Council approves removing two trees, pruning one

City Council has decided to remove two city trees and prune another that has a cracked branch in front of a resident’s house.

At the council's Aug. 4 meeting, Public Works Director Bob Richards said the tree located at 216 Main St., next to City Hall could be pruned, but recommended it be removed because there is a lot of dead wood on the tree. The branches on the tree at 131 Church St. are almost all dead. Councilors voted to remove both trees.

A homeowner asked that the tree located at 16 Cottage St. be removed because a lot of debris comes off it during storms and they are concerned it might fall on their house. Councilors were not in favor of removing the tree altogether because they said it still appeared to be healthy.

Councilor Paul Dean said he looked at the tree and noticed the limb hanging over the house is cracked and he was concerned it could fall. Councilors voted to heavily prune the tree and asked that an arborist look at it to determine its health.