MONTAGUE — Roughly 15 residents and business owners came to Monday’s Selectboard meeting to express concerns about the Avenue A streetscape in the event that the existing ash trees are removed and to ask if there might be a middle ground to removing all 14 of them.

An offer to replace the trees, from contractors Mountain View Landscapes, comes as the company begins revamping the sidewalks on the even side of Avenue A as part of the Avenue A Streetscape Improvement Project, according to Assistant Town Administrator Chris Nolan-Zeller. There are 12 trees located between The Country Creemee at 52 Avenue A and The Heartwing Center, and two trees in front of Ce Ce’s Chinese Restaurant and Subway.

The group discussed the Tree Advisory Committee’s unanimous vote to keep “as many trees in place and undisturbed as possible,” citing the cost incurred from paying tree injection company J.J. Mauget to treat 27 trees, including some of the trees on Avenue A, for emerald ash borer infestations for two years.

The committee also worried about the lack of shade coverage on the streets while the new trees mature, but acknowledged the need to remove a few select trees that are “viewed as being beyond salvaging due to visible decay,” with some displaying signs of poor health such as flaking bark and canopy decline. For example, the committee did not object to the replacement of a crabapple tree and a Bradford pear tree outside of Ce Ce’s Chinese Restaurant and Subway.

The idea to replace the trees was first broached with the Selectboard on April 7, with Nolan-Zeller explaining the offer would be a no-cost change order, meaning the town would not pay for the new trees. The ash trees would be replaced with non-ash trees that are considered less susceptible to disease.

The Avenue A Streetscape Improvement Project is funded through $975,000 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and aims to improve accessibility and pedestrian infrastructure along the sidewalks.

While the Tree Advisory Committee seeks to salvage as many trees as possible, Mountain View Landscapes Project Manager Ed Dwyer said the removal of some ash trees and not others wouldn’t be feasible because the company’s no-cost offer to replace the trees would be covered by the reduced labor costs for Mountain View Landscaping not having to work around the trees roots while excavating.

Doug Serrill, the project’s landscape architect with Berkshire Design Group, also recommended the removal of the existing trees.

LOOT Found + Made co-owner John McNamara, whose store is located at 62 Avenue A where two ash trees are planted, told the board he understands that the trees are at the end of their lives and the scenario presents an opportunity for new trees that would last longer. However, he said it would be “very dramatic” to take the trees away now, especially because the new sidewalks will be concrete that would be hot without shade provided by the trees.

“So I’m in both schools on this,” McNamara said.

Like McNamara, Tree Advisory Committee member David Detmold said the removal of all these trees along the sidewalk in front of businesses would be a “radical change” to the streetscape, and for residents and business owners that have seen these trees for their 50-year lifespan and appreciate the shade they provide.

“We’re not trying to urge you to try and save every single one of them,” Detmold said. “This might be an ideal time to take down two or three or four, but the contractor [said] it was an all-or-nothing deal, so now it’s up to the board to make this decision.”

Nolan-Zeller emphasized that if the Selectboard decides to remove the trees, there would be a public hearing scheduled to hear community feedback about the decision.

Even with the request for a compromise, Town Administrator Walter Ramsey reminded the audience and Selectboard members that the offer is all or nothing, and the contractors are “firm” on that point. McNamara said he doesn’t like the idea of this being all or nothing and that this offer from the company should have been made earlier.

At the end of Monday’s meeting, Selectboard Chair Richard Kuklewicz said he’d like to see another meeting with the contractors and the town administrator to potentially find a middle ground.

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.