Saugus board seeks $10G for cemetery trees

SAUGUS – The Tree Committee has a plan to address the loss of the trees at the Veterans Cemetery, but it’s not going to come cheap.Tree Committee Chairman Tim Hawkes and committee member Al DiNardo said they would both ask the town to reinstate the committee’s yearly $10,000 appropriation, in part to pay for the cemetery restoration.The committee met to discuss how best to rectify the situation at the cemetery where workers took down a stand of trees during a cleanup. The loss of the trees left a gaping hole in the foliage border that also acted as a buffer for abutters to the cemetery. The Tree Committee, along with the Historical Commission, was shocked and saddened by the loss.Cemetery Commission Chairman Dennis Gould called a joint meeting for all interested parties and abutters for Oct. 6 at Town Hall, with the idea that everyone would be given a chance to vent their frustrations, then hammer out the details to address the issue.The Tree Committee, however, already has a plan and DiNardo said he hoped he would be able to put the idea to a vote on Oct. 6.DiNardo said after doing some research, the committee voted unanimously to replace the fallen trees with a disease-resistant elm. The elms, he said, would be reminiscent of the majestic trees that graced the town’s streets before Dutch elm disease took them all down.Despite the fallout that has come from the tree incident, DiNardo thinks it’s going to work out in the town’s favor.”I think this might turn out to be a blessing in disguise,” he said. “I think it’s all going to work out for the better in the long run.”Hawkes said he met with Town Manager Andrew Bisignani Thursday to discuss the plan as well as the financial appropriation.”He didn’t seem negative, but he did say it would depend on what happened with the state,” he said.State officials announced Thursday the state has to borrow and tap into its rainy day fund in order to make scheduled quarterly payments of $1.3 billion to municipalities across Massachusetts.Given that news, Bisignani indicated it is unlikely the Tree Committee would see its annual $10,000 appropriation reinstated anytime soon.If it does manage to get the money, DiNardo said his plan would be to spend $4,000-$5,000 on elms for the cemetery along with some smaller plantings and use the remainder of the money to purchase elm trees for other parts of town.But according to Hawkes the $10,000 wouldn’t even scratch the surface. Hawkes said he would love to replace the trees with 25-inch Liberty Elms, which could cost upwards of $100,000 when all is said and done.”I do think we’re all on the same page in regards to getting the cemetery restored,” Hawkes said, regarding Bisignani and the committee. “We can’t get it back to where it was, but we can replant.”