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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-08-12-TREE-min Town of Lexington Tree Committee, Thursday, August 12, 2010 A meeting of the Tree Committee was held on Thursday, August 12, 2010 at 7:30 AM at Samuel J. Hadley Building, Room 125. Members Present: John Frey, Jewel Kuljian, Gerry Paul, Nell Walker. Also, present: David Pinsonneault (Tree Warden), Jane Beswick (Friends of Trees), Barbara Kent (Friends of Trees). Susan Solomon (Emerita, Friends of Trees). Members Absent: Karen Longeteig, Deborah Mauger (Selectman Liaison), Anne Senning, Jim Wood. The meeting acted on the following items: Approved minutes of July 8, 2010 with corrections. Appointed Jewel Kuljian as scribe. Tree Warden items: a. Statistics: 710 total sites, 586 closed; trees to remove 884, 701 removed; trees to plant 2,130, 1,387 planted. Fees of $23,880 have been collected for the 2, 388 inches of trees removed. b. Gerry and John received positive feedback from the Selectmen and the Conservation Commission regarding the expansion of the Tree ByLaw. He met with Maryann McCall- Taylor in the Planning Department to discuss plans to proceed. Two proposed changes were discussed: (i) remove exclusion of sites where other Boards have jurisdiction; Planning Board autonomy --”applicants cannot be referred to other boards” -- is probably not an issue, and (ii) can we apply by-law to the whole site (not just set-back area) for large subdivided sites, commercial sites and multifamily building sites. The next steps are to talk with the Board of Appeals and Planning Board to get input, write up the proposed Bylaw changes, and get feedback from Town Counsel regarding removal of section regarding exclusions as well as requiring a greater percentage of the area of a site to be covered. c . Nursery/Tree Planting Progress: i)Scarlet Oaks and one elm have been planted on Fletcher Avenue. One Elm and one Scarlet Oak are doing well. Two Scarlet Oaks show all leaves brown. Dave spoke with the homeowners and those two trees have been overwatered. Dave will replace the dead trees. ii)Scarlet Oak planted in Tower Park to honor Jeanne Krieger has been watered by John, Jeanne and DPW and now shows no further browning of leaves. iii) Two commemorative tulip trees have replaced the two red maples (Mayo family) as originally requested. Some mis-communication ensued regarding the trees. Jane will send out information,updating the spread sheet she designed, about any new commemorative trees to the Tree Committee and communicate with Dave as necessary. iv)Maintenance watering of street trees after planting is particularly difficult this summer season. Dave reported a pump repair is being made on the water truck today. Watering will resume tomorrow as scheduled. Jewel is continuing to volunteer watering the Sourwoods on Meriam Street. One of the Yellowwoods on Clarke Street is not looking good and Dave will check on the status of this tree. A letter drafted by Jewel to help supplement the watering of newly planted trees was approved. Dave suggested two changes and he will distribute this letter whenever a new tree is planted. The edited letter is attached as a document. v)Three Basswood trees are planted at the School Administration Building. No word has been received since the planting. Trees need to be checked. vi)Report on July 12 work day at the Tree Nursery will take place next month by Jim Wood. d.Belfry Hill: Black Swallowwort vine eradication has concluded for this season. e.NStar pruning currently doing ok. Dave reported about the pre-meeting. Massachusetts Avenue and Marrett Road are being done and he will continue to monitor the pruning. Deb Mauger's HATS on hold for now. Additional: Dave will give an update about the failing trees at Lincoln Park at the next meeting. He did say that Mat Foti looked at the trees for root pruning and fertilization. There are girdling roots and compacted soil. Gas is not the sole cause of failure. A few have had blowers on them for infestation. Some have started to respond. They will be pulled out in the fall if not doing well. When asked Dave said the DPW is responsible for Recreation grounds. Wes Worthen was asked to put …... for all Nell's trees at the site and all trees in the park and parking area. f)Watering of new crabapples at schools, Museum, and Hancock/Revere Traffic Island as known at this time. Maintenance person at the Museum, Girard, has been watering the tree as planned. Hancock/Revere Traffic Island Crabapple has been watered by group from the Garden Club and even some of the neighbors. Having water at the island is very helpful. g)Nell submitted a bill for $165 to Dave for Commemorative Tree plaques. She proposes that the plaques currently used are very expensive, are not described in the current brochure, and suggests that the updated tags used on trees at the Tree Nursery and newly planted stree trees be substituted. She received approval from the Mayo family regarding this replacement tag. Gerry suggested we might explore a middle level tag for commemorative trees. No further discussion or action taken. h)Ballard Terrace: Because of dying sugar maples, Ben Esty emailed John about planting trees on this street. Dave will handle like the request on Fletcher Ave. by meeting with the residents in the fall to determine locations, species, and number of trees to plant. i)Re.MA House bill No 4791 filed by Rep. Barry Finegold to amend Chapter 87, John will ask Jay Kaufman what is known about this bill and report back to the Tree Committee. John asked Jewel if she would like to serve another three-year term on the Committee. She said yes and John will contact Jim regarding his interest in being reappointed. Friends of Trees Distinctive Tree Project is in process. Jane reported she has received no word about the Maple on the Old Burying Ground and no response back about another tree. No further action at this time. Other: Nell reported about work in progress at Lincoln Park entailing six or seven acres. Seven hundred feet of hoses were installed. The Boy Scouts spent 2 days planting 2600 th plugs of wildflowers at the park. On September 26 at 3pm there will be an “opening” of the path. One document, a draft letter re abutter maintenance of new trees used at the meeting, as edited, is attached. There was no remote participation. The meeting was not audio recorded. Respectfully submitted, Jewel Kuljian, Scribe