TOWNSEND — The treasurer of the Historical Society has issued an apology in the wake of over two dozen trees being cut down around town without proper permitting.
The concern was brought up by lifelong town resident Maryjane Churchville, who has been the site administrator of the Townsend Historical Society (THS) at 72 Main St. since 2022. She reported late last month that it all started when a large branch broke on a tree located near the Reed House Museum due to high winds one day in December. The THS board met shortly after and unanimously voted to hire Wally’s Tree Service “to remove and prune selected trees on the Homestead property per the approved quote.”
“Expenses for this work would be paid for by the anonymous gift we received in 2023 directed by Gary Shepherd, project manager for renovations to THS buildings,” Churchville shared.
“The same week of the THS board meeting Wally’s Tree Service “showed up and began taking down trees all around,” she said.
After getting call from a historical society member asking if there was a permit for removal of the trees and after doing some digging, she found out there was not. Churchville said that between 15 to 17 trees were cut down on six different parcels of land owned by the THC, Hollingsworth and Vose from West Groton and the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) along the Harbor Pond in West Townsend “within the EPA no disturb zone.”
“The trees were a mixture from saplings to very large old pines, maples, hickories, cedar, and cherry trees,” she said.
THS Treasurer Bill Rideout said they “freely admit we made a mistake in not getting the permits before and we are working with the [Townsend] Conservation Commission to rectify the situation.”
“This mistake was born of inexperience of one of our board members and we will certainly end up paying more in fees for having made this mistake than if we had contacted the conservation commission beforehand.”
Churchville went on to say there are additional issues surrounding the trees being cut down beyond not securing a permit.
“The concerns with the trees coming down primarily include the impact on habitat and soil erosion along the Harbor Pond and the fact that some of the trees were removed by the THS, without permission, from property not owned by THS, namely Hollingworth and Vose from West Groton and the MBTA,” she said. “Residents should be aware that while many of them are paying high fees for permits and engineering work to comply with Townsend rules and regulations, certain others are getting away without paying, asking for forgiveness not permission. Either the town should enforce the rules and regulations or get rid of them for everyone.”
Interim Town Administrator Kieran Meehan recently said that the Conservation Commission “will be reviewing this matter at the next meeting,” which was scheduled for Feb. 11.
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