Minutes of a meeting of
The Old Lyme Tree Commission
July 16, 2009
Attendance:
Regular members present: Joanne DiCamillo, Gerry Foster, Emily Griswold
Alternate members present: Joan Flynn
Members absent: Tom Degnan (ex-officio), Anne Bing (regular), Adela Wilmerding (regular), Pat Moll (alternate)
A quorum being present, Chairman Joanne DiCamillo called the meeting to order at 4:15 PM.
Joan Flynn was authorized to vote in view of the absence of Anne Bing and Adela Wilmerding.
REPORTS
Clerk’s Report
The minutes of the 6/18/09 regular meeting were reviewed. A request from Pat Moll, to add her comment on Tree Commission projects, was discussed. Gerry Foster asked to have the spelling of Melissa LeVangie name checked and corrected if necessary. Gerry Foster moved to approve the minutes as amended. Joan Flynn seconded the motion. All present voted in favor.
Budget Report
Mrs. DiCamillo reported that the balance in the General Fund (Tree Commission and Public Works) was
$12,364.19 as of July 1.
OLD BUSINESS
Town Hall plant maintenance
Ed Adanti informed Mrs. DiCamillo that the Town Crew will not have time to weed the Town Hall plantings this summer. Adela Wilmerding suggested it may be possible to hire some teenagers from the Congregational Church to weed, with some training or supervision. They are raising funds for a church trip. Mrs. DiCamillo suggested that she contact Selectman Tim Griswold to let him know of this possibility; there is a general maintenance budget for the town hall. Mrs. DiCamillo weeded around some of the plants behind the town hall and will ask Ed Adanti to tell the Town Crew not to pile dirt around the trunks of the new trees.
Ferry Road - update
The azaleas, black-eyed Susan’s and coneflower are blooming. Mrs. DiCamillo spoke with Ed Adanti and asked to have the river bank mowed, but not the Ferry Road bank. More native plants will be planted on the Ferry Road bank in August. Mrs. DiCamillo will email dates to the members.
Church Corner – damaged trees
Tom Degnan evaluated the damage to the trees at the corner of Ferry Road and Lyme Street and on the (south) Town Green. The base of the trunk of the maple tree in the front of the Congregational Church tree was damaged, but should be fine. The Kousa dogwood, located on the green, was heavily damaged. However, Mr. Degnan did not think it would die. He advised pruning some, but not all, of the damaged limbs and suggested watching out for signs of decay. Removing all of the damaged limbs at one time would be too much of a shock to the tree. The tree’s long-term health and longevity has been impacted and an insurance claim may be justified. Mrs. DiCamillo contacted Jason Wilcox who estimated the tree’s value at $15,000 - $20,000 before it was damaged. Mrs. DiCamillo will speak to Doris Johnson about the
possibility of filing an insurance claim; the police report should have contact information.
Beckwith Lane Tree Trimming
Gerry Foster, Adela Wilmerding and Emily Griswold looked at the tree overhanging the light on CL&P pole # 108. They felt that it would be fine to trim the branches. Joan Flynn will look at the tree this evening and get back to Mrs. DiCamillo with her opinion about it
NEW BUSINESS
Mile Creek Road & Brown’s Lane euonymus removal
Ed Adanti met with Mrs. DiCamillo about overgrown euonymus on the north side of Brown’s Lane at the intersection; he has received complaints about them blocking the site line. He recommended removing them, including the roots, up to a large rhododendron. He will plant grass after removal. Mrs. DiCamillo approved the removals on the condition that Mr. Adanti notifies and receives approval from the neighbor living north of the hedge on Mile Creek Road, because the hedge provides privacy screening.
MEMBER REPORTS
Town Tree Inventory
There was a discussion about the Tree Inventory. Gerry Foster reported that she contacted Bob Ricard and he did not know of anyone in CT who rents the handheld GIS units. Mrs. Foster found that Greenwich, Mansfield, and New Canaan have used all used Kenerson’s Tree Works program. Christopher Armstrong is an arborist who has used it, but he is currently in Alaska performing a tree inventory. Mrs. Foster checked with Ruth Roach about ArcView, who said that she could work with Margo Burns on the project. Ruth Roach stated that if the Tree Inventory was done in Excel it would not be accessible in the town hall (from a town hall computer in the same way that ArcView is). Kenerson’s Tree Works software has the advantage of being compatible with the town’s existing GIS system. The Tree Inventory
could be overlaid onto the land records already in that system. Reports and updates would need to be done by a Town Hall employee.
Martha Hansen found some information on formatting Excel so that the data can be exported into ArcView. She handed out a sample tree inventory done in Excel that she found on the UMASS Urban Tree Inventory website (www.umass.edu/urbantree/inventory.shtml). One advantage of Excel is that it is fairly easy to update and generate reports from.
Tree Commission members are asked to think about the issues raised in the Tree Inventory discussion.
OTHER BUSINESS
Church Corner – update
Mrs. DiCamillo and the Tree Warden met with the First Selectman at the Church Corner in early July to discuss with the contractor some changes to the original plan for the new drainage pipes at the intersection of Ferry Road and Lyme Street. The pipes had to be rerouted because existing cables under the road were much larger than anticipated. Orange fencing will be installed around the neighboring trees to protect them. Sarah McCracken attached some “Protect this Tree” signs on the trees that will be impacted by the project. A Project Manager has been hired to be onsite at all times during the project. The granite curbing will be stored on the side of McCurdy Road east of the Christ the King Church driveway. Mrs. DiCamillo recommended to Janet Sturges that the curbing be stored well away from the trees to
protect the roots from compression.
Tree Brochures display
Mrs. DiCamillo asked members to look at the tree brochures displayed on the carousel in the Town Hall lobby after the meeting. She set up a file for them in a cabinet in the basement of Town Hall and will show everyone where they are stored. Mrs. DiCamillo asked for a volunteer to keep the brochures stocked. Joan Flynn volunteered to stock the carousel until October; Emily Griswold will stock it during the winter. Members are asked to think of other possible locations in town for tree brochures.
REMINDER
Next Meeting
Next scheduled meeting is on Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 4 PM at the Town Hall.
ADJOURNMENT
Joan Flynn moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:11PM. Emily Griswold seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
Respectfully Submitted
Martha Hansen
Clerk
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