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Lexington Tree Committee Lexington, Massachusetts Minutes of the Meeting October 10, 2002 Present at 7:30 were Jeanne Krieger, John Frey, Karen Longeteig and Anne Senning, but as this did not constitute a voting quorum, the three members and the Selectwoman discussed non-voting Town/Tree matters. Report: Karen Longeteig reported back on the question of how Arlington kept their hanging baskets watered. The Arlington PWD told her that they have one water truck with a wand which keeps busy 5 days a week; all costs are absorbed into the Department's budget. Jeanne Krieger noted that the Fund for Lexington supports the planting of our flowering barrels in the Town, but a system for keeping them watered would be desirable. (The Fund for Lexington supports new initiatives, helps needy citizens, and undertakes beautification projects. It was thought that we might be able to approach them with one or another of our projects. Such as watering.) At 8:30 Nell Walker arrived to complete the quorum, and the business on the agenda was undertaken. 1. The minutes of the September 26th meeting were approved with minor corrections. 2. The Tree Committee welcomed Anne Senning (47 Rindge Ave., Lexington 02420, e-mail "senning@socialaw.com", tel: 781/862-1099). She will replace Joanna Griscom. Joanna has had to leave the Committee for personal reasons. We thank her for her work and wish her well. 3. The Mass Re-Leaf grant for $5000 has been approved for Belfry Hill and the Woburn/Fletcher St. site. The grant is supposed to cover 10 trees on Belfry Hill and 21 for Woburn/Fletcher, according to the design. John asked the Tree Committee to look at the design as a whole, once the pending work on the tree manual is completed. 4. Nell Walker noted that an article about Emery Park and its trees should appear in the Minuteman of today's date. It was felt that general articles in the paper are helpful to our budget effort. John Frey was assigned to write the next article, both for 40B question and for the Minuteman, on construction protection of trees. 5. The Committee worked on the Tree Manual, and made appointments to continue the editing outside of committee in two weeks. 6. It was hoped that our Tree Warden will be able to attend the next meeting - there are several questions we need to ask him. He has reported by telephone that he is trying to get budget line items of $30K for the Tree Inventory and $50K for Tree Planting into the next Town Budget. The Committee drafted some "Frequently Asked Questions" for possible inclusion in the Minuteman, or as an article: 1) What do I do if I see a tree in a setback that has been removed or damaged by new construction? (A): Call the Town Tree Warden the Department of Public Works. Dave Pinsonneault is at 781/861-2758. 2) There are no trees near my house on the street. Could I get the Town to plant one? (A): Yes, in theory. The Tree Warden can tell you if this site can be put on the priority list. Budget constraints are always a reality. 3) There's a tree in front of my house but planted between the sidewalk and the street, that is diseased - half of it is dead. Whose responsibility is it to take care of it? (A): It is the Town's responsibility. As the Town does not yet have a computerized inventory of trees, sometimes the Warden is not aware of an individual tree's conditions. Any assistance you can give by bringing it to the attention of the DPW and Tree Warden is welcome. 4) We have an old tree on our property we want to remove. What rules govern this? (A) Generally, if you are not increasing the size of your house, you have the right to take it out. If you are doing new construction, and the tree is in a setback, there are rules governing its removal and/or replacement planting. Look in the Town's Tree By-Law, and the Tree Manual, or call the DPW for guidance. Next regular meeting on November 14, 2002, at 7:30 a.m. in Room 111, Town Office Building. The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 am. Respectfully submitted, Karen Longeteig Secretary pro-tem