Can the Sanitation District Destroy Your Property at Will?

[Birdsfan]

Here is our backyard before they started digging.

 

[Birdsfan]

Here is what it looks like now.

 

 

[plantmanky]

Looks like SD Squirrels 1, Birdhouse Bandits 0

[Run To State]

Here is what it looks like now.

 

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]40474[/ATTACH]

Holy smokes!

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

Here is what it looks like now.

 

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]40474[/ATTACH]

 

That really stinks. For what it's worth, if you want to get something to relatively quickly create a natural privacy break between you and your neighbors, the American Arborvitae is the way to go. Some cultivars can grow up to 2 1/2 feet in height per year after the roots are established. I'd put some deciduous trees in back there too. A nice "fast" growing tree like a thornless honeylocust or a cottonwood would do well for that.

[Birdsfan]

Thanks for the suggestion, CWB! We may have to go that route.

[Birdsfan]

Well, the guys from SD1 were here wrapping up the job today. They re-graded our yard with some new dirt and leveled it all off. They have some hay bails down there, so I'm guessing they're going to spread seed. We asked the man in charge (Mr. Manning) if they were going to replant at least some of the bushes they destroyed. He said they "might" be able to, but he would have to ask his supervisor. I sure hope they do! We don't care about the trees they chopped down -- it actually gives us a real nice view of the sky. But we need all that undergrowth to give our neighbor and us some semblance of privacy, as well as to hold the soil from eroding away the drop-off between our two streets. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

:popcorn:

[plantmanky]

They won't replant any bushes or trees. They will say that they were in obstruction of easement (whether by you putting them there or natural growing there) and therefore they do not have too and can not due to easement restriction.

[Birdsfan]

Much to our surprise and great joy, the people of Sanitation District #1 made good on all their promises! I looked down the backyard a little while ago and saw two brand new bushes planted along the back edge of our yard. And they are really nice bushes too! I mean, of course it isn't what we once had, but they really did exceed expectations -- mine anyway. Below is a picture of the new bushes. The one on the right is a little hard to see, but it is there.

 

The guys spent this morning spreading hay and reseeding our yard, as well as our neighbors' yards. They even replaced my dad's concrete block pathway to his shed. They had put a board over it, in hopes of preventing the damage, but apparently the weight of a multi-ton digger was a little too much for a piece of plywood.

 

So kudos to the people of SD1!

 

Leatherneck - Please make sure that Mr. Manning from Gallatin Co., the nice lady that worked with us along the way and all the guys involved get a nice fat Christmas bonus! Okay, that's not likely. But at least let it be known that we're satisfied consumers and really appreciate their efforts to restore their work site.

[Birdsfan]

A close-up of one of the new plants. Does anyone know what this is? They didn't tell us.

 

 

 

[plantmanky]

A close-up of one of the new plants. Does anyone know what this is? They didn't tell us.

 

 

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Hard to tell in that pick, has the structure of a serviceberry but not really sure.

[nkuclubbaseball19]

Glad to hear that it worked out BF!

[leatherneck]

Much to our surprise and great joy, the people of Sanitation District #1 made good on all their promises! I looked down the backyard a little while ago and saw two brand new bushes planted along the back edge of our yard. And they are really nice bushes too! I mean, of course it isn't what we once had, but they really did exceed expectations -- mine anyway. Below is a picture of the new bushes. The one on the right is a little hard to see, but it is there.

 

The guys spent this morning spreading hay and reseeding our yard, as well as our neighbors' yards. They even replaced my dad's concrete block pathway to his shed. They had put a board over it, in hopes of preventing the damage, but apparently the weight of a multi-ton digger was a little too much for a piece of plywood.

 

So kudos to the people of SD1!

 

Leatherneck - Please make sure that Mr. Manning from Gallatin Co., the nice lady that worked with us along the way and all the guys involved get a nice fat Christmas bonus! Okay, that's not likely. But at least let it be known that we're satisfied consumers and really appreciate their efforts to restore their work site.

 

Will do and thanks for the complimentary post about SD1. There has been a lot of bad (and false/misleading) press on SD1 over the last couple of years, so it was nice to read something positive. I think you can forget about the Chrismas bonuses. Politics and re-election concerns resulted in a zero percent SD1 rate increase being approved by the Fiscal Courts. While at first blush that may sound great to rate payers, when you can't afford to fund the elimination of raw sewage overflows or to run sewer mains to areas people/builders want to build homes, the decision to not raise rates is rather short sighted. But the zero tax/rate/fee increase mentality is prevalent and plays well to voters that fail to properly understand the ramifications. There is likely some waste in SD1's budget, but there's not enough waste (and yes, I fully appreciate the pun) that could be cut so that necessary projects can be funded out of current revenues.