Shade Tree Management Board

Shade Tree Management Board Madison, NJ 07940 Minutes of October 20, 2022 The Shade Tree Management Board held its regular meeting at 8:00AM on Thursday, October 20, 2022. It was a hybrid meeting in the Borough’s Committee Room and a Zoom link. Call to Order by Chairman Gene Cracovia. Statement in compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act In compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act, adequate notice of this meeting of the Shade Tree Management Board was provided by transmitting a copy of the meeting notice to the Madison Eagle, Morris County Daily Record, posting a copy on the bulletin board at the main entrance of the Borough Hall, and filing a copy in the Office of the Clerk, all on January 11, 2022. Copies of said notice were made available to the general public. Attendance Name Present Role Name Present Role Bartley x Member Miller Member Bruce x Member Daley x MEC Cracovia x Member O’Brien x DPW Honohan x Member Wolowicz x Arborist Licari Member Schorr x FMST Limbach x Alternate Ehrlich x Council Monaghan x Alternate Salaki x Member Guest on Zoom: Joe Basralian from the Friends of Drew Forest Minutes Approval Motion to approve September minutes; motion carried. Public Contacts/ Correspondence Rich reported that calls have dropped most likely due to the approaching winter. Fall Main Street Plantings: 22 trees to be delivered next week, sourced by Plant Detectives. Honor is removing Callery pears in preparation for the new plantings. Lloyd Tree Plantings: Judy has marked out sites for trees and Lloyd has been notified. Lloyd has until the end of the year to meet his tree replacement commitment. Windshield Survey Results: • Survey completed for all four quadrants • Survey indicates many more planting sites than what is planted in 1 year • Some sites noted have rejected trees in the past Landmark Trees: • Four trees nominated • Vince assessed trees and approved two for Landmark Tree status: 1  o Copper Beech at 14 Noe Avenue o Black Walnut at 20 Belmont Avenue • Nancy has notified all applicants Council Liaison Report from Rachel Ehrlich • Pickleball/ basketball courts proposal will require survey and plans for staging and oversight on construction. • Dodge playground renovation requires some tree roots to be cut. Tom Salaki has volunteered his firm’s time to work on landscape design for playground. • Delbarton Drive/Niles Avenue neighbors desire playground improvements. Traction Line Tree Assessment • Trees will be removed. • Neighbors are unhappy with proposed loss of privacy screening. • Of the estimated cost of $3M, half to be paid by the County. • Report regarding tree removals will be sent to us. JCP&L Pruning Meeting between Madison Borough and JCP&L will be set up to review proposed pruning on NJT property. Borough wants to avoid clear cutting that happened several years ago. DPW: • Ken suggested that we try for September planting in 2023. Spring is a busy time for DPW. STMB Budget Report Total Budget: $190,200 Year to Date – 2022 Budget: 1. Expended: $117,733.40 2. Encumbered: $67.290.01 3. Remaining Balance: $5,176.59 4. Unexpended: $72,466.60 MEC • “Leave the Leaves” campaign has begun. Looking for public spots to put sign. • Ceil Power gave a presentation on heat pumps. • Solar carports have been have been proposed for MRC and two other sites. • Does STMB want to co-host another zoom presentation about trees? Friends of Madison Shade Trees • Rose Garden Park will be renovated o new sprinkler system o porous surface for walkways o stone wall around rose bed to be reconstructed • More trees will be ordered from Plant Detectives for the Memorial Park (near the ice- skating rink) site. 2 Friends of Drew Forest: Joe Basralian reported what is being done to collect data on the trees in Drew’s forest. Additional: • NJ Tree Federation Conference was held on October 13 & 14 in Cherry Hill. It was well attended. George attended Core Training. • Reeves-Reed Arboretum offered a three part series “Fall in Love with Trees”. CEU credits are available. Nancy attended the first two. The second talk included information on Summit’s Tiny Forest. • Doug Tallamay will talk to Madison Borough at a “Noon Zoom” Nov 2. Topic will be what is a municipalities’ role in creating Homegrown National Parks. Submitted by George Limbach 3