Minutes of a meeting of
The Old Lyme Tree Commission
January 21, 2016
ATTENDANCE
Members present: Joanne DiCamillo (regular), Emily Griswold (regular), Anne Bing (regular)
Members absent: Gerry Foster (regular), Joan Flynn (alternate)
Ex-officio members absent: Tom Degnan, Tree Warden
Guest: Alan Miezejeski, Deputy Tree Warden
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Chairman Joanne DiCamillo called the meeting to order at 4:05 pm.
The commission has openings for two members.
Mrs. DiCamillo welcomed the new Deputy Tree Warden, Alan Miezejeski. Alan is a certified Arborist and owner of Hortus Landscape in Deep River. He studied horticulture and business at UCONN.
REPORTS
Clerk’s Report: Approval of the minutes of the 11/19/2015 and 12/17/2015 meetings was postponed until the next meeting due to the lack of a quorum of voting members who had attended those meetings.
BUDGET REPORT
Balance & summary of expenditures YTD: Mrs. DiCamillo reported that as of 1/5/2016 the balance in the Tree Commission budget was $12,206.
NEW BUSINESS
2016 Meeting schedule – review and vote to approve – postponed until February.
Elect officers – postponed until February.
OLD BUSINESS
Hartford Avenue Improvement Project: Plan for Tree Planting update:
Tree Commission members and the tree warden reviewed the trees recommended by the project’s landscape designer. They agreed with planting the Armstrong maple (Acer rubrum x freemanii) and the Japanese zelkova. Mrs. DiCamillo recommended the smaller cultivars “Wireless” or “Musachino” for the zelkova. The following trees were recommended by the commission and approved by the tree warden: red maple ‘Karpick’ (Acer rubrum), European hornbeam ‘Fastigiata’ (Carpinus betulus, (with a high head), and honeylocust ‘Skyline’, ‘Shademaster’, ‘Moraine’ (Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis). All varieties should do well in the location, are more compact and will not require a great deal of maintenance pruning. The commission members and the tree warden rejected planting ginkgo, Japanese pagoda tree,
sycamore maple and silver linden because they are either messy or would grow too large for the area and require regular maintenance pruning. Their recommendations were passed on to the Improvement Project Committee. Alan Miezejeski, deputy tree warden, agreed, and said that he thought that the Japanese pagoda tree was on the state’s list of invasive plants.
The landscape plan shows the trees along Hartford Avenue would be planted in 8 foot bump-outs incorporated into the new sidewalk plan, and surrounded by grates. The director of emergency management needs to evaluate the plan to make sure that emergency vehicles and snowplows will not be impeded by the bump-outs. Mrs.
DiCamillo recently visited a shopping center in Waterford where the trees in one area had grates installed around them. She noted cigarette butts, small pieces of paper and other litter beneath the grates appeared unsightly. Commission members felt that grates, although protecting the trees, would cause maintenance problems and the look was too urban for the area. The tree warden prefers a large ring of mulch around the trees.
Review 2016 Landscape maintenance plan for Town Hall – Mrs. DiCamillo reported that she has not heard from First Selectwoman Reemsnyder.
Hains Park basketball court relocation. The expansion of the boathouse will impact the basketball court, forcing it to be moved closer to the large maple tree, and requiring the tree to be removed. Tree Commission members and the tree warden went on a site walk in November to evaluate the area. They found the maple tree to be healthy, and a valuable shade tree, and unanimously agreed that it should be saved. The tree warden reported this to the BHHPIC. Following this decision, an alternative plan was created by the BHHPIC to move the basketball court across the entrance road to the other side of the park, and preserve the maple tree. This would also put the court within closer proximity to the beach, the restrooms and to a pavilion that is being considered as a future addition to the park.
MEMBERS’ REPORTS - none
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Deputy Tree Warden – report on health and condition of young trees – Alan Miezejeski reported that he inspected the trees, and expanded and neatened the ring of mulch around them. He stressed that he does not do “volcano mulching” and leaves at least one inch of space at the base of the tree trunk. He found some pruning problems on some of the trees. In his opinion, the sugar maple near 80 Lyme Street was not properly pruned, too many small branches were left on the tree, when the crown was raised (liontailing). The maple tree south of the Old Lyme Ice Cream
Shoppe is in poor condition, has some bark loss, and was badly pruned. The ornamental pear tree near the barbershop is in good condition, as is the franklinia in front of Center School. The hornbeam near 6 Lyme Street is doing well. The large weeping cherry trees in front of Lyme Regis are healthy. Smaller tree rings were cut around them to allow space for mowing. The three kousa dogwoods on McCurdy Road near Johnnycake Hill Road are healthy and growing well. Three honey locusts on McCurdy Road near Route 156 are healthy, and tolerating the hot, dry conditions there. The maple tree on Old Shore Road near Buttonball Road is in poor condition. It has extensive bark damage at the base – about 30% of the bark is gone due to mower damage. Mr. Miezejeski enlarged the ring of mulch around it and cut some of the bark back to encourage it to heal over. Two maple trees near 110 Mile Creek Road were also given a large ring of mulch to protect them from mowers. He cleaned up and
mulched around the ornamental cherry trees at the Cross Lane Firehouse, and re-mulched the ornamental cherry tree at the Police Station, resetting the 911 memorial stone underneath it. Mrs. DiCamillo thanked him for the report and asked him to evaluate the weeping cherry located on the small green between Sill Lane and Saunders Hollow Road, It has had a frost crack on one side for about three years. Recently, it has opened wider and encompasses a large area of the trunk.
Mrs. DiCamillo reported that she had received a complaint from someone who thought the mulch was too close to the tree trunks. She asked Mr. Miezejeski to check the trees and to pull the mulch away from the base of the trunks where needed. He mentioned, once again, that he routinely spreads a thin layer of mulch and leaves one inch of space around the trees.
Tree Warden’s request to begin tree assessment on town roads. Tom Degnan, asked Mrs. DiCamillo to discuss and develop a plan with the members and the deputy tree warden to evaluate the trees that are not adjacent to utility wires on town roads. The priority would be to identify hazardous trees. The secondary task would be to pinpoint trees that need dead limbs trimmed or have structural weaknesses. He would like to be proactive. Mrs. DiCamillo stated that the trees on Lyme Street, McCurdy Road and Ferry Road were trimmed last year. The DOT takes care of all removals and trimming on Route 156 and Route 1. Eversource trims and removes all the trees adjacent to the utility lines. The tree commission is in charge of all of the tree trimming on town roads. Public Works is in charge of all tree removals. Emily
Griswold suggested Mile Creek Road as a good place to start. Alan agreed to begin the job and will email Tom and copy Mrs. DiCamillo on his timeline for starting.
Police Station – invasive tree seedling in foundation bed update
The seedling was removed by the town crew.
Annual Town Meeting – Monday January 25, 7:30 pm, Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School.
The Boathouse Hains Park Committee will give a presentation after the regular town meeting to present the most recent plan for the park.
REMINDER
The next scheduled meeting is Thursday, February18, 2016, 4:00 p.m. in the Town Hall conference room.
ADJOURNMENT
Anne Bing made a motion, seconded by Emily Griswold, to adjourn the meeting at 5:24 p.m. All present voted in favor. Motion passed.
Respectfully Submitted,
Martha Hansen, Clerk
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