The City of Sarnia is addressing concerns shared over social media about the state of the Christmas tree located in front of city hall.
The donated tree was removed from a property and transported to the downtown municipal building on November 13.
The tree's appearance was criticized over social media.
Some comments called it an embarrassment or a "Charlie Brown Christmas". However, others, such as Councillor Adam Kilner, were "proud" and appreciative of the tree.
"It’s also important to take stock of the fact that local companies donate their time and resources to transport the tree. We are grateful for that effort every year," said the City of Sarnia in a Facebook post on Thursday. "It’s unfortunate that the tree was damaged as part of transportation, but we still want a tree at city hall, so our forestry team worked with the tree we have to ensure this Christmas tradition continues."
The city also noted issues with the lights due to rodent damage and a blown fuse.
"We’ve fixed those issues, so the tree should look a little more illuminating going forward," read the Facebook post. "We get it, it’s not perfect, but we’re working to ensure that we continue the tradition of illuminating for the holiday season."
Meanwhile, the Celebration of Lights display at Centennial Park will be on every evening until New Year's Day.
Some lighting issues were noted with the display over the past week but are currently being addressed.
The Sarnia Lambton Celebration of Lights board is working with the city to resolve some issues, a major one being the timer.
"Also, Austin Robinson of Overwulf Technologies is working on our RGB displays to get them all up and running again," read a Facebook post. "We've had issues with the controller modules but the person who set them up for us several years ago has not been available to keep up with them for us."
Organizers are confident everything will be fully lit for this weekend.
