Narberth Shade Tree Commission sets April 12 planting day, approves outreach letter and timeline

The Narberth Shade Tree Commission set its spring planting day for Saturday, April 12, approved a revised homeowners letter and finalized a timeline for ordering trees, arranging utility markings and recruiting volunteers.

Commissioners said the program currently has tentative orders for 21 trees placed across 11 properties, including one property that requested seven trees. The commission discussed vendor logistics (Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and a vendor referred to as Tree Authority), deadlines for orders and a sequence of tasks that staff and volunteers must complete between late March and planting day.

Why it matters: The commission’s planning determines which properties receive trees, when contractors will mark utilities and dig holes, and how many volunteers are available to plant and maintain new trees. Commissioners noted several timing constraints — tree vendor deadlines, the practical window for utility marking (PA One Call), and volunteer signups — that affect whether an ordered tree can be included.

Commission actions and schedule details The commission approved two procedural items during the meeting: the February meeting minutes (approved with revisions) and a revised homeowners letter to accompany outreach for this spring’s planting. Both motions passed unanimously in the meeting’s recorded votes.

On the planting timeline, commissioners set several target dates and operational steps discussed in detail: - Planting day: Saturday, April 12 (confirmed). - Current orders: Commissioners reported a tentative total of 21 trees for 11 properties; one homeowner ordered seven trees. - Vendor orders: The commission placed an order for 10 trees from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) and discussed placing additional orders with Tree Authority. The commission agreed Tree Authority orders should be placed about 10 days before delivery and noted the practical cutoff to finalize Tree Authority orders would be about April 1 to allow delivery the day prior to planting day. - Species issues: A PHS order contained one unintended species (a Virginia pine ordered in place of a prunus); commissioners agreed to track species allocations to match homeowner requests and site suitability. - PA One Calls (utility-locator notifications): Commissioners recorded that PA One Call notifications should be completed in time for locators to mark utilities and recommended submitting requests at least seven days before digging; they scheduled PA One Calls to be completed by about March 28 so hole digging can start roughly one week before planting day. - Signs and site marking: Sign distribution was scheduled around March 24 to precede One Calls and visible site marking. - Hole digging and volunteer teams: The plan calls for hole digging to begin about one week prior to planting day, with volunteer team assignments finalized the night before planting. Commissioners described a typical staffing rule of thumb of roughly one volunteer per tree and teams of about three people per group. - Tree pickup and staging: PHS pickup was discussed for the day before planting, with an agreed pickup time of about 8:30 a.m. on the scheduled pick-up day. Commissioners described a process of tagging and color-coding trees at the yard to ensure correct distribution across addresses and to reduce re-routing during delivery.

Volunteer recruitment and management Commissioners reviewed the volunteer-signup process: a Google sign-up form (copied and updated from previous events), mass email to past volunteers and people who previously ordered trees, Borough Blast and neighborhood Facebook posts. The commission agreed to issue the volunteer call roughly one month before planting day and to close sign-ups a few days before the event so organizers can assign teams. Commissioners described pre-event tasks: inventory tools and pounders, confirm “hole diggers,” prepare simplified team lists and create a handout for volunteers with team leader names and addresses.

Outreach and homeowner contacts Commissioners assigned individual volunteers to contact specific homeowners who requested trees to confirm species choices and planting locations. They emphasized the need to check properties where multiple trees were requested to avoid placing trees where utilities, wires or space constraints would make planting or survival unlikely.

Code enforcement materials, downtown plan and other items Commissioners agreed to forward draft code‑enforcement outreach materials (pamphlets to accompany code hang-tags) to the borough packet for the public-health-and-safety committee; Christina agreed to send the materials to staff and committee contacts so the packet can include the item at the committee meeting the week following the commission meeting. The commission also noted a neighbor concern about two potentially hazardous trees on Marion Avenue near a construction site; commissioners asked staff to follow up so the borough can determine whether those trees were counted as preserved trees under local ordinances and whether replacement is required if they have died during construction.

Votes at a glance - Motion: Approve February minutes with revisions. Vote: 4–0–0; outcome: approved. - Motion: Approve revised homeowners letter (as edited during the meeting). Vote: unanimous (recorded as in favor); outcome: approved.

What comes next Commissioners asked staff and volunteers to update the shared “spring planting timeline” document with assigned contacts and deadlines, to finalize Tree Authority order placement around April 1 if additional trees are needed, to submit PA One Calls by March 28, and to distribute signs on March 24. Commissioners also agreed to post the homeowners letter and species list to the commission’s web page and to provide an update to the borough health-and-safety committee at its next meeting.

Commissioners and staff repeatedly emphasized that some items are contingent on vendor availability and PA One Call scheduling; they stressed that late orders may still be accommodated but may require expedited PA One Calls and faster site preparation.

Ending: The commission closed the agenda item after confirming assignments and the timeline; the meeting moved on to a separate discussion about a downtown tree-planting map update.