Dear Editor:
Mayor Stack’s mail notification, “Major Improvements to Parks/Open Space” announced upgrades to existing municipal or county parks. The latter one will be on the corner of Paterson Plank Road and Second Street. It appears from the color legend of the conceptual drawing that an existing Sycamore Tree will not face the ax. This unique tree has a tree top that averages 73 x 70 feet, a trunk more than 10 feet round, and a height that towers above the tall lights of the Little League Baseball Field or more than 50 feet. For sure, it is one of the most massive and oldest trees in Union City. It elates me to know that the Union City/County partnership for this green space will preserve this massive and still healthy shade tree.
To Mayor Stack, I say, thank you for telling residents in the mailing about benefits of trees: “…add to the beauty and are very healthy for all.” And he states, “The more greenery we have and preserve the better our City will be.” I thank and praise Mayor Stack and the Board of Commissioners for continuing to plant and maintain more shade trees throughout Union City on streets and in local park lands. I encourage more public projects of this kind and scope. I would like to know more about his ideas or plans to ‘preserve’ existing trees, especially some of our rare old but thriving ones, such as the unique elms in Union City’s Washington Park, now facing the ravages of Dutch Elm Disease.
An advocate for trees,
Tony Squire