Ridgewood Shade Tree Comission Meeting Minutes 20180612

Ridgewood Shade Tree Commission
Meeting Minutes
June 12, 2018

Opening
The regular meeting of the Ridgewood Shade Tree Commission was called to order at 7:38PM on June 12, 2018 by Andrew Lowry.
Present
Andrew Lowry, Mike Sedon, Dan Cramblitt, Melody Corcoran, Ian Keller, Carolyn Jacoby, Declan Madden, George Wolfson, Richard Stiga, Gary Cirillo
Approval of Minutes
Motion to approve the minutes for May 8, 2018 was made by Ian Keller, seconded by Carolyn Jacoby, and approved by all STC members present.

Graydon Tree
If a seed-grown descendant of the original sycamore on the island were to be used, it might possibly be a hybrid with another sycamore or a London plane tree or there could be other concerns with it. It was suggested that a disease resistant variety of elm be planted instead of a sycamore. In the past, there was another island in Graydon that contained an elm tree.
All STC members present agreed that the sycamore should be replaced with an elm. Declan Madden will research and choose a disease resistant elm variety. The type and size of tree that the STC recommends and why it is recommended will be presented to the village council for approval.

STC Google Groups
Because the STC Google groups for emailing is not up to date, it will not be used until it is updated with the current STC roster. In the meantime, individual emails will be used to communicate with STC members. It has been suggested that a new Google group be created which will be administered by Candice Fitzpatrick, office assistant, Parks and Shade Tree.
 
CBD Tree Wells
Individual shop owners are not required to fix the tree wells in front of their businesses. The village needs to remove the brick bands and cement collars. This should be done as soon as possible this fall and/or winter.
The four trees in the CBD which previously had their brick bands and cement collars removed and a drain added are currently OK. A more complex or technical improvement of the tree wells may not be necessary.
Andrew Hillman has agreed to come for one day and give advice on tree wells; his fee will be less than $1000. Four more trees will be planted following his recommendations.

Project Pride
Project Pride pays seasonal employees of the village to water the flowers and trees in the CBD. A schedule of what needs to be watered including the tree wells with drains needs to be created. Dan Cramblitt will email Gary Cirillo with the locations of the 4 new trees in the CBD so that they are watered appropriately. If there is a drought this year, the village council will need to make a special allocation to water more trees.

Nursery
There are approximately 120 swamp oak and red maple trees in pots. The new nursery site needs a water supply before these trees can be planted in the ground. These potted trees will need to be watered this summer. A timer and drip hose are needed for this; George Wolfson will set this up.

Adopt-a-Tree
An article about Adopt-a-Tree appeared in the Ridgewood News for several weeks.
The Adopt-a-Tree application needs streamlining; the bullet points on the application need to be simplified. Carolyn Jacoby and Ian Keller will work on this.
The contractors who plant the Adopt-a-Trees need to plant to ANSI standards.

Oak Tree Dedication
The oak tree dedication for pollinator week is set for June 20, 2018.

Grants
The STC needs to research which grants should be applied for. The village grant writing firm will do the actual application. Mike Sedon will try to find out why our grant application to Sustainable Jersey was denied.
Adjournment
Meeting was adjourned at 9:10PM by: Andrew Lowry.
Minutes submitted by: Melody Corcoran

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