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Stump Removal Reports
The following reports on stump removal are being provided for our members. Each week the POA will provide an update with a new report.
Stump Report Update for May 3, 2010
This past week the stockpiled stumps were removed and the field made ready for additional stumps. Six Hundred (600) cubic yards of stumps were moved!! That's a lot of stumps now out of our lake!
This weekend the first attempts at "sweeping" were made. While there were some glitches with the process, the areas around the launch and dam, as well as the main channel, were swept. The great news is that no stumps were encountered. This moves us that much closer to allowing motorized vehicles back on the lake which is something the POA knows the community is keenly looking forward to with the incoming warmer weather.
In addition to sweeping, kayakers marked stumps that were found in Dover Cove in and around docks so they can be removed in the near future. A number of boats worked on recovering stumps, most of which had been previously marked.
There are still some areas that the POA will be targeting. The path to the canal in the southern portion of the lake, the eastern shoreline along Lake Shore south of the island bridge, the inner reaches of Racetrack Cove where many stumps collected upon the meltdown and heavy winds, and all reported stumps that have not been removed in other areas. Until the barge is finished with its sweeping operations, clearing these areas will be done with private boats. If you know the location of a stump but you are unable to remove it, please notify the office so the POA can make arrangements to retrieve it.
The POA will be planning a stump pulling on Elizabeth Road with a machine simultaneously working from shore and while others working from the water "feed" stumps to the machine. Many of the stumps in that area are very large and as soon as you get one or two up on shore there is no more room to work. This area was cleared a week ago and is now once again full which prevents us from working this area without having to drag the stumps across the lake. This would be a useless strain on a boat's motor, time inefficient and a gas guzzler. If you are interested in helping in this endeavor, please let us know by calling the office.
The POA would like to thank our dedicated helpers who once again spent another weekend of their time for the benefit of the lake community.
Stump Report Update for April 26, 2010
Many thanks this week to Travis Lizotte and Phil Barbaris who organized a group with four boats to work all day Saturday April 24th harvesting stumps. Progress is really being made! After they were done, the beach was full of stumps they retrieved.
A big thank you to Mario Russo, Upper Greenwood Lake resident and owner of Mario's Pizza across from Shoprite, for providing a free lunch to everyone who was working on the lake. The POA hopes that all of the Upper Greenwood Lake residents will support those who have donated lunch to the individuals working on the lake; (Utopia Deli & Mario's Pizza). What a great way to give back to the community. The Board of Trustees truly recognizes the dedication to this effort that they have given!
On Monday & Tuesday of this week, TNL Carting (Travis Lizotte) and Barbaris Builders (Phil & Neal Barbaris) were hired to travel around the lake collecting stumps that had been harvested and left at multiple access points. They also pulled from the water's edge anything that was too large for individuals to remove fully from the lake. The POA is also working on arranging for the removal of the collected stumps in the stump field.
Jim Jones (Board Trustee) completed the "sweep devise" for the barge and beginning on Saturday paid employees will begin conducting organized "sweeps" of specific areas of the lake. The POA sees this as hopefully the final step to complete before opening the lake back up to motorized craft. With the incoming warmer weather, the POA is hopeful the winds will die down and allow for sweeps to be conducted.
Now that all of the access points are clear, work can continue on removals in the eastern shore area which is currently blocked in by free floating stumps. Future plans may include machinery working from the shoreline with individuals feeding stumps to the machine from the water. This method was used eight years ago when the POA had a similar case of free floating stumps accumulating along this shoreline and it worked fairly effectively.
There are a number of stumps, along the channel that runs between Landing and Racetrack Roads heading south to the Island bridge, that are marked and accumulated along the shoreline and pose no danger. The POA will work to get these up on shore for removal to the stump field.
The "path" to the canal, the area that was dredged this year, will also have a weekend dedicated to "tidying" it up for easier access for everyone who needs to utilize it to get out to the main areas of the lake. While navigable, there are plenty of stumps that one needs to go around, as well as ones not visible that everyone manages to hit on their way out. The POA will coordinate with the lakefront property owners in this area for access to the water's edge being there are no parklands available for the stumps to be removed. Notices will be sent in advance with the date the POA plans to work in this area so everyone can work together to get this area in better shape.
If you want to join in and help, please contact the office via e-mail at uglpoa@yahoo.com or call at 973-853-4262 and advise what you can offer. The POA would like to see two or three people on the barge when doing the sweeps so they can mark anything found while staying on course to completely cover the targeted areas.
A final thank you to the Bonuccelli's who made a cash donation, and a very nice note regarding the POA’s efforts in the clean-up, which will be used solely to defray some of the costs related to the stump removal. Thank you for recognizing that everyone working very hard on this challenge.
Stump Report Update for April 19, 2010
Work this weekend was somewhat hampered by the weather. John Monteleone worked in the stump field on Friday April 16th to create room to dump the collected stumps. Some stump pulling was done out on the lake by individuals on both Saturday & Sunday. Individuals also tackled a large pile of stumps on South Richfield. These were cut and removed to the stump field on Sunday April 18th using Barbaris Builders' dump truck. Others on Sunday were constructing a "sweep" for the barge which will be used to survey the lake for items floating under the surface of the lake down to a 4 foot depth.
A crew surveyed areas of the lake with the "sweep" that had been built and affixed to Jim Jones' pontoon boat. Sweeping will continue through the week as individuals are able and the weather cooperates. Windy conditions, during the past couple of weeks, has hampered this activity.
A cable on the barge snapped and will be repaired on Monday April 19th when the part arrives. Plans are to have individuals along with a Board member to run the barge at every opportunity. The barge was working during the week and a large pile of stumps was amassed at the south point of the big island. The barge also retrieved a large outboard motor and dragged it to shore. Individuals also helped in cutting up stumps pulled from the lake which will make it easier for pick up at a later date.
All areas of the shoreline where stumps have been pulled will be assessed to determine if machine or hand pick up will be required. There are some areas where removal is critical so new stump can be brought to these points. These areas will be addressed first. The POA is also working on hiring someone to either grind or remove the stumps from the field.
Stump Report for April 12, 2010
Between April 5th and 11th, individuals worked the lake in their free time pulling stumps up to shore using private boats and the POA Barge. Jim Jones, Chairperson Parklands, fashioned a device and attach it to his pontoon boat to "sweep" the lake at a depth of approximately 4 feet. This devise gives the POA the ability to survey the lake to determine if there are still any stumps at this critical depth. On Saturday morning April 10th individuals were again out on their own boats pulling stumps to the shoreline. There were also groups of people working the shoreline in the small and big island lakefront areas to haul in stumps and put them on parklands either fully or partially cut into manageable pieces. These were then loaded into a donated dump truck. One group also utilized vehicles to haul oversized stumps onto the shore. Another group worked to clear the beach and the dam front and spillway of all stumps, debris and garbage. Once the stumps were pulled ashore they were cut and placed on top of the concrete wall for easier pickup in the afternoon.
An excavator, TNL Carting, worked the stump field to stockpile and better organization the stumps from last week so new stumps could be brought in. Once finished in the stump field he moved to the Firehouse where a large pile of stumps was stored and loaded up the 30 cubic yard roll off dumpster that was also donated. The debris along the concrete dam wall filled the dump truck and these were brought to the stump field. The crew returned to the Island Section for continued pickup. The TNL excavator relocated to the Island Section and began the arduous task of pulling from the lake all of the stumps that had been brought over there during the last couple of weeks.
After lunch, the boat crews went back out on the lake and continued to haul stumps mainly to the point at the Island Section and along the main channel.
By the end of Saturday, all of the piles along Point Breeze Dr and most on Racetrack had been cleared as well as many stumps removed from the lake's edge which could only be moved by a machine. They collected two very full loads in the TNL roll off dumpster and many more of Jim Jone’s and the Barbaris' filled dump trucks. All of this equipment and operation was full donation by the owners.
On Sunday, the gathered individuals initially finished making the stump markers to be placed on exposed and floating stumps. Individuals then scattered to tasks at hand. Jim Jones was going out with a crew to start sweeping in Marlboro and Witte Cove. Another crew was going out on the barge to pull stumps and a couple of other boats were going out to pull stumps. The midday report was good. Jim had only encountered four areas of stumps which they were able to mark for later inspection/locating of stumps. The barge collected and cut many stumps and logs. The people working in their own boats were quickly filling the shorelines cleared on Saturday with more stumps for later removal. The barge continued into the very late afternoon pulling stumps and offloading. It is truly amazing what one can do with a 25hp motor and rowboat!
Individuals were working from the shoreline clearing stumps and debris from the lake, as well as, marking new found stumps. Work also continued in the main channel clearing stumps in inaccessible areas against the shorelines and pulling them to fire lanes or parklands.
This weekend's thrust was what was needed but we still need more people to go out with boats and pull. The community is making huge progress, even given the nasty conditions everyone faced, particularly the cold temperatures and wind. The wind makes it very difficult to see down into the water for semi-floating stumps and the cold makes it even tougher.
With another weekend or two of surveying and removing we may be at a point where the lake can be opened to motor traffic. It will require people to navigate very carefully and more so reconsider skiing and tubing activities along with jumping and diving off their boats this summer. The POA would have never come this far without all of the individuals that helped. They are to be commended! And so far every organized weekend the weather was far from perfect, yet they came. On the nice weekend it was Easter and the POA didn't even expect anyone out there and did not organize anything formal but there were guys out there hauling in some unbelievably huge stumps that are now finally out of the lake, thanks to their efforts. Every little bit one does in this effort makes our lake that much better! For those that have already stepped up to the plate, please continue and for all of those that have not, please ask yourself why you can't spend a couple of hours out there with us pitching in, during our hour of need. After all, it is not the 75 or so individuals that only use the lake; the POA membership alone runs at approximately 700 members every year and that doesn't count the many Easement members that also use the lake.
The POA needs your help! The POA will be working for the next couple of weekends either meeting at the pavilion or clubhouse at 9AM. You can also contact karen@pcmcompany.com with whatever resources you have.
Karen Sarnowski
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