The Planning Board selected an arborist to inspect the black oak tree on the Hendries property. Only one of the eight firms contacted with the RFP submitted a formal response, Largess Forestry out of Rhode Island. But even this seemingly simple decision was not without some debate.

Another firm, Maltby & Co., also responded; but not formally. Mr. Maltby drove over to look at the tree and wrote Bill Clark, the Planning Director, a letter summarizing his recommendations. And then he wrote another letter after he had seen the developer’s plan for the site. In the first letter he outlined steps to be taken to save the tree and preserve it for posterity. In the second letter he said he could not guarantee that the steps outlined in the first letter would in fact give the tree a long life and it might be best to take the tree down and seed a new generation.

It is unclear what influence if any his review of the developer’s plans had on his qualifying his initial impressions and recommending removal. Regardless, Pete Jackson argued that the response was not a formal one to the RFP but  simply a letter from a resident. The board read it into the record but will move forward with having Largess do an assessment. For this to happen the developer, Connelly Construction needs to concur to cover the cost. Mr. Connelly would not agree to this at last night’s session. He said he would follow up with Mr. Clark today.