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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010--06-10-TREE-min Town of Lexington, Massachusetts Tree Committee Minutes of June 10, 2010 A meeting of theTree Committee was held on Thursday June 10, 2010, 7:30-9:30 a.m. at the Samuel Hadley Public Services Building, 201 Bedford Street, Room 125. A quorum of 6 was present. Members Present : John Frey (chair), Nell Walker, Jewel Kuljian, Anne Senning, Karen Longeteig, Jim Wood. Also presen t: Dave Pinsonneault (Tree Warden), Deborah Mauger (Selectman Liaison), and Friends of Trees members Barbara Kent and Jane Beswick. Members Absent : Gerry Paul Karen Longeteig was appointed as scribe, and the minutes of May 13, 2010 were approved as corrected. Tree Warden’s report: Tree removal applications and activity: since 10/1/01, there have been Total sites: 701 Total closed: 571 Total to plant: 2094 Total planted: 1352 Total to remove: 871 Total removed: 683 And since 08/04/08, total inches in diameter permitted to remove, 2165”, and total fees collected, $21,650. Nursery Tree/Planting Progress: Street tree planting locations: Anne and Joel checked all the sites on the streets. Trees were planted on Fletcher Ave last week and will be planted on Mass Ave and Winchester Drive next week. There are 3 or 4 newly planted berm trees near the intersection of Waltham Street and Marrett Road which will be lifted and re-located, as they will be impacted by the reconstruction of the intersection. The Jeanne Krieger Honor Tree, a Scarlet Oak, was planted today 6/10/10 at Tower Park. Deborah will contact Jeanne and establish a convenient date for a short dedication ceremony. Maintenance of nursery trees after transplanting: the DPW will water trees planted in Right of Way this summer, and fertilize in August. But they don’t take care of trees at the schools, where the crabapples were planted. Jim suggested that the schools be divided up and we each take responsibility for contacting the principals and ensuring plants are watered. Karen is to send the spreadsheet to Jane Beswick, who volunteered to organize this. Jim will be responsible for Diamond and Estabrook, and Karen for LHS. However, it was noted that Shawn Newell, the assistant public facilities manager, should be the key person. Bare-root Basswoods: Dave reported that three were planted at Old Harrington, and two are heeled in and are to go soon to Winchester Drive. strd Belfry Hill planting/seeding: On June 1 and 3 several Tree Committee and Friends of Tree volunteers installed plugs from the Kurt Bluemel company: three types of sedges in numbers of 112 Carex pensylvanica, 72 Carex plantaginea, 72 Carex stricta, as well as 72 Aster divaricatus. One sedge, Carex appalachia, is back ordered. The grant money is now all spent; we are waiting for one more tray of plugs to plant, and then the lupine and other planting mix seed will be scattered. Weeders needed. The weeding, that is, making a place to plant, is more time-consuming than actual planting. Invasive species: The hill has some severe invaders, Black Swallowwort vine being one. Control methods of herbicide spraying, vs. smothering with black plastic, were discussed. Nell is going to look up the methods used in a successful meadow restoration project in Concord that she knew of and report back. If it is not feasible, we will go ahead and smother. In any case, we hope to stop this year’s crop before it sets seed. Other plantings: Replacement of 2004 Arbor Day tree that died at Meriam St. was done today (6/10/10) with the largest Homestead Elm from the Nursery. One crabapple for the National Heritage Museum was planted by the DPW. Three crabapples were dropped off at Minuteman High School; they will plant. One crabapple for the LF&GC traffic island project is ready, but DPW needs to remove the dead tree currently occupying the spot. Fiske school never got back to us with a decision, and all the crabs are now allocated. The two American Chestnuts in the nursery might be good choices for the Estabrook School, which requested some trees for a sheltered area. Jim will follow up. NSTAR pruning: They are finishing up in the East Lexington circuit but they are using 8-8-12’ pruning ‘windows’, instead of 10-10-20’. Tracking Commemorative Trees (Jane’s spreadsheet). Dave will email John, Nell and Jane all information on new requests for Commemorative Trees which come to him. Removal of dead trees adjacent to Ye Olde Burial Ground: There are two dead elms on private property abutting the cemetery. John has informed owners Denise & Roland de Fillipi that they must do all the work from the private property side to avoid impacting anything in the cemetery. th Other: Dave says he is interviewing to fill a 4 staff position vacant for several months, as well as two cemetery maintenance positions. Winter Moth infestations continue to do a lot of damage. Neither Town nor State is spraying. Dave said that he would get the Tree Farm sprayed next spring, and would consider putting a comprehensive spraying program in the 2012 budget request as a new program item. Friends of Trees: Distinctive Tree Project: the “Mulliken Oak” article went in the Minuteman last month. We have had an interesting letter from a former resident of 40 Prospect Hill Road who related tales about the large White Pines there; Jane and Karen will investigate, measure, and write up. Website: It was noted that citizens are looking up the website and getting useful information from it. It was also noted that we need to update it with our revised Tree Bylaw and Manual. Respectfully submitted, Karen Longeteig, Scribe (Chairman's note: There were no documents/exhibits used at meeting, was no remote participation and no recording of meeting.)