After tree removing uproar in Olde Town, Augusta mayor seeks to form new city department

Just days after residents loudly told city officials to find solutions for implementing infrastructure improvements other than cutting down many of the large trees in Olde Town , Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson said he wants to hire a city arborist and form a new city department for landscapes and tree maintenance.

The mayor said he would like to include funding for the proposed department in the 2025 city budget.

Johnson said he believes the responsibility for planning and managing spaces like the sidewalks and large mediums on streets like Telfair, Broad and Greene should come under one department and include an arborist.

Arborists are professionals who care for trees and other woody plants.

“You don’t have to go far from the Municipal Building to see trees that need to be cut down,” he said. “All of that responsibility should fall under one department.”

The conversation needs to turn to beautifying the city and to global warming, he said.

Several speakers, many of them Olde Town residents upset at plans to cut down trees in their neighborhood, at a meeting this week stressed that trees keep the area cooler, even as temperatures continue to rise. Without the trees providing shade in the hot summer months, electricity bills will soar, they said.

More: A 'de-gardened' Garden City? Olde Town residents upset over plan to cut down trees

About 100 oak trees and crape myrtles are set to be taken down soon. They are marked with a large, bright pink X painted on them. Many others have already been removed. The roots from these old trees have damaged roads, sidewalks, and other infrastructure.

The more than $100 million project that would remove so many trees involve streetscape improvements, infrastructure upgrades, utility relocation, moving water lines, curb and gutter upgrades, resurfacing, and planting new trees on streets to include Greene, Broad, Telfair, Fifth, Sixth and Ninth streets.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: After tree removing uproar in Olde Town, Augusta mayor seeks to form new city department