Mountain Lakes Shade Tree Commission     

                                                Minutes of Meeting

September 14, 2006

In attendance:

Commissioners - H. Carr, J. Best, S. Marshall, J. Eveleth, B. Rosenthall and A. Barton

Borough Manager-G. Webb

Council Liaison – L. Davis

Secretary - S. Landau

1. There were no comments from the public.

2. June minutes approved with 2 corrections. #3: Webb was added to Gary’s name. #7: “issues” replaced “violations”.

3. Prune and Remove Survey is well underway, on time and well executed. Database entry has begun.

4. Jay’s article about pruning and removing trees will be published in the October H&SA Bulletin.

5. In order to fulfill this year’s CEU requirement, Bonnie and Heather will attend the Shade Tree Federation Meeting, October 27-28. Bonnie will attend the core training and Heather will accumulate at least 4 hours.

6. Sue reports that she has a planting plan contract from Tony Cerbo but he has been unresponsive to her calls and varieties of trees need to be selected. 33 trees are under discussion: 3 memorial trees, 2 pines for planting at the water towers and 28 others. Tony needs a list of cross streets and exact planting locations as soon as possible. He is going to use mechanical diggers and needs to contact the utilities for mark-outs before they begin.

7. STC needs a protocol for managing honorary and memorial trees, Heather will bring ideas to the next meeting. A list will be kept throughout the year and planting will be done each fall. No plaques will be placed. Ann and Heather will set up a file for records and a plan for the planting sites.

8. A. STC can apply to the State for $15,000 of CSIP money tied to a specific number of trees. Sue will work with Gary on this application, due Nov. 3.

    B. Approved Minutes will be posted on the web site. Susan will send the corrected minutes to Mark Watrous.

   C. Joan and Bonnie are working on the Town Club presentation.

   D. Jay is working on FAQs for the website. Email question ideas to Jay.

   E. Gary reported to the STC about a poorly managed landscaping situation between a Laurel Hill property and a Cobb Road property that are back to back. He is trying to negotiate a replanting plan with the neighbors. This situation highlights the need for the ordinance fees and replanting requirements to be strengthened.

  F. A case of a Street Tree Plan not followed, jeopardizing 2 Scarlet Oaks, occurred at 15 Powerville Road.  This sparked discussion about the protection of all street trees when any construction is proposed for a property. The protective fencing diameter needs to be enforced by Gary prior to plan approval. STC can be called to paint an outline for the fencing.

  G. Gary reported on the Wang Case.  

    The next meeting will be held on Thursday October12, 2006 at 8:30