OTTUMWA —
It’s no secret we’re adamant about saving our trees on Chester Avenue, which will be cut down during the sewer separation project starting this week. When the city initially designed the project in the neighborhood, then they should’ve contacted us to inform about the tree removal. Instead, city employees were sent out two weeks before the project began to spray paint X’s on our trees.
We understand the city’s “right of way,” but as taxpaying citizens who take pride in helping make Ottumwa beautiful, we feel things could’ve been handled differently. If there was better communication, there may have been time for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to send an arborist to assess the project and the number of trees that are coming down (Osceola is another street to make note of) and possibly procure a respectful agreement to replace the trees or design another plan.
We are aware the DNR and EPA mandated the sewer separation project and are not against the project, just the manner the city has gone about completing the project. Mayor Frank Flanders has been sympathetic to our desire to save the trees and has agreed to lobby in our favor. The mayor has asked Larry Seals to present him with a different option and price differences to go around the trees. We’re hopeful the City Council will vote in our favor in the coming week, and we thank the mayor for his support.
Our trees offer more than pride. They offer shade, a decrease in utility bills, a beautiful historic feel to notable homes and countless memories. Two of the six trees are Linden, which have significant environmental status. We’re seeking a sense of community from the city and an understanding of why we want to save these trees. We also seek the community’s support in doing what you can, as some of you have done by contacting me, and hope you would fight in the same manner if this was your home and neighborhood. Please contact Mayor Flanders at 641-684-7298 or flandersf@ci.ottumwa.ia.us.
We welcome all of you to drive through our neighborhoods and see for yourself the change that will come from removing our trees and countless others on side streets. As Ottumwa was awarded Tree City USA status, I hope you all agree that upholding this status is of great importance.
Dejan and Francesca Djordjevich
Chris and Sara Johnson
Greg and Pam Schell-Cloyd
Ottumwa
Letters to the Editor
July 10, 2012
City, IDNR could have saved trees
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