Nine live oak trees in Daffin Park allegedly damaged in part by construction from Savannah Bananas contractors are “going to be fine,” according to Savannah City Manager Jay Melder.
Damage to the root systems were identified by city park and tree staff in February after the Bananas did utility construction and grading associated with its new $4 million training facility south of the stadium, although Banana Ball President Jared Orton denies the organization further harmed any trees associated with that work.
The city has since placed protective bollards around the trees to prevent any further damage, and an RFP was recently issued for tree protection and remediation. The city's RFP states the “tree save area” for the nine trees is approximately
19,000 square feet in size, and the RFP requests mitigation work including soil cultivation and soil sampling.
“Every indication that I have from our arborist team is that the trees are going to be fine, and we've done what we needed to do to protect them," Melder said.
The Bananas' construction work included installation of stormwater and sewer infrastructure to service the new facility, and that work stretched south and southwest of Grayson Stadium in a portion of the park frequented by motor vehicles for parking and intra-park traffic. Orton said in an interview the construction generally did not get near the trees and was part of the known scope of the project.
City staff's initial assessment in February attributed the root damage to the Bananas' construction, according to correspondence obtained via open records request and published by the Savannah Agenda. Melder said Tuesday that the damaged trees were in an area impacted by "a lot of uses."
Orton also reiterated that point, saying that the impacted trees were in areas where roots systems have been driven over and soil has compacted over time.
"The idea that we created more compaction and more harm to these trees, I find to be quite a stretch based on the environment they are currently in," Orton said.
In response to the issue, Savannah leaders such as Melder and Mayor Van Johnson have said the Bananas are a key partner for the city. Johnson said at his Tuesday press conference the tree damage was not an issue of "the City of Savannah versus the Savannah Bananas."
Melder also said Tuesday the city is fortunate to have an active tenant at Grayson Stadium.
Upkeep and renovations of the city-owned stadium have been spearheaded by the Bananas’ Fans First Entertainment alongside Banana Balls’ meteoric rise. New LED lights, an all-turf field and the $4 million clubhouse have all been supported through a Savannah City Council-approved lease agreement with FFE.
Melder also said that further renovations to Grayson Stadium will go before Savannah City Council potentially as soon as next week.
Orton noted the fact the fieldhouse and utility upgrades were paid for by the Bananas, adding the Bananas have consistently tried to make improvements to the stadium. The new fieldhouse and utility upgrades are an example of that, he said.
“I really do believe we put it back better than we found it."
Evan Lasseter is the City of Savannah and Chatham County government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at ELasseter@savannahnow.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Oak trees city said were damaged by Bananas will recover official says
