2005-09-22 Arborist Advisory Committee Minutes

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house and he reported that the Traffic Division is working on the layout. On behalf of the Committee, Chair Bisel thanked Public Works for stepping in and helping with the signs. R. Siracusa reiterated her concerns about homes being built with driveways punching through the Mango Groves to Pohoiki Road. Some trees were probably destroyed by bulldozers. There were also reports of people chain sawing the Mango trees who probably do not realize that the trees are in a grove that is on the Exceptional Tree list. The longer we delay, the more damage will be done. Chair Bisel mentioned the lack of a detailed map in our files of the Mango Groves. R. Siracusa mentioned that the Hawaii Community College has a GPS class. The students are always looking for practical projects to do. Chair Bisel will follow up on this. He will also continue to work with B. Ishii. NEW BUSINESS 5.The Quinine Tree at Kalakaua Park: Parks & Recreation Director Engelhard circulated photographs of the tree. She recounted that a large portion of the tree fell on a Sunday night and the rest fell on Monday evening. Because it was an Exceptional Tree, they were hoping to get permission to trim it, but everyone was out of town. It was too late to contact anyone. The Department of Public Works was great in cleaning up the road and the Parks & Recreation crew cleaned up the park. M. Kraus stated that the Quinine Tree suffered from bad pruning a long time ago. It was topped so decay ran through the trunk. There are no mechanisms for a tree to close a topping cut. It stays open. The fungus gets in and runs through the vascular system and can advance vertically very rapidly. Fungus follows bacteria normally. Bacteria are the first to go through and eat the living tissues primarily and then termites and fungus follows.Thatswhathappenedtothattree. E.Wilkinsmentionedthatthetreewasknownaboutfouryearsagotobenothealthy.M. Kraus remembered that it was previously brought up before this Committee. J. Anderson mentioned that she was responsible for finding a replacement tree, but couldnt locate one. M. Kraus stated that there is a testing procedure using a resistograph to find out the extent of decay. He stated that if the tree is in bad shape, get it tested and have it removed before it falls in the street. Its a tool to avoid damage and a tool to preserve trees. In reference to the Quinine Tree, he remarked that (a) the tree should not have been topped; and (b) when it was known to be decaying, it should have been tested and removed before it fell over.