VERNON — The big pine near the gazebo that acts as the communal Christmas tree is sick and needs to be replaced, according to information Selectboard member Emily Vergobbe shared at the April 4 regular Board meeting.
“It's not very healthy,” Vergobbe said, but “it's the only tree that's do-able” on town property.
Vergobbe said Tree Warden David Walker contacted her about the ailing pine and what to do about it.
According to Vergobbe, Walker suggested removing the tree and replacing it.
Vergobbe asked her colleagues on the Selectboard to authorize purchasing “a semi-mature tree so we can do a tree-lighting this year."
She cautioned against planting “a little Charlie Brown three-foot tree."
Vergobbe said Walker can get the town a 8-to-ten-foot balsam fir for $350 from a nursery he trusts, and he is willing to cover the expense from his tree-warden budget.
“What a nice guy!” Board Chair Christiane Howe said in response.
The Board unanimously voted in favor of removing the ailing tree and replacing it with the balsam fir.
Board member Steve Skibniowsky recommended testing the soil and the sick pine to ensure environmental factors were not to blame in the tree's demise before planting the new tree in the same location.