Public trees planted on Gurnee trustee's lawn

Gurnee Trustee Greg Garner disputes claims that trees available through a village program - specifically meant for public parkways near residents' homes - were improperly planted on his private lot.

An outside contractor working for Gurnee should not have placed the three trees on Garner's front lawn Wednesday, Village Administrator James Hayner said. He said the company told village officials that Garner directed the trees to be planted on his land.

"This is the first time I've encountered this in my years here," said Hayner, whose Gurnee village government career dates to 1977.

Garner responded that top village staff members gave advance approval of his idea to have the trees on his property. He said overhead power lines would have created a problem for tree maintenance on the parkway.

"Listen, obviously it is political," said Garner, a village board nemesis of Mayor Kristina Kovarik. "If I were trying to pull something, I would not have informed them."

Similar to other suburbs, Gurnee this year will share the cost of roughly 60 new parkway trees in an effort to beautify neighborhoods. Public money pays half the $330 cost of tree delivery and planting, with the homeowner covering the $165 balance.

By contrast, some local nurseries charge half of a tree's price for installation on private property, along with a distance-based delivery fee. That means Gurnee's $330 tree would be $495 plus delivery under the nursery pricing structure.

Gurnee has a list of guidelines for residents interested in the longtime parkway tree program. The village addresses the issue of where the trees must be planted.

"Trees can be placed only within the parkway," the guidelines state. "Residents may suggest locations for the trees, but locations will be reviewed for suitability and to avoid utility conflicts."

Hayner said there were wooden stakes designating where the three trees should have gone on the public parkway by Garner's house. He said the contractor informed the village that Garner requested the trees be moved onto his private lawn.

Garner contends a village employee placed the stakes on his property, not the public parkway. He said he pointed to the stakes when the installation crew asked where the trees should go.

Village Forester Jake Balmes discovered the trees were wrongly placed on the private property during a routine inspection after the work was completed Wednesday, according to Hayner. Gurnee staff members took photographs of Garner's trees. Hayner said Balmes specifically selected a tree species that would thrive under power lines. He said neither he nor other high-level staffers approved the trees for Garner's private land as the trustee contends.

Kovarik said Gurnee buys the trees at cost and that they are never sold to residents who want greenery on their private property for a better price than what's offered at nurseries.

"If I had a staff member who was doing favors for a village trustee, I would have a performance issue," Kovarik said. "They would not have exposed it (with photos) if they approved it."

Kovarik said the trees should be replanted in the parkway. She said the village should take back the trees and refund Garner's money if he objects.

Garner said no one from village hall has informed him there was a problem with the trees.

"If they want to remove the trees, they can remove the trees as far as I'm concerned," he said.