The City of Grand Island has plans to cut down cottonwood trees on the north side of Pier Park Lake. Neighbors who live north of the cottonwoods are opposed to having the trees cut down. (Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
GRAND ISLAND – Dick and Joann Nietfeld of 229 E. Ashton St. have lived in their home just north of the Pier Park Lake for 60 years.
During that time, they’ve enjoyed looking at the cottonwood trees on the north side of the lake, which are just south of their backyard. They’ve also enjoyed watching the wildlife that appear in the trees.
Joann Nietfeld learned on Nov. 4 from a voicemail from a neighbor that the City of Grand Island planned to cut down cottonwood trees on the north side of Pier Park Lake.
The neighbor works for the City of Grand Island and had learned about plans to cut down the trees. A petition was circulated in the neighborhood, with neighbors signing the petition who opposed having the trees cut down. Joann Nietfeld said that approximately 13 households were contacted.
The city was contacted, and a meeting was set up for Nov. 5. Joann Nietfeld said that she and three neighbors attended the meeting. She said that other neighbors may not have been able to attend the meeting because they work.
“We felt like we were representing all of the neighbors,” Joann said. “And we say, ‘why now’?”
Dick Nietfeld said branches need to be cut off from some of the trees. The trees slant toward the south.
Joann Nietfeld said that the city was concerned about liability issues such as if a tree fell down and struck someone who was walking by the tree. There is a sidewalk just next to the lake that borders the lake.
Joann Nietfeld said, “Had we not said anything, they would have started cutting down trees.”
Joann Nietfeld contacted a Grand Island Independent reporter about attending the meeting. He showed up at the meeting, but Joann said that city officials did not want him to stay at the meeting.
City Administrator Patrick Brown responded to questions about cutting down the trees.
“Back in January of 2025, a couple of trees fell due to an ice storm, took out the electric lines, and pulled the lines from the feeder. At that time, we looked at the 14 trees on the north side of Pier Park Lake and for safety purposes marked those for review,” Brown said.
Brown said that Parks and Recreation Director Todd McCoy estimated that the trees are more than 70 years old.
Brown commented about what problems could occur if the trees are not cut down.
“The hazards are the trees could fall on those residences or fall to the south and potentially injury someone walking or cause damage to the walking trail around the lake and/or the sea wall,” he said.
The city contacted an arborist to evaluate the health of the trees. Brown said that Graham Herbst, a Community Forester with University of Nebraska-Lincoln, visited the site during the week of Oct. 13.
Brown said that 10 trees would be cut down.
“Three will not be touched. One will have a branch trimmed off,” Brown said.
The city plans to plant replacement trees at the site in the fall of 2026.
Brown said that from viewing a Geographic Information System map, it appears that 15 homes border the area where the trees are located.
Joann Nietfeld said that she contacted her neighborhood’s two City Council representatives about the issue.
“They didn’t know what to tell me,” Joann Nietfeld said.
Joann Nietfeld said that another meeting with the city is scheduled for Nov. 12. She will not be able to attend the meeting, because she will be attending her sister-in-law’s funeral in Lincoln. She did not know if other neighbors will attend the meeting.
Joann Nietfeld said that three cottonwood trees just south of their house will not be cut down. There is a fence along the south side of their backyard. From a gate attached to the fence, someone can go through the gate and enter the Pier Park property.
Dick Nietfeld said that an arborist would hit a tree with a rubber mallet to try to determine if the tree was hollow.
“I’m not convinced by that,” Dick Nietfeld said.
Joann Nietfeld said she believes that the city could start cutting down the trees this month.
She asked the city why neighbors weren’t contacted about plans to cut down the trees. She said that City Administrator Patrick Brown said that in hindsight, the situation could have been handled differently.
“It certainly will be a different look without these trees,” Dick Nietfeld said.
Dick Nietfeld believes that the trees should be cut down as needed, not all at once. He believes that a number of the trees may be hollow, but that they have been that way for quite some time and have not fallen down.
Dick Nietfeld grew up in a home at 105 W. Ashton. He believes that the trees north of the Pier Park Lake were there even before he was born in 1940. He estimated that homes were built in the neighborhood starting in 1925.
Dick Nietfeld said that new cottonwood trees are hybrids and will not grow as tall as the existing trees.
The Nietfelds said that they enjoy the glow of the cottonwood leaves in the fall.
“In the winter, they have their own beauty,” Joann Nietfeld said.
