Trees were the dominant topic of conversation at Stellarton Town Council. Councillor Simon
Mayor Danny MacGillivray (Town of Stellarton photo)
Lawand laid out the background at Monday’s regular monthly meeting: following post-tropical storm Fiona, the town received many reports of downed and damaged trees on homes and on town land.
They quickly learned that clearing those trees would be too much for Public Works to handle, so council decided to hire a contractor to clear downed and damaged trees considered a hazard to homes and properties, and to also create a belt of space around abutting properties to prevent possible hazards in the future. But there have been complaints from residents – a couple of them talked to council during the public forum part of the meeting – that the contractor cleared too aggressively, and needlessly cut down many healthy trees. In one case, a resident complained of damage done to their home by the contractor’s equipment.
Mayor Danny MacGillivray and council assured concerned residents that they will address issues with the contractor. Council have also asked town staff to develop a plan for re-planting the affected areas, although Mayor MacGillivray did caution that such a plan will likely take a couple of months to draw up, putting it past time for inclusion in this year’s budget talks.