The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday voted unanimously in favor of hiring a state-licensed arborist who is familiar with New Canaan and this area’s service providers as the town’s new tree warden.
New Canaan’s newly hired tree warden, Bob Horan or Pauley Tree & Lawn Care Inc. Credit: Michael Dinan
Bob Horan starts immediately in the part-time position vacated this summer by well-respected predecessor Bruce Pauley, who served as tree warden for nearly five years.
“Bruce has done a great job,” Horan said during an interview at Town Hall after the selectmen’s 3-0 vote to hire him. “He’s been doing it now for quite a few years, after reorganizing the position. I plan on stepping in and continuing his programs and just taking care of the trees and the people of this town.”
First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said during the meeting that Horan has acquired Pauley’s tree care company, though he himself does not do any business with the municipality.
According to the Pauley Tree & Lawn Care website, Horan is an “eminently qualified expert in all aspects of horticulture and arboriculture.”
He earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental horticulture from the University of Connecticut and has been a licensed arborist in the state since 1981, holding a CT custom grounds license since 1982. A past president of both the Connecticut Tree Protective Association and Connecticut Environmental Industry Council, Horan is licensed in the state for mosquito and biting flies control, as well as right-of-way and vegetation control.
The town’s human resources director, Cheryl Pickering-Jones, enthusiastically endorsed Horan’s qualifications for the job.
The tree warden oversees trees and shrubs on public land in New Canaan, deciding when they need to be removed for reasons of health and safety and tagging those that should be removed.
Horan lives about one hour away and will work well within a system established by Pauley where area tree care professionals are “on duty” in turn for a given week in the event of an emergency, Mallozzi said.
John Howe, parks superintendent within the Department of Public Works, said Pauley’s system was “much better” than what had been in place before.
Mallozzi offered praise and thanks to Pauley during an interview after the selectmen meeting, saying the now-Vermont resident “definitely left that position in a better condition and place than he found it.”
“I really appreciate that—it speaks volumes for Bruce,” Mallozzi said. “It’s a much more functional and much more user-friendly experience.”