'Speaking for the Trees,' Resident Questions Decision to Cut Them

It appears that, to twist an old adage, it's hard to see the sidewalk for the trees in downtown Nashua.

Controversy continues over the removal of 30-year-old trees, many of which have created hazardous conditions along the brick walkways on both sides of Main Street as their roots have created an uneven surface.

The May 28 Board of Aldermen meeting began and ended with tree talk – from Mayor Donnalee Lozeau's comments at the top in response to a letter received by resident Eliza Weeks in defense of the trees, to various board members responding at the end of the meeting to information presented during public comment, which they said raised more questions over the process involved leading to removal of the trees along Main Street.

Weeks submitted several documents in advance of Tuesday's meeting (uploaded here along with the agenda) including:

• a letter from Weeks to the Board; 
• an email exchange between Weeks and forester Jonathan Newt of UNH Cooperative Extension; 
• a letter from Newt to Nick Caggiano from Parks & Rec about his findings during a solicited evaluation of the trees lining Main Street; 
• and a memo from Caggiano to Public Works Director Lisa Fauteax regarding the city's plan of action for the trees. 

During her remarks Tuesday, Lozeau acknowledged Newt's evaluation of the trees at the city's request, which was part of the process.

She said what Newt did not get to evaluate was what was discovered underground by city workers, including tree roots "wrapped into conduit holes," and other issues caused by improper planting.

"Some of the trees we're trying to save are trees Mr. Newt suggested we couldn't save, like in front of St. Patrick's gym where we're trying to widen the sidewalk and make the tree part of the yard," Lozeau said.

She also told the board that a history of the sidewalks is being compiled from 1977 to the present, "so people can understand the progression of what's happened."

"We've had almost 40 meetings for the Downtown, and the No. 1 thing people talked about is fixing the sidewalks, and the damage to sidewalks. We sent out almost 600 surveys to business owners and nearly 5,000 surveys to home owners for input," Lozeau said.

She was unable to stay for the remainder of the meeting due to personal commitments. 

After Lozeau exited the meeting several board members discussed which committee the memorandum submitted by Weeks should be directed to, and then discussed whether Weeks should have been allowed to speak during the first or second public comment period.

Aldermen decided to vote whether to support a motion by Alderman Mark Cookson to override Board President Brian McCarthy's decision that, because no action was expected during the meeting on the tree situation, Weeks' comments to the board would have to happen during the second public comment period.

When Weeks finally did get to speak she told the board that she was a landscape architect, "tree hugger" and a bit like the Dr. Seuss character, the Lorax, because she  had come to speak for the trees.

"Mr, Newts recommendations can and should be followed, yes, there will be more expense and work," Weeks said. "But they will affect the look of our downtown trees for years to come."

In Newt's letter he suggested that, among those trees that could be salvaged, a process known as "air spading" would be necessary, something that is prescribed for trees with roots that have been confined which often develop "girdling roots" that wrap around the trunk and eventually strangle the tree to death. 

Newt recommended searching YouTube for videos on air spading, one of which is uploaded here to demonstrate the process. 

Weeks said she recently learned about the cutting of trees along Main Street and took issue with several items regarding the tree removal, including altering the "character and beauty of downtown." 

Weeks objected to the fact that a professional landscape architectural firm was not hired for the work, and that the work being done is not overseen by the city's Planning Department, as it had been done historically.

Also speaking during the second public comment period was Tracy Pappas, who sits on the Board of Public Works.

"The process in the tree cutting was circumvented, the Board of Public Works never voted to clear cut Main Street. The Board of Public Works never received Mr. Newt's recommendation," Pappas said. "I'm very upset because the truth wasn't told." 

Several Aldermen echoed Pappas' concern, including Barbara Pressly, Mark Cookson, Art Craffey, Diane Sheehan, Jim Donchess, June Caron and David Deane, who said board concerns raised in the past over the trees have been "brushed away."

He also said based on the City Charter, Public Works "can take chain saws out and cut down every damn tree – they can do it; they can do it tomorrow," he said, and there's nothing Aldermen can do about it.

"The Board of Public Works is a maintenance department, not a construction company," Deane said. 

In August, the Mayor addressed a question raised by resident Paul Shea via Nashua Patch about the plan for removing and replacing trees. Within the context of that article, Lozeau said that two landscape architects were consulted for the sidewalk project.

In the nine months since then, questions about tree removal have been raised by Donchess and others on the board. In response, the Mayor created a Main Street Project link that lives on the city's home page and provides weekly updates on construction as well as a 46-minute video walking through the details of the project.

Tim Nickerson, President of Boston Society of Landscape Architects, appears on the city-produced video talking about the "human experience" when considering sidewalk construction, and the process of tree selection when working with New England streets where sand and salt use is a factor.

The tree issue will be revisited during upcoming committee and budget meetings, and we'll bring you updates as we get them.