Couple living next to Iroquois Golf Course want Metro to remove fallen tree

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Storm cleanup is still underway in Metro Louisville.

So far, 732 tons has been dropped off at the city’s free storm drop off sites.

One couple is stuck with a tree in their yard they say Metro should clean up.

Norman Smith has lived along the 14th fairway at Iroquois Golf Course for 50 years.

Smith said stray golf balls have always been a problem in his yard but now he’s dealing with something that was unexpected.

“I don’t have a tree in my yard,” Smith said. “I do now.”

He will not forget the sound of that storm a few weeks ago.

“I said, ‘My God, this must be a tornado,’ and no sooner than I said that, whoom,” Smith said.

Now he’s left with a tree, from Iroquois Golf Course, laying in his back yard.

Smith called Metro Parks the Monday following the storm.

“They said they’d get back to me, they never did,” Smith said. “I called back Friday and I got hold of a girl and she said, ‘Well, I talked to my supervisor, and they said it was an act of God, so it’s your responsibility.’”

His insurance company won’t help with the bill since the tree didn’t damage his home. A tree removal company quoted him $3,250 to remove it.

WAVE News asked Metro Parks why it’s not removing the tree. A spokesperson sent us the city’s tree ordinance passed in 2017.

“On Metro Government-owned property and on rights of way, we need to protect our trees in a particular way,” former Council Member Bill Hollander said back in 2017.

That ordinance did a lot, including making property owners living next to public trees responsible for their maintenance. However public trees do not include trees on park property.

“Been paying on this house for over 50 years, they ought to be able to do something for me,” Smith said.

Smith hopes Metro will remove the fallen tree.

For now though, he’s got a clearer view of the 14th fairway, even though he can’t walk in his backyard.

Metro Parks Interim Director told WAVE he’s connected Smith with Metro’s risk management staff.

A final decision about what can be done has not been made.

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