Residents furious about canal work CONTACT US
Village hasn’t stopped tearing out trees along C-5 Canal, they say.
WELLINGTON — Miscommunication and misinformation have escalated residents’ frustrations and fanned protests about Wellington’s canal cleanup efforts this summer.
Several residents in the village’s Paddock Park area told The Palm Beach Post that they feel the village “lied” to them. They’ve seen a backhoe on a floating barge tear out trees along a canal in their neighborhood, despite village offi- cials saying earlier this week the controversial work would be postponed until residents’ pleas could be heard.
“I don’t even have a tree affected; this is strictly wrong on so many levels,” said resident Michael Lifshitz, who lives along the C-5 Canal. “If the village said they were going to do something, they should do it.”
But Village Manager Paul Schofield said he’s been consistent with what he tells residents, because he doesn’t want to make the confusion worse.
“I was very specific to tell them that the part of the canal we were already in ... we would finish that, but we’re Have a Wellington issue you’d like to see The Post tackle, or a story idea? Contact Kristen Clark at 561-820-4738 or kclark@pbpost.com. right-of-way is accessible in case of an emergency.
Crews mobilized equipment last weekend along the C-5 Canal off Paddock Drive near Horseshoe Trace, and that’s the work that residents saw this week, Schofield said.
“We’re not going to be in those other areas (the C-3 and C-12 canals) until after we meet with the residents,” Schofield said. A neighborhood meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Village Hall.
But residents thought when Schofield said the work would be delayed, it meant entirely.
“Lo and behold, trees are
getting ripped out,” resident Stacie Maggio said. “It’s not fair the way they went about it. We’re being told one thing, and they’re doing something else.”
Maggio and others also said they felt some of the village’s responses to their concerns have come off as condescending or dismissive.
“We’re being treated like we’re idiots, like we don’t understand the importance of the project,” Maggio said. “It’s kind of a slap in the face.”
“It’s been a strategy of delaying and deflecting,” resident Curt Siegmeister said.
Siegmeister organized an online petition on Change.org so residents can protest the work. It had more than 320 supporters as of Thursday afternoon. Potentially dozens of people are also expected to attend Tuesday’s Village Council meeting.
“It’s not the intent we disagree with, it’s the methodology,” Siegmeister said. “They have an alternative way to do it that doesn’t involve ripping everything out.”
Siegmeister and Maggio also said they received notifications from the village only last week, and a day later, wood stakes appeared in their yard, which village crews placed to mark the village’s right-of way.
Public Works Director Mitch Fleury said many of the upset residents — such as Siegmeister and Maggio — are among the group of homeowners who are being notified now about work that won’t start until later this summer. Those affected by this week’s work started receiving notices weeks ago, he said.
“Everywhere we ever go to work, we’ve given a minimum of eight weeks’ notification three different times,” Fleury said. “Everybody’s seeing the barge and think- ing they’re going down there, when they have lots of notifications to come. ... We would never barge in and just start working.”
Fleury said this summer’s work will cost about $160,000 in two phases and affect canals bordering 386 homes.
But the direct benefits of having those canals clear impacts many more properties. The three canals provide stormwater drainage for at least 1,400 homes, and 3,000 more homes could be affected depending on whether and where a blockage occurred during an emergency, Fleury said.