Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Carpenter Street topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission hears revised planting plan for Carpenter Street project; contractors to restore Johnny Appleseed Park
Summary
The commission reviewed a reworked landscaping plan for Carpenter Street’s utility undergrounding that would add roughly 8–10 trees and replace dead stock; commissioners also pressed for a concrete restoration and soil-remediation plan for Johnny Appleseed Park, which contractors are using as a staging area.
The Athens Shade Tree Commission on May 20 reviewed a substantially revised planting plan for the Carpenter Street utility undergrounding and discussed restoration of Johnny Appleseed Park, which contractors are using as a staging site.
The chair said the commission met on the ground with landscape planners and construction staff and that the revised plan now includes expanded tree lawns and “somewhere between 8 to 10 in addition to what is already there and then, some replacements to some of the dead stuff.” The chair said the commission has not yet received a finalized drawing but will circulate it when available.
Commissioner 2 urged the city and contractors to include soil remediation in the park’s restoration after machinery and graveling: “We’re gonna have to do a lot of soil remediation work. The soil there is gonna be incredibly compacted after putting that gravel and running machinery over it for 6 months,” the commissioner said.
The chair said city leadership (including the service/safety director) has committed that the site will be restored and suggested the commission seek a concrete plan and a funding path before work concludes; the chair noted the project’s timeline currently stretches to November.
Commissioners discussed planting-pocket depths created by construction and species choices to avoid repeating past failures. The chair described excavation of about 36 inches (3 feet) and said planners were receptive to the commission’s species recommendations.
Next steps described at the meeting included obtaining the updated planting plan from the project team, coordinating with the service/safety director on a restoration plan and funding, and monitoring whether the contractor’s restoration includes soil remediation rather than only replanting.
The meeting concluded without a formal vote on the plan; commissioners agreed to review any updated plan when circulated.
