POLAND — Saving the village’s Christmas tree is on the minds of officials and residents.

Each December, they light up a tall blue spruce on village hall property that stands next to a small, young spruce.

But the tree is in trouble.

Councilman Mike Thompson told village council this week that he had Davey Tree Expert Co. check into it, and the tree can be saved — at a cost.

“The tree is suffering from a fungus on the needles,” Thompson said. “It is a treatable fungus that will arrest the tree in the state it is in.”

He said the fungus causes the needles to drop off, and once that happens, they will never grow back. To save the tree from further damage would require fertilizing it this fall to let it gain strength to accept the treatment next spring.

“If we treat it now, we won’t see the effects for one to two years,” Thompson said.

He said the cost of treating the tree would be $600 annually. Once the tree is treated, it would have to be treated every year to prevent the fungus from returning. It was recommended to treat the young spruce as well.

To replace the spruce with the largest possible spruce tree would cost between $500 and $600 — and it would be recommended for treatment as well.

A motion to have Davey Tree take care of the tree was made — but tabled for a future meeting.

On a different issue, Brian Downie was approved to replace John Yerian on the Architectural Review Board. Yerian had moved out of the area and could not finish his term.

Downie was asked to tell council a little about himself.

“I am a fourth-generation general contractor,” he said. “[My family and] I moved to Poland in 2006, and I am honored to serve on this board.”

Council also set trick-or-treat for 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 31.

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