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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-05-08-TREE-min LEXINGTON TREE COMMITTEE Town of Lexington, Massachusetts 201 Bedford Street, Samuel Hadley Public Services Building, Room 125 Minutes, Meeting of May 8, 2014 Attendees: John Frey (Chairman), Jewel Kuljian, Karen Longeteig, Gerry Paul, Anne Senning, Nell Walker, Jim Wood, Jane Beswick(Commemorative Tree Program) and Chris Filadoro(Superintendent of Public Grounds). Absent: Deb Mauger(Liason for Selectmen) Jewel Kuljian is acting as scribe. Agenda items: 1.Minutes of the April 10 meeting were approved as voted. 2.Bylaw Tree removal applications and activity. Chris will send this updated the current information to the Tree Committee by email. Chris wants people to be aware of situations for tree removals. The public can be advised to check with the Building Inspector regarding any specific cases. 3.Town Tree Inventory plan. Anne Senning would like to see the Tree Inventory completed for all precincts. It is recommended for community accreditation (Lexington is #90 in the community out of 19,800, DPW wide). She proposes the completion of the inventory(precincts 7,8 and 9) linking the graphics and software already done with the $25,000 from the Tree Fund, $45,000 allocated for tree planting. Financing could come from a mix of money from the Tree Fund and the Budget. Updating would come at a later date for “continuous complete”. Anne proposes we not hire interns for this purpose as it would require a great deal of time, physical energy, training and on-site supervision. A Contractor price is requested. Chris and all present see great value in having all this information available on a tablet to be able to immediately identify planting sites and other uses. GIS is widely used for various purposes in Lexington and state wide(see article in Lexington Minuteman, 5/8/14). 4.Hiring of Interns(See above). 5. Tree Inventory Completion(Incorporated in #3 above). 6. Spring 2014 Tree Planting. Twenty requests have been processed for Dig Safe. More are in process. Jewel reported she has 17 trees in process. All agreed we continue to order the black metal tags from Lexington Graphics. Anne will place this order. Thirty B&B trees(Tulip, Redbud, and Sweetbay Magnolia), some ready to plant from the Tree Nursery, and others ordered locally as needed will make up this season’s planting. Some pre-digging of holes may occur. 7. List/mapping of newly planted trees.Karen Longeteig will get the list today from Chris so she can place the remaining 300th tags on the trees. 8. Concord Ave. sidewalk. Assessment by Arborist of Trees? Jim will contact Dave Canon and Matt Foti regarding the tree removals and analysis of trees to obtain a ‘condition report’, also including Robinson Road where 23 trees are to be removed. 9. Arbor Day/Tree City USA. Arbor Day was very successful. Matt Foti donated the Sugar Maple. He will also plant a Swamp White Oak once he can free the tree from the frozen ground. This event also celebrated the 25th anniversary of Tree City USA for Lexington. First grade students in LPS will all be given a demonstration about tree facts in an active approach as demonstrated at the ceremony and a tree seedling to take home to plant.. A copy of the Lexington Minuteman article about requesting street and/or setback trees was not sent home in the packet with the students this time because of the short notice. 10. Status of Tree Nursery. Winter Losses. Limited Number of species for Spring Planting? Many trees identified for Spring 2014 planting from the nursery were lost over the winter. Chris would like to renovate the nursery, remove root balls, reduce the number of trees, perhaps include specialized trees, consider an easy maintenance overhead watering system, and generally restore the area. This will be kept on the agenda for planning after spring planting. 11 Early Ordering for Fall 2014 Bareroot Trees. What is Needed and Early Planning Ahead for Spring. It is urgent to have the lists of bareroot trees available for both fall 2014 and spring 2015 planting plans. The Committee would like to identify species as soon as possible to reserve/place orders. The goal is to plant 65 trees in the fall and 65 trees in the spring. Jim will contact Schichtel and Bailey Nurseries and will forward availability information to all Tree Committee members. 12. Selectmen Goal Setting due May 30. The Tree Committee thanks the Selectmen and Town Manager for their continuing support and, in particular, for the increase in funding for the Forestry Division in the 2015 Town budget. This funding will allow the DPW to meet the goal of planting 130 trees per year to replace the 130 street trees removed on average per year. We look forward to your support in the future. 13. Trees requested by Garett Burke 46 Brandon St. to screen lights from Toyota from bikeway. Consider a plan on that side of the Town maintained bike path this spring. A site visit is required to specify this planting. No objections raised to pursue this as a plan. 14 . Fern Street trees.In stone wall; taken care of. 15. Norway Maple Discussion. Previously discussed. 16. Asphalt around trees. So that trees are not directly surrounded by asphalt, Karen will speak with Dave Canon regarding the Tree Committee’s protocol of putting a 6” area of mulch around each tree as protection. So voted. 17. Commemorative Trees. John, Jim, and Jane will stake for the planting of the American Linden Tree in front of Cary Hall today. Jim will check about ordering a 2” caliper tree. The two other Commemorative Tulip trees in Lincoln Park need to be checked at the time of a rainstorm to determine if they are viable. 18. Other/New Item: Commemorative Tree for Nell Walker. Choice of Species and Location. So Voted. Nell would like to have a Striped Maple planted in a visible location in/near Lincoln Park. Specific location to be specified. Congratulations to Nell from members for all she has achieved at Lincoln Park, other endeavors in the community and for her work on the Tree Committee. Meeting adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Jewel Kuljian Next regular meeting: June 12, 2014, 7:30 AM at DPW, 201 Bedford Street, Room 125.