Members of the Signal Mountain Tree Board are concerned about the felling of trees on public property within the town hall complex. Barbara Womack, founding member and current vice chairwoman of the board, said that since 2016, town staff has removed 14-15 trees from town complex. The town could not confirm the exact number.
The ordinance that established the tree board, passed by the town council in 2008, requires "reasonable efforts" be made to replace trees that are removed from public property, and to protect quality trees that are endangered on public property, Womack said.
A tree stump at the Signal Mountain Town Hall complex is photographed by Barbara Womack, founding member and current vice chairwoman of the town tree board.She said about six or seven trees were removed around two years ago from the area between the police station and Ridgeway Avenue, and the remainder were felled within the past month near the town hall building.
Womack is also questioning why grass was planted - requiring an irrigation system be installed - in the area where the trees were removed near the police station in the middle of a five-month drought.
Eric Mitchell, assistant town manager and chief of the Signal Mountain Fire Department, which occupies the property adjacent to the police station, said some of the trees removed near the stations had dead limbs or were dead on the inside and considered dangerous. Some were pine trees that were growing too close to one another to be healthy, he said. This was determined through an assessment by town staff, according to Town Manager Boyd Veal.
Removing those trees also opened up the area for grass to be planted in order to address erosion issues they were experiencing, which were causing mud to flow across the stations' parking lot and into the stormwater ditch, Mitchell said.
The hickory trees next to town hall were deemed a hazard due to their falling nuts, which had damaged vehicles in the parking lot and, in one case, shattered a sunroof, he continued. Those trees were removed to alleviate the risk of more damage to cars, and to prevent people from tripping and falling, said Mitchell.
"Seeing the damage to vehicles [caused by the nuts], we recognized a risk for personal injury," Veal echoed in a separate phone interview.
Veal added that within the past year, an individual who had entered the town gym through a side door - which had been latched but appeared to have been opened by someone else - immediately slipped and fell, as the floor had just been resurfaced. That incident resulted in a claim against the town's insurer, said Veal.
With the heightened awareness of the financial impact accidents can have on the town, Veal said he chose to take the precaution of removing the trees when that risk was identified.
The town's municipal landscaping ordinance stipulates the rules regarding the cutting and replacement of trees on town property, Veal said, and there is no requirement that town staff consult with the tree board when making decisions concerning the cutting of trees on town property. The role of the tree board is to provide advice and education, said Veal.
"We do seek their advice on some things," he added.
Veal said the town is in the process of a long-term landscaping project, in which they brought in topsoil, sod and irrigation. Once the area is stabilized sometime this fall or in the spring, the town will plant two redbuds and two red maples in place of the felled trees, he added. Veal said the town also plans to plant more trees in front of the fire station.
"We're trying to make the grounds nicer and safer," he said.
Email Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com.