The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2004 12 25 - Clear Cutting ProtestA 6 Page 1 of 3 Subj. RE: Ashbury Date: 12/25/2004 10:24:25 PM Eastern Standard Time From: execgtive1@,earthiink..net To: tmoore.alcityofsebastian..org, nathan.mccollum belisouth.,_net, JoeBar4U.naol:com CC: omorehouse(c-Paoi.com, cassownry@13P11south.net, clittl2 c@, bellsouth.net, auntrenee.@ pgrthlinl .net, jackiemerle2000.@ya..hoo..com, JeanneCase@..aol,.c o..m, east�rr�tch1.12Fa aol.com, r1i53@yahoo com, mpkru2@bellsoeath.net, wwcitv1l7(a}bel.lsouthnet :Sent from the Internet (Details? Mr. Moore, The damage has already been done. Last Wednesday afternoon and all day Thursday, the residents of Orange Heights watched in horror as our concerns about clear -cutting came to fruition. Nothing can bring back the untold numbers of protected and specimen trees that met their demise. As you probably recall, 500+ citizens signed a petition to save the virgin forest. Under oath, Mr. Shulke stated that there would be no clear -cutting. Every effort was to be made to save the trees and the natural environment. It appears that Mr. Shulke's testimony under oath can't be trusted. The contractor working on the Ashbury project was given orders to clear-cut and nothing was to be spared. He further stated that I could expect the rest of the trees to come down since they were "just pines." I asked the contractor (Terry) if he knew about Sebastian's tree ordinance. He had never seen it so I showed him a copy of Sebastian's pamphlet. After reading about protected and speciment trees, he continued with his orders to clear-cut anything in his path. I called for a code enforcement officer and Officer G----(?) showed up in time to witness 4 trees at the end of Pineapple Street unnecessarily meet their demise. Two hurricanes did less destruction than one man and one giant machine. I could go on and on but will wait till we meet in person. Let's get to the immediate questions that need to be answered. 1. Where's Wayne and why is he the ONLY one who can deal with issues? Wednesday afternoon around 2 PM I called and was told that Wayne had gone home early for the day. They promised to leave a message and have him call me first thing on Thursday morning. Apparently the staff completely forgot that they were closed the next day. 2. Who issued the permit to clear-cut? 3. Who from the city conducted a tree inventory prior to issuing the permit? 4. How many protected and specimen trees were approved for clearance? 5. How many protected and specimen trees were marked to be saved? 6. How many gopher tortoise burrows were approved to be plowed under? The next questions come after seeing the blueprints the surveyor had indicating a 10 -ft perimeter area to be clear- cut for the silt fence. 7. How wide is a silt fence? All the ones I've ever seen are put in with 1" or 2"X2" posts. 8. Why do we allow contractors to clear 10' for a 2"X2" fence? The 10' looks suspiciously more like a potential perimeter road than a fence line. 9. As the uneducated, uniformed citizen with a Masters degree from Penn State, I have to have someone smart, like Mr. Shulke, how does one protect the environment and limit the clear -cutting to the blueprint stated 10 feet when the monster machine involved has a track width of 11'3"? Furthermore, the monster machine didn't limit it's destruction efforts to it's immediate front. It swung from side-to-side. Today I took pictures of the path of destruction and the monster machine and made some measurements. I can find nothing under 20 feet clear cut and in fact found the following: Behind 333 Tangelo - 36 feet clear cut End of Tangelo - 39 feet clear cut 332 King Street - 45 1/2 feet clear cut End of Valencia - 28 feet clear cut Sunday, December 26, 2004 America Online: JoeBar4u Page 2 of 3 10. Do bucket loaders come in more than one size? Of course they do. So why is this one 11 feet 3 inches wide? 11. Does the City of Sebastian condone or tolerate willful disregard for environmental protection? So, Mr. Moore, as you can see there are a lot of issues here that need immediate attention. Now that I have made the measurements, I will call code enforcement the minute they crank up the monster on Monday. I would suggest that someone check into this before Monday. I believe there are people on Staff who are salaried, yourself included, and as salaried staff are available 24 -hours when egregious events occur. I suspect it was no coincidence that this activity occurred when it did. Under the circumstances, I think it appropriate for an immediate cease and desist be issued. I also request that a public hearing be called to address these issues and future concerns since it appears that statements made under oath by Coy Clarke representatives cannot be trusted. I will be interested to hear Mr. Stringer's opinions concerning potential sanctions for making false statements under oath (on more than one occasion). Should you wish to reach me my home number is 388-0961 and it is working just fine. Andrea Coy ---- Original Message ---- From: `l"errence Moore To: nattranrncc..ofiu.n�(�bellsputh.net;exe.cgtive..1.enrkhli.n.k.n..e Cc Rech Springer, Tracy Hass; Wayne Eseliine Sent: 12/23/2004 1:41:55 PM Subject: RE: Ashbury Nate McCollum and Andrea Coy.- As oy:As explained to Nathan McCollum via telephone conversation from my office earlier this morning, applicable land clearing permits are issued by the Building Department prior to authorizing respective activities accordingly. I have therefore left word with Building Official Wayne Eseltine so as to clarify facts regarding site clearing, exactly what was authorized, etc. He and i will review the matter earlier Monday morning, December 27th, as he and numerous other city employees are currently away for the holidays (Rich Stringer is actually out until January 4th, with normal operations closed Thursday, December 23rd and Friday, December 24th in observance of both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day respectively and as publicized). At that time, you both will be advised of the facts accordingly. IVIS. Coy, during the. time you called my home earlier, this morning, I was actually here at the office (my wife contacted me to inform me about your call - helping me to try and be responsive). I only received one telephone call during my time here and that was from Nate McCollum. I therefore made several attempts to return your call so that I can offer commentary to this effect - between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. (you called my house circa ,9:46 a.m.). However, I received busy signals each time. perhaps you should check you telephone line. Maybe internet/on line use? As such, I hope that this electronic mail message finds you well. Any violations as far as unauthorized land clearing activities will be addressed via appropriate penalties and/or corrective action. However, I am not at liberty to conclude today that anything wrong occured. A det:ernrination will be rnade beginning Monday after my review and discussion exercise with Building Department staff. Again, will we inform you of findings appropriately. IVleanwhile, have a happy and safe holiday. Sincerely, Terrence Moore City Manager Sebastian, Florida -----Original Message ----- From: nathanmccolium@bellsouth.net [mailto:nathanmccollum@bellsouth.net] Sent:: Thursday, December 23, 2004 10:36 AM Sunday, December 26, 2004 America Online: JoeBar4u Page 3 of 3 To: Terrence Moore; thass@cityofsebastian,org Cc: Richard Stringer Subject: Ashbury I received a call from Andrea Coy reference the clearing of the Ashbury. The issues I am bringing up have not been witnessed by me, but I understand that the police department and Ms. Coy have observed the clearing process. Apparently, the land clearing company has been ordered to "clear cut" the entire site. According to Ms. Coy, no trees have been marked to be saved, including specimen trees. The land clearing company states they have been told to clear cut. No trees have been saved so far. Also, there is no evidence that an inspection has been done. During the sworn testimony by Mr. Shulke, he stated there would be no clear cutting and his company works hard to save as many trees as possible. If the land clearing company statement is correct, this is not what was indicated to Council. I know Ms. Coy has called City Hall twice, with no response. Please let me know if the concerns are valid and if a tree inspection was completed. Nathan McCollum C„nciav December 26, 2004 America Online: JoeBar4u