2007-03-08-TREE-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Minutes of March 8, 2007 Lexington Tree Committee Meeting 1. Attendance: David Pinsonneault, John Frey, Anne Senning, Nell Walker, Karen Longeteig, Jeanne Krieger, Gerry Paul, Jim Wood, and Susan Solomon. The meeting was called to order at 7:35 a.m. Scribe: Karen Longeteig was appointed as scribe. The minutes of the February 8, 2007 meeting were approved as presented. 2. Tree Warden’s Report: Dave Pinsonneault: (a) Tree Bylaw statistics: 484 sites/397 closed, 572 trees to be removed/453 actually removed, and 1363 trees to be planted/1048 planted. (b) Norman Cohen is assisting Dave on refining the language of the Bylaw changes. (c) Our request from the DCR for a $44,500 grant to finish the inventory was only partially approved, to the extent of $10,000. Eric Seaborn said that this is federal pass-through money which has been cut back. He also said DCR is not willing to fund software development. The Tree Committee (TC) expects nevertheless to make some progress over the summer. Several resumes have been received from prospective interns. Sherri Brokopp may be able to pass on some outside-funded interns to us. (d) Design work proceeding on Center sidewalk project. The Committee’s sense was against specifying any grates, as they are too expensive. (e) Conservation Commission has approved start of work on Tree Farm. Jim is working with LHS to get 10 students for planting day, and plans to familiarize them with the site in advance. Bailey’s Nursery, the source of our whips, won’t sell to us directly, so Dave is locating nearby nursery for ordering middleman. (f) Spraying for winter moth: Nell reported that the Meriam Hill Association has jointly hired a firm to spray their trees, and that the Arnold Arboretum sprayed their specimen maples last year, and will do so again. One local service provider said that the procedure was so “iffy” that he won’t offer it. (g) The name of the Commemorative Tree donor for Lincoln Park is still in Dave’s files; he will look it up and get it to John and Susan. (h) The Buckman Tavern’s Black Walnut: The Historical Society (Susan Bennett) has requested that the tree, very close to the foundation, be removed. The Tree Warden said he would prefer to wait and see. The Lexington Field & Garden Club subcommittee that looks after the herb garden at the Tavern has now also requested that the tree be removed, stating that it endangers the structure and shades the herb garden too much. After some discussion, it was decided to have a subcommittee discuss the situation with the LF&GC people. The majority of the Tree Committee was reluctant to authorize its removal, as it is one of only two Black Walnuts in the Center. A dissenting opinion held that the Buckman Tavern structure is a national treasure and every effort should be made to preserve it from accidental damage, even from a rare tree. Old Business: A. Per item 9 in February’s minutes, Jeanne reported that the Town has no mechanism to do a tax “check-off” donation to support tree planting. But we would be allowed to put a separate envelope/letter appeal into tax bills. We should ask Lynne Pease for cost information. (who?) B. Karen reported that all DVD copies of our lecture series had been distributed to the Arnold Arboretum and to the individual speakers, with the exception of Clarissa Rowe’s. Another copy of Lecture 3 needs to be made. C. A motion was passed that the Tree Committee support the new DPW facility at Town Meeting, assuming there is an acceptable landscape and tree plan. 3. Bylaw changes: must be reviewed by the Commonwealth’s Attorney General, so we have time to make our revisions to the Tree Management Manual. A Sub-Committee was set up to review the Manual, of Markus, Nell, John, and Anne. Nell will email the group with a proposed meeting date. 4. Friends of Trees: Gerry has given an article to the Colonial Times. The initial board meeting has taken th place successfully. April 5 is the kick-off meeting. There will be descriptions of three projects made at the meeting.