Tree commission asks for funding increase

The village Tree Commission is asking for its annual funding from the village to be returned to the $5,000 level.

The funding was cut to $3,000 two years ago, but Commission Chairwoman Rosemaire Brackett wrote in a letter to the Village Board that the commission has saved the village money.

Brackett wrote that a meeting between the commission and Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. resulted in the utility agreeing to “remove 10 hazardous trees, which will be a savings for the village in excess of $10,000.”

“Central Hudson will also remove unsightly, damaged trees on Partition Street, right outside Village Hall, which will then allow the Tree Commission to plant appropriate trees ... [to] enhance the look of that block,” she wrote.

Commission member John Stafford told the Village Board this week that the commission got a $40,000 grant from the state Department of Environmental Conservation, allowing the commission to put seven new trees on Elm Street and care for about 65 other trees in the village.

But Stafford said additional funding from the village is needed to help the commission get equipment by way of having a trained arborist available.

“We would like get a cherry picker through our grants, but we can’t because we don’t have an arborist on staff,” Stafford said. “There is someone on [the village Department of Public Works staff] who would like to get certified.”

Village Mayor Bill Murphy said the commission’s funding request will be reviewed during the upcoming preparation of the village’s 2019-20 budget

“I think in our DPW budget, we have a certain allotment for tree removal that we didn’t utilize this year because Central Hudson assisted us,” he said. “So I probably can move it ... without having to add any [tax levy] money.”