City councilors on Monday discussed establishing a committee to oversee the maintenance, preservation and replacement of city trees.
Ward 8 Councilor Stephen Rourke originally pushed for a resolution in 2005 asking the council to consider forming the committee.
Since an ordinance would have to be created to form the new volunteer board, the matter is now before the council's Ordinances and Rules Committee.
One of the purposes of the committee would be to do a citywide inventory of the city's public shade trees.
Councilors last night discussed the possible makeup of the board.
Under the proposed ordinance, the tree committee would consist of seven members appointed by the mayor and approved by the City Council. The committee would include one member of the city's Conservation Commission and two state certified arborists.
"It's important that the (city's) tree warden have a connection with the committee," Rourke said last night.
The committee would also propose policies, and advise departments such as public works, planning and engineering on tree-related matters.
Ward 9 Councilor Robert Logan said he would like to see the board limited to only local residents.
"This is a community of 60,000 people and I think there is more than enough expertise in the city," he said.
Ward 3 Councilor George A. Darcy III suggested that the city look at the model the town of Lexington used to form its Tree Committee.
The Ordinances and Rules Committee tabled the issue until a future meeting.
Richard Conn can be reached at 781-398-8004 or rconn@cnc.com.
