How could you make the terrible idea to cut down a bunch of trees in Lincoln Park potentially a little more terrible? Hmmm...
How about by cutting down all the trees, except for twenty, which you just top, then allow them to become...Chainsaw carvings. This is, in fact, Sissi Bruch's big vision for Lincoln Park. Why do I get the feeling that if you loved the rusty Bob Stokes art downtown, you'll love the chainsaw creations that would result from such an approach.
Or, putting it another way: I have no doubt that enabling a chainsaw sculpture section of Lincoln Park would create a local "draw" that would easily be twenty times more popular than Nathan West's Boondoggle Beach. Easily.
A bear necessity? Probably not.
A necessity and tourist temptation? Probably not.
This in a community whose best known carving was a big hand flipping visitors the bird? Probably the second most prominent carving is that god awful eagle they did outside city hall. Oh, and let's not forget that it was essentially this city council that wanted to put a "sculpture" of dead trees at the entrance to town a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteSissi has finally gone full on redneck local with this idea. It's terrible, and will be a nightmare if it comes to pass. Once again, way to go council.
And all this logging for the pipedream that one day, some gummint agency will re-subsidize unprofitable "air service"? Not buying it.
DeleteMore like loggers livin' the dream.
Which candidates will actually new invite entrepreneurs and green(ish) businesses to the city? The citizens are tapped out with taxes & fees, and these hair-brained schemes are, well, just hair-brained.
Yes. You know, one of my first thoughts when I saw this story was, "Cut the trees...For what planes?"
DeleteHere's a hypothetical ending to the Lincoln Park trees vs. trumped-up airport runway interference issues:
ReplyDeleteThe Port will re-acquire the Critchfield property (now dedicated to sprint boating and "extreme sports") and offer to trade it to the City in exchange for Lincoln Park. The City, channeling former CM Larry Williams, will jump to accept the deal.
The Port can then have its way with all the trees in the park, and the city will acquire already developed recreational land that has proven to be oh so much more desirable and amenable to public use.
Then, years from now the Port can exercise its "avignation easement" over the "Lincoln/Critchfield Park" and require the city to remove any perceived interferences with plans to expand airport runways to the west.
Print it. Send it to the parties involved. Sounds like a, well, not a GOOD plan, but one that could get traction there, yes indeedy.
DeleteThe port has a way of putting words into the mouth of the FAA. Has anyone seen a credible document from FAA suggesting these trees be cut down? Last I heard the FAA recommended installing lights on the taller trees to alert pilots to their clearances. Maybe that is where Dan Gase is earning his $6,000 a month from the port--selling the council on this idea.
ReplyDeleteHey! If you have a winning formula on how to be Loserville USA, why change it?
ReplyDeleteReally. Look around. As is said so often, drive to the I-5 corridor, then turn around, and drive back to Port Angeles. As you drive for hours along single lane roads, think about who is willing to do this drive every day. Or once a week. For what? To end up in an ugly town that fights it's own residents, and has been listed as one of the worst places to live in Washington State. Also listed as one of the most dangerous places to live in Washington State.
Yes, I know there are those that think they can make this "sows'ear into a silk purse". Good luck with that.
Sissi should know the only people that are going to see those carved up trees are local residents. The tourists know better, and keep driving through, and out of, town.
Have spent a lot of time downtown recently. Yeah, empty most of the time. But, you know who really is benefiting from the tourism in the area? Besides Black Ball Ferry? The downtown Safeway.
Their parking lot is almost always filled with cars with plates from all over.
Of course, the two other places "in town" that have packed parking lots are the Deer Park Cinema, and Walmart.
Back to cutting down the trees at Lincoln. Why is this even being discussed? The reasoning previously was that the Port couldn't get grants from the Feds unless the airport had line of sight landing specs that met certain criteria. But the airport is defunct now.
Oh, I know. It isn't really defunct. We still have private aircraft using it. So the public park gets shaved, so the rich can fly into Port Angeles in their planes?
I think attendance at Deer Park is spotty at best. Maybe if there's some blockbuster kids movie or something but when I've gone to any non-Disney movie there's been maybe 12 cars tops. Or perhaps the parking lot is packed for the church meetings? Either way I hear more and more people telling me they make the trip to Silverdale to see a movie because the floor isn't sticky, you don't fall through the broken seats, you can recline in the seats and still have room to walk across the row, and the snacks are so much better.
DeleteDeer Park may not be in Port Angeles, but it still maintains the low levels of quality you'd expect in Clallam County. I'll just stream it at home in a month, thank you very much.
DeleteAttendance at Deer Park may be spotty, but they have more cars there in an afternoon, than most any downtown business sees in a month.
DeleteAnd Walmart? That is by far the most patronized business in the immediate Port Angeles area.
Draw your own conclusions.
Ahh yes. The horrendous eagles that replaced the beautiful tree at the entrance to The Vern Burton. Lets not forget about all of the mature trees on Peabody Street that some idiots just cut off and left the stumps. Right across the street from the Courthouse. Who cares about how PA looks, anyway?
ReplyDeletethat would be the city's concept of "taking out trees" that were buckling sidewalks. The city hates trees.
DeleteYes, I was at that City Council meeting back in 2004 when it was proposed to plant trees along 101 on the way into the city. As soon as Larry Williams pointed out the city was going to have to clean up leaves, that was the end of that idea.
DeleteSo short sighted. A prettier city increases property values, and brings in more tax revenue for the city. Far more than it would take to clean up leaves.
But, this is stupid Port Angeles.
Yes, Larry you are wonderful. A legend in your own mind.
DeleteI'd carve them all into 10 foot wieners. A sure hit for tourists. Lol. :D
ReplyDeleteHow about carving them into middle fingers like the one that used to be in front of the Loomis tavern.
DeleteWhen I first saw this posting, I thought (hoped) it was a joke...THIS is the best Sissi Bruch can do after her years on the council? This is potentially her environmental legacy? Dead trees and bad chain saw art? Is this what victory looks like for environmentalists here? Oh my God.
ReplyDeleteHey, Sissi! Here's an even better idea.
ReplyDeleteAfter you cut the trees down, you PLANT NEW ONES.
Not to be too obvious, but, right? Or can we only destroy things in Port Angeles?
It's too radical an idea. "Go back to Seattle hippie!"
DeleteKONP's site is reporting that only 8 trees were approved for cutting.
ReplyDeletethen why is the latest city missive (for an emergency July 3 meeting) this: Today the Port Commission adopted a resolution declaring any encroachment of trees into the airport’s glide path an emergency due to the fact that it could prevent life line flights from leaving Port Angeles at night. The Port and the City recognize the critical need for life line flights to be available, and do not want to risk the loss of these flights, even if just for a day.
DeleteOn July 3, staff will be recommending to the Council authorization for the City Manager to work with Port of Port Angeles staff to remove the 38 trees identified by the Port’s consultant as obstructions penetrating into the airport’s glide path. To help expedite tree removal, the City Manager is allowing the Port to hire a surveyor to mark the trees within Lincoln Park that need to be removed. We felt it was important for the Council to know this process could start as early as this weekend. Just to clarify, absolutely no trees will be removed prior to Council’s authorization. Please let Dan know if you have any questions about this.
Um, how did the matter of medical flights suddenly become an "emergency"? Did the city just now get a letter from FAA banning instrument flights out of PA because of the trees? Anyone know?
DeleteOh, "emergency" and "safety" are the way you have to phrase things you can't get done any other way.
DeleteRight. We can't wait ONE DAY longer. The RISK is so great.
What a fucked up town.
The FAA has been warning the Port about this for a long time. 8 trees too tall. they keep growing, big shock. That is the emergency, the FAA filed a Notice to pilots that our instrument landing gear is not available after dark. So, oh well. (I think helicopters aren't affected.)
DeleteThe FAA has given the port money to hire consultants to create a "master plan". (Hello Dan Gase's fat paycheck?)
Meanwhile, the Parks and Rec suit at the city has moved so that the slush fund from Lincoln Park Trees, isn't just set aside to refurbish Lincoln Park (when the time comes) but it can be used for all city parks (hello new sound system for Civic Field??).
The 38 trees, could be 60, it could be the whole park, only the consultants haven't gotten back to anyone, yet.
But, only 8 trees are urgent. So top them, or cut them, but lets get all this other stuff out in the open, and not let a emergency meeting the day before July 4th, become a total scam on us all.
BC just held a "no confidence" vote, and dumped the Premier 6 weeks after the election there. If only we could do that, here.
ReplyDeleteA cutter is cheap. A topper costs money. Only in PA could you screw up tree removal. This has to be the stupidest idea since building a fake beach. Lol. :D
ReplyDeleteOne of many stupid ideas this town's leadership comes up with.
DeleteChallenge: Name one really smart & well thought out project that PA has done as a city, in recent memory.
DeletePA citizens, now ask yourselves why.
Not why there isn't a good answer to this challenge, but why you think this state of affairs is OK.
@Anon 9:21
DeleteBecause basically, no one cares. A few morons come up with stupid ideas once in awhile, they scam some money to make it look viable (if they are any good at the scam process here), they may get something going for awhile, but it invariably fails.
This is Port Angeles. Where stupid is right.
As usual, whatever they are saying publicly is not the real deal. These people are thinking two to three years ahead of the current dialog. By the time it comes up to public discussion the fix is already in all the up and down the line. That is why I get queasy every time I see joint meeting between the Port and any other local entity. The port gets to lurk in dark mystery until they need cover to spend another few million of tax dollars and then they trot out the line of thinking they want the PDN to push. Then the conversation is all about the canard they put forth when the real action is elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteStupid ideas like Sissi's? Things that can be done? Are being done, anywhere but in Port Angeles?
ReplyDeleteCame across a story from a few months ago in a major economics oriented publication.
" The wind blowing across Wildpoldsried towards the Alps lazily turns the turbines on the hills above. The south-facing roofs of the houses, barns and cowsheds are blanketed with blue photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. The cows on the green fields produce manure that generates biogas which warms the Biergarten, the sports hall and many of the houses where the 2,600 villagers live, as well as backing up the wind and solar generators in winter. All told, the village produces five times more electricity than it needs, and the villagers are handsomely rewarded for their greenness; in 2016 they pocketed about €6m ($7m) from subsidies and selling their surplus electricity."
2,600 residents. Port Angeles has about 20,000.
I know. Stupid idea. No future in what they've invested in. Shipping logs to China and servicing oil tankers, THAT's where our economic future is.
Y'all realize that Sissi is gonna be our next Mayor, right? She will have a placard in front of her place at the dias that reads "Mayor Brainiac".
ReplyDeleteI just can't wait for Sissi to be outr Mayor. Really. Just. Can't. Wait.
DeleteCouncil to meet again tonight. Getting pressured from the Port to clearcut - what a surprise.
ReplyDeleteMake Port Angeles Great Again.
DeleteYep, now it's 74 trees and counting. Tell us again why was this a sudden emergency?
DeleteSee related comments below...
Delete74 trees will be cut down!
ReplyDeleteIt will be SOO beautiful. The best park in Port Angeles. People will flock to the place to sit among the stumps.
ReplyDeleteWhat is next?
Tree cutting day is finally here! Close off the park so we can play with the big saw heads!! YAY!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd the city says yay too, cause now they can make another payroll!
74 carving contest poles. 74 potential wieners. Only in PA could you find such dysfunction. Lol. Will these logs end up stacked at the Airport entrance? Quite the mountain last time I drove on by PA. Lol. Drove on by! :D
ReplyDeleteGuess who got the contract for tree removal?
ReplyDeleteDo tell!
DeleteI would love to know who was chosen to receive 300,000 bucks for cutting down 38 trees.This was such a huge "Fake" emergency that there was no time to allow bidding. The FAA shut down instrument approach landing on runway 26 on June 15th. The other runway was still clear for landing as far as I know. It was not an emergency from June 15th to June 27th when the city council approved the 8 trees plus an additional 12 trees the Port had questions about. I did not become an emergency until a report from some consult identified a total of about 80 trees that needed to come down magically arrived on the Port directors desk on June 30th. I wonder if this is the same company the Port consunlted during their previous push to clear cut the park. At that time it was recommended that all of the trees be cut down because of disease or danger of disease.I found that odd because the disease rate was no higher then the disease rate in the national forest. Most of the trees in Lincoln Park are Douglas Firs. Dougles firs happen to be one type of tree that usually handle topping fairly well. This has been a problem for the Port in their several year push to clear cut the park So they have not addressed topping at all. They are now going to get an easement from the city that includes Lincoln Park. I say this because it sounds like the easement has already been agreed to with only the payment to the city for it in question. Once the Port gets the easement they can cut any trees they wish down. They want to cut them all.The Port has suggested to the city that it can pay for this easement over the park with a grant for it from the FAA. The problem for the Port is that since the airport does not need an easement over the park to safely run air traffic the FAA will not be handing out a grant for it. According to the Master Plan they have had for years their consultants recommend that once the trees are gone the kids fishing ponds will have to go because without trees they will become a magnet to any and all waterfowl passing overhead. This draw will actually create a safety hazard for the air traffic. According to previously published news stories the Port also plans on putting in a new road,new hangers and that will be their reason for removing the kids ball fields on the airport side of the road.It seems odd that the FAA does not have the Ports Master Plan. This might very well be because it would create a problem for the Port when information that is given to the city and the FAA are not the same. The Port has already removed over 300 trees from Lincoln Park for one reason or another and as far as I know they have not replanted a single tree. I have no idea what happened to the money from the harvest of those trees.
ReplyDeleteSome excellent points, Bif. It's impossible to buy this an any sort of "emergency" when, A) It's a "problem" that's been talked about for going on a DECADE, and B) There is no air service to that airport anyway. Hello!
DeleteBut, obviously, some good ol' boy got tired of waiting for a promised payoff, so - abracadabra! - it's an "emergency" and huge amounts of money MUST BE SPENT RIGHT NOW.
RIGHT NOW! Or...Or...Or...
Yep, them good ole boys always a step ahead of those patsys on the council. Gosh forbid they should ask any real questions. Once again shows that "staff" obviously runs things, not the council.
DeleteGood informative post, Bif.
I am kind of stunned reading the Port o Call's latest story about this 901,000 bucks that must be spent now, that the county commissioners insist on giving to the housing authority. First they claimed it was to build a boys and girls club and then it was identified as money to tear down houses and prep the area for new construction. Now Jim Jones is just calling the pit where 901,000 of our tax dollars will disappear into a "grey area" They admit they have no clue now who the money is going to or what the money will be used for... maybe a loan to the business partners we cannot identify and who we have no actual building contract with, for cocaine and whores? I am really surprised that Selinda isn't screaming her guts out about this.The only thing I can figure is she is so fucking sick the the county commissioners and all of their bullshit she just wants out and would probably like to take every dollar in the county treasury and shove them up Jim Jones ass one at a time. Couldn't really blame her for that.
DeleteThe forces of evil are powerful. You may notice Port O call is under a No-Contact order. Like they even know what these people look like.
Delete