County Halts Brush Clearing in Thompson Park After Residents Complain

DeKalb County abruptly shut down a maintenance project in last week after angry residents said county workers were brazenly clearcutting and harming the park.

County officials said they were removing overgrown, invasive species along a creek that cuts through the park and also around the park's multi-purpose field. But when some nearby residents, including members of the Mason Mill Civic Association, saw what they were doing, they were livid. The banks of the stream were aggressively mowed down, leaving small tree and shrub stumps. An area to the left as you enter the park was clear-cut entirely, leaving nothing but several selected larger trees and wood chippings.

"We're going to dig into it, and we'll help people in the county and the civic association get to the bottom of this," said Patrick Noonan, an immediate past president of the Mason Mill Civic Association. "The people in the [county's parks and recreation department] are trying to figure out where things broke down."

North Druid Hills-Briarcliff Patch is still waiting for a response from county officials. The county posted a red stop order sign at the park last week, essentially demanding its own employees stop their work.

Noonan and several other residents are also curious about one of the reasons the work crew gave for their heavy clipping: DeKalb County police officers want to be able to see into the park without driving into it, Noonan said. 

"That's just bizarre," he said. "We realized we were just talking to the wrong people."

Regardless, when residents noticed what was going on at the park, they notified the office of District 2 Commissioner Jeff Rader, whose staff responded quickly, Noonan said.

"The good guys in the county… are on the case now," he said. "We feel we've got allies. They're communicating with us."