By Adam Swift
Winthrop Tree Warden Tom Derderian advocated for a better system for watering the town’s trees at last week’s town council meeting. “Last summer, when it was hot, we had newly planted trees, to water them I had to get five-gallon buckets and fill them up at Belle Isle Cemetery spigot and then hoist them up to the trunk of my car,” said Derderian. “I could fit four of them in there and carry them to water the new trees. My arms are getting longer.” Derderian asked if the town could come up with some money for a watering tank that could be placed in the back of a pickup truck. “Fill it with 100 gallons of water, have it gravity fed, this is not a big expensive thing,” he said.
“We’re going to need water this summer, most likely it is going to be a long hot summer, can we find some money for a watering tank?” During last week’s town council meeting, Tim Duplin of the tree committee said he was asked by his fellow members to speak about the trees in the back courtyard area of town hall. He said there was a question about who had jurisdiction when it came to caring for those trees. “It is my understanding that if a tree is to be cut down, there needs to be a hearing,” said Duplin. “One of the reasons we have a tree committee and a tree warden is to make really good, educated decisions on what should be cut down and what shouldn’t be cut down.”
Duplin said that if there is an issue with the trees, they should be addressed and factors about the health of the trees taken into consideration. “I sit here tonight and hear the budgetary concerns, and I would like my piece of the pie, which is basically to plant more trees in town,” said Duplin. “There are a lot of benefits to it – it increases property values, it mitigates global warming. There are a lot of benefits to trees, and I would like to see the town look at putting more effort into their trees.”
Duplin noted that there are also a number of trees he has noticed in town that need to be pruned because they are an investment in the future. “If we could look at these trees and get together with the head of the DPW and come to a good decision with what should be done,” said Duplin. Town Manager Tony Marino noted that he has been working with the tree warden and the DPW on the pruning of the trees in back of town hall.