2023-08-10-TREE-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Lexington Tree Committee Minutes 8.10.23 1. Meeting called to order at 7:30 AM on zoom. The meeting was recorded by a guest. 2. Present: Members Mark Connor (co-chair), Barbara Tarrh, Gloria Bloom, Gerry Paul, Pat Moyer (co-chair and minutes), Nancy Sofen, Joe Pato (ex-officio). Regrets James Wood. Guests Ingrid Klimoff, Charles Hornig, Patrick Mehr, Todd Rhodes. 3. Minutes of 7.13.23 were accepted without change. 4. David Pinsonneault could not be present, but items from the pre-meeting with Barbara and Mark were presented by Barbara. a) The new form for developers (on which they seek approval from the Tree Warden for tree removals) is not being met with happiness by them. Scrolling issues cause misinformation. There will be a training session for builders when the IT director returns from parental leave in a few weeks. We wonder if we can attend? Nancy told us she had reviewed copies of the first bunch of the new forms, and about ½ of them were satisfactory, the other half did not contain all information required and some were approved anyway. b) Dave wants to focus on work we do together in the future, not pick apart the past. c) Dave needs specifics of what we want in the UVM Canopy report. d) Town Counsel will tell us which permits are susceptible to the new 3-year lookback provision e) Final requests for FY24-25 budget due in Oct. Dave has asked for an assistant superintendent, and more help with pruning and planting. A new position will free up about 1/3 more time to allocate to trees. Should we take a position on this request? We realized we needed more data on what Forestry does; what percent of their time is spent on trees? f) There are vacant DPW positions g) Extending the amended bylaw to the entire Town was discussed. The impact on Forestry would seem immense. What if just the 30 foot front setback of private properties became subject to the Bylaw? h) Dave stated he did not want the TC to target his staff. i) Barbara and Mark asked when the tree inventory would be available online. Answer unknown. j) The requested list of hazard trees that have been removed by the Town has been compiled, but not shared. There have been about a half-dozen, including 2 American elm with Dutch Elm disease. Storm removals are not included in the list. Dave promised to forward the list. 5. Tree Bylaw Enforcement. Mr. Patrick Mehr submitted and discussed a power point focused on his sense that the tree bylaw (he was one of the original writers) is not being enforced. . He was thanked for his concerns, which we share, and his presentation, and invited to attend the 8/21 Select Board meeting (see below). 6. Tree Bylaw Enforcement. Gerry Paul reported that he estimates the Town has lost $600,000 - $800,000 in revenue in recent years due to lax enforcement of fines, fees and mitigations regarding tree removals. As per the May presentation of the Tree Statement of Concern to the Select Board, the Tree Committee has requested the Town Manager appoint a joint working group to improve enforcement of the Tree Bylaw, including both the collection of information, the collection of fees and mitigation payments, and the planting of new trees on the