May 5—Chalk up a win for fans of Fort Marcy park and its tree-lined arroyo.
Public Service Company of New Mexico, the electric company with a designated easement in the park, has dropped its plan to cut down a swath of Siberian elms.
The utility decided on a milder approach in which it will remove trees directly under power lines. Eric Chavez, a spokesman for the company, told me he did not immediately know how many trees are in that category.
PNM will continue regular maintenance by trimming other trees to prevent branches from interfering with power lines.
The company’s retreat came as a surprise to many people across Santa Fe. PNM had announced early last week its intention to cut down all the trees in a section of Arroyo Mascaras. It described the elms as a safety hazard, though none appeared to touch any power lines.
Patrons of the park contested the company’s assessment. They said the trees shade a playground, protect against overflows of the arroyo and make the park more inviting.
“Hundreds of people walk here daily, use the playground, play Frisbee games and gather as residents do,” said Jennifer Johnson, a 24-year resident of the area who opposed PNM’s plan for mass tree-cutting.
The utility company never specified the number of trees it intended to chop down, but dozens of Siberian elms line the section of the arroyo that was targeted. PNM released an initial flyer announcing tree-cutting would begin in mid-May and conclude in approximately one month.
What seemed like a strict schedule changed after company representatives met Tuesday evening with residents of the area. The company had described the Siberian elms as invasive and a danger to public safety. Neighbors must have been persuasive in their counterarguments.
“Your presence and thoughtful discussion are invaluable as we collectively address this important issue,” PNM staff members wrote in a follow-up flyer distributed by Santa Fe’s city government.
After careful consideration, the company went on to say, it decided on trimming trees rather than widespread removal. PNM’s statement said its monitoring of the elms will continue to determine if any pose a threat to safety.
An ongoing undercurrent was complaints PNM wanted the trees removed because one of its executives also coordinates the Kiwanis Club’s annual Zozobra festivities, the largest event in Fort Marcy park.
“These conspiracy theories just have to stop,” Ray Sandoval told me in a weekend interview.
Cutting down large numbers of trees in an arroyo wouldn’t make the park a more spacious setting for Zozobra, which features the burning of a giant marionette effigy.
“The two are not related. In fact, we do not want to increase capacity for Zozobra,” Sandoval said.
He and his team at the Kiwanis Club have settled on 65,000 as the number of people Fort Marcy park can safely accommodate for the one-night event.
Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the Legislature this year allocated $5 million in public works funding to upgrade Fort Marcy park’s restrooms, walking and driving pathways, concession stand and grandstands. The governor line-item vetoed lighting and expansion of the baseball field, which could have added millions more to the project.
For now, the generosity of state taxpayers won’t lead to any improvements at Fort Marcy park. Santa Fe’s city government cannot access the $5 million because it is chronically late with its audits.
Even if the park one day is upgraded, Zozobra organizers plan to explore their options for a different venue.
Modifying a famous quote by Winston Churchill, Sandoval said: “Fort Marcy is the worst place to have Zozobra except for all the others. It’s the only venue that works.”
His hope, he said, is for a community discussion about building an arena and an outdoor entertainment complex that might turn Santa Fe into a place with more concerts, larger conventions, sporting events and a better home for Zozobra.
Sandoval concedes the enormous expense would not make such a project an economic plus for taxpayers. But, he says, the complex would improve the quality of life in Santa Fe and enable it to attract the sort of events a capital city should have.
Because Mayor Alan Webber’s administration is flummoxed by routine tasks such as audits, an entertainment and sports complex is pie in the pink-and-orange western sky.
But the city gets a win now that perhaps 100 trees in Fort Marcy park are off death row. Even people who claim to detest Siberian elms might say they have a place in the arroyo of a park.
PNM, a monopoly company that often takes a beating in public relations, survived this controversy in unusual style. It threw shade at its critics, and they liked it.
Ringside Seat is an opinion column about people, politics and news. Contact Milan Simonich at msimonich@sfnewmexican.com or 505-986-3080.
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