Supporters of Murrysville 'tree sign' updates estimate $100,000 in costs

Valerie Mittereder and her husband, Ed, own the “ysville” section of the Murrysville tree sign, a group of several hundred evergreens which spell out the name of the municipality, on a hillside overlooking Route 22.

The “Murr” section of land is owned by Michael Hillebrand.

But after nearly a century, they said it’s getting tough to read.

“This sign has always meant a whole lot to me,” Valerie Mittereder said. “I just would like to see some more money put into making it look a little better.”

Originally planted as a Boy Scout project in the 1930s, the sign has been featured in “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.” Its maintenance has been handled by the municipality according to an agreement drafted when the sign was created, and much of that work has been handled by the local nonprofit Sportsmen and Landowners Alliance of Murrysville, or SLAM.

Carl Patty, a member of the nonprofit, said he’s hoping to bring an Amish work crew to do some annual trimming and maintenance work either in November or the early spring of 2024.

“But we’re also looking to try and raise about $100,000 in order to redo the sign,” Patty said. “We’re looking at some of the trees in the 50-year-old range. They’re 40 to 50 feet tall and as a consequence, they’ve spread out and made it difficult to read the sign. What we’ll have to do is basically cut down part of the trees and replant. And that’s going to be expensive.”

“Murrysville agreed to maintain the sign,” Mittereder said. “And it’s not being maintained.”

Murrysville Chief Administrator Michael Nestico said the municipality dedicates between $5,000 and $6,000 annually toward maintenance of the sign.

“In looking at the history of the project, maintenance funds were raised by different community groups over the years,” Nestico said. “At some points there was between $10,000 and $20,000 invested in some of that maintenance.”

Mittereder said money should be invested in replacing some of the trees in the sign.

“That’s what we need to do, not just chop down trees and get rid of them,” she said.

Her husband, Ed, agreed.

“It’s a shame how this thing has deteriorated,” he said. “I belong to SLAM, and we’re a lot of old people in our 60s and 70s. We spent a lot of time taking care of that sign when we were younger, and the Scouts have done it at times, but we have to consider liability. Those are some steep hills and some difficult work.”

Patty said SLAM members have been looking into options other than Norway spruce.

“We may find something that’s a little more manageable for trimming, but spruce seems to be the most viable,” he said.

SLAM officials have recouped a small portion of the maintenance funds by occasionally selling the tops of trimmed spruces as Christmas trees.

Language in the agreement allows for a legal remedy to compel municipal officials to undertake additional maintenance. The Mittereders said they did not want to resort to that.

“This is something most other towns do not have,” Valerie Mittereder said. “I just think we should step up and put a little more money toward it.”

Council did not take any immediate action to address the sign’s maintenance at its Oct. 18 meeting.