Treegate peace declared at Northgate

A Canadian red choke cherry tree may not be an olive branch, but on Wednesday it brokered peace between the city's Northgate Complex and its Parks and Recreation Department.

The cherry tree went into the ground Wednesday afternoon outside the office of city building official Phil Herrington.

"It's great," Herrington said. "I didn't expect a tree that big. The Northgate complex forgives the Parks Department. They made it right."

Herrington and several others in the Building Department and Community Development Department that are housed in the Northgate complex were saddened the morning of March 17 when a pear tree outside Herrington's office was removed.

People in both departments were dumfounded that the parks department would remove a tree without letting them know first.

"I'm glad everybody is going to be satisfied with the new tree," Community Development Director Walt Sullivan said with carefully chosen words.

The Parks Department replaced the "infamous" Northgate tree while delivering two autumn purple ashes to the Aquatic Facility for Friday's Arbor Day celebration, said Parks Superintendent Scott Fahrenbruch.

"'Tis the season," Fahrenbruch said. "We intended all along to replace that tree. This is a much better quality tree."

Fahrenbruch rushed to remove the pear tree a month ago when a parks employee noticed a four-foot split in the trunk. Fahrenbruch feared the tree could fall onto the roof of the city's Northgate complex.

He didn't realize the emotional attachment employees at Northgate had to the tree.

The new cherry tree, which is flowering now, sprouted in Idaho and has been growing at a Douglas County nursery the past two years, reaching a height of about 10 to 12 feet.

"So it's acclimatized to our area," Herrington said.