Old Coverdale Association sends out tree pruning update | Community Spirit

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Dear Old Cloverdale Association Members,

It is amazing that the recent tree trimmings in Old Cloverdale by Alabama Power would have contributed so to my continuing education. But, I have learned more about our neighborhood trees, Power Distribution Right of Ways, electricity, etc., over the past two weeks than I ever thought possible. That is saying a lot since my Dad was a Trouble Shooter (lineman) with Alabama Power for 42 years prior to his retirement, and I enjoyed a pretty decent understanding of his job.

As has been well documented, Alabama Power recently conducted some rather intensive tree pruning in our neighborhood. Some of the results were pretty dramatic and left a bad impression with a lot of residents. Several trees were radically trimmed, including the two oaks at the south end of Cloverdale Park, and a bald cypress at our home on Ridge Avenue. It was truly heartbreaking to see the damage inflicted on these beautiful trees. The outrage I felt over these trimmings was understandable and led to some pretty in-depth conversations and meetings with officials at both the City of Montgomery and Alabama Power. It was out of these discussions that my education began to grow.

I was unaware that Alabama Power has the right, via the City of Montgomery’s Tree Ordinance, to clear an area within 15 feet of any of their energized power lines. This is defined in the ordinance and puts Alabama Power clearly within their rights for all of the trimmings they made in Old Cloverdale. Of course, just because it is within their rights, does not mean we (you or I) have to be happy with the results. I still feel some of the work was excessive and we all might have gotten along with a little less trimming, but what has been completed is done and we must work towards a better understand going forward. It is a fine balance between enjoying the tremendous trees in our historic district and being able to count on dependable electrical service. I truly commend all parties involved, at both the City of Montgomery and Alabama Power, for coming together and addressing the concerns, and anger, of so many of you here in Old Cloverdale.

We have some decisions to make concerning the two oak trees at the Cloverdale Road end of Cloverdale Park. They have been severely pruned and look just awful with the massive “V” cuts through the heart of their form. The truly unfortunate thing is this will get no better moving forward as we will face this again in 36 months or so when Alabama Power has to again prune around their power lines. The placement of those trees is just bad and I would like for us to discuss their future at the next meeting of our association. If you have feelings on this issue, please plan to attend and we will confront this as responsible adults. Thanks for listening and sharing in my learning process!

Best regards,

Todd Kirk, Mayor