City plans to remove Barton Springs tree ‘Flo’ this week

The city’s Parks and Recreation Department announced on Monday morning that they would be removing Flo, the nearly 100-year-old pecan tree that leans over Barton Springs Pool, before the pool opens on Thursday. In addition, the department invited members of the public to celebrate Flo’s life at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the pool. The fate of Flo has been a subject of controversy for several weeks since the department discovered the tree has brittle cinder fungus, which has no cure. Four arborists the city consulted said the tree’s risk rating was extreme or high, according to the parks department.

Members of the Parks and Recreation Board heard from the department and the public at a recent meeting, and only one member attempted to prevent the tree’s removal.

According to arborists who examined the tree, the fungus infecting Flo will cause the tree to fail. Parks and Recreation Department Director Kimberly McNeeley told members of the Parks and Recreation Board on Sept. 25 that she was particularly concerned about the possibility of the tree falling and injuring someone at the pool. Currently, PARD staff has blocked the sidewalk directly under the tree, so it seems unlikely to injure anyone this week. However, McNeeley told the board that the situation cannot continue because the scaffolding underneath the tree prevents access to that part of the pool for people with disabilities.

McNeeley said some people have questioned whether PARD is overstating the danger that a falling tree might create. She said when she first came to the department, staff knew about some trees that might be in danger of falling along the trail at Lady Bird Lake. But they did not act quickly enough to prevent one of those trees from falling on a trail user, she said. That person was injured, although not too seriously. But she wants to make sure such an incident does not happen again.

Save Our Springs has argued that Flo “was in real bad shape all the way back to 1958 when the city placed a mass of concrete and rebar into her hollowed out core and installed the first support pole under the leaning tree. Sixty-five years later she lives on.” But that was before the fungus diagnosis.

On Monday afternoon, the Save Our Springs Alliance shared a proposal from artists Ben Livingston and Lars and Lauren Stanley. In a letter to the mayor and City Council, Livingston described what he called a “visionary solution” to save the tree that Save Our Springs Executive Director Bill Bunch has promised to raise funds for.

“Rather than resorting to drastic measures, our plan cherishes Flo’s life process and provides the opportunity for the community to continue enjoying her natural embrace from a vine covered canopy after she has passed. Importantly, our community is ready and willing to invest in this endeavor to preserve Flo’s life and public safety,” Livingston wrote.

Lauren Stanley described the plan this way: “The design proposal is an extended trellis over the portion of the pool-side walkway under Flo and extending roughly 20’ to the east and the west. This corresponds approximately to the path segment currently blocked off with barricades. The structure has a gentle splay to it, in top-down view, to mimic the canopy above. It is engineered to serve in a net-like capacity to protect pool users from dropping branches. A series of trussed column elements, stretched along the existing ~2’ curb wall length, extend upward and bend to cantilever over the walkway and reach over the pool edge.

“Planted vines augment the trellis canopy. Cables and other structures will aid in tying back both the structure, as needed, and critical components of Flo’s body, as needed, to create this safety net. The entire structure would wend its way around the existing tripod supports under the bent trunk.”

Several speakers at the PARD meeting expressed distrust of the city, questioning whether the tree was going to be removed in order to make way for a big deck area for seating around the bathhouse. McNeeley said the city absolutely has no plans for such a deck. In addition, she pointed out that there is already another healthy pecan tree next to Flo.

Board Member Holly Reed asked a variety of questions from the viewpoint of saving the tree. But she did not convince any of the other members to take up the cause. Chair Pedro Villalobos said he was particularly concerned about any situation denying access for those with disabilities, and Board Member Kathryn Flowers agreed with him.

Council Member Ryan Alter’s District 5 includes Barton Springs. He told the Austin Monitor via text, “It’s amazing to think about all that Flo has seen in her many years. I’m sad that her time at Barton Springs has come to an end, but we’ll always be thankful for the time we had her.” When he was asked later about the proposal from the artists, he simply said, “Looks expensive. I’d have to ask the experts about its viability.”

When the Monitor requested a comment from interim City Manager Jesús Garza, we learned he is on vacation this week.

The city’s statement about the tree says, “The celebration of life will include a water blessing, speakers about Flo’s history and music. People who (attend) the celebration should plan to park on the south side of the pool and walk around due to limited space in the main lot.

“PARD recognizes the immense value ‘Flo’ has provided to our shared community and that the tree removal will change the landscape around Barton Springs Pool. PARD is collecting stories, memories, and photos about Flo. Stories can be viewed online. The public is invited to share their remembrances via email at treestories@austintexas.gov.”

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Posted In: Parks, District 5