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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-04-12-TREE-minTown of Lexington Lexington Tree Committee Minutes April 12, 2012 A meeting of the Lexington Tree Committee was held on April 12, 2012, 7:30 -9:30 a.m. at the Samuel Hadley Public Services Building, Room 125. A quorum of five was present. Members Present: Charles Filadoro (Superintendent of Public Grounds) John Frey (chair), Karen Longeteig, Gerry Paul, Anne Senning, James Wood Members Absent: Deborah Mauger (Selectman Liaison), Jewel Kuljian, Nell Walker Guest: Kathleen Lenihan (Friends of Trees), Marie Roberts (Friends of Trees) The meeting acted on the following items: 1. Anne Senning was appointed as scribe. 2. Minutes of March 8, 2012 were approved as corrected. 3. Tercentennial tree. Acer rubrum, Red Oak was approved as the tercentennial tree for planting on the Town Green. A group will meet on the Town Green 9:30 a.m. 4/17/12 to locate a planting area for the tree. The selection will then be presented to the Selectmen for approval. A spring planting is tentatively planned. 4. Tree Warden Agenda a. 2007 Scarlet Oaks (8) in Nursery Row # 1 Chris Filadoro stated that he would examine the root ball on one of the Scarlet Oaks to see if it is girdled. He will then take the 8 oaks out of the ground. He will either offer them to members of the Tree Committee to plant out or remove them to the Town Compost facility. b. 2012 new Nursery plantings; bags and bare root Chris stated that 20 of the 70 new trees can be planted bare root in a section of the tree nursery as an experiment to compare with the current practice of planting in the ground in fabric bags. An 18" auger will be used to dig the holes and 18" bags will be used, compared to the current 16" bags. The trees should be harvested from the bags at 2 years, in the 2014 season. c. Nursery sheds and bins Chris has spoken with Emily in Conservation. This will need further negotiation, as the Tree Nursery is Conservation Commission Project carried out by the Department of Public Works and the Tree Committee. d. Nursery irrigation Chris will have the watering turned on soon as there have been very dry conditions. He will then have an automatic irrigation regulator installed. e. Interns Chris stated that two intern positions had been approved by Town Meeting to begin 7/1/12 to work three days in the Tree Nursery and two days on the Tree Inventory. Advertisement will go out to school specializing in agriculture and GIS. 5. Nursery Tasks a. Red tag: 33 street trees, post identifying and mapping planting places b. Aluminum tags: replace 32 damaged/lost over 2011 -2012 winter c. Create GIS Tree nursery map and 70 new aluminum tags for new trees d. 4/25/12 10:00 a.m. DPW tag new nursery trees 6. 4 Mitigation sugar maples Currently healed in at the Tree Nursery, trees need aluminum identification tags, red tags and transplanting to the Lexington High School. 7. Tercentennial Tree Medal Karen Longeteig gave prototypes to Kathleen Lenihan who will review them with the Tercentennial committee graphic artist. 8. 31 Somerset Rd: teardown Discussion between two of three remaining members, John Frey and Jim Wood who had seen the property: Consensus was that the caller's large copper beech might be protected during the neighbor's construction if the drip line of the tree could be marked during said construction. This depends on the cooperation of the neighbors. 9.2012 New Nursery planting: bags and bare root Discussion among three remaining members, John Frey, Anne Senning, and Jim Wood: exploration of the various issues with bare root planting; planting in a hole vs. trenching, number of trees to be tried in the first year in the bare root experiment, composition of the soil for the bare rooted trees. Jim Wood's position was to plant 32 trees in a trench with a compost amendment. There was no remote participation. The meeting was not recorded. Respectfully submitted, Anne Senning, Scribe Next regular meeting: May 10, 2012, 7:30 a.m. at Samuel Hadley Public Services Building, Room 125