(http://i.imgur.com/3RxFi7Q.png)
I would be very cautious of Lewis Tree. They are best known for utility and right of way hacking and chopping. They should use a certified arborist that speaks english.
It may be a good idea to get some before pictures this weekend. Just saying....
Quote from: thelakelander on October 03, 2013, 01:52:50 PM
It may be a good idea to get some before pictures this weekend. Just saying....
Definitely. I'm sure there will be plenty of people out there to monitor as well.
Likely the lowest bidder.
Quote from: mbwright on October 03, 2013, 01:49:05 PM
I would be very cautious of Lewis Tree. They are best known for utility and right of way hacking and chopping. They should use a certified arborist that speaks english.
They will undoubtedly use local crews not their national, utility line crews. Let's hope that Early Piety is standing by to supervise them.
The non-English speaking utility crews from Lewis have now all been hired by Trees, Inc. who has JEA's tree trimming contract this time. Different company, same crews. They all have at least one English speaking crew member BTW if not all, but they will frequently claim, "no English, no English" to avoid a confrontation with an irate resident.
Anyone out that way that can share some pics of what has been done and perhaps take a look at whether or not the destroyed electrical outlets have been fixed?
At Art Walk last night, a lot of the booths in Hemming Park had electricity, not sure where it was coming from, but it looked like at least some went to the outlets in the park.
$124k to trim trees? Nice...
Quote from: Charles Hunter on October 03, 2013, 07:05:32 PM
At Art Walk last night, a lot of the booths in Hemming Park had electricity, not sure where it was coming from, but it looked like at least some went to the outlets in the park.
Thanks Charles. 124k indeed Ennis. I wonder if this is coming out of the 200K Denise Lee got for Hemming. It would not surprise me. Wasn't she one of the ones pushing to cut the trees?
^^i wouldn't think it would be part of the $200k as that was for the current fiscal year which just started on 10/1. But per the release above this was originally scheduled for 9/23 but delayed until now because of equipment issues.
Quote from: thelakelander on October 03, 2013, 01:52:50 PM
It may be a good idea to get some before pictures this weekend. Just saying....
+1,000
Quote from: edjax on October 03, 2013, 07:51:19 PM
^^i wouldn't think it would be part of the $200k as that was for the current fiscal year which just started on 10/1. But per the release above this was originally scheduled for 9/23 but delayed until now because of equipment issues.
Good point and this will be worth remembering when we see how this expense was actually paid for. Need to find out if it was included in the last budget for parks or if the funds came from someplace else.
Quote from: thelakelander on October 03, 2013, 07:10:00 PM
$124k to trim trees? Nice...
we just paid $1800 to have trees trimmed at our complex...now given they are smaller trees and there are fewer of them, but $124k seems ridiculous
A shout out to Riverside Avondale Preservation which continues to work with JEA to better trim the neighborhood's trees. For the first time since I've lived here, the trees were not completely butchered. We all know how fashionable it is for the folks at MetroJacksonville to rip apart RAP, but they do great things for the 'hood and I appreciate their work to protect our awesome canopy. Sending in my membership money today.
Just to be clear of how things work at this site, MetroJacksonville doesn't go out of its way to rip apart RAP. You'll be hard pressed to find a Metro Jacksonville written article (the stuff on the front page of the site) purposely throwing below the belt blows at RAP. As a board, Riverside/Avondale politics is not a priority focus.
However, we have configured our site to allow for all residents to express their thoughts on a variety of issues concerns with our discussion board (that also includes members of RAP as individual participants). A major part of this site's success is that it's highly interactive and because of the following we generate, words expressed get exposed in a city where censoring the "little guy" had become common.
With that said, I do believe the sentiment expressed by individual members from the Jacksonville community and Riverside itself, indicates the neighborhood is becoming more diverse in its make up. The success of RAP over the years is a major reason for this. Nevertheless, when an urban community becomes more diverse, it's not uncommon that all neighbors will march to the same beat on every particular issue concerning the community. That appears to be what's taking place. Metro Jacksonville just happens to offer a forum where that dialogue isn't outright censored by controlling parties that may not agree with everything being expressed. IMO, neighborhood groups, city officials, businesses, etc. should use this tool as an advantage of engaging the general public.
Quote from: stephendare on October 04, 2013, 10:32:55 AM
Quote from: Duvaltopia on October 04, 2013, 10:03:39 AM
A shout out to Riverside Avondale Preservation which continues to work with JEA to better trim the neighborhood's trees. For the first time since I've lived here, the trees were not completely butchered. We all know how fashionable it is for the folks at MetroJacksonville to rip apart RAP, but they do great things for the 'hood and I appreciate their work to protect our awesome canopy. Sending in my membership money today.
Its not 'fashionable' to 'rip apart RAP'
And most of us are very personally warm with the venerable historic preservation group and have very common ground with many of their goals.
But that doesnt mean that we all agree on everything or that RAP can do no wrong.
An RAP committee worked very hard with JEA over a couple of months and persuaded them that their normal tree trimming practices were not appropriate for the historic district where houses are so close to the street. There were meetings, field trips, heated arguments, instant agreements and mutual respect among the participants. A lot of work by all parties.
After twenty or more years of complaints from residents, JEA has not only changed their methods but is using specially trained crews under constant supervision. They are also replacing open-wire secondary circuits (240volt) with insulated wire to reduce the need for trimming for these low placed wires.
Kay Ehas led this effort for RAP.
A top JEA executive said to me something very telling: "We are an accounting and engineering driven firm. It is difficult and unusual for us to incorporate any other values in our operations."
It took direction from the very top of JEA management to include those other values in their practices. It also took a city councilman going totally ballistic over a tree butchered across the street from him without the required notice to get their attention.
Kay has added a large lump of good karma to her store of it.
Paul: we had a great team working on it--including you. Couldn't have done it without you.
Anyone stop by and check yet?