HUMBOLDT — Gerald Lucas asked Humboldt Council members Monday night if they could “make my yard whole again.”
Lucas, 112 W. Cherokee St., complained that on July 7, city employees “tore down half of my tree line” when clearing a ravine that abuts his property.
Lucas said the privacy the trees provided “was the biggest reason I bought the residency.”
Lucas said though he gave city employees permission to access the ravine through his yard he was not prepared for how much foliage they would remove. After about an hour, Lucas said he requested they stop.
City Administrator Cole Herder replied to Lucas’s invitation to see Lucas’s yard for himself.
In subsequent calls to City Hall, Lucas said he’s been met with silence as to what could be done to compensate him for the damage.
“I think I need a privacy fence put up there,” Lucas told Council members.
Council members did not discuss Lucas’s complaint at the meeting.
Lucas visited with the Register outside City Hall while Council members briefly met in executive session, which is closed to the public.
Formerly of Pittsburg, Lucas said he moved to Humboldt last year at the urging of his daughter, Sarah Sollars, a Humboldt resident.
On Tuesday afternoon, Herder said his first impression of Lucas’s yard in the aftermath was unfavorable.
“It didn’t look great,” he said, and estimated the gap in the trees at about 12 feet. Herder said trees bigger than 8 inches in diameter are not to be cut in such instances, but did not know if any of Lucas’s trees exceeded that size.
Because the ravine is full of honeysuckle, a hardy invasive plant, Herder said he thinks the gap “will quickly fill up.”
He also asked that Lucas give the city some leeway on its response.
“Our intent is to follow up. We’re not done yet,” he said.
Herder said though Lucas’s response was unfortunate, other residents have been pleased with the cleanup efforts.
