The dead trees on Hollyberry Road that started the Hereford Township tree issue will finally be removed, supervisor Keith Masemore reported at the Hereford Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, October 4, in person and via Zoom.

            Due to the overwhelming cost of hiring a tree specialist, the Hereford road crew will be taking on the task, Equipment has been rented for the work.

            In dealing with trees in the remainder of the township, the debate continues between residents and supervisors. Solicitor Eugene Orlando reported on the progress of the public funding that might cover part of the tree removal.

            He said that the arborist would finish the necessary tree survey but wants to avoid the problems of the last round. Two-and-a-half quadrants of the township are now completed.

            Orlando noted that the arborist is insisting that the public is informed about the work.

            Residents in attendance, however, argued that the arborist is unnecessary and that they could take an inventory of the dead trees to get a general estimate of the number. They said that there was an increased liability for property owners with the arborist identifying the trees, even if they were not physically marked but recorded in a GPS system.

            One resident asked several times if the trees would be removed from the database when cut down. Engineer Jennifer Van Dyke said that they could update the database to reflect the removal.

            Orlando also asked if the supervisors wanted to discuss the work with the arborist in a public meeting or assign one representative of the board to work with the arborist, Van Dyke, and Orlando on producing a plan to move forward. The board chose the latter, and supervisor Karla Dexter was elected to be the representative.

            Dexter asked the township's environmental advisory committee to develop written information about tree removal for the community, as some residents still are unaware of the problem.

            In other news, township secretary Diane Hollenbach reported that the county 911 system was asking the township for help in identifying properties with more than one electric meter to determine whether the properties are multifamily dwellings. The information will aid the system in emergency response.