For the record, I 100% support new features being added to the bike-skills area in Travers Park and appreciate the efforts of Pend Oreille Peddlers, of which I’m a member. And I’m pleased Councilman Jason Welker reported in his letters that no trees will be cut down for this project. However, regarding the trees surrounding the playground area, the councilman played dodgy with the truth.

The Sandpoint City Council voted essentially to destroy 10 healthy trees when they decided a large Tencel-covered structure "designed for tennis and pickleball" (their words) would take the playground’s location. Our community’s initial investment, plus 30 years of paying Park & Recreation Department employees to care for these trees, gets wiped out. It's easy to say, "Mature trees will be replanted," except it’s not possible to successfully transplant 50-foot-tall trees like the red oak or trees with 75-inch-circumference trunks like the willow standing next to the playground.

On the heels of a lofty proclamation praising the value of trees at a council meeting, city officials are being hypocrites for not making a better environmentally sound decision. Saving these beautiful mature trees should be a priority, considering their carbon sequestration values and their cooling benefits for a public park with rising summer heat.

Truthfully, it's not too late to choose instead to add more features to the sturdy existing equipment and build their large, tall structure in a treeless area of the park. Besides, for numerous safety reasons, it's poor site planning to obstruct an open view into the kids’ bike-skills park with a big building.

And yes, I support the addition of a splash pad for our kids’ summer play — especially because this council has refused to tackle the question, "How does a 10-year-old ride their bike safely to City Beach?" for those living in this northeastern area of town.

REBECCA HOLLAND

Sandpoint