FERGUS – Centre Wellington Township is attempting to save some mature trees that had been destined for the chopping block as part of plans for the township’s new operations centre.
“Five mature trees that were originally planned to be removed will be preserved,” Centre Wellington manager of strategic initiatives and communications Kendra Martin said in an email.
But the preservation may only be temporary.
The trees in question are located along Gartshore Street in Fergus, where a neighbour raised concerns earlier this week after encountering workers cutting down century-old maples bordering the site of the future operations centre.
Two of the trees had already been removed, but Mayor Shawn Watters was persuaded to intervene on behalf of the ones that had not yet been felled.
Watters visited the site and asked for a “stay,” so staff could take another look at the removal plan and verify whether the trees did in fact need to come down.
“These things are usually part of a bigger site plan,” he said, noting he has a background in landscape architecture.
“There’s usually a rationale for taking out certain trees.”
The plan had included removing 130 of the 330 trees on the site, Watters said. But Martin said Friday the design team has since reviewed and revised the removal plan.
Of the five mature trees now being preserved, two had been “identified for removal to provide better sightlines when exiting the main works yard entrance,” said Martin.
These will be preserved “for now,” she said, with the township waiting to get a better sense of sightlines once construction is complete.
“We may be able to accomplish what we need with pruning,” she said.
The other three trees were supposed to have come out to accommodate the north entrance into the works yard, but that entrance won’t be needed until later.
“This entrance is not required until Phase 2 is constructed and therefore we have eliminated this entrance for now and will reassess when Phase 2 commences,” Martin said.
Asked if she could provide a clearer picture of which trees were being preserved, Martin said she could not.