Minutes of a meeting of
The Old Lyme Tree Commission
Thursday, March 21, 2019
ATTENDANCE
Regular Members present: Joanne DiCamillo, Michel Gaffey, Joan Flynn, Anne Bing, Emily Griswold
Ex-officio members absent: Thomas Degnan, Tree Warden
CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Joanne DiCamillo called the meeting to order at 4:06 pm.
CLERK’S REPORT
Approval of January 17, 2019 meeting minutes. The minutes were discussed. Michael Gaffey asked to have his request to members to research spotted lantern fly added under the heading Other Business.
Motion: Emily Griswold made a motion, seconded by Joan Flynn, to approve the minutes as amended. Motion passed.
Mrs. DiCamillo asked for a motion to add Michael Gaffey’s update on the spotted lantern fly to the agenda.
Motion: Joan Flynn moved, seconded by Anne Bing, to add Michael Gaffey’s talk about the spotted lantern fly to the agenda under Other Business. Motion passed.
BUDGET REPORT
Balance remaining: Mrs. DiCamillo reported that as of 2/28/2019 there was a balance of $9,752.81.
Contracted Services Report: The balance is $5,675. There was an expenditure of $1,045 to trim six Norway maples, three on the town’s ROW at 126 Sill Lane, and three on the green across from 126 Sill Lane.
OLD BUSINESS
126 Sill Lane and Sill Lane green removals and trimming
Six Norway maples were trimmed, three on the town ROW and three on the town green across from 126 Sill Lane. Two trees on the Sill Lane green have been posted for removal.
List of young trees - pruning
Mrs. DiCamillo obtained a quote for pruning the young trees. She asked the members if she should get more quotes. The members discussed the situation and felt that the decision should be left to the chairman.
Motion: Michael Gaffey moved, seconded by Anne Bing, to authorize the chairman to use her discretion in moving forward with assigning the tree pruning work to the company that provided the quote.
Bartlett Tree Experts quoted $700 for fertilizing all 35 young trees.
Motion: Joan Flynn moved, seconded by Anne Bing, to approve Bartlett Tree Experts quote of $700 for fertilizing 35 trees. Motion passed.
Communications from the Tree Warden:
1/25/19 - 112 Sill Lane: the ash trees were removed.
1/28/19 -33 Sill Lane (corner of Mill Lane): a maple tree was reported last spring. Public Works confirmed it was a town tree early this year. The tree warden approved the removal.
2/15/19 - 68 Brighton Road: A tree was posted for removal by the tree warden.
2/15/19 - Lyme Street: the maple tree near the ice cream shop was removed by Public Works.
2/25/19 - 8 Browns Lane: A resident reported a tree hanging over the road.
3/10/19 - Barbizon Oak: The tree warden met with the Open Space Committee. The tree is located behind the Old Lyme Inn near the walking trails. He found that, although the tree is very old and showing some signs of decline, it seemed to be in pretty good health. He recommended pruning only dead, hazardous branches on the tree, no live branches He recommended thinning the surrounding trees to give the oak more light. He also recommended selectively removing some of the surrounding trees that appear diseased.
3/11/19 - 11 Catherine Drive: the yew hedge on the town’s ROW is overgrown. The tree warden gave approval to the adjacent property owner to oversee the pruning.
OTHER BUSINESS
Continue discussion of Tree planting.
There was a discussion about how to encourage private property owners to partner with the town to plant more trees. Old Lyme’s treescape has been reduced in recent years due to storms and disease. Mrs. DiCamillo reviewed programs online that other towns have used to expand tree planting in their communities and emailed the websites and links to the members. There could be a contest and the schools could be involved. Articles on Lymeline.com and in Old Lyme Events magazine could be used to help with outreach to the community. There should be a firm plan in place before presenting the idea to the community. Members were asked to bring ideas to the next meeting for discussion.
Michael Gaffey asked the commission for a unanimous endorsement for an amendment that he is proposing to add to an existing bill in the Connecticut State Legislature. The amendment would request at least $2.4 million to be used to educate the public about the spotted lantern fly and its dangers using UCONN, motor vehicle inspectors at weigh stations, and local officials. All plants coming from infected states (Pennsylvania for example) should be inspected. Right now, nothing is being done. The spotted lantern fly can infest an area very quickly and is devastating to fruit trees and other crops. It has already been found in Farmington. Mr. Gaffey believes an interstate co-op should be formed to make sure efforts are not being duplicated. He plans to contact all of the Tree Commissions in the state. Commission
members expressed their concern about the problem. They suggested asking the state’s farmers to join together to support the amendment. This would be a big endorsement.
Mrs. DiCamillo spoke recently with Susan Stotts of Eversource; they are aware of spotted lantern fly and she recently attended a presentation by an entomologist.
The chairman mentioned that The Connecticut Agricultural Extension Center posted information on its web site and UCONN’s Master Gardener program has included spotted lantern fly in an upcoming class on insect pests in Connecticut. She also suggested contacting the Connecticut Urban Forest Council and the CT Tree Warden’s Association.
All of the members present expressed support for Michael’s hard work. Mrs. DiCamillo asked him to contact Tom Degnan to explain and review his efforts with him and to email the commission members to inform them of the tree warden’s position. The tree commission will support his views. Michael wants to get as many people as possible to endorse the need for a big effort to prevent the invasion of this destructive insect.
Susan Stotts, the Eversource representative, contacted Mrs. DiCamillo about upcoming tree trimming in Old Lyme and would like to attend the next Tree Commission meeting to discuss the trimming with the members.
The chairman invited her to the April meeting.
ADJOURNMENT: Michael Gaffey moved, seconded by Anne Bing, to adjourn the meeting at 5:36 P.M. Motion passed.
Next scheduled meeting will be held April 18, 2019 at 4:00 P.M. in Old Lyme Town Hall
Respectfully submitted,
Martha Hansen, Clerk
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