With trees removed, UAFS library expansion moves forward

story by Aric Mitchell
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Planning delays are to blame for the brief pause in the Boreham Library expansion, and not concerns over the loblolly pine tree removal project, which made way for the addition, according to Dr. Paul Beran, chancellor at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

“Anytime an institution goes into a major construction project as complicated as a library facility, it is hard to say exactly when all the variables will come together to be able to start,” Beran said. “UAFS, CDI Construction, and MAHG architects have been carefully reviewing details and are proceeding in a way that makes the project cost effective and within budget. That extra care with details took longer than expected but the outcome will be better served than if all three groups had not taken the extra care and attention to details of the project at the front end.”

Beran continued: “So the project did not encounter obstacles so much as managing details up front took a little longer than I suspected when I originally said that we would break ground in April. Observers will see work being done in May — as with the tree removal — and ground preparation will actually begin prior to the formal groundbreaking, so we are really no more than a month or so off the schedule I originally thought we might follow.”

In February 2011, The City Wire reported on the Save the Pines group, which had mobilized in an effort to save 27 loblolly pine trees, which had been on campus for more than 50 years.

The unconfirmed story behind the trees is that Dr. Hattie May Butterfield, a music teacher, planted the trees in the late 1950s to attempt to visually separate the academic and technical programs offered by what was then a small community college. Over the years, the trees have meant a variety of things to the students of Westark Community College (WCC) and UAFS as well as to people within the community.

Ralph McCoy wrote in a Feb. 9 comment on The City Wire: “I recall as a young student at WCC eating lunch under those trees or just stopping and talking to friends under the shade. It just seems a shame that Mr. Beran has got it in his mind to destroy all of these trees.”

User OneVoice, also on Feb. 9, wrote, “Mr. Beran, those pine trees were here long before you were and we hope that they are here long after you are ran off. You have worked very hard to drive a wedge between you and the faculty and staff.”

But Beran and the university’s decision was not altogether unpopular as seen by other reactions. Unverified user “eileen kradel” had this to say: “As a former Westark Community College (WCC) student, instructor, and long time board member of both WCC and UA Fort Smith and a person who cares very much about Fort Smith’s greatest asset, UA Fort Smith; I would like to tell all the readers to visit the campus talk to the students and faculty and you will get a smile on your face and a spring in your step. Yes, tough decisions are made everyday that will cause distress to some segment of the community but how myopic to think that a much needed library update and addition could be placed elsewhere or ditched because of the loblolly pines. The trees will be replaced. The UA-Fort Smith Campus has won awards for the landscaping and continually seeks ways to promote a green campus.”

Beran did not mention plans for replacing the trees during a recent interview, but he did reveal the next steps for the loblolly removal project, which is now complete.

“The company that took the trees down is harvesting the timber and turning it into lumber. The lumber will be sold, and dollar credit will be given to UAFS for the value of the lumber,” Beran said.

Beran said feedback received about the library expansion has been largely positive.

“The Learning and Research Center will be a significant and important addition to the original Boreham Library. Overall, I think that there is both on- and off-campus excitement about this project. More than doubling the size of a university library is a noteworthy project and certainly our faculty, students and staff recognize the importance of the project. Likewise, we have received very positive feedback from the community.”