Fulton chairman dooms trees, cites error of county's past spending

Calling it "probably the best day of my political life, " Fulton County Commission Chairman Mitch Skandalakis oversaw the beginning of the end for the county building's infamous palm trees Wednesday.

The Washington palms were issued death warrants after one of the original 13 collapsed last month and two others were deemed unsafe and cut down. The 10 remaining trees are healthy, but Skandalakis said he wanted them removed as a safety precaution.

"They're a symbol of the waste, mismanagement and corruption in Fulton County, and their removal signals a new direction for the politics of this county, " Skandalakis said at a news conference.

The trees cost about $8,200 a year to maintain but only $5,000 to remove, spokesman Mike Hassinger said. The work should be completed by the end of the week. As much as he hates them, Skandalakis admitted Wednesday that the palms ---put in during the building's construction in 1990 at a cost of $104,000 ---helped get him elected. Voter outrage at many county problems, including the high cost of the government center, swept Skandalakis into office.