Opining on Pines, Lacking Civility, Will Opponents Sap Dune Project?

AVALON – The June 8 work session of Avalon Borough Council began where the May 25 meeting ended.
At that meeting, a group of residents used the public comment period to oppose borough plans to remove a targeted group of Japanese black pine trees from the secondary dunes. In their opposition, the residents’ group assailed the qualifications of the borough’s environmental consultant, Joseph Lomax, and presented their expert to duel over the science behind the plans for the trees.
Council member Charles Covington opened the session with comments on the lack of civility he felt those opposing the plan showed at the previous meeting. “Civility is not dead,” Covington said.
He went on to defend the right of the public to address council and to disagree strongly with a proposed action, but he called on them to do so in a civil manner that does not descend to the level of personal invective. 
Council member William Burns supported Covington’s remarks.
The remarks were not able to be directed at most who opposed the plan since only one of that group attended the June meeting.
Council’s meeting schedule alternated so that the first one each month is at 4 p.m. and the second is at 7 p.m.
Some of the residents who oppose the plan can attend only the later meeting.
Business Administrator Scott Wahl said that the municipality had done its “due diligence” following the challenges at the May meeting. Wahl said the impacted area of dunes had another site visit from state Department of Environmental Protection personnel who confirmed the presence of the Southern pine beetle, a point contested in May, and the damage to the black pines.
State officials also reaffirmed that Lomax has the credentials for devising and executing the borough’s plans.
Wahl said that all work is being done according to state protocols. He cited the strategy for planting native species after the Japanese black pines are removed in the impacted areas along beach paths.
The black pine is, Wahl explained, an invasive species that crowds out native plants. Removal of those impacted by beetle infestation will have the added benefit of clearing areas for a return to native fauna.
Wahl discounted claims that tree removal weakens the dune system, saying that the areas at issue are over 1,000 feet from the beaches in the secondary dunes. Wahl dismissed comments made by certified tree expert Mark Demitroff, whom he called the “alleged expert,” brought to the May meeting by plan opponents.
Opposition to the project has hinged in large measure on the borough’s failure to use a state-certified tree expert as part of the team analyzing the problem and recommending action.
In numerous emails, Martha Wright, an opponent, has called on the council to involve a state-certified tree expert. Wahl’s counter was to say state officials verified that a tree expert was not needed.
Elaine Scattergood was the only opponent in attendance at the latest work session.
She took exception to the use of the term “alleged expert” and asked council if they would allow the opposition group to have “our own expert examine the trees?”
Council made no formal reply, but Covington said he saw no problem with such an action and others did not object.
A state grant to support the project has already been given to the borough. Its purpose is dealing with pine infestations from the Southern pine beetle.
The borough administration seems eager to get on with the project. The somewhat casual assent by Covington to Scattergood’s request for an inspection by an “independent tree expert,” one presumably paid for by the opponents, may mean a delay. No schedule was discussed.
Other Business
Council began a discussion on meeting times for the 2016-2017 period. This past year, the borough moved to split sessions with an afternoon meeting once a month and an evening one for the other second monthly meeting. 
Scattergood read Wright’s prepared remarks objecting to a change in the evening meeting as those with jobs cannot get to afternoon meetings, and any change will put undue constraints on attendance. Council postponed further discussion for a future date.
Borough Engineer Thomas Thornton reported that the project to redistribute sand from mid-borough beaches at the north end had concluded with 55,000 cubic yards transported. 
A federal beach replenishment program is planned in the fall but needed to undertake a temporary project after the impact of winter storms on the north end of the island.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.