Trees, Roads And Global Warming Topics For The Board Of Warden & Burgesses

Global warming, trees and roads were just a few of the issues discussed at last night's meeting.

While the last public meeting of the year was poorly attended by residents, the board went over a range of practical matters.

The board reviewed the completed paving on Main Street, Grand Street and School Street.

"The driest streets in the borough are School Street and Trumbull Street," Warden and Street Commissioner Donald Maranell said.

Proposed work on High Street was discussed, as well as the overall problem of the small, quaint streets of the borough, and the trucks and cars that may inadvertently drive up on the curbs and even park on them.

There is a $100 fine for parking on the curb, but the fine does little to stop the damage to the sidewalk or alleviate the expenses of repairs.

The small, albeit character-full borough streets are often no match for the large trucks that transport supplies to the borough's stores and restaurants. While the board briefly talked about the wish of the limiting the size of those trucks, that was deemed an unpractical solution.

From the size of the streets, the board moved on to rising sea levels in a global warming related debate. Board member and Sanitation and Utilities Commissioner Edward McCreary said he is positive the water levels have risen, but isn't sure by the exact amount, something that could be important for the board and the borough to know.

On a related topic, the meeting's conversation moved into trees versus open space. While trees may reduce greenhouse gases, a proposed plan for a tulip tree was met with concern from McCreary, who said, to offer a different opinion, the borough has too many trees and not enough open space leaving kids without enough room to throw a baseball.

At the meeting, the board also approved the annual New Year's bonfire at the Point.

Maranell commended the  and the mutual aid response to last week's Bradley Street Fire saying the response was impressive.

The board is seeking to fill several seats on the Planning and Zoning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals.