by Thaddeus Flint
At the Berlin School Board meeting on June 17 it was reported that NYSEG seems determined to turn that long line of trees bordering the Berlin Middle/High School along Route 22 in Cherry Plain into a large pile of wood chips.
[private]“New York State Electric and Gas have changed the criteria earlier in the year, whereby any trees that fall under a three phase utility line have to be removed, regardless,” said District Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds, Cyril Grant, on June 17.
Members of the School Board were not happy to hear that. The District’s Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Stephen Young, said he would look into it.
“We will continue to fight the battle,” said Grant at the time.
That battle is still ongoing.
“I have contacted our lawyer, and he has some info about the tree situation,” Dr. Young wrote in an email on June 23. “We may be able to save them based on the easement and another similar law case.”
Grant had also mentioned looking at the easement agreement between NYSEG and the District from back in the 1960s, allowing the poles to be placed on the property. It said that trees would be trimmed if they were within 10 feet of the lines but didn’t mention anything about cutting down the entire line of them. Grant pointed this out to NYSEG, but “again, I was told that the trees would have to be removed.”
“Seems we [can] have them trimmed. But not removed,” wrote Dr. Young. “We may need to have to get a forester or arborist involved.”
Dr. Young also added that should the fight to save the trees require “the need to mobilize others,” he would be in touch.[/private]