The redneck tree hackers from Lewis Tree Service have butchered my gorgeous, mature trees, along with those of many of my neighbors. We spoke with their rude, uncaring, workers yesterday and informed them that our trees were on JEA's approved list to plant under lines. They have wispy branches that completely lose their leaves at the first cold snap and are only a danger to lines if the whole tree falls. These idiots came back today after we had asked for an arborist and they threatened my husband, saying we had to move our cars or they would tow them, call the police etc. They said they had a signed permit from the Mayor of Jacksonville and that the arborist was a "hard ass" (their words) and that he wouldn't care. Needless to say they completely hacked the trees, cutting the now infamous V in the middle. With all the issues in this city and all that goes undone JEA thinks it is a good use of money to BUTCHER the trees of Jacksonville every couple of years. Oh yea Lewis Tree Service, if you are so worried about the lines maybe you should not have your trucks flying down the street hitting the power lines like I witnessed twice yesterday in fron of my house. MORONS!!!
Well......
I know who NOT to call for Tree Service. I am sorry this took place. What a waste of resources.
At least the crew you confronted had someone on it who spoke English. When the cut the top out of one of my trees in Riverside the entire crew tried to pretend that none on them did.
Lewis Tree Service doesn't have an arborist in Jacksonville anyway and only a couple of crew supervisors for the entire city.
These guys spent 4 days cutting down one tree in my neighborhood, two doors down from me.
It was a large tree, but no way it should have taken them more than 1 - 1.5 days to deal with it. They definitely are milking that JEA contract.
Coincidentally, my 5 X 10 utility trailer was stolen from my driveway over the weekend. First time in 7 years living here something was stolen.
The mature oaks next to the San Marco Library were cut down too. :-( It looks so sad.
I am reporting this to the internal affairs inside JEA.
-Josh
Quote from: wsansewjs on October 26, 2011, 01:25:26 PM
I am reporting this to the internal affairs inside JEA.
-Josh
I think you falsely assume they care enough to have such a department, LOL
Quote from: Debbie Thompson on October 26, 2011, 01:14:59 PM
The mature oaks next to the San Marco Library were cut down too. :-( It looks so sad.
That wasn't JEA - those trees were dying and a safety hazard. See this thread from last night:
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,13545.0.html (http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,13545.0.html)
JEA is quickly moving on to a certain list I have that currently includes the FDOT and JTA.
Quote from: Kay on October 26, 2011, 01:50:07 PM
JEA is quickly moving on to a certain list I have that currently includes the FDOT and JTA.
http://www.movieweb.com/v/VILWChpIhsEuPP
Quote from: wsansewjs on October 26, 2011, 01:25:26 PM
I am reporting this to the internal affairs inside JEA.
-Josh
Let me know if you hear anything. I have left a message for the JEA forrestry dept. but have not received a return call as of yet. I left a detailed message last night letting them know what happened and how upset and distraught I was. I also made it clear multiple times that I expected a call in the morning. Apparently the rude tree guy knew what he was talking about regarding the arborist. It's just so sad that the people who say they care about this city really don't. It's all about greed and money. Butchering as many trees as fast as they can, even if they are no threat and do not need to be trimmed, then collect the check.
Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever been to another city thats power company cuts huge V's out of the middle of their trees?
Quote from: ChriswUfGator on October 26, 2011, 01:44:04 PM
Quote from: wsansewjs on October 26, 2011, 01:25:26 PM
I am reporting this to the internal affairs inside JEA.
-Josh
I think you falsely assume they care enough to have such a department, LOL
What? Did I hear that clear enough? Oh right, you don't believe me.
-Josh
Quote from: Springfield Girl on October 26, 2011, 02:09:08 PM
Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever been to another city thats power company cuts huge V's out of the middle of their trees?
Right after my encounter with Lewis Tree Hackers last year, we happened to spend some time in New Orleans and noticed that their utility did not trim nearly as severely as Lewis/JEA does and they have much the same or denser tree canopy than we do. We tried to take pictures of the difference, but it is difficult to see from the ground.
I don't think that anyone could make the case that New Orleans has a lower incidence of windstorms than we do.
Utility like trimming is terrible. All they care about is the distance from the line. The trees suffer, they look horrible, and the tree is often damaged as a result. There should be no difference in properly trimming or thinning a tree to keep it healthy and balanced, but this is not the case here. I have seen trees made to look like power poles. They do everything short of killing the tree. I guess they would have to pay if they removed it. You were lucky someone answered in English. This is also not the correct time to trim trees, as we are going into winter. Lots of sucker growth is not good.
I now live in Tallhassee, and the trees here are beautiful because of the tree ordinance in place. There is great pride and beauty. The city does not care. I've spoken with some of the major companies Aspluduh, Lewis and Davey, and while they have certified arborists in the company, they do not use them as they should. There is minimal training for the road crews, and clearing the line in the quickest time is the goal.
You should hear what our local, actually qualified arborists say about Lewis' trimming practices. Both Gene Bushor and Early Piety, who have nearly a century of experience between them, wax loudly profane when addressing the subject.
JEA should hire them to trim in the historic districts instead of Lewis, but doing it correctly would probably cost more. Work done by qualified, trained and supervised people rather than immigrant day labor usually does.
Quote from: wsansewjs on October 26, 2011, 02:27:18 PM
Quote from: ChriswUfGator on October 26, 2011, 01:44:04 PM
Quote from: wsansewjs on October 26, 2011, 01:25:26 PM
I am reporting this to the internal affairs inside JEA.
-Josh
I think you falsely assume they care enough to have such a department, LOL
What? Did I hear that clear enough? Oh right, you don't believe me.
-Josh
I was just kidding, at JEA's expense. That wasn't directed at you at all, it was a dig at JEA...
Quote from: Dog Walker on October 26, 2011, 03:34:56 PM
Quote from: Springfield Girl on October 26, 2011, 02:09:08 PM
Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever been to another city thats power company cuts huge V's out of the middle of their trees?
Right after my encounter with Lewis Tree Hackers last year, we happened to spend some time in New Orleans and noticed that their utility did not trim nearly as severely as Lewis/JEA does and they have much the same or denser tree canopy than we do. We tried to take pictures of the difference, but it is difficult to see from the ground.
I don't think that anyone could make the case that New Orleans has a lower incidence of windstorms than we do.
I'm from New Orleans and I can tell you they definitley do not hack their trees like JEA/Lewis do here. I can't look at the front of my house now without being distraught over the horrendous butchering of my beautiful trees. Seven years of love and care ruined by lazy, ignorant morons. The thing that makes it worse is that these trees did not need to be cut. They are River Birch and are on JEA's approved list to plant under lines. They had reached their maximum height and size. At this maturity the branches are still fine and wispy and no threat to taking down lines. I have no doubt that the service gets paid by the address or number of trees, so wants to cut every tree regardless of whether it is a threat or not.
Here is an interesting excerpt from JEA's own "Tree Trimming Policy". If nothing else it's good for an ironic laugh.
QuoteExceptions: Regarding portions of JEA’s mainline circuits located in
areas designated as Historic Districts and/or other areas with significant
established tree canopies, the Regular and ERT Standards should be
pursued where possible. Adequate consideration will be given however,
to balancing the needs of JEA’s VMP against the needs of the community,
customers and property owners. Where possible, the Standards should be
adhered to. However, when pursuing VM activities in these areas, the
JEA Forester will work closely with internal and external stakeholders to
achieve the right balance on a case-by-case, location-by-location basis.
Refer to diagram 3 below.
Yeah you like those documents I got you dontcha? They're defnitely good for comedic value...
QuoteThe thing that makes it worse is that these trees did not need to be cut. They are River Birch and are on JEA's approved list to plant under lines. They had reached their maximum height and size. At this maturity the branches are still fine and wispy and no threat to taking down lines. I have no doubt that the service gets paid by the address or number of trees, so wants to cut every tree regardless of whether it is a threat or not.
They have no training to tell one kind of tree from another or how to trim different kinds of trees in a different manner appropriate to the growth pattern.
River Birches are great urban trees.
i really hate how they just completely whack the palms and cause their death. This happend to many old, beautiful Sabal Palms in Springfield.
So I still have not received a return phone call from the forestry dept. at JEA but they did take the time to send a generic email response to the detailed email I sent them. I thought it was a nice touch that they want me to file a complaint instead of taking care of their own issues and employees.
Here is what I received.
Thank you for your online inquiry. I appreciate your bringing this matter to my attention. I regret you had this unpleasant experience and wish to apologize on behalf of JEA for any distress it may have caused you. Please feel free to call the Lewis Tree Service at 665-6050 to log any complaint.
Thank you,
JEA Customer Service
This is an auto-acknowledgment. Please do not reply to this email.
For electronic assistance, select the “Contact Us†link on the top right corner of any jea.com web
I still have not received a response to the email I sent Lewis Tree Service.
Yeah, welcome to JEA. A lawyer is about the only way to get actual information out of them, just FYI. What do you expect, their structure has us all on the hook for the bill but with no oversight. This is the logically expected result. JEA's structure needs to be revisited if we all want an end to these problems.
Everything needs an attorney these days. Ridiculous (no offense chriswufgator.)
Figuring I need to send my son to law school rather than having him persue that engineering degree he talks about.
Fact is, JEA doesn't care.
Fact is, that stupid tree butchering company doesn't care.
Fact is, we need our council person to scream out loud that this is not acceptable and make it stop.
(d)
Any person, organization, society, association, corporation or agent thereof who intends to trim, prune, cut, disturb roots, or to destroy or remove any tree from a public easement, public property or right-of-way shall obtain a permit from the Chief. All work shall be conducted in strict accordance with the National Arborist Association Pruning Standards for Shade Trees, the American National Standards for Tree Care Operations (ANSI #Z133.1), and any additional conditions of such permit.
(e)
Any department or division of the City of Jacksonville, any independent authority or agency of the City of Jacksonville, and any provider or utility service may obtain an annual permit to trim or remove trees for maintenance purposes, for the installation of new facilities, or to maintain proper clearance on existing facilities upon the submission of an operational manual, procedures and/or standards for such work within the service area of the utility, which manual, procedures and/or standards shall be subject to the review and approval of the Chief. A separate annual permit shall be obtained for areas designated as scenic and historic corridors established pursuant to Section 656.1219, which permit shall include the procedures, standards and conditions imposed by council, if any, in the ordinance designating the corridor. All work shall be conducted in strict accordance with the permit; provided, however, that the requirements of this Section shall not restrict in any manner whatsoever or prohibit any provider of utility service from taking any action to trim or remove trees which is reasonably required in order to restore utility service. The permit holder shall make every reasonable effort to minimize the impact on the environment, including consideration of alternatives for the provision of service.
Note that in these excerpts from the municipal code that the ordinary tax payer is held to a higher standard than any independent authority (that would be JEA and the rest of them, too). It would be interesting to see the so-called operational manual, procedures and/or standards as required in the annual permit for trimming or removal for maintenance purposes.
It would also be interesting if one or more of our council persons would introduce legislation that included the same wording for section (e) as is required for section (d).
Quote from: iloveionia on October 28, 2011, 10:32:25 PM
Everything needs an attorney these days. Ridiculous (no offense chriswufgator.)
Figuring I need to send my son to law school rather than having him persue that engineering degree he talks about.
Fact is, JEA doesn't care.
Fact is, that stupid tree butchering company doesn't care.
Fact is, we need our council person to scream out loud that this is not acceptable and make it stop.
Agree 100% .... I think there are plenty of tree companies just as willing to do the work , and do so without ruining the trees. This group is clearly not qualified.
Huge national company using cheap, immigrant labor = low bidder.