Three Trees Come Down at Colony Pool

Three trees came down from the Colony Pool property on Tuesday with the consent of the Chatham Township Committee.

Chatham Township Engineer John Ruschke told the committee at the Dec. 2 meeting that the drainage improvements at Colony Pool included three trees, located near the beach area of the pool, had to be removed to make way for the pipes.

"The trees are located within the alignment of the pipe, and it's a safety issue," Ruschke said. "We're disturbing the root structure substantially.

"We did look at alternative alignments for the pipes, it's just that this is the most practical alignment that we could come up with," Ruschke said.

The committee accepted the bid from CMS Construction Inc. on Nov. 4. The bid from CMS was the lowest bid received in the amount of $53,100.

Ruschke said that the scope of the project "always included" removing the three trees.

"I did discuss these trees with Committeeman O'Connor when we first looked at the site," Ruschke told the rest of the committee at the Dec. 2 meeting. "I think he did recognize that these three trees were required [to come down."

Township Mayor Nicole Hagner said that though she had been contacted by one "concerned" resident, "these trees obviously have to come down."

Committee member Bill O'Connor, who serves as the liaison to the Colony Pool Advisory Committee and John Ruschke were not immediately available for further comment.