An online poll clearly shows that people want the trees in Leitchfield’s Public Square to be trimmed or left alone, not taken down as has been suggested in recent council meetings.

City Councilman Steven Elder brought the issue up during a recent council meeting when he pointed out that many of the trees and shrubs lining the square were seriously damaged during the ice storm this past January.

The poll, while unscientific, shows clearly that the majority of respondents think the trees should remain in the square, while only 25 percent voted for removing them.

To the poll question “What you think the city should do with the trees on Public Square”, fully 75 percent of nearly 1,000 respondents said they should remain. Eight percent of that 75 said they thought they should be trimmed to reduce the visibility of the storm damage, while 67 percent said the city should leave the trees alone.

On Monday, Mayor William Thomason, City Clerk Erin Embry, and other city officials were inspecting trees on the square.

Mayor Thomason told the News-Gazette Tuesday that the plan is to replace the trees because of the damage, but not to eliminate them completely. He added that the trees will be replaced with larger trees, rather than smaller trees that will take time to grow.

Thomason said the Garden Club will be in charge of the project.

Meanwhile, Councilman Elder said he want the square to look as nice as possible, considering his business, Edward Jones Investments, is located on the square.

“I want it to look as nice as we can possibly make it,” he said. “I think the trees that are beyond repair need to be taken out and the ones that remain need to be trimmed.”

Elder said another aspect that needs to be considered where the remaining trees are concerned is how the foliage blocks businesses from view.

“We have to think about beautification of the square, but we also have to think about the business owner,” he pointed out. “We have to respect the business owners when we’re reviewing this issue. These large trees are nice and we want to keep as many as we can, but if they’re blocking businesses, we need to take that into account as well.

“Public Square is a citizen’s square,” he added. “I value what the citizens say and support their efforts and I think the square will look very nice after the garden club is finished.”

Want to vote on the square issue? Visit www.gcnewsgazette.com and take the poll.