Borough updates bridges and sidewalks; Trees Incorporated seeks $10,000 from tree fund

At the April 8 meeting, Borough Manager Justin told council that Norfolk Southern has begun a roughly $1.2 million rehabilitation of the Franklin and Evans Street railroad bridges with single-bridge closures staged to complete both structures over an estimated three-month period.

Justin also described a sidewalk-replacement and streetscape improvement project on the 0 block of East High Street where Pico’s electrical-repair excavation allowed the borough to enlarge tree wells, add porous paving for stormwater infiltration (to meet MS4 requirements), install a decorative 18-inch ornamental tree guard and plant low-maintenance ground cover. He said the tree-well design and porous band helped secure Montgomery County grant funding and that the borough is pursuing additional grant rounds to expand the treatment to a dozen more locations.

Tree fund request: Tom Hilton of Trees Incorporated asked council to allocate $10,000 from the borough tree fund (the fund balance reported at $15,580) to cover half the approximately $20,000 cost to inject protective treatment into roughly 120 ash street trees for a three-year protection cycle against emerald ash borer. Tom said Trees Incorporated has treated the trees previously and will continue to maintain a prioritized tree list.

Council discussion focused on fund restrictions and stewardship: staff confirmed the tree fund is limited to planting, maintaining or removing street trees and that the request would be an allowable use. Council members discussed retaining a modest reserve; staff indicated $5,000 could remain for emergent needs while supporting Tom’s proposal to pay half the treatment expense.

Next steps: Staff will place the tree-fund appropriation and related grant/streetscape updates on Monday’s consent agenda for formal action. The manager said the borough will continue grant applications for additional streetscape and tree-well work.