Hello, my name is Don Collasius and I am running for the position of Fairhaven Tree Warden.
“A tree warden is a person in charge of shade trees on public town lands and has the unique legal responsibility: to guard public resources against destructive forces that might include persons, insects, or diseases,” as defined by the Massachusetts Tree Warden and Foresters Association.
Since 1899, Massachusetts General Law has mandated that all cities and towns in the Commonwealth have a tree warden.
Some towns have elected Wardens, like Fairhaven, some towns have the Highway Supervisor as the de facto Warden.
As Tree Warden I will make customer service a top priority. I will institute a real town wide pruning and planting program that will make the streets and parks safer and more beautiful. I will make this information easily accessable so you can see progress, or lack thereof.
Accountability, communication, transparency and follow up will be my mantra. I will work towards merging the tree department with the BPW. This is how other towns our size do this and it makes good fiscal sense. I will apply for grants that will expand the budgetary capabilities of the department with no cost to the town. Technology will be part of the solutions we benefit from.
I want this job because I care about this town and trees in general. Trees have so many benefits if planted and maintained properly. They add beauty, increase property values, and help the environment, if done right. If not maintained correctly they can have the opposite effect.
What I bring to the job is an excellent work ethic and communication skills. I have experience in tree work. I started cutting cord wood in my early teens. I harvested 100 storm downed trees and used them to build my house after hurricanes Bob and Gloria. I have owned and managed a tree lot in New Hampshire for 30 years. I have planted hundreds of conifers and dozens of deciduous trees.
I know what a good branch collar is and why it’s important during tree pruning. Most importantly, I know when to call in experts for consultation.
I spent my career as a mechanical engineer. As a project manager I had to be a communication link between sales, marketing and engineering and senior management. I had to deal with budgets and project time constraints. I know how to fix and design things. Our tree department is broken. I can be a big part of fixing that.
Please give me a chance to make things better.
Thank you, Don C. Collasius, Candidate for Tree Warden
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