2011-06-09-TREE-min - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Town of Lexington Lexington Tree Committee Minutes June 9, 2011 A regularly scheduled meeting of the Lexington Tree Committee was held on June 9, 2011, 7:30-9:30 a.m. at the Samuel Hadley Public Services Building, Room 125. The full TC membership was present -- John Frey (chair), Jewel Kuljian, Gerry Paul, James Wood, Anne Senning, Nell Walker, and Karen Longeteig -- plus David Pinsonneault (Operations Manager), Chris Filadoro (Supt. Public Grounds/Tree Warden) and Jane Beswick (Friends of Trees). The meeting acted on the following items: 1 . Karen Longeteig was appointed as scribe, and the minutes of May 12, 2011 were approved as corrected. th DPW Tree crewman Joel Custance invited all to attend the ALB lecture on June 16, and new Tree Warden Chris Filadoro was warmly welcomed. 2a.Tree Warden David Pinsonneault ’s report (Outgoing) : There have been the following Tree removal applications and tree activity since 10/1/01: Total sites: 750 Total closed: 656 Total to plant: 2286 Total planted: 1632 Total to remove: 946 Total removed: 803 Since 08/04/08, a total 3,355 inches in permitted diameter were removed and a total $33,550 in fees were collected. b. Planting sites : Jim Wood reported that the Elks Club will accept two off-berm flowering trees to be planted. Silverbells are a possibility to plant fall 2011 or spring 2012. The three dead sourwoods on Merriam Street cannot be replaced now, but will be replanted in the fall. In Lincoln Park near the new soccer fields, Dave is getting the soil tested in the parking lot area. The soil is very poor, so they are planning to build up berms and create better spots to accept some trees in the fall. A work date for TC th members to review planting sites on Mass Ave was set for Tuesday, June 14, 8:00 a.m. c. Nursery and Outplanting: There are 55 nursery trees, 6 donations, and 2 salvaged trees to be outplanted this spring before hot weather starts. To date 18 nursery trees and the 8 donations/salvages have been set out. The Lindens, which were outplanted after 4 years in the root bags, had compacted rootballs and are now distressed, even though the watering truck is out daily. The DPW crew recommends outplanting in 3 or even 2 years. Girdling is a problem in the bags – should we drop the use of bags and use a digging spade after 2 years? The DPW got a new spade attachment last year so this may be possible. Discussion to be continued. During a short drought the nursery tree rootballs were terribly dry, so the watering schedule was upped from once to twice a week, and Dave wants the whole nursery irrigated 72 hours in advance of digging. Fall Outplanting: in Fall 2011 the DPW will contract out the street tree planting as there will be 127 trees to move out of the nursery (the rest of the 3-yr trees) before they risk being overmatured. Nursery Inspection Rota: Gerry Paul suggested that a weekly inspection of the nursery by a Tree Committee member might be helpful, and volunteered to organize a rota by email.