OBJECTIVE: To regulate the planting and care of shade trees and shru= bs upon the public highways in Mountain Lakes

Mountain Lakes Shade Tree Commission DRAFT=

Minutes of Meeting

June 14, 2007

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In Attendance:

Commissioners: H. Carr, T. Caine, J. Best, B. Rosenthall, S. Marshall.

Council Liaison S. Sh= aw

= 1. There were no comments from the public.

= 2. The May minutes were accepted as corrected.=

= 3. Joan reported that the revisions to the Setback = Tree Removal Permit forms were typed and have been put into use. Changing the permit fees requires= a Council vote. This will go b= efore Council on June 25^th.

= 4. Tom will put the setback management plan onto the website.

= 5. Prune and Remove survey forms were distributed.<= span style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> Joan also gave us inventory notes showing tree species by location, which she asked us to cross reference. She also distributed a new form: = Record of Communication, to use to document interaction with homeowners. Joan would like each of us to help input our data into the inventory this year.

= 6. A member of the Rockaway Valley Garden Club aske= d when the Borough of Mountain Lakes would remove all the Norway Maples along the Boulevard because they are considered an invasive species. This led to some research about N= orway Maples which revealed that this species may actually be beneficial because = it sequesters a large amount of carbon as compared to other species. We will not remove these trees, b= ut we will not plant more in the future.

= 7. The Tree City USA folder has been returned to th= e Shade Tree file at Borough Hall.

= 8. Old Business:

1. Tom will post the June HS&A article on the website.

2. Bonnie will send photos of the Arbor Day celebra= tion to Tom so that he can post them on the website. Bonnie noted that next year Arbor Day falls during school vacation, so we will observe it in May.

3. Sue and Joan will work with Mark Prusina to find location for 4 honorary trees at the High School.

4. We will invite potential new STC members to the September meeting.

5. Heather shared articles from the National Arbor = Day Foundation and Bartlett.

6. Topics for the September H&SA Bulletin were discussed. Heather will writ= e one about Fall being the time to plant shade trees, and why shade trees are important.

7. As we find locations for our fall tree planting = plan, we need to check the health of the trees planted last fall.

8. We would like to get the completed FAQs onto the website this fall.