Deeper Concerns

Ms. Robinson,

I was at that city council meeting, and as well as sharing your concerns re: the trees, I believe there is a more troubling issue here. The motion to remove the trees was in fact proposed by a WP city council member, living in Orchid Hill, whose property directly backs up to Beechwood Road, and will directly benefit from having the trees removed at WP's expense. I feel that the motion should not have been proposed by that city council member, and when the voting took place, should've abstained. If other Orchid Hill residents share the opinion of the council member, then they should've taken it upon themselves to address the council with a possible motion. I believe a direct conflict-of-interest has arisen. It seems like a pet project to me, at our expense. Perhaps our Ethics Committee should look into it. According to the directory, they are Brent Fryear 897-5464, William Enix 609-2119, and Samuel R. Pruitt 8953-8282. Furthermore, I have before asked that agendas be posted here prior to meetings. LouMetro does it, and since we model ourselves so heavily on their form of government, what would be the harm in doing so here? Not every meeting is going to pertain to every resident. However, a posted agenda would CERTAINLY avoid these kind of stealthy votes.


By Kim Horn

Still lacking evidence...

I appreciate the Mayor posting a reply to the concerns, however, I am still not convinced that the vote for tree removal was made with enough evidence and information needed to make an informed, impartial, and independent decision. I have a copy of the ''overview packet'' and I hardly qualify it an ''overview'' secondary to the lack of information that it provided. Four pages were included in this overview: 1. a distant, grainy, black and white ariel photo of Beechwood Road pre-Orchid Place, 2. a distant, grainy ariel photo of Beechwood Road currently (I'm not sure what the two ariel photos were to inform or educate residents of anyway), 3. a four-bar bar graph with general monetary estimates for four improvement or ''maintenance'' options (total mass removal is hardly what I would refer to as maintenance), and 4. a sparse conceptual drawing of Beechwood Road with new trees and berms. This sketch definitely did not help me visualize what post-mass tree removal would look like. There were no specifics on proposed tree replacements, a uniform privacy fence, plans for the berms, etc. I would expect that an ''overview packet'' would include written estimates of all companies consulted, written documentation from all three arborists supporting the condition of the trees
(including healthy and distressed) and a comprehensive finish design plan. How can you vote to remove all of the trees when you don't have a comprehensive sketch of what the finished product would look like. This is pertinent information needed to make an informed decision. And again, I can't believe a decision of this magnitude was made without all the facts presented. I understand, and as supported in the council meeting minutes, that the concern and complaints that the council has received has come from one of it's own concil members. I have concerns for safety myself but am confident that there are several other options and avenues that are not so extreme and those options should still be considered. Respectfully, Elizabeth Robinson

Well Stated

This raises serious issues and all residents of WP should be concerned. It's unbelievable that the council person benefitting from the tree destruction was permitted to make the motion and then allowed to vote on said motion. Perhaps an ethics course would be of benefit to our governing body. That would be money well spent!

Loss of Trees and Wildlife

Let me see if I understand this correctly. After spending a couple of thousand dollars on removing some damaged trees and branches from the tree line on Beechwood Road,you now want to remove all the trees at the cost of $20,000 plus? How much more of the tax payer's money has to be used for tree stump removal and restoration? And why, because one of the city council members has a personal interest in the tree removal. By the way, this city council member was allowed to vote on this issue.