William F. Laman Public Library trustees agreed Monday to seek a written understanding with North Little Rock's Parks and Recreation Department to clarify responsibilities for maintaining the grounds of Laman Plaza at the main library.
Confusion over the library's responsibilities came up at the end of last month when city Parks Director Terry Hartwick intervened after a large willow oak in the plaza was cut down and halted further trees from being taken down.
The library had hired a local tree service to remove five willow oaks from inside the fenced plaza that line Orange Street leading to the library from Pershing Boulevard. The North Little Rock Tree Board met with library staff members later that week and recommended an assessment be made of the health of all of its trees and landscaping by a certified arborist.
The Board of Trustees approved a motion at its monthly meeting Monday to clarify in a letter to Hartwick that the library will be responsible for mowing the grass, the lawn sprinkler system and placing mulch in flower beds. The Parks Department would be over the rest of the grounds, which includes the fountain and the water bill associated with keeping the fountain and its pond filled.
"That's no problem," Hartwick said in a telephone interview later when told about the clarification sought. "They [the library] should maintain the grounds."
Laman Plaza, 2801 Orange St., is also home to the city's Veterans Memorial. The $160,000, largely granite memorial at the corner of West Pershing Boulevard and Orange Street was dedicated in 2010. At that time, it was reported that the library would maintain the memorial.
Mayor Joe Smith recently authorized the Parks Department to take over repair and maintenance of the fountain, which has long been out of use because of leaks and in need of extensive repairs that the library couldn't afford. Library Executive Director Crystal Gates said Monday that the library's initial quote for the fountain's repairs was $100,000. Gates said that the plaza is the city's property, not the library's.
Six locust trees along the front of the library "do need to come down," Gates said. Those trees are too close to the building and branches have struck and broken windows, she said.
"They should not have been planted there," she said.
Library Board Chairman Vicki Matthews said that trees next to the building were the only ones the trustees had previously discussed, not the willow oak trees. She said she thought the library's responsibility for the plaza grounds only involved lawn care.
"We kind of got a little bit ahead of ourselves," Matthews said.
Gates said that previous discussions with Hartwick about the fountain's repair included the need to remove about a dozen small cypress trees that had become invasive to the fountain's foundation. Library staff was "asked to address the trees," she said.
When quotes were obtained for removing the cypress trees, the willow oaks and locust trees were also included because of staff "assuming incorrectly that all of the trees in the plaza were ours," Richard Theilig, the library's associate director for special projects, told trustees.
Hartwick said that some "bad information" led to the one willow oak being cut down and four other willow oaks being marked for removal.
"I stopped that," Hartwick said. "Those trees are not dead, but they do need trimming."
Metro on 11/13/2018