Ridgewood Shade Tree Commission Meeting Minutes 20190709

Ridgewood Shade Tree Commission
Meeting Minutes   :   July 9, 2019

Opening

The regular meeting of the Ridgewood Shade Tree Commission was called to order at 7:35PM on July 9, 2019 by Andrew Lowry.

Present

Andrew Lowry, Michael Sedon, Dan Cramblitt, Manish Shrimali, Melody Corcoran, Ian Keller, Carolyn Jacoby, Declan Madden

Approval of Minutes

Motion to approve the minutes for June 11, 2019 was made by Ian Keller, seconded by Andrew Lowry, and approved by all present.

Tree Inventory Bidding Process

The bidding process occurs through a NJ state online website. Specific contractors can be notified that a call for bids has gone out. Bidding packets may be picked up at the Village Hall. The specifications for the tree inventory need to be determined. Declan Madden and Dan Cramblitt will meet with Paul Cowie. Mr. Cowie has done numerous tree inventories; he does not have a proprietary tree inventory program. He should be able to recommend the specifications needed. All STC members will be notified of the meeting with Mr. Cowie so that they may attend if available.

Winter is the best time to perform an inventory as the structure of the trees is clearly visible after the leaves have fallen. If possible, the monies earmarked for the inventory will be spent this year. Leaving off county roads from the inventory will save money at this time; the county road trees could be inventoried later when there are more funds.

Evaluation of 2018 Planting

Most all of the street trees planted in 2018 are doing well; the 2018 Adopt-a-Trees are in good condition. In the fall, Declan Madden will check the trees, remove stakes, chains and gator bags and prune the trees as necessary.

Dan Cramblitt will check with Jovan Mehandzic in engineering to clarify if the warranty on these trees is for one or two years.

CBD Trees Project

Andrew Lowry sent a confirmation memo to Chris Rutishauser concerning the tree well implementation on Chestnut Street and also about the possibility of including moving the two paper bark maples on Broad Street as part of the train station or parking garage project. Andrew will follow-up with Chris, hopefully in the next two weeks.

Jovan Mehandzic has suggested the train station pedestrian underpass entrance on the west side of the tracks as a new location for the paper bark maples. Alan Goodell of East Coast Tree Service has previously successfully moved trees for the village and would be a good choice for this project.

Other Trees of Concern

The large elm at Graydon needs to be preserved at all costs. Declan Madden said that the elm needs root invigoration using an air spade. Also, mulching and fencing should be done to help protect its roots; further protection could be provided by the addition of a small retaining wall. Treatment for Dutch elm disease will be performed.

Ash trees comprise 15-18% of village trees. Because of the emerald ash borer, these trees will eventually die. The number of trees concerned is too large for the village shade tree crew to handle; an outside contractor will need to be hired. The village needs to budget to remove these trees in the future.

Tree Nursery Group

On July 10, Mike Sedon will meet for the second time with the ad hoc tree nursery group composed of interested residents. Mike will inform them that the village tree crew cannot take care of the nursery; he may take the group to other town nurseries to see all the work that is involved.

If the group is still interested, funds will need to be raised. The village is currently in the process of establishing a 501c(3) that village committees will be able to use for fund raising.

Schedler Tree Planting and Clearing

The soil being moved to the Schedler site from the downtown construction sites has been tested and found to be clean and safe. The soil being moved there is temporarily burying some tree trunks and residents have expressed their concerns to Manish Shrimali.

Trees along Route 17 need to be cut down before the berm along Route 17 can be built and new trees planted on it. The plan for Schedler is available online.

Manish requested that a timeline be published so that residents are aware of what is happening and when. Mike Sedon will check with Heather Mailander about sending out a village-wide email with this information.

The village signal department will be making and posting signs on the current phases of the project.

Ridgewood Calendar for 2020

The STC is no longer involved in this project.

Earth Day Expenses

Susan Nashel gave her receipts to Andrew Lowry for reimbursement from the village.

Long Term Priorities

Andrew Lowry questions whether the STC is making an effort to present our priorities and concerns to the village council. Mike Sedon presents one or two topics from the STC meetings at each village council session. The STC needs to set priorities, make presentations to the council, raise issues, and keep promoting the importance of trees. All these items need to supported with facts.

Adjournment

Meeting was adjourned at 9:15PM by: Andrew Lowry.

Minutes submitted by: Melody Corcoran

Volunteer Hours: 8.75