NORTHBOROUGH – The Northborough Conservation Commission agreed earlier this month to spend $4,600 from its conservation fund to remove hazardous trees from 0 Whitney Street, which is part of the Edmund Hill conservation area in town.
“Limbs have been dropping,” Conservation Agent Mia McDonald told the commission Dec. 13. “This abutter has been calling [the Department of Public Works] directly. DPW has just been handling it. They go and remove the limbs that fell, and they clean it up.”
She said the limbs have been getting larger and the trees have been leaning more.
Director of Public Works Scott Charpentier is also the town’s tree warden. McDonald said Charpentier evaluated the trees and determined they needed to go.
Commission member Tom Beals asked if they should look into a forestry plan and get the trees harvested. McDonald said the commission could apply for Community Preservation Act funds for such a plan.
“I think we really have to be proactive with forestry plans for all of the conservation-owned properties,” Beals said.
He noted that the commission has spent funds to remove trees from other spots.
“Maybe we really need to look at the forestry plan and get it enacted, and then manage some of these trees from a forestry stand point, not an emergency type thing,” Beals said.
McDonald said she would look into cost estimates for a forestry plan.
“We might even have it in the conservation fund if it’s only a few thousand dollars,” she said. “You could pay for the plans, and if the plans cost money, you could go for [Community Preservation Committee] funds next year to execute the plans,” she said.
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