Ridgewood Shade Tree Comission Meeting Minutes 20180710

Ridgewood Shade Tree Commission
Meeting Minutes
July 10, 2018

Opening
The regular meeting of the Ridgewood Shade Tree Commission was called to order at 7:35PM on July 10, 2018 by Andrew Lowry.

Present
Andrew Lowry, Mike Sedon, Dan Cramblitt, Melody Corcoran, Ian Keller, Carolyn Jacoby, Declan Madden, Ian Keller, Susan Nashel

Approval of Minutes
Motion to approve the minutes for June 12, 2018 was made by Mike Sedon, seconded by Ian Keller, and approved by all present.

Elm Tree for Graydon
Declan Madden, village arborist, will use the 2014 National Elm Trial in NJ list of resistant and recommended elm cultivars to choose a Dutch elm disease resistant tree to the replace the sycamore on the Graydon island. The chosen elm cultivar will be recommended to the village council by the Shade Tree Commission.

CBD Tree Wells
Andrew Hillman from Davey Tree is scheduled to come on 7/17/18 to review the CBD tree wells and give his recommendations for improvements and comment upon the four previously improved tree wells. Also needed are his recommendations on which CBD trees will need gator bags if the weather stays dry. His fee for this visit is $975, which is in the process of being approved as a capital expense.
Watering of new trees needs to be done twice weekly. CBD plants need to be watered sufficiently. Planting, watering and weeding should be part of Project Pride contract.
The removal of a least four tree well brick bands is scheduled for this fall; the removal of the remaining brick bands will be budgeted for next year.

Nursery
George Wolfson, Mike Sedon and Dan Cramblitt installed a low flow watering system at the nursery. The trees in pots are being watered 5-6 days a week. Candace Fitzgerald is doing extra watering on 100° days.

Budget
$9000 from 2017 Village capital budget
$40,000 – $45,000 for street trees, bidding handled by Engineering
$5,000 - $10,000 for CBD 2018 fall planting

Adopt-a-Tree
Eleven adopt-a-trees are scheduled to be planted. The 2019 cost for an adopt-a-tree will be $400. An article promoting CBD business owners who have adopted and cared for new trees in front of their businesses is needed; adopt-a-trees also need to be promoted as a way to commemorate, honor or memorialize a person, persons, or event.
The current progress in replacing trees throughout the village may eventually obviate the need for A-a-T.
Lisa Simms of New Jersey Tree Foundation should be contacted about possible tree planting. Her organization plants trees correctly and uses volunteers.

Oak Pollinator Dedication
The oak tree was dedicated on 6/20/18. Ian Keller, Mike Sedon and Nancy Bigos were present. Information on Ridgewood as NJ’s first bee city is available on www.ridgewoodbees.com

Grants
The STC needs to focus on getting grants and researching what grants are available. Did Millenium, the village grant writing contractor, look for CSIP and Sustainable Jersey grants? Did they ask the NJ Shade Tree Federation and/or the NJ Environmental Commission about grants? How does Millenium search and apply for grants?

Adjournment
Meeting was adjourned at 9:00PM by: Andrew Lowry.
Minutes submitted by: Melody Corcoran

Volunteer Hours: 7.5