MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. – A Maryland Heights couple is having a huge problem with their recreational vehicle. A problem they say is caused by the City of Maryland Heights.
Greg Rice said the city is not trimming the trees that are overhanging the streets.
”I called Maryland Heights to see if I could get the trees trimmed,” he said. “I’m running my motor home that me and my wife saved up for to go camping and use it for recreation, and we’re basically running it underneath these trees. We’re tearing the air conditioning toppers off of it, knocking off CB antennas. I’ve got a satellite up there, and we’ve called and asked them to take care of the problem, and they basically tell us there’s nothing they can do.”
Rice said he took matters into his own hands.
“Last year, I got into the back of my pickup truck with a ladder, and I trimmed the trees myself,” he said. “That’s probably what I’m going to have to do this year, and I don’t feel as a taxpayer resident, I should have to do that.”
Rice said the problem doesn’t just affect his RV.
“The street is for trucks, it’s for RV’s, it’s for cars to drive, and it’s basically obstructing the access of the vehicle to come up and down the street,” he said.
According to Rice, he doesn’t have the same problem in other areas.
“We drive in off of Highway 70, and we drive through Bridgeton to get to the Maryland Heights area; everything’s trim,” he said. “And I don’t drag on any tree at all it’s just as soon as we cross over into the Maryland Heights line at Terry Avenue, that’s where it all starts.”
Rice finally contacted FOX 2 for help, and we reached out to the Maryland Heights City Administrator Tracey Anderson.
“I think once you called me, I said let me investigate ’cause I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said. “I got a hold of the public works director, and in turn, he got a hold of the operations manager in the Public Works Department.”
Before long, she had the Maryland Heights crews on the street trimming the trees.
“It was a problem that was pointed out, we were made aware of it, we took care of it, and now everybody’s happy,” Anderson said.
Certainly, Rice is happy.
“I’m glad that it happened. I really, really hated that it had to come to this, but I appreciate what you do, and I appreciate the city taking care of it,” he said.