An “06880” reader writes:
I attended Tuesday night’s meeting at Long Lots Elementary School concerning the new building project.
Many residents voiced concerns about the destruction of the mature trees in the parking lot, and flooding problems that could be exacerbated during and after the school is constructed.
Not only are the maple trees beautiful (even at night), but I learned from the homeowners that the trees are an extremely effective source of flood control. They soak up huge amounts of rainwater.
Long Lots Elementary School maple trees.
While none of the officials at the meeting had any specific plans for how flooding would be addressed (since they don’t have any approved plans), they already do have plans to remove the 24 mature maple trees.
I believe it is worthy of forethought to address the flooding issues in the area, while simultaneously designing the building.
The committee seems content to have the architects design the building first, and then let the engineers figure out what to do to address the problems it creates.
I suggest that the environmental engineers work with the architects in tandem, so the design is more congruent with the homeowners’ floodwater concerns.
I do not think it is the most efficient or the most effective strategy to have the design folks throw the plans at the environmental engineers to fix water problems after it is designed.
I am all for a newer and better school for our community. It is great for our kids and community (and home values).
However, it needs to be done in an effective and intelligent manner that does not negatively impact neighbors’ property values, or their quality of life.
(“06880″‘s Opinion pages are open to all. It’s part of our hyper-local mission. But we can’t do what we do without readers’ financial support. Please click here to donate. Thank you!)
Not sure if one of these trees were there when I was in the eight grade but it was a life lessons about bullies. Some huge 9th grader thought it would be funny to drag my bike up to the top and leave it there… it was devastating for me until I found out coming down he fell and broke his wrist… I have believed in karma ever since
Well said! Enough with the senseless removal of beneficial trees
Taking those trees down would(will?) be a crime perpetrated against the town, the state and the country…they are remarkable, sensational maples, as beautiful as any in the world…if taken down, all three select persons and the entire board of ed should go to jail.
for treeson
Even though I’m serious in my comment, Richard, yours is a brilliant reply…wish I’d thunk it.
Even though I am dead serious in my comment, Richard, your reply is brilliant…wish I’d thunk of it.
i know you are serious. I understand your point. I love nature as you do.
Just a suggestion… Add portable classrooms to all of the existing elementary schools, redistrict all of the Long Lots children for one year & build the school on the existing/expanded footprint. This could solve the issue of water issues arising from moving the school to the adjoining lot, the cost of a new build should be less exspensive & the school could be built on a faster time frame without school in session.
Save the trees, lessens the threat of water damage & all the children will be excited to meet new friends and then move back to a new school together.
AND, thereby saving the Community Garden and Native Preserve. Amen.
I wondered the same thing about the design steps, that they seem out of sync. It also seems that the flooding area of the long lots community is impacted by many many many other locations.
Ways to mitigate it were denied in the 80s by neighbors, but the amount of rain we were having is so much more substantial. I think those neighbors should find out what options they have from the town now about the total issue at hand about water and flooding.
I also wondered but didn’t ask, if we weren’t trying to keep one school open and they had removed the school built a new school on the same location and added new drain standards, including the wetlands that drain onto Harvest Commons, how much more of an improvement could be for the total neighboring area?
And if that was done, the fields would’ve stayed where they are. The gardens would stay where they are. And the students would not be living and working on a construction site for years to come.
lastly and the school wouldn’t be about 108 feet from the road.
wondering wondering wondering
Amen
Its a crime in my opinion, to “kill” these beautiful trees. I’ve noticed that cutting trees down happens too often…. Find a better solution. Suzie Kowalski has a workable alternative.
This^^^
Thank you for speaking truth to power. So many sacrifices.. too many sacrifices.. will be made for this ill conceived project, including the wellbeing of children. There are far better ways to build a school than SCORCHED EARTH.
Why not challange the designers- whatever their purview in the process, to make designing around the maples, or as many of them as possible, a priority. There are a lot of creative minds out there available to work on the issue….
What if the kids and staff were relocated to a temporary alternate location for two years- are there any available? It would make the design and building of the new site more flexible and easier to address the environmental issues….
Designing the building before addressing the potential environmental issues is putting the proverbial cart before the horse
We had experience with flooding after the removal of 2 white pines that were 90’ tall in an area of our yard that never flooded before. I can’t imagine the flooding that will result from the removal of that many maples. Think long and hard before taking the chainsaw in hand is my advice!!!
The trees in the LLS parking lot are gorgeous!!! I do not know anything about this issue but if they are removed can they be replanted? Can they be offered to someone willing to come and pick them up? Not sure they could survive a move but it seems worth exploring!
Our P&Z, BoF and RTM need to step up to the plate and do the difficult but correct thing. Deny the taxpayer funds and force the project to be done correctly as should have been from the outset.
If need be this fiasco should be put to a referendum.
Short of creating a “tree museum”, perhaps the trees could be integrated as an open space/playground atrium.
Well said!
This follows on the heels of Tooker’s ‘brilliant’ recommendation to relocate the Community Gardens to Baron’s South,,,where the soil is known to be contaminated., and the cost to reclaim this land would be prohibitive. What’s going on here?
how did Tooker get elected? What policies did she run on ?
Of course, it will cost more but relocating trees might be an option, wouldn’t they look magnificent in the new Parker Harding plaza and Jessup green