During the Tuesday, July 14, Borough Board of Burgesses meeting, Jay Maher, Borough warden, reported on the major storm over July 4 weekend.

“I don’t remember losing this many trees in one shot,” Maher said. Due to the extensive damage, he segued right to the tree warden’s report from Robbie McCulloch. Many trees along Main Street came down and had to be removed. Other trees on Wendover and Queen Street have also been affected and need to be removed.

McCulloch, however, was more concerned about being approached by two separate Borough residents who have expressed interest in wanting to remove trees from their properties. One of those homes is 60 Main Street.

“Basically what they are requesting is that the trees that we planted many years ago, some only a couple years ago. They want to have them taken down for various reasons. Some of the reasons I think are legit, some of the reasons I don’t find too legitimate,” McCulloch said.

He said that he is opposed to taking down the trees. As tree warden, McCulloch feels part of his job is preservation. He added that it “brings up a little bit of conflict” for him. McCulloch said the homeowners no longer want the tree there and are also concerned about the electrical wires on their home. He does not believe the trees are making enough contact to take the wires down. McCulloch thinks it would be a good idea to start a tree pruning fund as a lot of the trees need to be pruned, which would help with the growth.

Maher said, “I don’t think anyone is going to dispute the fact that we’re not going to take down a tree that was recently planted within the last ten years because someone doesn’t like it. It’s not gonna happen. Not when we’re looking to replace the tree population that we’ve lost just recently.”

Burgess Jim Gaston asked if the Borough would pay for removal. McCulloch said that the homeowner would pay for it. The other resident who expressed interest in taking their trees down was Mark Forlenzo, who was in attendance at the meeting.

Maher invited Forlenzo to speak then, as his comments were pertaining to the tree warden’s report. First, Forlenzo expressed his gratitude to the Borough for “beautify all the space.” Forlenzo’s two trees have “filled out tremendously,” but has resulted in them growing into each other. The result is that the trees are impacting his internet and voltage wires. While he likes them, he has other concerns about the roots lifting the driveway and sidewalk further down the line, though he has not seen much lifting of the sidewalks throughout the Borough.

Forlenzo is willing to work with McCulloch to find a solution, such as taking down the sugar maples that are planted and replacing them with smaller species. McCulloch said Forlenzo has offered to replace them, which he is in favor of. McCulloch also thinks the issue can be resolved with pruning and crowning.

Senior Burgess Chris Gardner said it was a “favorable solution” to him. Maher told Forlenzo that he would revisit this topic and let him know when it is on the agenda again.

Following this, Jodi Enriquez, Borough tax collector, offered her year-end report and Ann Scaia, Borough treasurer and was not present at the meeting, sent Maher her year-end report. Scaia went through the rest of the 2025-2026 fiscal year budget and appropriated the remaining funds to settle legal fees.

Maher then read the zoning officer’s report into the record, which included a cease and desist for 69 Main Street. Maher shared that the Queen Street sidewalk project is moving forward, too.

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.