Cedars Bordering Golf Club Causing Serious Traffic Hazards, Residents Say
by Judy Frank
posted October 6, 2008
Signal Mountain officials took another step toward annexing Windtree and Fox Run subdivisions Monday night, despite furious opposition from residents of the affected areas.
They passed the measure unanimously on first reading. A second and final vote is scheduled to occur at the town council's November meeting.
And in other action, council members listened to a series of residents who live near the Signal Mountain Golf and Country Club complain about the serious traffic hazards caused by the Leland Cyprus trees with which the club has lined its James Boulevard perimeter.
Opponents of the annexation measure renewed their pleas for the council to rethink its decision before the final vote, pointing out that money is extremely tight right now for many people - including a substantial portion of the families who live in Fox Run and Windtree.
Austin Seay, who told council members during their September that residents of the two subdivisions will launch a recall campaign against town officials if the measure passes, spoke again Monday night.
Mr. Seay, noting that he is a retiree, said that he is among the millions of people who are bearing the financial brunt of Wall Street's current meltdown. Already, he said, he has lost bonds in two banks that "went belly-up," and the end of the financial crisis currently facing the nation is nowhere in sight.
Mayor Paul Hendricks told the crowd that council members realize many people are facing tough financial conditions.
But it is only fair that everybody on Signal Mountain who benefits from the new high school and other services should help pay for them, council members believe.
Joe Dumas, who recently waged an ambitious but ultimately unsuccessful battle to replace Chip Baker on the Hamilton County School Board, urged council members not to give final approval to the annexation measure.
This town council has been an excellent one, he said, working hard to make sure that citizens' concerns are heard and addressed.
"Before you take your second vote on annexation," he urged, "think about what you want your legacy to be. Do you want to enlarge Signal Mountain, only to divide it?"
Council members also heard complaints from citizens about the Leland Cyprus trees planted along the perimeter of the Signal Mountain Golf and Country Club, which borders James Boulevard.
The trees are infected with canker, one man told the council, and probably will all be dead within the next five years.
Already, many of the trees have died, people who live near the golf club reported, but nothing has been done to remove the eyesores.
The trees are so tall and so large that they block motorists' views of the road, and about half of them are planted on the town right of way. The have created a particularly dangerous blind curve where James intersects with Laurel, one many noted.
The town can remove the trees that are in the right of way, officials noted, but it is up to the golf and country club to decide what to do about trees that are on the golf course property. They said they will talk to representatives of the club about the situation and possible actions that can be taken.
In the meantime, citizens complained, the unsightly trees will continue to create traffic hazards and block their view of the beautiful sunsets and mountains that nearby James Boulevard residents used to be able to see.
"I have prayed that those trees would die," one woman confessed.
"With some success," the mayor quipped, drawing laughter from the crowd.
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