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Cemetery Committee weighs cautious tree-planting plan, flags maintenance costs
Summary
The Cemetery Committee reviewed prior plantings and a 2020 planting guide, discussed planting smaller, low-maintenance trees and shrubs, and weighed professional-care costs ($500–$1,000 per tree per year) against a $10,000+ tree reserve and sexton workload across eight cemeteries.
The Cemetery Committee on May 21 reviewed past tree-planting work and discussed a cautious plan to add small, low-maintenance trees and shrubs to municipal cemeteries.
Committee member Melvin Burnham summarized a 2020 effort by local advisers (James Hastings, Kathy Hopkins, John Lynch, Ken Armstrong and Mark Bossie) that led to planting 10 trees at Pooler/East Cemetery in 2020–21; Melvin said nine of those trees survived after late-spring planting and supplemental watering, and he shared an informational packet created in 2020 to guide future plantings. Melvin said the committee is “eager to remove trees but not replace them,” urging careful selection and placement rather than wholesale removal.
Members discussed species and size limits, favoring smaller specimens that do not exceed about 15 to 20 feet at maturity and suggesting noninvasive, low-maintenance options such as lilac or limelight hydrangea shrubs. Sexton-related maintenance was a recurring concern: committee members said trees and shrubs increase mowing time and that the workload must be weighed across eight cemeteries.
Jason (listed as sexton, absent from the meeting) had previously suggested hiring a vendor to plant and maintain new trees for an introductory period; committee notes cite an estimate of $500 to $1,000 per tree per year for such professional care. Committee members noted the town has more than $10,000 in a tree reserve account that could be used for plantings and initial care but cautioned that recurring maintenance and fuel costs for sexton travel could strain ongoing operations.
To reduce costs, volunteers and local groups were proposed: Paul York offered to assist with watering at Pooler/East, and members suggested seeking help from the local Garden Club and other community volunteers. Kevin Nelson urged the committee to pare back meeting agendas and proceed one project at a time, starting with continued work at Pooler/East and returning with site-specific placement recommendations.
Next steps: members were asked to review Melvin’s planting guide and return with recommendations at the June 18 meeting. The committee did not take a formal vote on a planting plan at this session.
