Third Avenue residents would rather keep trees in alley

By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX  —  At least two residents on Third Avenue say they would prefer that the village not clear out trees and other landscaping from the alley to prepare for the Third Avenue construction project.

Holly and Chad Berge, residents at 502 East Third Avenue, spoke to the Colfax Village Board during the public comments portion of the June 13 meeting.

“I am not in favor of the trees being removed,” Holly Berge said.

Berge said that she and her husband, Chad, have lived there for the last two years but knows that for at least the last 20 years, the village has not maintained or used the alley in question.

The Colfax Village Board approved a survey of the Third and Fourth Avenue alley in May after receiving a report from Rand Bates, director of public works, that the alley was impassable because of trees, bushes and flowers that had been planted on village property.

The village board’s streets committee met the week before the June 13 village board meeting to review estimates for removing trees from the alley between Third and Fourth Avenue but decided to hold off on a recommendation to the village board until additional information could be obtained.

“We hate to see the trees go for just a couple of months,” Holly Berge told the village board at the June 13 meeting.

Third Avenue is scheduled to be reconstructed later this summer, and residents will need to use the alley to access their property during certain phases of construction.

The trees and bushes provide shade, and they help to maintain a sense of privacy, Holly Berge said.

Other property owners are concerned, too, and the proposal “seems rushed,” she said.

The streets committee received two estimates for removing trees and bushes from the alley between East Third and Fourth Avenue, one for $2,075 and one for $2,740.

During the June 8 streets committee meeting, Annie Schieber, village trustee and a member of the committee, noted that the trees that had been identified for removal are “old-old trees, and there are not many left in the village.”

Mark Halpin, village trustee and member of the committee, pointed out that the village has not maintained the alley for the last 20 or 30 years, and that the trees would not grow back for quite a while.

Carey Davis, village trustee and chair of the streets committee, wondered if the trees and bushes remained, would residents still be able to use the alley during the street construction project.

“They will not be able to with the trees in the way,” Bates said.

At the June 13 village board meeting, Scott Gunnufson, village president, noted that the streets committee would be meeting again about the alley and would consider Holly and Chad Berge’s concerns.