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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-09-16-TREE-min Town of Lexington Lexington Tree Committee Minutes, September 16, 2010 A meeting of the Lexington Tree Committee was held on September 16, 2010, 7:30-9:30 a.m. at the Samuel Hadley Public Services Building, Room 125. A quorum of seven was present. Members Present: John Frey (chair), Jewel Kuljian, Karen Longeteig, Gerry Paul, David Pinsonneault (Tree Warden), Anne Senning, Nell Walker, Jim Wood Members Absent: Deborah Mauger (Selectman Liaison) Friends of Trees Present: Jane Beswick. The meeting acted on the following items: 1. Anne Senning was appointed as scribe, and the minutes of August 12, 2010 were approved as corrected. 2. Tree Warden David Pinsonneault ’s report: There have been the following Tree removal applications and tree activity since 10/1/01: Total sites: 722 Total closed: 597 Total to plant: 2182 Total planted: 1412 Total to remove: 903 Total removed: 719 Since 08/04/08, a total 2715” inches in permitted diameter were removed and a total $27,150 fees were collected. In three street tree removal hearings: Dawes Rd., Whipple Rd., and Waltham St. at Marrett Rd., the trees were approved for removal. The watering of new street tree plantings on Fletcher Ave, and Winchester Drive, in Tower Park, and the Revere Street Traffic Island as well as the installations at Estabrook and the old Harrington School were reviewed. David Pinsonneault will talk with Shawn Newell at the School Administration about watering maintenance at the schools through the fall. 3. Tree Bylaw expansion (Planning Board meeting 9/15/10): John Frey and Gerry Paul attended the Planning Board meeting 9/15/10 and discussed the Tree Committee proposal to expand the Tree Bylaw to include a larger fraction of the site covered for large sites and to have no excluded sites. The Planning Board will assign a liaison to work with the Tree Committee on these issues. 4. MA House Bill 4791 filed by Representative Barry Finegold to amend Chapter 87: John Frey, Chairman will get a written response from Representative Jay Kaufman to his email of 9/1/10 for 10/14/10 Tree Committee meeting for further clarification and discussion. 5. Urban & Community Forest Challenge Grant for 2011 Tree Inventory: David Pinsonneault stated that Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) had set a notice that grants were open for 11/1/2010; Intents to Apply are due 10/1/2010. The Tree Committee plan is to submit a grant for 2 interns to complete Precincts 7, 8 and 9 during the summer of 2011. This would be done in conjunction with the Urban Ecology Institute as in the past. Jim Wood agreed to call Eric Seaborn, Acting Urban Forest Coordinator at DCR to clarify if Lexington would be eligible to apply for this year’s grant. Anne Senning agreed to write the grant. 6. Meeting with Judy Seppala, GIS/Database Administrator: Anne Senning stated that Dorinda Goodman, Director of IT/MIS requested a meeting with interested members of the Tree Committee and Judy Seppala, the new GIS/Database Administrator, for the purpose of acquainting Judy with the Tree Committee Tree Inventory data. John Frey, Chairman, David Pinsonneault Tree Warden, Karen Longeteig and Anne Senning plan to attend. The first choice of times is Monday, 9/20/10 2 p.m., the second is Tuesday 9/21/10 at 9 a.m. at the DPW. Anne Senning will coordinate with MIS staff. 7. Nursery/Tree Planting Progress: Jim Wood reported that three crabapples at the Harrington School are in fair condition; three American Basswoods are in poor condition. All crabapples at Estabrook and Diamond are in good condition, to which Jim has provided supplemental watering. Of the four trees on Fletcher Ave, two are in good condition, two have been killed by over watering. David Pinsonneault will replace two of these at a later time. Jim reported on the trees installed on Winchester Drive among which are two American Basswoods in fair condition. He will report on the remainder of the trees at the schools at the October 14, 2010 Tree Committee meeting. Jewel Kuljian reported that four of the remaining Sourwoods on Meriam Street are in fair condition. She has been providing these with supplemental watering. David Pinsonneault will put these trees on the list for the watering truck. All remarked on the difficulty of the exceptionally hot, dry summer. David Pinsonneault reported on the work that Matt Foti has done to the trees on Lincoln Street in Lincoln Park: root pruning, fertilization and pruning. Nell Walker reported that these trees health has improved. The Yellowwood and River Birch on Clarke St were not discussed. 8. Status of Scarlet Oak in Tower Park: John Frey, Chairman reported that the Scarlet Oak (Jeanne Krieger’s Commemorative’s Tree) in Tower Park is in fair condition: top ¼ is brown, the bottom ¾ is green. He has been providing supplemental water and the watering truck has been watering it regularly. 9. Status of Tulip Trees in Lincoln Park: Karen Longeteig reported that one of the two Tulip trees (Mayo Commemorative trees) in Lincoln Park has scale on one branch. David Pinsonneault stated that he would look into the problem. 10. Proposed letter to off-berm tree recipients: The Tree Committee discussed the letter in question. It is complete. It has been approved. David Pinsonneault has the original. Jewel Kuljian will obtain a copy and share it with the Tree Committee at the October 14, 2010 meeting. 11. Purchase of a brush saw for the Tree Nursery: Purchase of a brush saw was requested, approved, and voted for clearing the brush in the Tree Nursery. Jim Wood will coordinate with David Pinsonneault to complete this task. 12. Tree Nursery Work Date: Jim Wood will arrange a work date after completion of mowing the brush in the Tree Nursery. 13. Belfry Hill, Black Swallowwort eradication: Anne Senning reported that Belfry Hill has had a difficult season, due to lack of rain. Many of the plants, which were installed this season have failed. The Tree Committee will need to wait another growing season to see what comes through the year. The Black Swallowwort vine has not been eradicated, but it has been curtailed. A Work Day is planned for Friday 9/24/10, 9 a.m. 14. NStar pruning, HATS: Discussion postponed until 10/14/10 Tree Committee meeting. 15. Tree Committee Appointments by The Selectmen: John Frey, Chairman reported that the Selectmen have reappointed Jim Wood and Jewel Kuljian for terms on the Tree Committee. Both members accepted. 16. Friends of Trees Distinctive Tree Project: Tree Committee members agreed to use the Magnolia macrofolia at the Samuel Hadley Public Services Building, 201 Bedford Street for the next distinctive tree. 17. Lincoln Park Committee Open House Sunday 9/26/2010 3:00 p.m.: Nell Walker presented the invitation to the Open House as well as a ‘before’ photo of the Park when it was The Town Dump. 18. Other: Planting Protocol Tree Committee discussed the need to establish a planting protocol. This might involve a report on how trees thrive in the planting areas, using the standard measure of the Tree inventory or some other standard measure at regular intervals. Other possible measures to be considered: watering tubes, or  Treegaitors, structural soil, hiring a private watering service. Jim Wood will talk with David Pinsonneault about these measures and report the Tree Committee at the 10/14/2010 meeting. 19. Pending Items: Cost estimate for CPA bittersweet removal grant application and Website: eventually update Tree bylaw and Tree manual were not discussed. There was no remote participation. The meeting was not audio recorded. Respectfully submitted, Anne Senning, Scribe