Safety requires that five Quintard trees be cut down, council learns
Feb. 8—Some of the iconic trees — as old as Anniston itself — that line Quintard Avenue must come down.
During an Anniston City Council work session Tuesday night the council learned that five trees between 9th Street and 11th Street are dead and pose a danger to the public.
Anniston City Manager Steven Folks said the city's arborist along with a third-party arborist determined that the trees in question were in fact dead.
A replacement plan is in the works to replace the majestic water oaks, pin oaks and white oaks that were planted 150 years ago.
Councilman Jay Jenkins said the tree-lined avenue is "one of our city's greatest calling cards."
"It is very important, in my opinion, that we have an active plan not just to replace them but to decide to prepare for that as we go forward," Jenkins said.
"We need to have a proactive plan for replacement efforts because they don't grow overnight," he said.
Councilwoman Millie Harris said the cutting of the trees is a very emotional issue.
"The public really, really needs to know that they're dead and they're dangerous and all the time I have people tell me, 'well I didn't know about that,' I don't know why they don't know but I get that all the time," Harris said.
"It is a very, very volatile issue," she said.
Folks said that public relations director Jackson Hodges will get the information out to the public about the trees.
Folks went on to say that 10 years ago there was talk of a replacement plan for the Quintard trees but that plan was "shot down."
Harris asked if the now-dead water oaks were planted when the town was established 150 years ago and Folks replied, "that's correct." Anniston was chartered as a town in 1873.
After the work session David Arnett, Anniston public works director, said it will be up to the third-party contractor to develop a timeline for the removal of the oaks.
Arnett agreed with the council's discussions that a replacement plan should have already been in place.
"We're in discussions with the state currently because that's their right of way and they have to approve whatever we do, so we are trying to be forward thinking," Arnett said.
In other matters Folks told the council that the Korean War memorial at Centennial park that was destroyed by a wayward vehicle last year will hopefully be replaced by Memorial Day.
Folks will formally ask the council next week for $8,000 out of the city's contingency fund to cover the remainder of the $66,000 needed to replace the memorial. The Centennial Memorial Committee is supplying $33,000 and another $25,000 is coming from insurance.
During the formal meeting the council voted to authorize the mayor to execute a commercial lease agreement extension with Consolidated Publishing Company, Inc., for property located at 4305 McClellan Boulevard until April 2024. City Hall's new location — the old federal courthouse on Noble Street — should be ready by June 2024 for move-in.
Staff writer Bill Wilson: 256-235-3562. On Twitter @bwilson_star.
