Residents To Receive Letter Regarding Tree Debris Removal
DPW gives timeline for street clean-up.
Editor's Note: There is audio attached to this article from the township's workshop meeting and the follow-up regular meeting discussing the leaf and tree cleanup.
Please take care of your own trees.
"It annoys me to no end that with the high taxes we pay, that they are not going to pick up the debris," reader Laurie said in an email to Patch.
At any rate, that's the message the Township Committee wants to get across to residents in the form of a letter to be sent out this week. The reminders of Superstorm Sandy that lay on streets throughout town will pose a safety risk, commissioners said, once a snow storm hits.
"We’re going to tell people to get picked up by the contractor that you’ve already paid [for tree removal] ," said Commissioner Ed O'Malley, "Or, we’re going to go around and collect it and you’re going to get a bill."
According to Steve Wardell, superintendent of the Cranford Department of Public Works leaf and debris collection was dealt a setback due to the severity of Sandy. "We basically spent the first two weeks of leaf season just picking up the branches." Wardell's plan, he said, is to get all leaves off the streets by this week and the rest of the small branches by Dec. 21.
"Then we’re going to do a third and final pass for leaves by the end of the Christmas holiday," he said. Jan. 2 to Jan. 4, according to Wardell are the target dates for a last sweep. Dec. 26 to Dec. 28 are the planned dates to collect the bulk of the branches and limbs that are 4-inches in diameter or less. That means no big tree parts.
The tree trunks and logs, leftovers from contract tree cuttings following the storm are the real worry. "You’ll see some tree trunks out in the street that will defeat the [snow] plow," said Interim Township Administrator Eric Mason.
Wardell says the big tree collection is out of his hands at the moment. He said there's an estimated 500 trees that fell due to Sandy (for which FEMA funds are expected to be available), but the clean-up of tree trunks, "is the wild card," he said.
Trees currently in the streets are not city trees, according to Commissioner Kevin Campbell, who is Commissioner of Public Works. "We are sending out a letter to the residents and advising them that it's their duty to get trees and the logs cleaned up," he said. "For the sake of public safety."
pcisme@me.com
9:18 am on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
No I do not any debris in the street but these commissioners are way out of control. I keep thinking that Commissioner O'Malley is a Republican trying to protect the interests of the 2% and that he, too, would send us over the fiscal cliff to protect some interest that makes no sense. It is a really lame strategy that is going to piss off the other 98%. Back when Irene hit, people put all sorts of horrible water-ridden stuff to the curb and the town picked it up....twice, no charge, thank you Mayor Ashenbach! Now, the man who sat on the sidelines during Hurricane Sandy and fired off missives about how the town committee mishandled communication during Sandy (duh) is telling the world what to do again. Who elected this guy anyway? Did I do this? How can we un-elect him? Sorry to those who did not vote for him.
CPW has done a terrific job, especially during very trying times and challenging situations with live transformers dangling precariously over Bloomingdale Avenue and Sandy making a horrid mess all over town.
Uh, Mr. Mason, this year is expected to be one of the warmest winters on record. The plows, and the salt budget, will be getting the year off....like 2011. This is one of the few benefits of Global Warming. Enjoy!
Donald
9:43 am on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Commissioner O'Malley is not a Republican, as you erroneously "keep thinking." He is very much a Democrat, but one who is trying to keep costs down for the town as a whole. FEMA reimbursed Cranford for most of its debris removal in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene. It is not yet clear how much, if any, of township debris removal in the wake of superstorm Sandy will be covered by outside money.
Monk
11:39 am on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
The idea that the government should do the tree removal smacks of socialism. There are Cranford residents who deliberately keep their landscaping at a very modest and manageable level. Why should they have to pay for tree removal from other people's property? Taxation is a form of private property seizure by the government. There has to be a limit to the government, folks. Otherwise, your personal freedoms are on thin ice.
Donald
11:59 am on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Monk, you and I often disagree (such as on the reality of human-induced global warming). But on the instant issue, you and I agree (well, except for the "socialism" and "thin ice" parts).
pcisme@me.com
1:52 pm on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Dinosaurs Donald and Monk, please hold hands and jump off a cliff together. I know that Donald has waaaayyy too much time on his hands. But I thought that Monks are not supposed to speak?
Dear Monk, sorry that Mittens lost. Or was he too liberal? (Monks wreak of socialism with all of that community living.) You guys don't get the "law of the commons."
You should both stop paying your property tax for education, Senior Community Center, Library, or any other government services like stop signs, lights, police, fire, and roads. It does not appear that any of these "socialism" things are doing either of you any good. So, why bother?
The Township is not hiring extra personnel to deal with this storm. They had approval in the beginning.
Did either one of you know if Cranford even applied for FEMA assistance this year?
Did either of you clowns know (or care) that the Township recycling center personnel were actually refusing to let "out of town" tree cutters to drop off the Cranford tree refuse after the storm?
Trees add value to all of our properties that help sustain oversized taxes. When the trees fall due to catastrophic events, we all need to help.
As for O'Malley, I am still sorry for my part in voting for him....what an albatross.
Monk
9:39 pm on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
No monk will complain about communal living because he enters into it voluntarily, with full knowledge of the arrangement, and his rights are not steadily eroded.
I cannot conceive of a potential home buyer not considering taxes as a factor in their decision. And the question isn't, "Are the taxes high enough?" This incident is a perfect example of foolish expectations of government by citizens. The cry, "I pay taxes! Why aren't the services forthcoming?" is the cry of a dupe. Especially with the government being run mainly by lawyers, you can only depend on your property being taken from you via taxation, and not the campaign promises. Sorry, Donald. If I were not under threat of my property being seized and/or being imprisoned, I might just withold a portion of my taxes. Almost everything the government does is done inefficiently and at greater cost. It's only the dupes who think that paying taxes is cheaper than hiring a private contractor or doing it yourself.
Yeah, maybe it is the "town's tree". The town just announced it is not picking it up. Rent a chainsaw. Rent a truck. Quit acting so lazy and helpless.
Laurie Jackson
1:25 pm on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
I have an issue with them not picking up the stuff that is from the town trees as in my case the debris pile I have is from the pear tree I've been trying to get removed for the past 3 years after it split down the trunk. They did cut the largest broken branch and cart it away but left the piles of smaller branches it left behind. This tree is on the median between the sidewalk and street and was planted by the town.
Camilo H. Smith
1:35 pm on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Just wanted to add info a longtime resident shared in an email: "The North Side apparently already had their debris removed except for large stumps." This was mentioned at the meeting, and it's the South side of town that has much of the large debris still about.
Lisa Weaver
6:02 pm on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Wa? You’re kidding me. With the outrageous taxes we pay? This stuff has made driving conditions dangerous lying in our narrow streets. OUTRAGIOUS! I'm dragging mine into my neighbor’s yard.
pcisme@me.com
12:18 am on Thursday, December 13, 2012
Monk, you are a long-winded stereotypical complete bore. For an old guy, you should be wiser.
Speaking of old bores, the Township's brain dead approach of sending mass emails is just dumb and a waste of taxes.
I have zero tree debris but countless out of state contractors cut trees down in NJ and then left. Sandy, I hope, was an aberration that impacted more than 80 township trees. With those trees now being handled by Cranford Public Works, it's time to deal with the rest of the trees that fell thanks to Sandy.
Through our taxes, we pay to help each other. I wish that Mr. Inteeim would stop micro managing and think of the greater good.
"Nobody wins unless eveyBody wins!" Bruce Springsteen
Monk
3:50 pm on Thursday, December 13, 2012
Thank you, PC, but your posts are generally longer than mine. Personally, I find celebrity philosophies to be less logical and inspiring than what I read in, say, the Wall Street Journal. "Everybody wins?" Isn't that fallacious? Doesn't winning imply a competition, and doesn't a competion end in victory for one and loss for the other(s), or a tie? This Mr. Springsteen should just sing and pay higher taxes.
Why can't residents pitch in and cart off the debris? Expecting the DPW to do this on top of their already full schedule is really unreasonable. I marvel at how people with a storm drain in front of their house let it get clogged and contribute to a flooded street. Treating the DPW like outdoor town Merry Maids seems awfully snooty and elitist.
Linda
7:38 am on Thursday, December 13, 2012
I for one am totally outraged with this town not picking up tree debis from the storm! All this debris has been laying around for a month and a half now its our resposibility to have it removed and then have a time to do it by? What the hell is DPW doing? All the high taxes we residence have to pay? This is rediculous! I bet the town removed storm debris from the politicians property with no problems though! Stuff like this makes me want to get the hell out of this town! More money out of our pockets for something we had no control over!
Laurie Jackson
12:52 pm on Thursday, December 13, 2012
I think this situation is unfortunate and aggravating but I want to be clear that I am not putting blame on the Cranford DPW. These folks are hardworking and do and have done a pretty outstanding job in the face of the numerous disasters that have faced Cranford since Irene last year, through the October snow 2011, Sandy and the Nor' Easter shortly after. I think the township govt. has dropped the ball on this one not the DPW. It has not been equitable from the North Side to the South Side but this was likely due to decisions made by the township committee not the DPW.