2022-07-14-TREE-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Lexington Tree Committee Meeting via Zoom Minutes of July 14, 2022 Attending: Gerry Paul (Chair), Gloria Bloom, Jim Wood, Nancy Sofen, Marc Connor, Pat Moyer, Barbara Tarrh, members. Joe Pato, Select Board liaison. Other attendees: Dan Miller, Andrew Terborgh. Meeting began at 7:32 am 1) Barbara Tarrh appointed scribe. 2) Future TC meetings location/time: Massachusetts’ authorization of remote meeting ends July 15. Town conference rooms are being set up to function for hybrid meetings, which will require in-person attendance by the chair and a quorum. While state legislature is considering the extension of fully remote meetings, Gerry P has reserved a properly modified office in Cary Hall for some number of future TC meetings. Due to questions regarding availability of these rooms for early morning meetings, a discussion ensued about meeting times. Joe P suggested an email poll to collect responses. Town Committee Chair terms are under discussion by Select Board for a 2-year limit. Current TC Chair would like to ‘pass the torch.’ 3-13) Forestry Department Items: No attendance by Forestry Dept. No new information on agenda items 3-13. Jim Malloy has requested a meeting with Dave Pinsonneault, Jill Hai and Gerry. Gerry requested that Nancy Sofen and Joe Pato also attend. DPW attendance should come up at this meeting. 23) Review of decision to remove 25 of 37 white pines by the Town tennis courts. There was general consensus that retaining 12 trees was preferable to having all 37 removed. DPW will meet with neighbors to discuss replanting plan. There was additional discussion regarding where to replant (near playground), requesting carbon footprint of trees removed (36” + D BH equals hundreds of trees to replace), how to reconcile removal with Town’s climate goals, possibility of tying proposed yard signage to a call to action. It was also suggested that Gerry email Rick Riebstein and Charlie Wyman w to create climate emergency article, including calculation of CO2 storage loss per tree removed and the number of 2 -3” trees needing to be planted as an equivalent. 18) Worthen Rd. Parcel clear-cutting for new HS staging area: No new information. --) New agenda item: Large clear-cut area at Westview Cemetery(see attached). Discussion re: replacement planting requirements, what standards apply to this town project. Suggestion that Nancy draft a letter re: environmental impact and degradation of personal environment. Dan suggested mentioning process (not followed) and again cited Town as apparently not addressing sustainability goals.