SAVE THE DAVIS-MEEKER GARRY OAK
6/4/2024 Tumwater City Council Meeting
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Transcript of Council's Failed Attempt to Pass Emergency Ordinance to Save Tree:
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Transcript of entire 4-hr meeting, including public comment:
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Recording of the 4-hour meeting:
https://youtu.be/iaI_QtYvaGQ?si=40knCIOg1BlwD0B6
5/21/2024 Tumwater City Council Meeting
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Packet given to Councilmembers:
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Recording of the meeting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbAQ0ctEii8
5/23/2024, Email from Mayor planning a "memorial" ceremony for the oak tree
---------- Original Message ----------
From: Debbie Sullivan <DSullivan@ci.tumwater.wa.us>
To:
Cc: Lisa Parks <LParks@ci.tumwater.wa.us>, Dan Smith <DESmith@ci.tumwater.wa.us>, Chuck Denney <CDenney@ci.tumwater.wa.us>, Alyssa Jones Wood <AJonesWood@ci.tumwater.wa.us>, Brittaney McClanahan <BMcClanahan@ci.tumwater.wa.us>, Stephanie Klein <SKlein@ci.tumwater.wa.us>
Date: 05/23/2024 3:20 PM PDT
Subject: Joint Meeting May 30 Regarding Preserving the Davis Meeker Oak Tree’s Legacy
Dear Members of the Historic Preservation Commission, Tree Board, and Parks & Recreation Commission,
We look forward to meeting with you on May 30, 2024 at 6:00 PM in the Council Chambers to kick off a collaborative community engagement process to determine the best ways to honor and memorialize the Davis Meeker Garry Oak tree.
As you may be aware, a very difficult administrative decision was made to remove the Davis Meeker Garry Oak tree. This tree has been a fixture in the community for an estimated 400+ years. An analysis conducted by a team of ISA Certified Arborists found significant decay in several areas of the tree, including in the mainstem and the large scaffold branches, which makes future failures likely. The City of Tumwater has determined that the risk the Davis Meeker Garry Oak Tree poses to people and property requires the tree to be removed. More information about the tree can be found on the City’s website.
This is a sad time for our community, and the City is committed to commemorating its environmental, cultural, and historical significance. There are several possible ways to make sure the legacy of the tree continues for future generations. City staff and others collected acorns from the Davis Meeker oak tree last fall that are being grown with the intent to plant these progenies in the future. In the coming decades, these acorns will grow into habitat providing trees and/or groves. Plans are also underway to reclaim as much wood as possible from the tree to be used to make items that would preserve the memory of the tree, such as art, bowls, or plaques. Additionally, the Davis Meeker Oak tree could be memorialized with a plaque or historical marker at its current site. We are seeking your assistance in both providing a platform for the community to provide their input into these topics, and in adding your specific expertise and suggestions for providing a meaningful commemoration of the tree.
In advance of the May 30 meeting, you will be provided a draft survey and a draft community engagement plan. We look forward to hearing your thoughts about the survey and plan as we explore how to memorialize the Davis Meeker Oak tree with the community. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
Sincerely
Debbie Sullivan, Mayor
City of Tumwater
555 Israel Road
Tumwater, WA. 98501
(360)754-4120
The Mayor's Failed
De-Listing Attempt
The tree has been listed on the Tumwater Register of Historic Places since 1995. To cut it down requires it to be de-listed. The mayor's first attempt to cut it down entailed trying to get the Tumwater Historic Commission to de-list it. But her plan failed when the commission voted unanimously to not de-list it. Although the de-listing never happened, the mayor left up the sign for several weeks notifying the public that it was to be de-listed. This photo was taken on May 25, 2024.
Although the mayor was unable to get it de-listed, she was undeterred. She convinced the city attorney to misapply the city's code that allows emergency repairs to a historic structure, flipping the code on its head and claiming it allows her to destroy a historic structure. This plan was foiled (at least temporarily) when a judge issued a temporary restraining order, partially based on the argument that the mayor had misapplied the code.
Documents Used in the Mayor's Failed
De-Listing Attempt
Here is the packet for the March 21, 2024 meeting of the Historic Commission Board, which is the meeting in which the board rejected the mayor's attempt to delist the tree so that she could cut it without a permit. At page 19, the mayor's "staff requests that the Commission consider and approve a recommendation to the Tumwater City Council for de-listing the Davis/Meeker Oak from the City’s Historic Register." After the commission rejected the request and voted unanimously to keep the tree on the historic register, the mayor's city attorney re-interpreted the law to claim that the mayor didn't need a permit anyhow.