PROSPECT PARK The borough is joining a state program to plant 250 trees on public streets this fall, on the premise that more leafy green in town will lead to lower air-conditioning bills.

The program, Cool Cities, is a three-year-old partnership run by the Department of Environmental Protection and the Board of Public Utilities. It is partly funded by a 3-cent ratepayer fee on every energy bill, Alexander McCartney, a DEP forester, said during a special Monday night public presentation.

Prospect Park is one of three Passaic County towns to accept the project, according to McCartney. The state offered the borough participation in 2003, but officials never completed a management plan required for membership.

Currently 2 to 7 percent of New Jersey's urban towns are covered in trees, said DEP spokeswoman Dana Loschiavo. A lack of trees in urban areas can raise the temperature up by 12 degrees in the summer, McCartney said. Higher temperatures mean higher energy bills.

State projections based a study of six major New Jersey towns show the program will result in $17 million worth of energy savings by the year 2036.

Last year, the state tree-planting fund held $4 million, Loschiavo said.

Other communities in the program are Passaic and Paterson where in January 2004 the project was halted after complaints that the state's tree-planting contractor damaged drainage pipes and sidewalks. Loschiavo said 35 percent of the trees planted in Paterson in 2004 died as a result of the contractor's negligence.

But Paterson Mayor Jose Torres said most dead trees have been replaced and called the project a success.

"Now, we have trees working to produce better oxygen, the aesthetics, warmer winters and cooler summers," he said Wednesday. The trees also should help reduce the asthma rate in Paterson, which is one of the highest in the state, he said.

During the Prospect Park meeting, McCartney touted the side benefits of tree planting. Tree-lined towns help increase children's test scores, raise the property values of local homes, decrease violent crime and produce speedier hospital-patient recovery, he said.

Residents peppered McCartney with questions about the program, from who would water the trees to what would happen if the trees' roots later warp sidewalks. Mother Nature will water the trees, and trees shouldn't damage sidewalks if the soil bed underneath was placed properly, he said.

Resident Helen Donahue, a senior citizen and a regular at council meetings, said she didn't want the program to uproot new trees planted by the borough on its main street, North Eighth Street.

"They're all new trees, and I don't want you to lay a finger on them," she said.

McCartney promised they wouldn't.

Residents may call McCartney to request or block a tree planting in front of their house. His phone number is 609-610-7584.

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E-mail: kellerk@northjersey.com