By B.C. Manion
The trees in the medians on a stretch of US 41 in Lutz are staying — at least for now.
Besides putting away the chainsaws, the county also offered an olive branch to pacify an angry crowd gathered at the Lutz Community Center on Jan. 24.
“I apologize that the county government didn’t reach out to you earlier because it’s not the way we want to conduct business,” deputy county administrator Lucia Garsys told a crowd of roughly 100 to 150 people.
“Where did we goof? We goofed because we didn’t get to you in advance to have this conversation way before these trees were marked,” Garsys said.
She asked the community to give the county time to work things out, and she asked for the community’s help in finding a solution.
“I am here to say that we need to figure out a way to work together,” Garsys said.
For their part, speakers made it plain they oppose the removal of the trees. They also voiced skepticism about the county’s sincerity.
The county’s conciliatory tone followed its initial plan to chop down the trees without public input.
Crews had marked trees within the medians of US 41. Some trees have orange ribbons indicating they should be spared, and some have orange Xs to show they should be cut.
Lutz residents began asking questions when they noticed the markings on Jan. 11. The county initially planned to begin chopping down the trees on Jan. 14. But it put the brakes on that plan after residents found out what was going on and peppered the county with complaints. Instead of taking the trees down, the county scheduled the community meeting.
Garsys provided some background on the issue at the meeting.
The county signed an agreement roughly 15 years ago to maintain the trees, she said. At the time, the county intended to partner with volunteer groups to provide the maintenance. That could not be accomplished, however, because the volunteers were unable to meet the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)’s requirements.
In November, the county decided it was going to return maintenance to the FDOT.
When the FDOT learned the county was backing away from the maintenance agreement, it identified 80-plus trees that would need to be removed and about 50 that could stay, according to Jim V. Moulton Jr., director of transportation operations for District VII of the FDOT.
“The Department of Transportation is not in the position to maintain those landscaped areas. That’s not what our budget covers. Our budget is for mowing grassed areas,” Moulton said.
So, the county marked the trees and planned to cut down dozens before residents noticed and rebelled.
Their anger was apparent at the Jan. 24 meeting.
Lutz resident John Hodges put it like this, “I’m not a tea party guy, but I don’t trust anything you all say. These people pay a lot of money in taxes. For the dollars, the people here in Lutz, they don’t get their money’s worth, in my opinion. … You want involvement in government? You got involvement in government.”
Mike White, founder and president of the Lutz Citizen Coalition, echoed Hodges’ sentiments: “There is a distrust, and truthfully there has not been a whole lot of effort on your part to resolve that. There’s a huge disconnect on multiple levels.”
Jan Smith recalled that the trees were planted to provide visual relief from the ugly six-lane highway that was pushed through the community.
Gaye Townsend, who has been active on Lutz issues for decades, insisted that the county has an obligation to maintain the trees. She cited an agreement made in 1997.
“It is legal and it’s binding,” Townsend said.
Ron Stoy, also active in Lutz issues for decades, urged community members to remain involved: “This is a political problem. That’s all it is. It’s a matter of showing up here today and showing people we’re serious about our community.”
Mary Danielewicz-Bryon, a certified arborist, urged officials to keep the trees. She said the trees are planted in a large enough area, are doing well and were planted to replace trees that were removed to construct the road.
Beyond that, they provide many benefits, including beauty, she said.
“They create a sense of place. Don’t remove our sense of place,” the arborist said.
While the community appears willing to help, using volunteers doesn’t seem to be an option.
Moulton noted that the FDOT has standards for who can maintain the medians, with a focus on safety for the people doing the work as well as motorists.
Allowing teenage volunteers, or even older ones, to maintain the medians would not be wise, Moulton said: “It’s just not safe. You need to have professionals.”
State Sen. John Legg summed up the session, which lasted more than two hours, in this way, “You’ve heard the old saying, ‘Don’t mess with Texas.’ Don’t mess with Lutz.”
He told the crowd that he heard the county, the community and the FDOT say that they want to work something out.
The crowd’s reaction to Legg’s assessment of the FDOT’s attitude indicated that they didn’t agree, but Legg pressed on that he thinks the state roads agency will cooperate.
Legg also told residents they shouldn’t be too concerned about how long it takes to find a solution — as long as the county continues to maintain the median landscaping in the meanwhile.
