Photo by Janelle Patterson Asplundh crews work as the sun rises Friday to remove branches from problem trees along Maple Street.

MARIETTA — Long-standing concerns along Maple Street from the Historic Harmar Railroad Bridge to Open Door Baptist Church saw progress Friday with the removal of several trees.

“We’re hoping to get them done today, but they’re fairly large trees so if not today then by next week,” said Karen Salajko, spokeswoman for AEP Ohio.

When Open Door Baptist Church Trustee Kay Smith heard the news, he choked back tears.

“Oh my, oh it will be wonderful, that’s a blessing,” Smith said. “Now we can go ahead and work on our sidewalks.”

Smith and Trustee Dale Chidester voiced their continued concern in April that the gumball tree between the church and brick sidewalks on Maple Street have made traversing the property dangerous for elderly parishioners.

They said the congregation worried about its investment in the building’s roof after repeated branches dropped from the tree as well.

But they offered in the spring to share the burden of cost for stump removal, even complete tree removal if they would just get permission from the city tree commission.

That plight joined the narratives of other neighbors along Maple Street, Chub and Bunny Roberts, the Historic Harmar Bridge Company, and another residence on Maple, all with similar concerns about imminent risks of old trees.

“People often ask how to get something done, and there seems to be an assumption that there will be one pathway to that goal. One of the big things I’ve learned in government is that more often than not there are multiple pathways,” explained Fourth Ward Councilman Geoff Schenkel. “In this case when running up against an initial ‘no,’ it helped (us) come together, identify not only what we want but what others want and to determine what we can contribute to accomplishing the goal.”

Schenkel said with the church offering to pay for stump grinding, the bridge company offering to put in trees and Main Street West (local residents organized under the west side umbrella of Marietta Main Street) offering volunteers to repair brick sidewalks, alliances formed.

“Tom Fenton also has been a central organizer on this effort,” said Schenkel. “He walked the two organizations through the paperwork… understood the strategy.”

Sharon Fenton said on Main Street West’s Facebook page Friday that credit also goes to AEP for community outreach and guidance.

“AEP catches grief around town because people leave them in a spotlight alone as the bad guy,” added Schenkel. “(Instead) we became a team of contributors as opposed to them on the receiving end of responsibility, expectations and blame.”

AEP officials were utilizing forestry and reliability funding within their company to cover the costs of the tree removals.

“We’ve been working closely with Councilman Schenkel and the Marietta Tree Commission and are appreciative of their support,” said Salajko. “Tree trimming and, when needed, tree removal are essential to ensure we keep the power flowing for our customers.”

Janelle Patterson can be reached at jpatterson@mariettatimes.com.