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Jessica Taal, a neighbor of Hamilton Avenue School, who lives on Charles Street said, “It’s very Pollyanna to say the trees will be replaced. In 40 years there will be the shade.” July 16, 2019 Photo: Leslie Yager
![Dan Watson]()
Director of Facilities for Greenwich Schools Dan Watson gave some history of Hamilton Avenue School and its field. July 16, 2019 Photo: Leslie Yager
![Dr. Gregory Kramer, Superinendent of Parks & Trees, and Tree Warden Steve Gospodinoff. July 16, 2019 Photo: Leslie Yager]()
Dr. Gregory Kramer, Superinendent of Parks & Trees, and Tree Warden Steve Gospodinoff. July 16, 2019 Photo: Leslie Yager
Back on June 28, 19 trees were posted for removal on the property of Hamilton Avenue School per request of the Board of Education, who have received complaints for years that the field is not level, is rocky, and marked by divots.
Complaints about the tree postings were abundant, which triggered Tuesday’s public hearing in the Town Hall meeting room.
Considering it was the middle of summer and on a weekday, the turnout was significant and the comments were passionate.
Greenwich Tree Warden Steve Gospodinoff listed the type and diameter of each of the 19 trees that were posted.
The ones that residents spoke most passionately about were the Linden trees that Gospodinoff estimated to have been planted in the 1960s.
Chickahominy neighbors, one after the other, urged the tree warden to come up with a compromise that would spare the trees, pointing out that they provide wildlife habitat, as well as shade, not only for the children who play on the playground but also for the community.
Mr. Gospodinoff read loud lead about a dozen passionate letters objecting to the removal of the trees.
The first speaker was Facilities Director for Greenwich Schools Dan Watson who reviewed the history of the project. Watson, who has been with the district for 22 months said the project was brought to his attention on his first day in Greenwich.
“Hamilton Avenue School was rebuilt about 10 years ago, and as a result of that project and the addition of the parking garage and underground geothermal wells, the field was raised, which created a sloping effect. The incline is between 5% and 6%,” he explained
Watson went on to say the situation was unfortunate.
“It was brought to our attention that the field is not the way they anticipated it after the project. We looked at documentation… There was no specification about how that field was supposed to be left.”
“We have been asked to bring the field back to a more level condition, and to do that we have to add fill from the northern end….By bringing in the fill, you’d cover up the base of the trees which would suffocate the trees. We always anticipated the replacement of the trees,” he added.
Watson said that throughout the process to obtain funds to improve the field, “The removal of the trees in question was part of the proposal, and was approved by BOE and during the BET process.”
Yet neighbor after neighbor, and parent after parent said they were taken unawares.
One resident, Laura Ryan who resides on Edgewood asked why the field needed to be perfectly flat.
“There’s got to be options. I’m tired of seeing the school be a test project for the Town. It’s for the children, but it’s also for the community. The school was supposed to include a community room, but that was taken out,” Ms. Ryan said. “This should be inclusive of the community.”
Donald Mohr from Parks & Rec talked about field use. He acknowledged that the field slopes upward and does not give as much flexibility as other fields.
“If it was level, it would add to the overall field inventory, which is small due to fields closed for remediation and turf that need replacement,” he said. But, he said, “I don’t think the removal of the trees would increase the footprint of field.”
Mr. Mohr elaborated on the limitations of the field.
“A flatter surface would give us more flexibility, but not a lot more space for playing fields than we have now,” he added. “If we eliminate the baseball diamond and put in a small soccer field, that might work. …. It could be used for flag football practice and informal soccer practice. A bigger baseball diamond could be used for t-ball for kids age 7-9. But you’re not going to have older kids playing baseball there. That’s probably why there is the sign saying ‘no hardball.'”
Parks & Rec director Joe Siciliano said the plan was missing details.
“Can we see some of the detail?” Siciliano asked. “I’m caught in confusion. What the benefit would be or not be. All we’ve seen is one overhead of where the trees are, but not the design work. Are there more details?”
From Milone & McBroom, lead landscape architect for the project, Kevin Fuselier, shared a removals plan that included the rows of Linden trees.
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“The idea is to create a level playing field,” Fuselier said. “Ideally a natural grass playing field. The plan grades the field out at 2% from parking lot to the baseball diamond. At the bottom of the hill we’re at 2 ft of fill. We have to tie it back into existing contours,” he said, explaining why the trees need to go.
“That’s what we were directed to do by the Board of Education. The BOE wanted to maintain the size of the existing playing surface. We’ve studied tree wells and slopes, but that reduces the size of the playing field and that was not desirable to the BOE.”
Wynn McDaniel from RTM district 7 said the trees are beautiful. “I’ve got to think there are other options. If the trees come down, I’m not convinced anything similar would be put up and it would take years to replicate. There are not a lot of trees in that neighborhood. This will further promote urbanization of the neighborhood.”
An immediate neighbor on Charles Street, Jessica Taal who said she was a teacher, asked the tree warden the age of the trees. When she learned they were likely planted in the 1960s she shook her head. She said, of three saplings planted along Charles Street, only one has survived.
“When people say they will be replaced, I wonder what will their survival rate be?” she asked.
Gospodinoff said when new saplings are planted they need to be monitored and watered and in general 10% of them don’t survive.
Ms. Taal said kids will play on them and decrease their likelihood to survive. “It’s not a sure thing that all saplings will mature.”
“The plan was put upside down on the easel,” she said, referring to Milone & McBroom’s landscape architect Kevin Fuselier. “Let’s not do this hastily.”
“It’s very Pollyanna to say they’ll be replaced and in 40 years there will be the shade. Seeing 2 of 3 trees dying doesn’t give me a lot of hope,” she continued, adding, “Fields don’t make great athletes; great coaches make great athletes. We recruit baseball players from countries without great fields. Let’s not pretend a field will turn our kids into amazing athletes.”
Dave Wold of Gerry Street asked the tree warden what would be the formula for replacing such mature trees.
Mr. Gospodinoff said, a 10-inch tree would be replaced with five 2” trees, for example
Mr. wold said that just a day earlier he had seen a copy of the plan from the BOE.
“I don’t see them being replaced with double amount,” he said.
Mr. Fuselier said the 12 mature Linden Trees would be replaced with 14 Linden trees that will be just three inches in diameter.
“They are going back in the same locations,” he said.
Fuselier also said the trees along the parking lot (including 2 that are dead) need to be replaced in order to regrade all the way up to the parking lot. He said those would be replaced with Cherry Trees.
Hamilton Avenue School parent Sarah Evans said, “I object to the removal of more trees from outdoor space. They provide vital shade to our walkways and playgrounds.”
She said she would like the project to move forward without removing the trees.
Other neighbors said they were brick layers or stone masons and argued that it was not necessary to cut the trees down to level the field.
“Why weren’t we told you are taking down those beautiful trees? My neighbors and I are very saddened,” said Chickahominy neighbor Lisa Perry.
Herbert Morey asked, “Are you crazy to consider cutting down all the trees in the park? …Who is going to get rich or keep rich through this make work project?”
Going against the tide longtime resident and advocate for the field Dave D’Andrea concurred with Mr. Fuselier.
“Yes, the trees are wonderful,” D’Andrea said, adding that he had been a golf course superintendent and horticulturalist. “The field is not safe. It was built with No 2 fill with a lot of rocks. It’s totally unsafe. Many PE teachers have addressed me about it. It would be wonderful to save the trees, but get the level you need for the ball field.”
D’Andrea said the slope of the field was severe.
“It was driven by the heating and cooling wells put out there.”
He said it would cost more, but possible to install mature trees to replace the existing mature ones.
“The goal is a level playing field, not making athletes,” he said. “It’s about the kids. Everyone else is secondary. And about the curriculum for athletics and recreation. Let’s try to develop a compromise. We need the field to happen. The field should not delay any more.”
Francia Alvarez from the Greenwich tree Conservancy pushed back.
“We have been through this before with BOE projects,” she said.
“The Board of Education’s expectations don’t necessarily match the expectations of the community. The GHS MISA project removed trees at the front of the building before the soil was tested. Once the soil was tested and they found contaminated soil, the land was capped and no trees could be planted,” she said.
MISA stands for Music Instructional Space and Auditorium at Greenwich High School.
Ms. Alvarez said that at Greenwich High School, because of contaminated soil, “We have been told the that these trees will be replaced. Are we sure of that? That’s what we were told about the MISA project before the results on the soil testing came in. But that information proved to be wrong. And those trees were never replaced. They can not be replaced. You can not put a shovel in the soil there because of contaminants underneath the capped soil.”
She said a letter from Mr. Watson said the environmental review of the soils was due the week of June 24.
“This area of town is a toxic corridor. One of the abutting properties found toxic fly ash in the soil that had to be removed.”
“What are the results of the soil testing?” Ms. Alvarez asked Mr Watson.
“We don’t have the report back,” Watson replied.
“When will they be available?” Alvarez asked. “When can we determine if the trees can be replaced if we don’t know if there are contaminants in the soil? There’s no answer. If we remove those trees, we don’t know if we can replace them.”
Alvarez said the Greenwich Tree Conservancy believes the students have waited too long for a playing field.
“This is a substandard field that needs to be brought up to better standards and made flat. So how can that be achieved without killing the trees by cutting their roots and trunks in order to remove soil? In some of the earlier plans, retaining walls were going to be used. Why can’t we build a retaining wall alongside the area where mature trees are, and the pathway and the benches?” she asked.
Ms. Alvarez urged the Board of Education to work quickly with the Town and the Tree Warden to come up with a timely solution to save the existing mature trees and provide the children with a playing field that they deserve this fall. Her remarks were met with applause.
Tony Bennett will perform one show at The Palace Theatre in Stamford on Tuesday, October 22, 2019 at 7:30pm. The performance, which was announced by Parachute Concerts, marks Bennett’s first Stamford appearance in ten years.
