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Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson (right) and Chief of Staff for the City of Mobile Colby Cooper (left) await President-elect Donald Trump at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016. Trump ended his post-election "Thank You" tour in Alabama. The cedar tree in the background was cut down at Public Safety Memorial Park off Government Street in midtown Mobile for Trump's rally. (Lawrence Specker/lspecker@al.com)

Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson said he was "ready to move on" on Tuesday from a controversial decision by his chief of staff to cut down a tree at a public park for use as a prop during President-elect Donald Trump's rally on Saturday.

Others, however, were not moving on from what various officials dubbed as "Treegate." And the matter continued to receive extensive coverage by national media.

Some City Council members said that it could be time to review local ordinances in order to prevent the mayor's office from wielding unilateral authority to order trees cut down.

And at least one longtime tree commissioner said that Stimpson's staff has shown "no support whatsoever" toward his group and claimed that the mayor - who was the chief financial officer of a lumber company until he ran for mayor in 2013 - views trees as a nuisance.

"Let's face it, we have a mayor who made his living cutting down trees for lumber," said Dr. Rip Pfeiffer, who has served on the city's tree commission for about 25 years. "He's made it clear there won't be any more trees planted in (public) right-of-way. There is nothing we can do about it."

'Make it right'

There has been swift fallout from Friday's decision by Chief of Staff Colby Cooper to have a mature cedar tree cut down at Public Safety Memorial Park and transported to Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

The tree, which was decorated with ornaments, served as a backdrop during Trump's final rally as part of his post-election "Thank You" tour. It also covered up the stadium's scoreboard while national TV cameras honed in on the president-elect.

Cooper, on Sunday, issued a public apology for having the tree felled. On Monday, Stimpson accepted Cooper's apology and said there was a plan in place to replant three cedar trees within the park.

Cooper, also on Monday, announced on Twitter that he was going to personally pay for the three replacement trees.

Stimpson, during the council's meeting Tuesday, said the tree displayed during the Trump rally will be "re-purposed." He left the council meeting early and did not provide additional information.

Cooper, who remained at the council meeting until it ended, declined further comment.

"We are committed to doing our best to make it right," Stimpson said during his public remarks.

'Community concerned'

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a rally at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016, in Mobile, Ala. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The council did not publicly address the issue during its meeting but afterward, in interviews with local media, some of the members hinted at a need to legally ensure something similar doesn't happen again.

"I hope the council can amend the law that ... no individual can have the authority anymore to order someone to cut a tree down in the city," Councilman Fred Richardson said. "If a citizen had driven up to that park with their pickup truck and cut that tree down, they'd still probably be in jail."

Councilman Levon Manzie, while saying that Cooper had "appropriately apologized," said he believes the council will deliberate over whether a stronger ordinance is needed after the first of the year. "The citizens of my community are very concerned," said Manzie. "They were alarmed the tree was used in this manner."

Other council members believe that it's up to Stimpson to handle the situation going forward.

"This was an administrative decision and the council didn't have anything to do with it," said Council President Gina Gregory. "It was a mistake. In my opinion, it was not a good decision but Colby has apologized and the mayor has accepted it."

Added Councilman John Williams: "This was a completely avoidable situation and it resulted after an unknown number of people made poor decisions. Disciplinary action either taken or not taken (is up to the) mayor. It's completely in his hands. I'm satisfied with whatever he decides, but I trust it will never happen again."

Cooper, in offering his apology, said he became "overzealous" in making sure the Trump rally went off without a hitch. Cooper accepted "full responsibility" for having the tree cut down.

Stimpson, in Monday's statement, said Cooper "made a mistake by directing our employees to cut down a tree" from the city park and having it installed at the stadium.

Stimpson said in the statement, "Vibrant public parks are central to my vision for making Mobile the most family-friendly city in America, and we are committed to safeguarding our signature trees."

'Silly, stupid'

But Pfeiffer said he hasn't seen much action from Stimpson since he took office to make him feel confident that the city's trees are protected.

Pfeiffer noted that Stimpson, as mayor, has authority over the commission to remove trees that are within the public right-of-way, or the area between public sidewalks and curbs. The commission also has no jurisdiction of public property such as parks, said Pfeiffer.

Trump stump 10 Gallery: Trump stump

"The state law allows him to cut down trees on the right-of-way, and it was put in there for mainly emergency purposes like a hurricane where you don't have the time to go through the tree commission for these decisions," said Pfeiffer. "He's used that cut down trees when there was no legitimate reasons to remove them." He specifically mentioned cuttings on the sidewalks lining the History Museum of Mobile and Gulf Coast Exploreum.

Controversy erupted in July 2015 when nine oak trees were cut down near downtown's Bienville Square to make room for a hotel parking lot. Blame was directed at the Stimpson administration amid a flurry of phone calls made to local newsrooms and government agencies in protest.

Pfeiffer, who said the commission isn't a group of "tree huggers," added that he understands the rationale behind removing a tree that can have "detrimental" impact on its surroundings.

But he said the positives "far outweigh" the negatives, including the potential to increase neighborhood property values.

"The aesthetic benefits of trees are tremendous," said Pfeiffer. "No one talks about how great billboards are or the wastewater treatment plant is in Mobile. They talk about the trees."

Pfeiffer said the tree commission is without teeth to act on tree removals such as the one that occurred ahead of Trump's rally. "People misconstrue that we can do something about it," he said. But there is nothing we can do. We can sometimes voice an opinion about it ... this is a silly, stupid thing to do for a little backdrop for President-elect Trump."