LANCASTER – South Glengarry council is not keen on a suggestion by township staff to clear-cut a roadside park full of majestic Scotch Pine trees, north of Lancaster.
Glen Gordon Park is on County Road 34 and Concession Road 4, about six kilometers north of Lancaster, and has roughly 80 trees.
Based on a review by a forester, Parks Director Sherry-Lynn Servage recommended almost every tree be cut down and the stumps removed, followed by replanting, for $50,000.
“Based on what the forester has told me, they’ve (the trees) reached their life expectancy so they are dying and they are quite tall trees and could be falling over, branches falling,” Servage said.
CFO Lachlan McDonald told council last week the project “is in motion presently.” Cornwall Newswatch visited the park on Sunday (Nov. 14). Nearly every tree has been marked with orange paint for removal.
Asked by Coun. Stephanie Jaworski, what is going to replace the Scotch Pine, Servage didn’t have specifics but said they “would survive in that type of environment.”
Coun. Sam McDonell didn’t see it as a “high priority project,” and suggested the township phase the cutting. “If there’s 100 trees, you cut out 10 this year, replant them, and that way you get a little staggered growth.”
“I’m not keen on spending $50,000 there,” Coun. Martin Lang said. “To me it’s not worth it at this point.” He thought the money would be better spent on roads.
Lang didn’t understand why staff would recommend clear-cutting the park, landscape it and replant it. “Plant some trees amongst the ones that are there and as those one die we get rid of them. The natural way a woodland works is not that you clear-cut it,” Lang said.
CAO Tim Mills asked councillors to visit the park before the next budget meeting, which is this Friday.
“We need to do it right. It reflects very poorly on the municipality in the state it’s in now. I’m not pleased as the CAO with the current state of the park and I don’t think you will be either when you see it,” Mills said.
Even though the budget presentation suggested $50,000, Mills didn’t believe it would cost that much.
Deputy Mayor Lyle Warden said things need to be done to make it safe but it still should be seen for its “economic development factor,” acting as a resting and picnic area for people travelling between Highway 417 and Highway 401.
