NORTHAMPTON — On Sept. 17 the city’s tree warden, Richard Parish, told the Urban Forestry Commission that a pole petition from National Grid would have required relocating a utility pole on Glenwood Avenue and raised the prospect of removing the neighborhood’s last public shade tree, but the petition was denied following a recommendation from the director of public works.

Parish said the denial means the existing pole remains and the tree will stay; the developer at 39 Day Avenue must now work with National Grid for an alternative utility plan. He noted the site is a recently developed multiunit property that required earlier tree removal for driveway access.

Why it matters: The decision preserves the community’s remaining street tree on Glenwood Avenue and signals that tree preservation was weighed in a municipal utility permitting decision. The commission discussed that such pole petitions occasionally present conflicts between infrastructure upgrades and public shade trees.

Fall planting plans and constraints: Parish reviewed the commission’s fall planting tracker and said volunteers and staff are preparing orders with Amherst Nursery, scheduling Dig Safe markings and applying for trench permits. Tentative planting dates were discussed for late September and early October, but Parish and commissioners cautioned that current dry ground conditions may require delaying work.

Parish read a list of planned planting locations that includes Hubbard, Bridge Road, Industrial Drive, Jackson Street (school replacements), Meadow Street, Trumbull Street, Pleasant Street, Park Street, Main Street (north), Florence, State Street, Prospect Avenue, North Elm and several neighborhood streets. The commission uses a tracker that ties inventory to addresses, schedules watering and assigns volunteer crews.

Volunteer operations and maintenance: Commission members and staff described a two-person crew that ferries trees for volunteer plantings and a volunteer-led young-tree training program which provides cyclical pruning instruction. Parish emphasized the city has shifted to a mix of municipal plantings and volunteer-supported private-property setbacks: “We drop off trees on Friday afternoons, and the volunteers plant basically all day Saturday,” he said.

Drought and watering: Commissioners agreed the current mild drought requires caution. Jen (the commission’s planting lead, not present) has been coordinating watering and timing; Parish said the commission may delay initial plantings until soil moisture conditions improve.

Administrative business: The commission accepted the minutes as amended during a roll-call vote and adjourned after the presentation. A future meeting was scheduled tentatively for Oct. 1, with a follow-up on planting timing to be circulated by the tree warden.

Ending: Commissioners expressed interest in learning more about Green Cambridge’s outreach materials and incorporating youth-employment elements into Northampton’s volunteer and planting operations.