A meeting will soon be held to discuss the fate of two trees causing damage and disruption at the Arthur cenotaph.
Wellington North council heard at its Oct. 20 meeting that the Arthur and District Chamber of Commerce has raised concerns about the state of vegetation around the cenotaph. One tree has matured and is now blocking the installed lighting at the site and another’s roots are causing the interlocking brick to shift and pose a tripping hazard.
Chief administrative officer Mike Givens said municipal staff are hesitant to make a decision without input from council and the community.
“It’s an area we want to make sure is well kept and meets the needs of residents. It is an important piece within Arthur,” he said.
Mayor Ray Tout agreed something needs to be done about both issues, sooner rather than later, but was unsure how to tackle the project.
“The tree that’s blocking the light, it’s a waste of light, but I’m not sure you can cut half a tree down safely,” he said. “In the future something has to be done about that interlocking brick too, because it looks nice when it’s first laid down but after five or six years the heaving just makes it unsafe.”
Givens said simply trimming the trees is not a long-term solution.
“We can trim a tree once, but we all know that will only satisfy for a short time and then we’ll have to do it again,” he said.
Councillor Dan Yake asked if this was an issue better dealt with by the township’s tree committee.
“That committee deals with 90 per cent of the tree removals we do in town … [this issue] has been on the table for a long time and it’s never once come to the committee for discussion,” Yake said.
Tout emphasized that representatives from the Legion need to be involved out of respect. “The Legion needs to be involved and not just over the telephone,” he said.
Councillor Mark Goetz said there has been some miscommunication of late regarding tree removal in the community.
“There’s too many parties involved and one says one thing and one says another and next thing you know you’ve cut a whole tree down,” he remarked. “The township seems to be falling behind on all the tree removals and residents are concerned because the trees are potentially hazardous to buildings and houses. So I think we need to look at the whole removal of trees.”
Yake said, “If everybody is on a different page this isn’t going to happen overnight. Everybody has to get on the same page if they want something done.”
Goetz emphasized that if trees are not dealt with they will pose bigger problems once winter storms start rolling in.
“If we have another ice storm we’re going to be paying for damage,” he said.
Councillor Andy Lennox suggested the matter be dealt with as soon as possible.
“I’ve heard of a couple of locations in Mount Forest that are in the same situation,” he said.
Council decided the proposed meeting will assemble members from the Chamber of Commerce, Arthur Legion, the tree committee and roads foreman to assess and determine what action to take at the cenotaph.
