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Manchester to reapply for MDC grant to replant LaBonne Parkway after pear removals
Summary
City staff said Manchester will reapply for an MDC grant this spring to fund Fall 2026 replanting on LaBonne Parkway after roughly half of the pear trees were removed in winter 2023; the city will remove remaining small pears as its cost-share and will finalize species with neighborhood trustees.
Assistant Director of Public Works Dave Pracht and staff member Mark Halpin reported that Manchester was not awarded the MDC grant for Spring 2026 because of high application volume and limited funding and that the city plans to reapply in spring with the expectation the project could proceed in Fall 2026.
Pracht reviewed the project history: about 50% of pear trees in the LaBonne median were removed in winter 2023. The plan discussed with LaBonne neighborhood trustees is to remove the remaining small pear trees and replant the median; city staff will perform the additional removals as the city’s cost-share for a grant if awarded.
When asked by committee member Kevin Koch about species selection, Mark Halpin listed options under consideration with trustees — the ‘Emerald City’ tulip tree, green hawthorn, redbud and serviceberry — and said the City will work with neighborhood trustees to finalize species selection.
No final planting list or grant award was recorded in the transcript; staff said they would reapply for MDC funding.
