HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-10-10-TREE-minTown of Lexington, MA
Lexington Tree Committee Minutes
October 10, 2013
A meeting of the Lexington Tree Committee was held on October 10, 2013, from 7:30
to9:30 a.m. at the Samuel Hadley Public Services Building, Room 125. A quorum of xxx
was present.
Members Present: Chris Filadoro (Superintendent of Public Grounds) John Frey (chair),
Jewel Kuljian, Karen Longeteig, Gerry Paul, Anne Senning,
Members Absent: Deborah Mauger (Selectman Liaison), Jim Wood, Nell Walker
Guest: Matt Foti (Lexington citizen and arborist), Mary Hosmer Fanucci (Sidewalk
Committee liaison)
The members acted on the following items:
1. Scribe: Karen Longeteig was appointed.
Minutes of September 12, 2013 were approved as corrected including re-
numbering. Gerry Paul will send out minutes of the special meeting of September 17
There were also corrections to minutes of August 8 as noted in the 10 /10 agenda.
2. Bylaw activity: Chris Filadoro will submit these data by email.
3. Tree Budget: Chris will submit a Program Improvement Request of $45,000, enough
for 70 trees planted by contractors. The request will go through DPW process; there may
be 5 or 6 other requests. They will be discussed and prioritized. The top projects then go
to the Board of Selectmen. The goal for the year 2014 -15 is to plant 130 total trees; the
remainder will be setback trees done in- house.
4. Fall Tree Planting: Jewel Kuljian has a list of 7 setback trees to be planted this fall;
Anne Senning has another list of 4 setbacks and 8 street trees. Chris said we need 31
more sites in addition. John Frey and others said they could come up with more sites.
Chris suggested a deadline of October 25 which would allow time for DigSafe and then
planting to commence on November 1.
5. Tree Nursery: Chris said the nursery will be cleaned out this fall, and consolidated.
He also as the row stakes with big numbers stored in his office.
6. Commemorative Tree: There is a proposal from the Nickles family to fund a
Littleleaf Linden to replace the large one removed from in front of Cary Hall.
7. Donation: Peter Enrich, former Selectman, donated $250.00 to the Tree Fund "in
appreciation of the work of the Tree Committee."
8. Town Asset Designation: A presentation was made by Gerry Paul to the Town
Appropriations Committee, urging that trees be considered a Town Asset in the same
manner as streetlights etc. The AC appreciated these points and strongly recommended
raising it with Director of Public Works Bill Hadley and Director of Operations Dave
Pinsonneault.
9. Tree Removal: The matter of Lexington Toyota's removal of 12 screening pear trees
was brought before the Zoning Board of Appeals September 26 in October. Responding
to many concerned citizen approaches to the Tree Committee over the loss of these trees,
three members of the TC attended the hearing. Karen represented Chairman Frey, who
was out of town, and Gerry and Jim Wood also contributed. In the end, the Board agreed
with our position, and voted that these removals and proposed replacements were not
"minor" matters as held by Lexington Toyota, and that they merited a fully publicized
hearing with notification to abutters. The TC has not been shown the new plan. The TC
suggests that John talk to Gary Larson (the Landscape Architect employed by Lexington
Toyota), to work out something mutually agreeable in advance.
10. Watering: Chris said that two employees were watering 3 to 4 days per week this
summer. He also noted that new employee hires are coming to fruition, and the Forestry
Division should be up to five employees by mid - November. Chris and Joel are attending
seminars and looking for other opportunities for training for the staff.
11. Other: Outreach was made to the Sidewalk Committee. Gerry, John, and Karen
attended their last regular meeting and tentative plans were made to develop
sidewalk /tree standards. A liaison has been appointed from the Sidewalk Committee,
Mary Hosmer Fanucci, and she attended this meeting.
Tags need to be made (by Lexington Graphics) for specific trees for a specific address. A
work session was planned for Friday, October 18 at 9:00 a.m. at the DPW to cover this.
There was no remote participation. The meeting was not recorded.
Respectfully submitted, Karen Longeteig, Scribe
Next regular meeting: November 14, 2013, at 7:30 a.m. in the Samuel Hadley Public
Services Building, Room 125