Mountain Lakes Shade Tree Commission
Minutes of Meeting
October 16, 2008
In Attendance:
Commissioners:
H. Carr, T. Caine, J. Best, B. Rosenthall, L. Connor, M. Vyff
S. Marshall.
Alternate: J. Eveleth.
1. There were no comments from the public.
2. The September minutes were approved as submitted.
3. Prune and Remove Data Entry Progress: Most
commissioners are almost finished with data input; a couple are about half
finished. Joan stated that it
should be finished by October 31st so that the prune and remove work
can be put out to bid.
4. Not all locations for the trees to be planted have
been confirmed yet. We will be
meeting with several homeowners over the next few days to choose species and
locations. Language has been
written for the tree being planted in memory of Ann BartonÕs mother: ÒIn memory of Jean Steinetz, the lady
who owned the lake.Ó The tree will be planted either at Island Beach or the
Midvale Dock area Also, Heather
has given Tony a list of trees planted last year that seem to be failing. Some may be replaced.
5. We discussed the possibility of keeping a list of
borough property locations for future tree plantings such as the Esplanade, the
station, and the corner of Boulevard and Rock Lane. Because this year finishes the 3 year planting contract we
decided no formal list is necessary.
6. We agreed that education about invasive plants should
be a high priority.
7. After the fall tree planting is completed, our new focus should be to find as many avenues for education for our residents as possible. Laura expressed interest working with local papers to publish articles about tree care and invasive species. Heather stated that there may be a meeting in November with members from the STC, EC and Woodlands to discuss invasive plants in the borough.
8. C-SIP Grant Funding: We are eligible to apply for these grants because we have a
Community Forestry Management Plan filed with the state. Grant applications are
due December 15. Joan will check
with Joe Tempesta to see if he is working on a grant application for funding
for tree planting.
9. Sue pointed out that setback tree protection plan
forms are not consistently included in the construction permit packets. Joan will ask Rita to make sure that
they are distributed in the packets.
Sue also reported that the neighbor notification requirement for
permission for removal of more than 3 or 50% of setback trees and the permit
fee structure is working to protect trees. Recently a homeowner applied to remove 10 setback trees, but
when he was told that he needed to notify his neighbors and if there were no
objections permits for the other 7 trees would be $250.00 each, he decided not
to remove any of the other 7.
10.Heather announced that Bonnie has agreed to be the
chair of the commission in January. There was unanimous approval by all
members.
11.Old Business:
1. Heather reported that the illegal
plaque at the base of a memorial redbud tree has been removed as requested by
the borough.
2. She also noted that the Golden Raintree
at the corner of Boulevard and N. Briarcliff continues to be heavily adorned
with ornaments for every season. Joan suggested we ask Joe TempestaÕs
permission to submit work orders to DPW to have the decorations removed as
needed. 3. The FAQÕs have not been completed and
posted on the website. Joan and
Sue will work on this in early December.
The
next meeting will be held on Thursday, November 13th at 8:30am.