liaison. Submitted by Judy Honohan