opinion
february2
2017
An Opinion: Let City Offi cials Know
What You Think About Downtown Trees
By Scott Laird
The City of Vernonia recently
acted on its promise to remove all of the
trees lining the downtown corridor and
as expected, some people are not happy
about it.
While it might seem like the
City acted rashly in removing the
trees, this is an issue that has been
discussed at length over time and the
decision to move forward was done
with forethought and planning. While
the complete removal of the downtown
trees may feel fi nal to many citizens, the
City Council has not yet determined a
plan for moving forward and how they
might, or might not, choose to replace
the trees.
Since there appears to be
many differing opinions about the
determinations and actions of the City,
this situation now provides a perfect
opportunity for citizen involvement in
our community affairs. It’s an excellent
occasion for citizens to participate in
City decision making, and witness and
play a role in representative government.
Opportunities to directly impact
or sway the decisions of our elected
offi cials, whether at the national, state,
or local level, are always available to
us, whether it’s appearing personally,
writing letters and emails, making phone
calls, or commenting on social media.
This situation offers a somewhat unique
opportunity to have a say in a decision
that impacts you. Often citizens don’t
have all the information needed, or
the time to do the research to fully
understand what is behind the scenes in
a governmental decision, but this is a bit
different. You have an opportunity to
give your opinion and be heard by your
elected offi cials and that opinion does
matter in this instance.
The City Council has been
wrestling with what to do about the
streetscape of the downtown for several
years now, after it was brought to the
City’s attention that sidewalks were
being damaged and business signage
was being blocked from view.
The trees in question were
planted in 1999 as part of a downtown
beautifi cation project that included
replacing sidewalks, but the tree species,
once planted, did not perform the way
the City anticipated. They have been
growing larger than originally promised,
have required more annual maintenance
than expected, and have the potential to
damage infrastructure that was installed
underneath the sidewalks on the south
side of Bridge Street, including water
and natural gas lines.
Those concerns led the
City Council to instruct then City
Administrator Gian Paolo Mammone to
come up with a plan for how to replace
the trees.
Mammone presented a plan in
July of 2015 to replace the trees with
smaller trees in containers, but the cost
of those containers appeared prohibitive
to the Council, and they asked for other
options and delayed making a decision.
When Mayor Josette Mitchell
took over as City Administrator in the
summer of 2015, Council again asked
for more research on what to do about
the trees. In August Mitchell brought
Council three tree species options that
are recommended for streetscaping
projects and proposed a plan for the
removal of 41 trees and strategically
replace just 15 of them. Council
instructed staff to move forward with
the experimental removal of two trees
and return with results for Council to
consider before moving forward.
In October City staff reported
that when the two trees were removed
they noticed that the tree roots were
becoming entangled with utilities under
the sidewalk. Staff told Council that
six of the trees had caused noticeable
damage to sidewalks and Council agreed
to remove those six trees immediately
and wait to remove any more, although
they did agree all the trees would need
to be removed before they caused more
damage.
In May of 2016 Council again
discussed the downtown trees and
received another report from staff with
a recommendation about where trees
might be replaced. Staff prepared a
survey for business owners to get their
input on the issue.
The business owners surveyed
revealed differing opinions, with
20% saying they would like the trees
removed and not replaced at all, 45%
saying they would like them replaced
with an appropriate species, 25% saying
they would like them replaced with
containers, and 8% saying they would
like the current trees to remain.
This past fall the City began
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selectively removing some trees and in
November Council met in a workshop
to discuss the issue again. In December
Council voted to move forward with
the removal of all the trees, and wait
to hear how business owners, citizens
and visitors responded before making
a decision about what other actions
to take. This past week the Vernonia
downtown was “clear cut” and all the
trees removed.
So, now is your opportunity
to have your say. You have all the
pertinent information. Do you like the
way the town looks and feels now that
all the trees have been removed?
The City Council needs your
input and needs to hear your opinion.
If you feel strongly about this issue,
one way or the other, please let your
City Council (Mayor Mario Leonetti,
and Councilors Bruce McNair, Mike
Seager, Jill Hult, and Susan Wagner)
know what you think. You can talk
to them individually, come to a City
Council meeting and speak during
Topics From the Floor, sign a petition
that is being rumored, or write to the
Council and request your letter be read
into the record at the next City Council
meeting.
Make your voice and opinion
heard, as this type of opportunity to
directly affect your community and the
decisions of your elected offi cials is
rare.
Publisher and Managing Editor
Scott Laird
503-367-0098
scott@vernoniasvoice.com
Contributors
Karen Kain
Aaron Miller
Karen Miller
Photography
KarenKane
Scott Laird
Nicole Larke
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