Minutes of a meeting of
The Old Lyme Tree Commission
June 18, 2009
Attendance:
Regular members present: Joanne DiCamillo, Anne Bing, Gerry Foster, Adela Wilmerding
Alternate members present: Joan Flynn, Pat Moll
Members absent: Emily Griswold (regular), Tom Degnan (ex-officio)
A quorum being present, Chairman Joanne DiCamillo called the meeting to order at 4:10 PM.
Adela Wilmerding made a motion to add two new items to the agenda under New Business. Anne Bing seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
REPORTS
Clerk’s Report
The minutes of the 5/21/09 regular meeting were reviewed. Anne Bing moved to accept the minutes as presented. Gerry Foster seconded the motion. Joanne DiCamillo, Anne Bing, Gerry Foster, Joan Flynn and Adela Wilmerding voted in favor. Pat Moll abstained as she had not attended the May meeting.
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Budget Report
Mrs. DiCamillo reported that the balance in the General Fund (Tree Commission and Public Works) was $18,681.09 as of May 31. Expenses in May were for mulch, a health evaluation of two sugar maples on Sill Lane by Jason Wilcox, and three “Pink Mist” azaleas for the Ferry Road site purchased by Ciro Landscaping from Summerhill Nurseries.
The 2009-2010 Annual Town Budget, including the Tree Commission’s request of $27,260 was approved at a Town Meeting.
OLD BUSINESS
Town Hall- elm tree behind town hall – treatment
The elm tree has been treated with a growth regulator by Care of Trees. The tree will be treated with Dutch Trig next year, after the tree’s health has been evaluated.
Young trees – weeding
Members are asked to check the mulch around their trees; weeds are growing fast because of the rain.
Cross Lane Baseball field – trimming & removals
Wilcox Tree Experts has completed the trimming and removals.
NEW BUSINESS
Beckwith Lane Tree Trimming
John Seckla sent a letter request to Mrs. DiCamillo asking for trimming of tree branches overhanging the light on CL&P pole #108 on Beckwith Lane. The branches are shading the light on the sides, but are not blocking the light shining down. The tree is on private property. Mrs. DiCamillo spoke with Mr. Flowers who owns the tree. He does not mind if the branches are trimmed. The Commission authorized trimming of the branches of this tree a few years ago when the branches were obstructing the light.
Members are asked to look at the tree and email or phone Mrs. DiCamillo with comments or concerns before the next meeting.
Elm Research Institute
Mrs. DiCamillo received a letter from the Elm Research Institute asking if Old Lyme would like to plant more elm trees (variety Liberty). The town would be required to sign a pledge if it is interested and then the request would be forwarded to various corporate and organizational sponsors interested in donating trees for elm restoration. Adela Wilmerding commented that Princeton University had planted Liberty elms and the trees need extensive trimming and shaping each year because Liberty elms have a different growth habit from traditional elms.
MEMBER REPORTS
FEMA Tree Inventory- Gerry Foster
Gerry Foster reported that she was notified by Doug Glowicki, of CT’s Homeland Security Dept., that the FEMA Tree Inventory has been cancelled due to state budget cuts.
Town Tree Inventory
Mrs. DiCamillo asked Tom Degnan to recommend arborists to perform the tree inventory. He could not recommend anyone but offered to share a list of arborists the Commission could contact. Dana Whitney, an arborist from Clinton, who spoke to the Commission in May, uses Excel with a tree inventory template to perform the inventory. An Excel-based inventory, at a cost of about $5,000, would be easy to update, accessible to members of the Tree Commission, and would not require any special equipment, training or software.
Melissa LeVongaie, who did a tree inventory at UMASS, recommended using Kenerson’s Tree Works software and suggested renting the necessary equipment. Ms. LeVongaie felt that Tree Works software was a good value, although more expensive. Tree Works is compatible with the town’s GIS system, and the information could be overlaid on the existing land records already in the system. The information would be accessible from one of the public access computers at Town Hall. Updates and reports would need to be generated by a trained Town Hall employee. Gerry Foster will speak to Bob Ricard to see if he knows where to rent the tree inventory equipment. .
Riparian Buffers
Mrs. DiCamillo recently attended a Master Gardener class on planting riparian buffers at UCONN. It will be very helpful as she continues the Commission’s project of restoring the river bank and road bank with plantings at the Ferry Road Fire Well. She recommends the book “Conservation Buffers” published by the USDA.
Tree Brochures
Pat Moll reported that she has tree brochures and a stand, purchased by the Commission several years ago and used in Arbor Day displays at the library, that she would like to pass on to someone. Joanne DiCamillo suggested that she could place some of the brochures in the carousel in the Town Hall lobby and the rest could be stored in the Tree Commission’s file cabinet in the basement.
OTHER BUSINESS
Town Hall – installation of soaker hoses
Ciro Landscaping purchased and installed soaker hoses and timers for the landscaping at the Town Hall.
The Town Crew will mulch the foundation plantings and water the perimeter plants as needed this summer.
Maintenance of Plants
Mrs. DiCamillo made a list of plants in need of replacement at the Town Hall and gave the list to First Selectman Griswold, with copies to Steve Wing and John Forbis. The new (small) spicebushes in the rear of Town Hall were mistakenly weed whacked by the Town Crew, and soil was piled around the trunks of some of the trees. The Town Crew needs some direction and would benefit greatly by attending an instructional workshop given annually by the DEP – Division of Urban Forestry on the care and maintenance of trees.
Ferry Road plantings – update
The Town Crew is keeping the Ferry Road river bank mowed which looks very nice. They weed whacked the road bank. Mrs. DiCamillo asked them to stop trimming there until further notice because planting in that area will be resuming shortly.
Mrs. DiCamillo and Ciro Landscaping worked at the site on Wednesday, June 17, mulching and planting more swamp iris. The virginia roses are beautiful and starting to bloom. Most of the purple loosestrife and more of the Phragmites have been removed from the river bank. The black-eyed susans, purple coneflower, and Joe Pye weed have all come back nicely. Mrs. DiCamillo recommended that all of the commission members should visit the area and mentioned their help with planting is welcomed. Mrs. Wilmerding and Ms. Griswold helped plant in summer 2008.
The mulch used at Ferry Road last year was delivered by the Town Crew from the landfill. The town has stopped the practice of chipping wood into mulch. Mrs. DiCamillo, concerned about the need to finish mulching at Ferry Road, contacted Jason Wilcox of Wilcox Tree Experts, to ask if he would consider donating a load of chips for this purpose. He delivered approximately 20 yards of free wood chips to the Ferry Road site after trimming trees in Old Saybrook.
Church Corner – damaged trees
Mrs. DiCamillo is waiting to hear from Tom Degnan about the Church Corner trees damaged by cars recently. There have been two accidents there in less than one month.
REMINDER
Next Meeting
Next scheduled meeting is on Thursday, July 16, 2009 at 4 PM at the Town Hall.
ADJOURNMENT
Adela Wilmerding moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:20 PM. Anne Bing seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
Respectfully Submitted
Martha Hansen
Clerk
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