With the bid awarded last week, construction work can begin as soon as Oct. 1 to renovate and expand Branford's Community House to create the town's new Senior Center/Community House. The project gets underway even as a newly-formed grassroots citizens' group continues formulating plans to possibly dig up, move and replant a large Ginkgo tree to a safe point on the town property, about 50 feet away.

Community/Senior Center Construction Bid Approved

On Sept. 20 the Board of Selectmen (BOS) unanimously accepted the Public Building Commission's recommendation to award A. Secondino and Son of Branford the contract for the Senior Center/Community House renovation and expansion project.

Project plans were discussed publically beginning over two years ago and the project's $12.1 million price tag received bonding approval in late 2016. The bid approved by the BOS last week is for $10,482,000 with an additional $65,000 for additional parking space to be constructed. The parking goes on a formerly private parcel of adjoining land offered for sale to the town earlier this year, and approved for purchase in June 2017.

The additional $65,000 will come from recent value engineering of the building design to produce cost savings, said First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove. Project Architect Thomas P. Arcari of Quisenberry Arcari Architects, LLC (Farmington) said the value engineering results in over $600,000 in cost savings. On Sept. 20, Arcari also told the BOS those elements taken out of the project are mainly design items, such as finish types and lighting fixtures, which "...in no way effect the durability of the building or the function of the building."

Arcari said the Building Department has been reviewing construction documents "informally" and with the low bid awarded the contractor will formally submit for necessary permits. He said the expectation is that the contractor will be able to "mobilize" by Oct. 1 or within a few days of that date.

"The goal is to get the foundation and piles into the ground before the cold weather hits," said Arcari.

The Community House will be closed during construction. Branford Parks and Recreation Director Alex Palluzzi has already moved all programs, meetings and events to other town buildings and sites. The town's temporary Recreation Offices are located in the ground floor at the BCTV/Registrar of Voters office on Kirkham St.

Questions on the Ginkgo Tree

Meanwhile, a grassroots group trying to save a large Ginkgo tree in the expansion zone began forming up on social media about a month ago, under the banner "Save the 200-Year-Old Ginkgo Tree in Branford CT." As of press time, the attention-grabbing Facebook group name was being revisited, following subsequent discussion by group leaders with Cosgrove and others who have attempted to further pin down the age of the tree and can't find evidence of the tree existing before 1934.

The two grassroots group leaders are citizens Brendan Ammann and Tina Marlowe. Both met with Cosgrove recently to discuss whether the town can assist in moving the tree to a safe point on the property.

Cosgrove told Zip06/The Sound that he had explained to them, "... certainly anything is possible, but is it feasible? And that was the question we had to answer. Their first request was to redesign the building; and I explained to redesign at this stage would essentially kill the project. That plays into, '...is it feasible?' And at that point I would argue it's probably not."

Cosgrove also said he pointed out the tree is likely not 150 to 200 years old, as the group has been stating. He said UCONN aerial photos of the site in 1934 show no tree at the location.

"I know they stated it's 150 to 200 years old; I've looked at aerials from UCONN from 1934 — there's clearly no tree on that site," said Cosgrove. Cosgrove further noted that, at this point in time, should there be a responsible and safe way to remove and replant the tree so that it will survive, the grassroots group would need to come up with funding for those costs.

"There's no town funding in place to take on a project of that magnitude to relocate the tree. It takes a couple of months, easily," to go through town channels for funding, said Cosgrove. "And, at some point you have to evaluate the cost. Can the community receive a greater benefit from those resources and those dollars applied elsewhere? And that's what we're going through right now. They have been reaching out to a few people to see if they can get the support and the resources to move it. And moving the tree is just one part of the project. Ensuring that it has an opportunity to reestablish itself at a new location is a process in itself; and it's labor and cost intensive to do that."

Additional costs would have to be factored in to ensure the tree would survive such a move, with just one such possibility being cabling, according to Town Tree Warden Diana Ross.

The grassroots group also reached out to Branford's Community Forest Commission (CFC), asking to have the Ginkgo designated a "Branford Notable Tree." CFC chair Shirley McCarthy explained the recognition, and the mission of the CFC, is to assist with care and conservation of the town's native trees; Ginkgo's are native to China. McCarthy noted a native oak supports approximately 560 area species whereas Ginkgo's support "almost" zero.

McCarthy also disputed the group's discussion of medicinal uses linked to Ginkgo's as not pertinent to CFC's mission and also pointed out such uses are not federally regulated and require scientific evidence.

With regard to the potential loss of the tree, McCarthy responded, "I do agree that it is indeed unfortunate that such a large, lovely living thing has to be removed. But it should motivate us all to take note of what trees are present when new buildings are being planned, and take pre-emptive action in emphasizing the importance in keeping them for their esthetic value, as well as shade and, hopefully, wildlife benefits."

While Ammann lives near the Community House, he said he was supporting a family member during end-of-life and therefore wasn't involved when the Senior Center/Community House plans were being discussed publicly. When he realized recently that the tree would be coming down, Ammann reached out to Marlowe to see if they could gather momentum to support moving the tree. Both Ammann and Marlowe emphasized the group in no way wants to delay or otherwise impede the Senior Center/Community House construction project.

Recently, the grassroots group did succeed in having the tree recognized as a Connecticut Notable Tree by the Notable Tree Project, a volunteer enterprise sponsored by the Connecticut Botanical Society, The Connecticut College Arboretum, and the Connecticut Urban Forest Council. However, such notation does not create any removal protection for the tree, according to Ross.

Marlowe said despite the narrow window of time that remains, the group will work on scaled-back plans to try to safely and responsibly move the tree and ensure it will survive the move. One of the current ideas: ample pruning of the canopy to a point that would allow for regrowth while reducing wind-load and providing better balance for the root system, said Ammann.

As the original construction project plan calls for removing the tree, Marlowe said the group hopes to reach out to the contractor to see if a coordination of efforts can be achieved.

"The town has already factored in the cost of removing the tree. If they can cut it back at certain point where the trunk branches out, if we can save her to that point, a lot of evidence can show that Ginkgo trees can continue to thrive," said Marlowe, adding the group continues to reach out to "different entities," from arborists to commercial contractors as well as university experts and even contacting U.S. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro for any possible assistance.

Marlowe and Amman both feel the tree is a healthy "community elder."

"We're just two people trying to pull this together," said Marlowe, adding there has been a great response to the Facebook page and at two meetings gathered to help brainstorm. "There is definitely this incredible outpouring of support."