fMinutes of a meeting of
The Old Lyme Tree Commission
May 15, 2008
Attendance:
Regular members present: Joanne DiCamillo, Pat Moll, Anne Bing, Emily Griswold, Adela Wilmerding
Alternate members: Joan Flynn (alternate), Gerry Foster (alternate),
Members absent: Tom Degnan (ex-officio)
A quorum being present, Chairman Joanne DiCamillo called the meeting to order at 4: 03 PM.
REPORTS
Clerk’s Report
The minutes of the 04/17/08 meeting were reviewed. Adela Wilmerding moved to accept the minutes as presented. Anne Bing seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Treasurer’s Report
Joanne DiCamillo reported that the balance remaining in the General Fund was $17,222.43 as of 4/30/2008. Invoices approved for payment but not yet posted to the Tree Commission account include: Wilcox Tree Service- $1400 for the Ferry Road/Rte. 156 clearing and trimming, $1350 for stump removals, and $ 900 for Dutch Elm Disease treatment.
OLD BUSINESS
Ferry Road & Route 156 Planting Plan
Emily Griswold requested a site plan so she can create a design for the area. Joanne DiCamillo reported that she and Eileen Coffee, from the Town Clerk’s office, could not find a site plan in the records at Town Hall. Emily agreed to take rough measurements of the site.
Joanne tried to contact Mr. Jewett, Chief of the Old Lyme Fire Department, regarding the size of the proposed gate for the fire lane. She has not heard back from him. His approval is needed before the project continues. She will try to contact Bob Pierson. Ed Adanti will mark the area where the fence will go. Joanne is concerned about the survival of the plants that were purchased in April. The window of time for planting is rapidly closing. She is volunteering her time to help Wilson Santiago, a local landscaper, to plant the area. Members will be notified of the date if they wish to help.
Joanne reported that the town crew needs to fix the silt fence which has fallen over. Joanne and Emily met at the Ferry Road site, While there, Ted Crosby, CT River Gateway Commission member, stopped by and mentioned that his commission should have been notified about the clearing. Joanne explained that all of the plants that were removed were dead or invasives. She spoke with the Old Lyme Land Use Enforcement Officer, Ann Brown, before the project began and asked for guidance on how to proceed with and who should be notified about this project. Ann looked at the site, suggested the silt fence be installed before proceeding and gave her approval.
The town crew will install the proposed split rail fence. The fence will run (north to southeast) from the existing stockade fence to the blacktop. A gate has been suggested to prevent cars from driving onto the riverbank. Top soil will be ordered before planting begins. Grass will be planted on the east side of the fence; shrubs and perennials will be planted on the west side. Since the plants are very small, the fence will help to discourage people from disturbing them. It will also provide privacy and screening for the Sedgwick’s who have complained about the vehicles that park there in the summer. The long range plan may include a bench placed so that people may sit and enjoy the view.
Emily Griswold pointed out that the plants (American cranberry bush, highbush blueberry, elderberry, fothergilla, inkberry, spicebush, winterberry, witchazel, swamp milkweed, lady fern, and switch grass) that were purchased from the CT River CCD will not be enough to cover the area. More plants will be needed. Pat Moll suggested deciding on a budget for the area. Budget funds were not used this year for the roadside trimming program. The current budget balance of $17,000 should be much more than what is needed. Our new budget will be in effect July 1. Costs for roadside trimming are approximately $10-12,000 depending on the length of the road and the amount of work to be done. Since Ferry Road area residents had approached Joanne in 2007 with the request to clean up the site, the commission decided that this project
would be a worthwhile one in place of roadside trimming. The area was neglected for decades and is highly visible to traffic from Route 156 and from Ferry Road. It was decided to plant shrubs and perennials on the flat riverbank and ferns and other ground covers on the Ferry Road bank to prevent weeds and erosion. The remainder can wait until fall. The town crew will be doing most of the labor. Emily will check with Judges Farm wholesale nursery to see if they will deliver plants to the site for us. Adela offered to call Barbara Davis of the CT River CCD to find out where they purchased the Rosa virginiana shrubs that were offered at their sale.
NEW BUSINESS
Specs for Planting- Town Hall Landscape Plants
John Forbis asked Joanne to help write the planting specs for the Town Hall landscaping. She suggested that Steve Wing, the landscape architect, be contacted to write the draft.
Steve Wing was in charge of the Christ the King landscaping, and wrote planting specs. Joanne stated that some of the new trees at Christ the King were moved and when they were dug up, the wire baskets and burlap were still wrapped around the root balls. She recommended to John Forbis that removal of wire baskets and burlap should be specified in the planting specs for the Town Hall landscaping and gave him copies of detailed literature on how trees and shrubs should be planted.
Town of Old Lyme Ethics Code – review
Joanne DiCamillo emailed the commission members the link to the Ethics Code on the Town of Old Lyme web site earlier this month and asked everyone to read it. She distributed forms for the members to sign signifying that they had been informed of the Ethics Code. Pat Moll, Joanne DiCamillo, Joan Flynn, Anne Bing, Emily Griswold, Adela Wilmerding, and Gerry Foster signed the forms, which Martha Hansen will file with the Town Clerk.
Members Annual Tree mulching
Joanne asked the members to volunteer for the annual tree mulching. There are 23 trees to weed and mulch. The mulch should be spread 3” from the trunk of the tree. Joanne will order 15 bags of mulch from Old Lyme Landscape. Emily agreed to pick it up and drop it off at Adela’s, the members can pick it up there.
· 3 Kousa Dogwoods – Fire Department - Pat Moll
· 1 Weeping Cherry - Old Lyme Daycare – Pat Moll
· 1 Tree Lilac at Town Hall- Pat Moll
· 1 Franklinia – Center School – Pat Moll
· 1 Maple near the Lyme Academy- Joanne DiCamillo
· 2 Pears – across from the barber shop – Lyme Street – Joanne DiCamillo
· 1 Maple near Ice Cream Shop - Emily Griswold
· 3 Kousa Dogwoods Johnnycake Hill Road/McCurdy Road – Emily Griswold
· 2 Weeping Cherries at Lyme Regis- Gerry Foster
· 1 Maple - Wenck property on Mile Creek Rd- Adela Wilmerding
· 1 Cherry – Police Station – Adela Wilmerding
· 2 Cherries – South End Fire Dept. – Adela Wilmerding
· 1 Kousa Dogwood - Rogers Lake - Joan Flynn
· 3 Honey locusts on McCurdy Rd/Rte. 156 - Anne Bing
May 19 Town Meeting Announcement
Joanne DiCamillo announced that there will be a town meeting on Monday, May 19, 2008 to vote on appropriating $195,000 from the town’s surplus account for the Town Hall Expansion project. John Forbis will be presenting the information. The contingency fund for the project is only 1.2%, which is much lower than the usual 5% for a project of this type. More money was spent on asbestos abatement and hazardous material removal than originally anticipated. Landscaping is one of the items that has been deferred until the additional funds are approved.
MEMBER REPORTS
Gerry Foster reported that she had several stumps removed near her property. The town had removed trees, but the stumps were left and posed a hazard to cars.
OTHER BUSINESS
Nursery Watering Schedule – August & September
Joanne DiCamillo asked for volunteers to water the town hall plants during August and September, and one week in May.
· May 18-May 31 – Emily Griswold
· June 1-14 – Pat Moll
· June 15 – 28 – Adela Wilmerding
· July 13- August 6 – Gerry Foster
· August 7- August 16 – Adela Wilmerding
· August 17- August 30 - Joan Flynn
· August 31- September 13 –Anne Bing
· September 14- September 27 – Pat Moll
Soaker hoses need to be connected for watering the newly transplanted shrubs. Joanne has one that was used last year. She asked the other members to leave any they may have in the nursery.
Care of Trees- fertilize Town Hall elms
Joanne DiCamillo signed the contracts for fertilizing the Town Hall trees, but has not heard back regarding the schedule.
Adela Wilmerding will call Care of Trees and find out when the fertilizing will be done.
REMINDER
Next scheduled meeting is on Thursday, June 17, 2008 at 4 PM
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 PM.
Submitted by:
Martha Hansen, Clerk
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