Glen Arbor’s choice: the park or the pines?

Upgraded park may not include signature bookend pine trees

By Linda Alice Dewey
Sun contributor

Work began late this summer to implement the Glen Arbor Park improvement plan which was presented to the township earlier this year and approved by voters Aug. 8. The plan includes removal of many oak trees—some of which have already been taken out—and the two signature pine trees which frame either end of the tennis courts. The trees are unusually beautiful and full due to a beetle infestation years ago that infected the top growth buds, forcing them to grow outward rather than upward, says park commissioner Ron Calsbeek.

Though beautiful, the trees are causing several problems.

For years, the township has paid extra charges to maintain the courts due to damage caused by the trees from above. Pine acid causes the material to bubble up, pop, break open and form holes, explains Calsbeek. As a result, the courts must be resurfaced every six to seven years.

The last time the courts were resurfaced was in 2012, says parks chairman Jim Fowler. “We had to take out court #1 and replace it with new asphalt. Then we re-surfaced the four courts. That cost was $18,500 for the re-surfacing, [which] included the re-surfacing of the basketball court.”

Approximately half the resurfacing funding, says Fowler, is supplemented by the annual Glen Arbor Open Tennis Tournament. Meanwhile, park commissioners donated their $200 annual stipends to resurface the court in the hitting wall area.

Now the pine trees are causing new problems from below. One of the courts is buckling from tree roots, causing a big bump, which is unsafe. Outside the court, says Calsbeek, “[the roots] also make travel across that grassy area very, very difficult. A major goal in the park is to make it accessible so that people handicapped and elderly can get across it,” he explains. “The pine tree roots make it difficult to put down any path or sidewalk that would solve that accessibility issue.”

Repairing the court with the roots coming up underneath would involve tearing out the court and the roots.” Calsbeek feels this would be very expensive.

This spring, the commission hired Klaus Heinert of the landscape architecture firm Gosling and Zubeck Heinert as project manager for the hard-scape walk that will go around the park’s perimeter. Heinert was asked for his opinion. “If you’re going to try to maintain those tennis courts to a minimal condition at a minimal cost,” Heinert advised the commission, “the trees have to come down, most definitely.”

This is not something that would be done preventively, he says. It’s happening now, and the cost will recur as long as the trees are there.

Another tree-related issue is mold which forms on the courts where there is too much shade. When the mold gets even slightly damp, the courts become too slick for play. They were power washed this spring to counteract this recurring problem. The township was also concerned about pine sap falling on the benches and the area around the trees, which is a natural, convenient spot for people to sit.

Then there are the oaks, which cause a different problem. “The acorns,” says Calsbeek. “You can’t keep up with them, so some of those have been pruned and limbs taken off to reduce acorns.”

These recurring maintenance costs add up. “It’s a matter of math and a matter of what choices the community wants to make,” says Heinert. Instead of keeping the pines and the resurfacing price tag that goes with, Heinert suggests the township choose “to create a park that will…place trees in the right position and help create the park development and not damage the trees…”

“I think it’s too bad that we have to cut any trees down,” says Fowler; “but remember that we are going to replace [those] with many trees that are more friendly to the park and tennis and pickle ball.” Calsbeek says they will probably plant Michigan native trees—redbuds, service berries, sassafras, and fruit-bearing trees. The commission also plans to plant a sound barrier of taller trees south of the park.

“I never want to cut down a tree, especially some as beautiful as those two,” says arborist Paul Gerhart of Gerhart’s Tree Service in Beulah. Gerhart, who the parks commission hired to do the tree work, feels the township “could probably plant maybe four to six trees in that area that would take the place [of the pines] and still provide some shade.” He suggests mountain ash or the partial shade of honey locusts, such as have been planted along the streets in Charlevoix and Frankfort.

Gerhart has already cleared out much of the brush and some of the oaks, but the two white pines still stand, awaiting the final decision. Further oak removal trimming will continue when the trees go dormant to avoid introducing oak wilt to the area.” Gosling & Zubeck have put out bids to contractors who will finish the project in the spring.