Ty Vinson / The Olympic (TNS)
The Tumwater City Council has started to discuss whether it is possible for the city to lead 400-year-old Davis Meeker Garry Oak Tree instead of checking the historical landmark.
Mayor Debbie Sullivan originally stopped the tree last year to avoid liability for possible injuries due to falling branches or larger errors. A large branch fell out of the tree in 2023 and partly landed on the old Highway 99. By a number of professional assessments, it was found that the tree is in better health than originally assumed.
However, there are more costs associated with holding the tree there than cutting it off, and the management of the tree means that there is a long -term maintenance plan.
The city administrator Lisa Parks said on Tuesday that the estimated costs for removing the tree were between 26,000 and 40,000 US dollars. Maintaining the tree would cost 45,000 to 85,000 US dollars with additional ongoing expenses.
Parks presented the Council a number of cost factors for maintaining the tree. This includes creating a work plan and a cost assessment in order to get a better understanding of how much money will be devoted to the tree. The tree would also need a long-term tree nursing supervision, and the city would have to obtain permits from the State Department of Archaeology and Historical Preservation, which cost $ 5,000 to $ 10,000 annually.
The order of the operations would be to acquire DHP permits, then select the contractor and develop a work plan and then implement this plan. According to the parks, the city is currently in a 5-year analysis period.
Parks broke the costs associated with the storage of the old tree. The basic circumcision and surveillance, which would include traffic control and the limited cut from Deadwood, would cost around $ 12,000.
Decorative fence installation, parking space removal, soil recovery and moving of soil and power supply would cost between 47,000 and 89,000 US dollars.
The reduction complaints that included traffic control and ongoing maintenance and surveillance could cost more than 37,000 US dollars. A support system such as cabling could cost more than $ 18,000.
Parks said that apart from historical conservation grants, the money from the general fund of the city's budget would come.
Council member Eileen Swarthout said there was a time when the city and the public had the opportunity to save the historic brewery tower. She wondered if a similar effort could be made to save the tree. It is possible to make the project a publicly financed initiative, said Parks.
Sullivan said that the city must have a very important plan.
“How many things that are all enthusiastic at the beginning. Will you still be thrilled in five years, 10 years?” she said. “We have to make sure that something is solid and written that certain criteria are met as long as this tree is.”
Council member Joan Cathey said that she felt that things that have to do with the surrounding area such as trees, water and air are becoming increasingly important for people. She said she didn't believe that interest in keeping the tree standing up will fade.
In many ways, Tumwater was a bit of risk -resistant, which she sometimes frustrated. She said she would like to see how the city makes something “really brave” with this project.
“From the first time we have people from the state, from the United States, who are interested in this problem, the environmental issues of climate change and so on,” said Cathey. “I think we are right at a good time to take a risk.”
She said that the city that sticks to the tree would show that it believes in the historical value of the tree and the importance of the local tribal communities.
Sullivan said this was an ongoing discussion and a project on which the Council will work for a certain period of time.
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