City's $9K fake Xmas tree erected at Riverside Park

NSBNEWS.net video and photos by Sera Frederick. Between four and six city workers spent all day Tuesday putting up the $9,000 artificial Christmas tree purchased with tax dollars by the Community Redevelopment Agency at the eastern-most end of Canal Street just a couple feet from the riverbank. The tree went up less than a week after the City Commission voted unanimously to tentatively go with the rolled-back rate of $3.7 per $1,000 to finance the $21 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which meant no raises for city employees, the elimination of five open police officer positions and severe cutbacks in capital improvements. Yet the Community Redevelopment Agency was allowed to spend $9,000 this spring to purchase the artificial tree, which has become a lightning rod in this primary election about spending priorities.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The city's $9,000 artificial Christmas tree was erected Tuesday by four to six municipal employees during an all-day affair, though they didn't quite get the job done by the time darkness set in.

Well after dark, electrical wiring was hanging at the bottom of the 20-foot tree at the extreme north end of Riverside Park near the Brannon Center and facing Canal Street. It stands between the flagpoles and a major power line, literally a couple feet from the riverbank.

The tree was not fenced in or cordoned off in any way from anyone having access to it, including the possibility of climbing it by by of its eight circular internal rings. The branch extensions can easily be lifted up and unhinged and the light bulbs can easily be unscrewed.

Mayor Sally Mackay said the tree was being installed temporarily, though she said she had no other information about it. She said late last night she would try and contact City Manager Pam Brangaccio about safety concerns with the tree being left the way it was, but she, too, could not be reached for comment after an initial reporter's call in the first place to the mayor.

Mayoral challenger Adam Barringer said he was surprised the tree went up so soon, which he sees as a waste of taxpayer money, especially in these economic times.

"Maybe they'll let us put our election signs on it," he said sarcastically. "Speaking of what a joke this is, here's something you can use: 'How many city workers does it take to set up a Christmas tree?' "

Fellow Mayoral candidate Marilee Walters was even more biting in her criticism of the tree, saying it is this election's single best symbol of the lack of accountability in government regarding use of taxpayer money.

"Here we have the perfect example of the waste I have been talking about," Walters said. A 6-0 vote from the CRA commission on a $9,000 Christmas tree? Are they insane? People are really trying to hold their heads above water. Yet our mayor and commission do not have a clue what is happening because they are part of the 'City Country Club.'"

Walters added, "Guess what? Our citizens are angry. They have a right to be angry. This has to stop. This is just the straw that broke the camel's back, and it goes deeper."

Of the three mayoral candidates, only Mackay supported the purchase of the $9,000 tree by the Community Redevelopment Agency last May at the request of Parks and Recreation Director Liz Yancey. Monies from the CRA district, which includes Canal Street, Flagler Avenue and a few other adjoining streets are collected by the CRA instead of going into the general ad valorem tax base to be used for major improvements to the CRA district.

Though the tree's price was set at $9,000, the cost that is not fixed is the labor involved in installing it, the electricity it will use and the cost of installing an electrical outlet.

Both Barringer and Walters said they would want to know how much time and money is being used up in paying city employees to deal with the tree. After spending a full shift Monday, installing an electrical outlet for the tree, the job had not been completed. During various parts of the day, between four and six city employees were at the tree, along with some large trucks and other heavy equipment.