Mountain Lakes Shade Tree Commission

Minutes of Meeting

October 14, 2010

Commissioners in attendance: S. Marshall, J. Best, M. Vyff, T. Caine, C. Murtagh, J. Eveleth and H. Carr

1. There were no comments from the public.

2. June minutes were approved and September minutes approved with some typographical error corrections.

3. Sue Marshall and Consuelo Murtagh have expiring terms at year’s end. Both have consented to continue on the commission for another term.

4. Prune and Remove is going according to schedule. Most areas have been visually inspected and the recording of information is moving along. Commissioners should complete the input of P&R information ASAP. Joan set a goal to have all input completed by 11/15 so that the bidding process could begin soon after.

5. A new Borough Committee has been organized to address the riparian buffer zone at The Cove on Mountain Lake. The Committee will address the removal of the invasive barberry plants that line the cove with the eventual replanting of a native buffer. There are new State regulations that apply to the removal of plant material lining the banks of lakes and waterways in New Jersey. A permit is required for any removal making this project more onerous that first thought. Laura will be the STC representative member of this committee.

6. Marnie has proposed a combination of two articles from our archives be published in the November issue of the H&SA Bulletin. Joan had suggestions on how to change the wording of these two articles to make them more readable and concise. The H&SA Bulletin’s new online format no longer focuses on Borough information. We may need to investigate new ways to impart our information. Joan suggested a new future article idea might be “the right tree for the right place.”

7. A new shorter form has been presented to us by Borough Council in which to record our Goals and Objectives for 2011. Joan had prepared the form and presented her thoughts to the Commission. After a discussion of future goals, we agreed upon wording for the form. Joan will complete and send it back to Council.

8. Consuelo will take on The Business Stimulus grant project with the help of other commissioners. Areas identified for the removal of invasive plant material are the train station, the Esplanade, Birchwood Lake and a Borough owned lot on Laurel Hill. State contractors will do the work removing ailanthus, devils walking stick, and barberry including stump removal when possible. Plant stumps may need to be sprayed or painted if stump removal is difficult. Also noted was that our next 5 year, Community Forestry Management Plan for 2011-2015 will focus on educating the public in regard to tree issues.

9. Sue and Heather met to discuss, “100 Trees for 100 Years!”. Sue later met with Tony who had lots of ideas and enthusiasm for the project. The town of Hanover has a program to use as example and Tony is willing to take charge. We will develop a list of 3-4 shade trees and a couple of evergreens to be offered. Evergreens should be limited and the primary trees planted will be shade trees. There can be multiple price points for trees, whether planted by Tony or purchased only. Homeowners can contact Tony directly. Centennial logo certificates might be awarded to all who purchase trees. Marnie would like to see a fruit or nut tree offered, possibly a Hickory. Tony will decide when to plant. We will wait for Tony’s proposal before further plans are discussed. We could possibly announce this in January. All who participate will be listed on our website.

10. In our old minutes we had identified a need to remove the tubes and rebar used to protect seedlings in an effort to reforest an area at the new fields that had mistakenly been cleared. Heather will try to enlist the help of High School students to complete this project. Jay has had success with getting student cooperation and will contact someone from the High School Key club to get the ball rolling.

Next meeting will be held on November 11th