2012-01-12-TREE-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Lexington Tree Committee Meeting Thursday, January 12, 2012, 7:30 AM 201 Bedford St., Room 125 Members Present: Christopher Filadoro, Superintendent of Public Grounds; John Frey, Chairman; Jewel Kuljian; Karen Longeteig; Gerry Paul; Anne Senning; Nell Walker; James Wood. Also Friends of Trees member Jane Beswick, and Guests: Tanya Morrisett and Jessie Steigerwald from the Lexington 300 Anniversary Celebration Committee. Absent : David Pinsonneault, Operations Manager and Deb Mauger, Selectman Liaison. 1.Jewel Kuljian was appointed as scribe and the minutes of the December 13, 2011 meeting were approved as corrected. 2.Anne Senning read a prepared statement about meeting procedures. If a specific topic goes on too long the Chair or any Committee member can suggest a special meeting be called to cover the topic. This will provide a balance for working together to cover the agenda in a timely manner. 3a. Bylaw Tree removal applications and activity. Approximate tree removal activity under Bylaw as of 11/1/11 ; 793 sites/686 closed; 2521trees to be planted/1753 planted; 1034 trees to be removed/843removed. Fees levied for removal under regulation are $48,280. $6,950 to be deposited in the Tree Fund. Karen proposed that a handheld computer would be helpful to record this information. Availability needs to be determined. 3b. There will be no Tree Bylaw changes submitted for the 2012 Town Meeting as voted by the Committee. John will notify Deb Mauger to drop the Placeholder. 3c. Nell Walker and Anne Senning discussed the status of trees out-planted from the ninety-nine nursery. One hundred and four were planted in 2011. There are still large trees that need to be out-planted in the spring of 2012. Eighty five of these are Oaks. Having this specific information available is crucial for the Department and the Tree committee for planning purposes. The six Frontier Elms that died from the October storm have been replaced with smaller Scarlet Oak trees. 3d. Proposed tracking plan for Bylaw Tree Removal & occupancy permits. Chris reviewed the new format of reporting each month regarding tree activity. Addresses, dates, tree hearings, hazard trees, special permit,etc. Gerry Paul noted “Special Permit is now covered by the Tree By-law”. Chris would like clarification. For infractions, fifty dollars per inch will be charged for a 3 inch caliper tree, resulting in $150. per tree to be deposited in the Tree Fund. Personal thanks to Chris for his work. The status regarding follow-up /monitoring of specific addresses was also discussed. Chris is working to organize site plans in the Public Grounds office; a site plan is key to enforcing the tree bylaw. Additionally, Chris is working with the Building Inspector to receive notification of requests for occupancy permits so he can sign off. Other issues are being discussed with departments in an on-going basis with good progress being made.