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June 17, 2006

Anything But That

Work is proceeding on Fayetteville's new sewer project, which has some residents upset. Are they upset because the project is 3 years overdue and almost $60M over budget? Upset because the city is seeking a 1 cent sales tax increase to cover the increased cost? Which if it fails, sewer bills will increase by an estimated 89%?

Don't be silly. Here's why they're upset.

The removal of a swath of trees from Wildwood Park in west Fayetteville is a sign that the $183 million Wastewater System Improvement Project is moving forward.

Oh noes! Not the trees!

The bulldozers and other heavy equipment that cleared 50-foot wide section through the edge of the park may not have affected the neighbors in the manner that would prompt notification, but it still had an effect on the, Jensen said. "It could give you a heart attack if it was com- ing behind your house," she said of the clearing.

.....

Jensen has lived in the neighborhood for 10 years and walks her dogs through the area that was cleared. The area contained several varieties of hardwood trees and dense vegetation, she said.

Bad scary bulldozer! Now she'll have to let her dogs crap on her own property....or not.

Although the trees have been removed, it would be nice if the area could be made more accessible to neighbors, Jensen said. While the city probably won’t build a trail, it could put down a heavy mulch and make the area more available to the public, she said.

If only they'd asked permission before they cleared their own utility easement. Ever notice how hippies have that communal definition of property, what's theirs is theirs and yours is theirs too.

Especially if there's trees involved.

Posted by Rita at June 17, 2006 08:09 AM

Comments

Funny thing about sewer lines: they tend to run through inconvenient places.

Last summer the city replaced a line running through my back yard; they took down the fence and removed half a dozen trees - all of them on the other side of the property line. (They shaved my cottonwood slightly.) They replaced the fence and resodded the ground nearest the cut; more than this I thought it was unreasonable to ask.

Posted by: CGHill at June 18, 2006 11:39 AM

That's pretty much what they did when they installed water lines down home too. I was tickled pink when they ripped through our yard. Safe drinking water that always worked? I wouldn't have cared if they'd cut half the trees in the county.

Posted by: Rita [TypeKey Profile Page] at June 21, 2006 07:38 AM