ORANGE — The Selectboard voted last week to accommodate the South Main Street paving project by removing six trees, with the understanding that an equal or greater number will be planted “at other meaningful places in town.”
The town in April secured a $1 million MassWorks Infrastructure Program grant to begin a series of projects to improve and revitalize South Main Street, the primary corridor in and out of Orange, from the River Street intersection to Gay Street. This will include roadway improvements, sidewalk construction, and major upgrades of sewer and water lines. Colin Killay, Orange’s superintendent of highway, cemeteries and parks, said the town also received $399,990 from the state’s Complete Streets Funding Program. At last week’s Selectboard meeting, he mentioned both sides of South Main Street will get bicycle lanes.
Mercedes Clingerman, a South Main Street resident, presented the Selectboard with a petition in support of the tree removal.
“Although we are desirous of preserving trees whenever possible, we understand that removal is necessary for this project to proceed,” she read. “We wish to be a part of the solution to Orange’s problem, and not an impediment. We support those we hire and elect to do their jobs for the betterment of our town on our behalf. In this case, the hard work done by our department heads and community development office to obtain the funding for the project and their expertise in bringing to fruition the design and implementation that we as citizens ask for to improve our sewer and water infrastructure, repair potholes, upgrade and repair the broken sidewalks, and make our town (Americans with Disabilities Act) ADA-compliant.”
The meeting became contentious, however, when Michael Magee stepped forward to speak against removal of the six trees, especially the one near 136 South Main St.
Magee objected when Tom Smith, who chaired the meeting, said comments would be limited to three minutes, though Clingerman spoke for longer than that. Smith asked Magee to be polite and professional. Magee also wanted Smith to recuse himself because he is an abutter, as he works as the office manager at Witty’s Funeral Home. But Smith said he got clearance from the state to proceed with his participation. Magee also wanted Selectboard member Andrew Smith — who is not related to Tom Smith — to recuse himself because in Magee’s estimation, Andrew Smith had already expressed an opinion on the matter and was not being objective.
“The sidewalk is in worse shape where they are no trees, OK?” Magee said, adding that Sunderland took great pains to save the famous Buttonball Tree during improvement work on North Main Street.
Magee, who mentioned he has a master’s degree in forestry, abruptly left the meeting in protest. In a subsequent interview, Magee said he understands the town plans to plant new trees but that it takes years for a new tree to have the environmental benefits of a mature tree.
“We can have it all: a new sidewalk, a bike lane and a newly paved street, while retaining our magnificent mature silver maple,” he wrote in a prepared statement he shared with the Recorder but did not read before leaving last week’s meeting. “According to the New York Times, people are rising up in Paris over plans to cut down thousands of mature trees to redesign streets and parks. Scientists tell us that it takes between 100 and 500 newly planted trees to replace each mature tree over 100 years old. No one born today will live long enough to benefit from the cooling and carbon-absorbing properties of the new trees. It is just common sense to accommodate existing trees into the design of infrastructure. We can have it all, if we think outside the box of straight lines and bulldozers.”
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or
413-772-0261, ext. 262.