Trees on chopping block

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City officials and concerned residents review Streetscape plans Tuesday evening. Jonathan Jackson

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May 26, 2010

Group asks city to save three trees

Jonathan Jackson The Union-Recorder The Union-Recorder Wed May 26, 2010, 08:00 AM EDT

MILLEDGEVILLE — A group of concerned Milledgeville residents asked the City Council Tuesday to spare three trees designated for removal under the second phase of the Streetscape plan in downtown Milledgeville.

The trees, on North Wayne Street, are located midway down the block and at the intersection of South Wayne Street and East Greene Street.

“I wish to respectfully request that the three trees on Wayne Street not be cut down,” group spokesperson Sue Wright said while addressing the Council during a work session Tuesday evening.

The Streetscape plan calls for new sidewalks and infrastructure along Wayne Street. The plan has taken more than seven years to develop, interim city manager Barry Jarrett said during the meeting.

“The plan calls for the removal of the two center trees [on the block] and possibly the removal of the tree at the intersection of Wayne and Greene Street,” Jarrett said. “We finally have a plan.”

Jarrett said the re-engineering of the plan at this point would call for a complete redesign.

Noting the cooperation of another group interested in preserving downtown trees, Mayor Richard Bentley said their input had resulted in a plan that will replace the three trees removed with 38 trees more friendly to urban environments.

Still, the group maintains that the canopy provided by the fully-grown oaks will likely take years to replace. Wright suggested that the city take down the trees gradually while giving the new trees time to grow before removing the three trees all at once.

Bentley said that there is concern about the intrusion of the root systems of the existing trees on city infrastructure as a factor in the plan’s development.

“We need to address the root systems,” he said. “I don’t think anyone, including myself, would say we’re going in to clear-cut trees.”

Bentley did not indicate to the group that the project would be modified to save the three trees citing a time frame for completion.

“This is a very time-sensitive project,” Bentley said. “We do not want this to go into our Christmas shopping season.”

The project should be completed later in the year with the planting of the 38 new trees, which include magnolias and two types of elm, sometime in late fall. Bentley cited support from the downtown merchant community for the execution of the plan.

“I’m certainly not telling you that everyone will be satisfied. We appreciate what you are doing,” Bentley said to the group of its involvement.

Still, the group members said the removal was just not the best idea for Milledgeville.

“It would be nice if we valued our trees as much as we do our historic buildings,” group member Alice Tenold said following the meeting.

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