Submitted by Don C. Collasius, Fairhaven Tree Warden
Trees and the Board of Public Works. I was asked to appear before the BPW on January 25 to discuss the merging of the Tree Department with the BPW. I think this is a bad idea. Please allow me to explain.
I had gone before the BPW on October 4 2021 to ask for permission to prune trees and remove some dead and very poor park trees. Parks are not under my jurisdiction and I wanted formal permission from the Park Commission. Several residents had pointed out trees that they thought were hazardous. Some next to a playground. In September a large branch fell at the Rogers school playground.
I met with two members of the BPW board at Livesey Park to show them the trees in question. I used a drill two feet long to drill into deadwood to show the extent of the rot in these trees. I did not get permission during the October 4 meeting. That meeting is on the town website and worth reviewing. You really have to see it to believe it.
I offered several options to the board to mitigate the risk these trees posed. None were acted on. Over three weeks later one of the trees in question fell onto a resident’s property causing the very damage he had predicted. I asked the Board if they wanted help with trees again last Monday. One member said they would review the October 4 meeting. I urge you and them to do that.
The BPW does not take care of the trees they are responsible for, nor take help when offered. To be clear this is not the guy in charge of daily operations or anyone under him. The vast majority of town employees I have worked with have been nice, professional, helpful, and eager to do their job well. This goes from folks in all the town offices, police officers on details and their dispatchers, to those running the maintenance shop, road crews and loaders. All great.
This is about the BPW board itself. In regards to trees, they do not understand the consequences of not taking care of trees. The board does not know what a Massachusetts Qualified Tree Warden is nor what that qualification entails.
These are not the folks you want in charge of our trees. I want change, but change that will make things better. The Tree Department has always been an independent department in town. It needs a professional to answer to, and that’s why I think it should be the town administrator until such time a better solution is available. We also need a full time Warden (not me) and tree crew. We cannot do what our mandate is with our current resources.
I’m going to try again for permission in writing to the Park Commission. Wish me luck.
Be well and be green. Thank you,
Don C. Collasius, Fairhaven Tree Warden
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