Hanover Township Shade Tree Commission Meeting

October 21, 2002

The monthly meeting of the Shade Tree Commission was held at 6:30 p.m. at the Hanover Township Municipal Building, 3630 Jacksonville Road, Bethlehem PA 18017.

In attendance were: Joan Witiak, Dan Roman, Jeff Waldron, David Zakeski, Linda Taylor, and Frank Colon.

  1. Upon motion of Dan Roman, seconded by Jeff Waldron, the commission approved the minutes of the Shade Tree Commission meeting dated September 23, 2002.
  2. Discuss Permits: Permit holders who did not meet the summer or fall deadline for planting new trees will have the deadline extended until October 31, 2002, because of the drought this year.

    3. The commission has received some permits for removing live trees that were not approved by the Shade Tree Commission. The office will be reminded to have a commission member approve any request to remove a live tree.

    One resident replaced several trees with a variety that is not approved and with trees that were not nursery grade stock or 2-inch caliper. They will be given until April 30, 2003, to make the approved replacements.

  3. Discuss Park Tree Pruning, Watering and Planting: On October 19, 2002, fifteen trees were pruned. There is still a little money left in the budget for further pruning this year. We hope to get approval for an extension of the job, to alleviate having to get new bids.

    4. Dan Roman talked to several firms for quotes on watering newly planted park trees during drought conditions next summer. They were all rather expensive. Dan will gather all bids when they come in and discuss the work with Jim Sterner. He also will volunteer his services for the watering operation.

    Trees will be planted off of Stokes Park Rd. near Merrivale this winter/spring, in addition to replacing some trees that have died in the parks.

  4. Discuss Ordinance Changes: Joan will send a letter to the Supervisors and Hanover Engineering outlining our suggestions for Ordinance changes, which could be made the next time other changes are made. There is a real necessity of having the Construction Standards tree list and the Approved Township Tree List conforming to one another.
  5. Discuss Hanover Ridge: Locations for planting replacement trees must be determined. Several locations were suggested: Wegman’s doanated tract, Pointe North Park, Municipal Park, Delta Manor Park. We will ask the Recreational Advisory Committee for their suggestions.
  6. New Business: Dan Roman noted that 1)White Birch trees are clustered on the Liberty tract at

Stoke Park and Schoenersville Roads; these are not on the approved list. 2)There is a number of dead evergreens on Northgate and Wegman’s Drives. 3)There are many dead trees at the intersection of Macada and Schoenersville Roads.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Linda K. Taylor