By Kevin Woodhouse
www.thesuburban.com
When Al Gardner became the new president of the Beaconsfield Citizens Association (BCA), he told The Suburban that one of the community association’s new mandates was to work less acrimoniously with the city to find common ground solutions to issues affecting the citizenry.
On Monday, Gardner and the BCA sent out a press release lauding the city of Beaconsfield’s efforts to curtail an emerald ash borer (EAB) infestation that could, if left unchecked, severely damage the tree canopy for Beaconsfield and the entire West Island.
The BCA also wanted to update citizens on the city’s latest EAB bylaw passed this summer so there would be no miscommunication between homeowners and the city. Some of the bylaw highlights include replacing a fallen tree with a tree of another species, the treatment of all ash trees found within a 100-metre radius of an infected tree and especially, advising the city if EAB has infested a homeowner’s ash tree.
And while an application of TreeAzin at $250 for a two year treatment can be costly, particularly for homeowners with more than one ash, the BCA noted that “felling a tree can cost from $800-$2,000, depending on size and proximity to building and wires.”
And while treating a tree, in the long run, should be cheaper than felling and having it carted away, the Beaconsfield watchdog group did advise that “many homeowners are in for heavy expenses as a result of EAB. There are many seniors on fixed incomes, and struggling young families living in Beaconsfield. An EAB infestation could spell financial hardship to these people.”
The BCA suggested that all concerned citizens attend the open house and public meeting taking place next Monday, Sept. 15, where the new bylaw will be discussed in detail.
For more information on the public meeting, consult the city’s website at www.beaconsfield.ca or the BCA website at www.bca-acb.org.
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