Whistleblower » Blog Archive » A tree leans in Fridley, and a homeowner frets

A tree leans in Fridley, and a homeowner frets

Posted on July 1st, 2009 – 5:25 PM
By Lora Pabst

Helen Pratt knows that the cottonwood tree towering over her Fridley home has been there since at least 1955, when her parents bought the property on Fourth Street N.E. What she doesn’t know is who owns the tree. That question is becoming an increasing worry for her. About five years ago, Pratt noticed that the tree seemed to be “tilting” in an alarming way toward her house.

“If another storm came through, that tree would fall down and it would take my house,” she said.

A few years ago, Pratt talked to city and state employees because the land is adjacent to the entrance ramp for Interstate 694 at University Avenue. Fridley said it belonged to the state of Minnesota. The state of Minnesota said it belonged to Fridley.

This week, Pratt contacted Whistleblower for help identifying the owner of the tree before her house gets clobbered.

Fridley City Assessor Mary Smith quickly tracked down the property and found the names John and Laura Vagovich listed as the owners. After some more digging, she realized that the Vagoviches are long gone. The state Department of Transportation took over the property from them in 1968.

The next call was to Jim Kosluchar, Fridley’s Public Works Director, to determine if the tree might fall into the city’s right of way, since it sits close to the street. He said if Pratt calls him, he will have a city employee either visit the property or find a way to determine what can be done with the tree.

“We still look out for our residents,” he said. “Just because it’s in MnDOT’s right of way doesn’t mean we ignore it.”

Check back with Whistleblower next week to find out if anyone has claimed the tree.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 at 5:25 pm and is filed under Neighborhood nuisances, Property problems. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

15 Responses to “A tree leans in Fridley, and a homeowner frets”

» Next comment page »

bellczar Says:
July 1st, 2009 at 7:45 pm
According to social security records,
John Vagovich died in June 1983 and Laura
Vagovich in December 1993.
Cliff Says:
July 1st, 2009 at 8:12 pm
If the tree is the one on the right, and the house is the one on the left, it certainly does not appear as if it is tall enought to make contact were it to fall.
Norm Says:
July 1st, 2009 at 8:18 pm
I’m totally with Cliff, glancing blow at best.
Cliff Says:
July 1st, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Scale the tree on your screen with a paper and pencil, lay it on it’s side at the base of the tree and you will see if misses the house by a good ten feet. I’d leave the tree be.
Jon Says:
July 1st, 2009 at 8:39 pm
Ahhhh stupid people chop the damn thing down, make some nice furniture and plant more trees. Don’t give me this “its an old tree we need to save it”. Some people have bad depth perception, that tree would totally hit that house. The trunk of the tree itself is the width of the street. When a tree like that falls there is no such thing as a “glancing blow” you retard.
Kevin Says:
July 1st, 2009 at 8:53 pm
It is extreemly common for trees to grow at angles. To condemn a tree based on the angle of trunk growth is the basis of poor judgement. The stability of the tree’s root system is a better facto to consider if the tree is structurally sound otherwise. Lifted turf at the base of a tree along with frshly broken or cracked soils around prominent anchor roots are a better indicator that the tree is failing and the tree’s stability has been compromised.
Norm Says:
July 1st, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Jon you’re right, the stupid retards are wrong. We
need the governemnt to step in and fix this for this
citizen… No trees ever glance anything. Jebus said
so??
Cliff Says:
July 1st, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Jon….I could care less about the tree. The fact is, that tree is NOT tall enough to hit that house. No depth perception about it. Scale it and see for yourself. Hard to argue fact.
Chris Says:
July 1st, 2009 at 10:25 pm
We have a similar problem with a very tall cottonwood, but in our case the tree is in our neighbors’ yard. Nothing we can do about it. If prevailing winds blow from south in a bad storm, we’re going to get a “glancing blow”. I think the point here is that it ought to be up to the onwer to decided what is a real threat and what isn’t. The tree is at least going to come darn close. Does it make sense to leave it until it’s grown another 10 feet, then remove it? Note also cottonwoods fall over very easily. Their root systems are shallow and they grow very fast, creating relatively brittle wood. It’s definitely a danger.
Greg Says:
July 2nd, 2009 at 12:01 am
As another has said just because a tree is leaning does not mean it is going to fall. Many trees grow at angles depending on surroundings and prevailing winds. I’ve known other people who think that any tree that is not perfectly vertical needs to be cut down. They grew up in ND so I think they had tree-phobia