City resident Larry Harris, opened the ”Citizens Concerns” portion of the Grantsville City Council meeting stating ”It is beyond words for the loss of the 100 year old Gingko trees that have been cut down,” and then spoke for over 30 minutes on the subject to a beleaguered council who tried to explain their reasoning in a way he would accept.
The over 100 year old trees had great sentimental value to Mr. Harris, having been a gift given by Godfrey Cabot, who during World War I brought the Gingko trees back from China to be planted on Main Street.
Mr. Harris said he had ”Tried to understand their reasoning,” to which Mayor Bob Petrovsky responded, “The trees were cut down to prevent further damage. The trees had been trimmed in a manner causing the branches to grow into the power lines. MonPower, Frontier and Shentel had made complaints regarding the tree limbs interfering with their lines to the point of danger. The second factor was the heavy leaves that fell from the tree creating an issue with someone falling. A third issue was the root system growing into the sewer system beneath the surface of the street. None of which justified the cutting of the trees for Mr. Harris.
Mark English, the artisan contracted to carve the remaining stumps of the trees tried to explain further to Mr. Harris that the trees had become unsafe due to rotting, but Mr. Harris would have no part of it as an acceptable reason, stating that he (Harris) was a forester and believed the trees could have been saved by trimming them further back.
Mr. Harris then turned his attention to the ownership of the trees with both sides noting that Poe Gunn, the property owner was indeed the owner of the trees. However, Mayor Petrovsky stated that the town was within their rights to cut the trees due to an easement which allowed government to address property so many feet from the street. And in addition to that the Mayor said he had gotten Poe Gunn’s approval to cut the trees down in writing; which Mr. Harris requested to see, and the Mayor provided.
But according to a conversation Mr. Harris had had with Poe Gunn, Mr. Gunn did not want the trees removed but grew weary of the town requesting it, so he gave in. This matter was one disputed by Councilwoman Linda Staton, who operates “Bodies” Restaurant on the property in question, and it was she that got the agreement signed by Poe Gunn, stating she had only ask him once.
Yet unsatisfied with the Mayor and council answers, Mr. Harris ask the council why they had not let the citizens know about their decision making before the trees were cut. Minutes were pulled to show that the tree had been discussed at five council meetings prior to the decision and Mr. Harris had not attended. To which Mr. Harris responded he hadn’t seen any notices in the Chronicle (Calhoun’s only source of news according to him) 🙂 saying that the trees were going to be the subject of discussion.
The council informed him that the Chronicle had stopped covering their meetings but it had been published at least three days prior to their meetings taking place.
The subject ended without resolution for Mr. Harris, but he had gotten to state his mind regarding the trees. He closed his conversation saying that ”He had the right to voice his displeasure, and he thought the council had made a selfish decision.”
The City Council meeting continued with discussions regarding the city traffic islands having had bushes removed that obstructed sight and work to be done improving their appearance.
An issue with a building permit not having been obtained by the 1982 Foundation was discussed and the fact that the Mayor had been unaware of a 2010 ordinance stating that any building of ”substantial construction” would have to have a permit and file a building plan with the city for approval if they were in the flood plane. A fact the Mayor said he was not trained in the matter for making those type of decisions and recommended that the City Council hire Julie Sears, who informed him that for a fee she could approve their permits, having had the proper training. She would however have to ask her employers, the Calhoun County Commission for permission because they pay her an additional $1000 annually to approve their flood plane permits. The City Council moved forward to have Miss Sears hired.
Tim Meeks of the Mid Ohio Valley Regional Council presented drawn down #9 from the Town’s grant funded Water project, requesting funds in the amount of $226,993.50 for Orders Construction and $9529.25 for Dunn Engineering which the Town Council approved.
A Resolution was then read and signed for April Fair Housing Month.
Payment of bills was made and then the meeting was adjourned until the next scheduled meeting on May 2, 2022.
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I respect and appreciate your efforts to present a platform that provides relevant information. Your article on last night’s meeting is a professional reflection of my motivation for attending. Thank you for being there and reporting details of the meeting.
Thank You Mr. Harris, I assure you the fact that you were my English teacher was a constant thought in my mind as I wrote this today. 🙂