A concerned ratepayer sat down at the council table last Tuesday during the town leaders’ monthly meeting to express her concerns about the removal of a tree on Grant Street.
Jeannie Allan said she chose to address council with her concerns because she was disappointed to see a “nice healthy tree” taken down on her street when there was no grounds for its removal. She said if this tree came down there is also a concern about whether town council might be thinking of removing more trees as well.
“Really what I wanted to come up with is a comprehensive plan with some policies in place regarding some of the trees in town, so that we protect some of the big trees and not take them down,” said Allan, who spoke to council solely on her own behalf. “I don’t want to see the existing trees being taken down unless they are diseased.”
Allan said the town has done a “good job” planting boulevard trees, but there are many more streets that need large canopy trees. She said there are better choices than poplars.
“I understand that the poplars were not the best choice back 40 years ago when they were planted, but just because they were planted in the wrong spot and now they have matured and are lifting the sidewalk, the damage is already done,” she said. “Taking that tree down to me did not solve anything because the sidewalk is still lifted whether the tree is there or not and the roots in the lawn will be there for a very long time. That problem is not solved either.
“I believe public trees should not be removed until a certified arborist examines the trees and makes the educated decision. If the town is worried about tree roots in the sewer system than then it should be the sewer pipes that are repaired.”
Allan said roots only cause damage to the sewer lines that are old and leaking and if the roots don’t find moisture they do no damage. She said money should be spent on repairing sewer lines and not sidewalks or the expense of removing healthy trees.
The large poplar tree in question was located on town property on Grant Street between Second Street and Government Road and was removed by Davidson public works employees the week of Sept. 9 after council made a motion at their Aug. 20 meeting to look at trees that are affecting infrastructure in the town.
Clayton Schneider, mayor of Davidson, said it was not a council decision to take down the tree and he is unhappy that it was removed in the way it was, but it is likely the tree would have eventually come down anyways. He said the motion at the Aug. 20 meeting was solely to determine which trees are damaging streets and sidewalks in town and no action was supposed to be taken on any of them yet.
“Someone jumped the gun on it,” said Schneider, noting the plan was to remove all the problem trees in one shot and not take them down haphazardly. “It was supposed to be decided at (the Sept. 17) meeting, but with that said it was damaging infrastructure so the decision would have probably been the same.”
To read more please see the Sept. 23 print edition of The Davidson Leader.