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TODAY'S ISSUE
Tree preservation at
Civic Center Arena
took foresight, mulching and watering
By David Brunson
Russell Landscaping Group, Inc.
Special to GwinnettForum.com
DEC. 13, 2002 - - Just three months prior to the Arena at Gwinnett
Center opening, and more than two years after being harvested, 210
willow oaks and Foster hollies from the original Gwinnett Civic
and Cultural Center parking lot will finally find their new home.
They line Sugarloaf Parkway in front of the Arena, and providing
shade in the newly expanded parking lot in front of the Thomas P.
Hughes "Tommy" Grand Ballroom.
Russell Landscape Group, Inc, the Dacula-based firm responsible
for landscaping the $90 million-dollar GCCC expansion, made tree
preservation, low water/low maintenance plant materials and energy-efficient
design a "priority throughout the entire project," explains
Bill Russell, CEO of Russell Landscape Design.
The 25 willow oaks (25-30 feet in height) and 185 Foster hollies
(10-12 feet in height) were dug with a tree spade from the original
Civic Center parking lot and transferred to a holding area along
Satellite Blvd. Russell explains that to maintain and eventually
replant the trees, "we mulched them with hardwood bark shavings
to insulate the root ball, and each tree had an installed gator
bag to ensure proper watering."
Initial projections that 75 percent of the trees would survive
transplanting "turned out to be conservative; we were pleased
that 95 percent of the willow oaks and 75 percent of the Foster
hollies actually survived transplanting," notes Russell.
Project costs topped $28,000. Gwinnett Civic and Cultural Center
General Manager Preston Williams felt strongly that the project
was worth the cost. "We wanted to be as environmentally sensitive
as much as a project of this size would allow, and Russell Landscape
Group was willing to commit to the project as much as we were."
Williams also notes that Russell also recommended a number of upgrades
that will "utilize approximately 50 percent less water to maintain,
while the GCCC's existing lake will afford all irrigation water
needed. The final design also consists of "700 large island
trees that will provide shade and environmental temperature reduction
for the asphalt parking lots," adds Williams.
Native plants were also spared in the Arena construction site.
Landscape architect Rosser International, in conjunction with the
Native Plant Society, was able to rescue a number of native firs
and azaleas in four small wetland areas.
As the $90 million dollar expansion nears completion, both the
GCCC management and Russell Landscape Group are pleased with the
result. "This project has required a tremendous amount of time
and effort, but we have been privileged to handle the landscape
contract for Gwinnett's premier facility," explains Russell
proudly.
Russell Landscape Group, Inc. has been an Atlanta-based contractor
for 20 years, and has been listed in the Atlanta Business Chronicle's
"Top 20 commercial/residential landscape contractors"
for the past two decades.
For more information on Russell Landscape Group, Inc. visit www.russelllandscapegroup.com
or visit www.gwinnettciviccenter.org
for more information on the new Arena at Gwinnett Center.
ELLIOTT
BRACK
Mychal
Walker can be elected MARTA chair,
but needs independent vote to assert itself
By
Elliott Brack
editor and publisher
GwinnettForum.com
DEC. 13, 2002 - - How free should appointed members of a governmental
body be?
Should they kowtow and get direction from the person who appointed
them to a board? Or should they be independent, and vote their own
mind on the board on which they serve?
Begging this question is a Monday decision that could affect people
in Gwinnett County. The question will come at a meeting of the board
of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA).
Mychal Walker is the Gwinnett County representative on the MARTA
board. He has served with distinction since 1998, attending some
265 meetings. He is now the reasoned choice to be elected chair
of that board.
There is a big obstacle to him being named chair: both the Fulton
and DeKalb County delegations to the board are not independent members
per se of the MARTA board. Instead, they jump to the dictates of
the persons who appointed them, in both cases, the individual county
commissioners. And the Fulton and DeKalb County commissions, who
appoint nine of the 18 MARTA board members, like to rule the roost,
and decide who chairs MARTA.
Hence the question of whether members appointed by governmental
agencies to various boards should be independent.
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Walker |
If you are a controlling person, and if you happen to be elected
to the county commission, you may want to influence all the decisions
your appointments make, such as this MARTA election. We question
this, for it's a lot of work. But some people have controlling personalities.
If on the other hand, if you come from the position of placing good
people to serve on boards, and feel they should be given room to
operate, maneuver and be effective, you allow your appointee to
be free and independent, and trust his or her best judgment. In
effect, you allow your board member to be both efficient and powerful,
allowing them to govern with dispatch.
They don't have to sneak in a phone call and ask whoever appointed
them: "What shall I do now?"
For the Fulton and DeKalb delegations to control every single decision
on the many boards they appoint, is a monumental, and foolish, hope.
It violates every tenet of leadership. It renders the appointees
useless, for in the long run, they cannot get approval for all the
variables in these situations.
The MARTA board is made up of five individuals from DeKalb, four
from Fulton, three from the City of Atlanta, four from the State
of Georgia, and one each from both Clayton and Gwinnett Counties.
It's been that way since the board was constituted in 1972.
Mychal Walker has served effectively on the MARTA board. He's been
treasurer since 1999. He is the logical and best choice to be the
next chairman. However, he first must get 10 votes, which means
that at least one member of either the Fulton or DeKalb delegations
must vote for him to gain a majority of the board. There is hope
that at least one of these members, probably one whose term will
be up soon, will pick independence over control, and vote for Mychal
to be chairman.
The vote is Monday. We'll watch with interest, and hope that one
or two Fulton or DeKalb board members will act independently, and
vote the logical choice, and their own conviction, and elect Mychal
Walker chairman of MARTA.
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FEEDBACK:
12/13: Refreshing
story about a good deed
Editor, the Forum:
Recently Architect Buck Lindsay of Lawrenceville lost his cell
telephone.
Joan Murphy, while visiting the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce,
found the phone in the landscaping next to her car. Buck had lost
it when visiting the building.
Joan, also being a Verizon Wireless customer, called them to
let them know she had found a phone. They called and left a message
on voicemail at Buck's office, where I work. Later I called Joan
and met her to retrieve the phone.
I presented her with a gift certificate for her good deed, which
she resisted, but eventually gave in.
Later I found out that she had been an administrative assistant
at Mrs. Smith's Pies and was laid off four months ago with 68
other people when their workload decreased. Her act of kindness
comes at a time when some might not show such goodwill towards
others.
I'd hire her in a heartbeat if we had a position, but if you
happen to hear of any opportunities that might suit her skills,
please pass them along to me and I'll let her know.
It's refreshing to know folks like Joan Murphy are still out
there.
-- Brian Luders, Duluth
THOUGHT
OF THE DAY
Talk about a parking
problem!
"I used to work in a fire hydrant factory. You couldn't
park anywhere near the place."
----- Steven Wright
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