Cut trees in Bolton raise concerns

January 23, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Bill Rea
The fate of some ash trees on Bolton’s north hill have some residents angry, but the Town is maintaining it was necessary.
Kevin Attard was upset early last week when crews cut down about eight trees that were lining Humberlea Road.
He said he was told there were concerns the trees were infected with emerald ash boers (EAB), but Attard wasn’t convinced.
“These trees are not sick,” he declared.
“They were here to do a clean-up, not a cut down,” he said. “They ruined the landscape of Humberlea.”
Councillor Rob Mezzapelli said he talked to Town staff about the matter.
He said there was work being done to prune trees that been damaged in last month’s ice storm, and they were also assessing them for possible EAB infestation.
“I got the assurances for staff that no ash tree was taken down that wasn’t warranted,” he said.
Mezzapelli added that parks and recreation staff do what they can to maintain the Town’s stock of trees.
“I feel very confident that no trees were unnecessarily removed,” he said.
He also said he told Attard that he had confidence in staff’s judgement. “The last thing they would do is remove a healthy tree,” he said.
Councillor Patti Foley brought the issue up at Tuesday’s council meeting.
Brian Baird, parks manager and landscape architect for the Town, said the municipality has two arborists on staff, an they would have made the call.
“We left that judgement with them as professionals,” he said.