20230711 - Shade Tree Commission Meeting Minutes

Ridgewood Shade Tree Commission

Meeting Minutes

July 11, 2023

The regular meeting of the STC held in the Garden Room, Village Hall, was called to order at 7:32 pm by C. Jacoby

ATTENDEES:

Carolyn Jacoby, Mahmoud Hamza, Tim Graham, Nancy  Brennan- Hill, Andrew  Lowry, Adam Brown, Declan Madden, Maria Damasco,

Matt Andreula

Liaison PRC: Vicky Van Dyke

Guests:

Paul Vagianos, Mayor Ridgewood NJ

David Refkin, Chair of Green Ridgewood NJ

Anne Burton Walsh

HenryWalsh

Grace Kim

ORGANIZATION:

Minutes of the June 11, 2023 meeting were unanimously approved.

SUB COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Central Business District (CBD)

June weeding and mulching was initiated: Evaluation and lessons learned:

Reported by A.Brown and T. Graham

It took about 150 man hours for employees from Tri-County(A. Brown) and 14 volunteers to weed and apply mulch around the east and west side.           

No pesticides were used to avoid damage to baby roots.  A. Brown suggested possibly repeating the project one more time in 2023.

Mayor Vagianos discussed the need to revise the current system of maintaining trees in the CBD because property/business owners are not keeping up with tree well (per ordinance) care, especially in the case of chain stores.  C. Jacoby will be working on a Special Improvement District (SID) plan with Councilwoman Pam Perron who is taking the lead on this project.

 FALL 2023 Tree PLANTING

Reported by D. Madden

Quotes have been submitted for 37 trees in the CBD along Chestnut Ave, Oak and Franklin Streets. This Phase III will complete the CBD tree well refurbishment initiative,  Watering cost will need to be a separate quote.  Watering of newly planted trees will need to continue for another two years to ensure best growth and vitality of trees. 

120 trees on residential streets based on resident requests.  Bid has been out for 65 large trees and 55 small trees and will be opened on July 20th.  In order to have a tree planted, residents requesting a tree will need to agree to a commitment of adequate watering (filling of gator bags provided) for two years. 

ADOPT A SAPLING:

Reported by N. Brennan-Hill and A. Brown

A draft of the Flyer introducing the Adopt a Sapling program was presented along with a letter of instruction on how to sign up. Revisions are needed and when finalized the Flyers will be posted on the Ridgewood Village website, the Stable and the town Facebook groups along with a letter of instruction on how to sign up.

NEW BUSINESS:

TREE INVENTORY PHASE II:

Tree Inventory data will be collected mid July and entered into GIS which will give us an accurate account for tracking purposes. Hopefully this data will be available by the end of September. A press release will be sent to inform the community.

Schedler Property:

A Ridgewood resident made a complaint at a Village Council meeting about the buildup of dirt and debris around large trees that can be harmful to the life of the trees.  No further information is available.

PSE&G Tree Pruning in and around electric wires:

Residents have complained about the terrible cutting of Village trees by the PSE&G contractors.  It was reported by N. Brennan-Hill that the arborist in Ho-ho-kus inspects the work PSE&G is doing as it is being done and conducts regular inspections to ensure trees are trimmed appropiately. D. Refkin said he would bring up the issue at the next  meeting of the Bergen HUB.

OTHER BUSINESS:

D. Refkin, Chair of Green Ridgewood introduced the possibility of working on some key joint issues with Green Ridgewood and STC.  As a member of the Ridgewood Planning Board he will also focus on highlighting/promoting sustainability recommendations in our Master Plan.  There are issues about planting trees in circular driveways. 

Other such issues GR will address: recycling, green building and sustainability, EV’s, resilience flooding and sewer water, preparing for extreme weather, storm water system, emergency management services and evacuation.

Volunteer Hours: 20

Meeting Adjourned at 9:31 pm

The next meeting will be on September 12, 2023

Minutes submitted by Maria Damasco, Recording Secretary