2017-12-08-TREE-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Draft Document Dec 12, 2017 Minutes Special Meeting of the Lexington Tree Committee, Dec 8, 2017, 3 - 5pm Location: Reed Room, Town Offices Building Attendees: John Frey(Chair), Anne Senning,Jewel Kuljian, Gerry Paul, Nancy Sofen, Jim Wood Scribe: James Wood. Agenda: Review 2017 Spring and Fall Planting We discussed concerns regarding the 2017 Spring and Fall Tree Planting and required remedies/commitments to address these concerns. Tree Committee Observations/Concerns Spring 2017 tree planting: 1. Late start to planting (May 22, 2017) due to late issuance of Provide/Plant RFQ and decision process. Bare root trees could not be ordered due to lateness of RFQ issuance. 2. Three trees remained to be planted on July 4th, 2017. The later trees are planted in the spring the higher the probability they will have leafed out and the lower the probability of survival. 3. List of trees planted by location requested by the Tree Committee not provided (nor lists requested from previous years). These lists are required not only to update the tree inventory, but also to monitor tree health and survival rates. Fall 2017 tree planting (to December 8): 1. The Tree Warden committed to identify and stake planting locations by the first week in November; this was not completed until weeks later. 2. Trees were received November 1, 2017. Tree planting was still not complete as of December 8, 2017. The longer the interval between which bare root trees are dug and the trees are planted the lower the probability of survival. The fall planting consisted of bare root trees. 3. Communication a. The Tree Committee provided East Lexington tree planting sites (56 locations, with species ) on Aug 12, 2017 to the Tree Warden, and again on October 21. Fewer than 10 sites were staked by early November. Updates on issues/status of East Lexington tree planting were not communicated to the Tree Committee. b. Spreadsheet containing locations identified for setback/street tree planting not provided to contractor on a timely basis. c. Lack of timely response to requests for status setback/street tree planting. Required Remedies/Commitments 1. The Tree Committee will provide a list of tree species to the Tree Warden from which an order for trees to be planted can be made. 2. Tree Committee members will be involved in identification of specific tree planting locations only on an exception basis. The Tree Warden will have full responsibility for