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 yearÕs 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 BulletinÕs 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 Òthe right tree for the right place.Ó
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, Ò100 Trees for 100
Years!Ó. 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 TonyÕs 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