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North Buckhead Civic Association Weighs In

An email from Gordon Certain, President of the North Buckhead Civic Association:

From: Gordon Certain
Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 2:23 PM
To: sfranklin@AtlantaGa.gov
Subject: Arborist Tom Coffin

Dear Mayor Franklin,

I understand that City Arborist Tom Coffin was dismissed yesterday.

I have known and worked with Tom since 1998, when he was serving on the Tree Conservation Commission. He later became an arborist with the City and I have had the pleasure of working with him on a number of occasions.

Sheldon Schlegman (first chair of the Tree Conservation Commission) and I worked to represent residential interests in numerous meetings of several tree protection ordinance task forces over the last ten years. Tom frequently attended those meetings and was always an authoritative resource on what was best for the City’s trees, what was practical to enforce, and what would be fair to both property owners and environmental interests. I was impressed by Tom’s integrity – he politely told people what he thought was right, not necessarily what they wanted to hear. His advice was among the best the task forces got.

I have no idea what precipitated Tom’s dismissal, but believe that the City will be a much poorer place if it is denied his expertise. Certainly we all make mistakes – if he made a mistake (and I hope he didn’t), I think it is important that it not judged in too narrow a context. Tom has brought distinction to a city that he obviously cares for deeply. I hope the City distinguishes itself by going the extra mile to treat him with the appreciation and respect that he clearly deserves. We need all the competent city employees we can get (and keep).

Sincerely,

Gordon Certain
President
North Buckhead Civic Association

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