By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Sea Isle City’s quaint wooden fishing pier overlooking the bay at the end of 59th Street offers panoramic views of the water, marshlands and wildlife.
While most people probably don’t notice it while casting their fishing lines, right next to the pier is a bulkhead that helps to protect 59th Street and the upscale bayfront homes in the surrounding neighborhood from flooding.
A closer look at the bulkhead reveals damage and deterioration that Sea Isle plans to fix under a $66,069 construction contract awarded Tuesday by City Council.
“There are some areas that are damaged and failing on the south side of the fishing pier. It needs to be addressed. There will be additional piles and capping to make it safe,” City Business Administrator George Savastano said of the bulkhead.
The contractor, Albert Marine Construction, of Waretown, N.J., is expected to begin bulkhead repairs in two weeks and finish the job within a month.
In the meantime, the fishing pier will remain open to the public and shouldn’t be affected by the construction, Savastano said.
Also at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Mayor Leonard Desiderio reported that the city will begin planting dozens of crepe myrtles this week to beautify the John F. Kennedy Boulevard corridor.
Sea Isle is switching from tropical palm trees to long-lasting crepe myrtles to create a more inviting main entryway into town. Altogether, the city will plant 38 crepe myrtles that will bloom with pink blossoms
Previously, the city experimented with trident maples and sweetbay magnolias to spruce up the JFK Boulevard gateway. However, they fared poorly in the shore’s salty and windy environment. Many of them died off or were reduced to scraggly, leafless skeletons – hardly leaving a good first impression on visitors arriving in Sea Isle.
In a bit of whimsy, Sea Isle replaced the maples and magnolias last summer with 40 palm trees. With their vibrant green fronds swaying in the breezes during the summer, they created a tropical-like setting reminiscent of Florida or the Caribbean islands.
Desiderio made it clear when the delicate palm trees were planted just before the Memorial Day weekend last year that they were only a temporary way to dress up the JFK Boulevard entranceway and likely would not survive the winter. Predictably, they died in the frigid temperatures.
“As we said last year, we wanted to go with the palm trees along the boulevard as we worked to come up with a long-term plan; and I’m happy to report that the tree planting plan for the entry into Sea Isle is ready to go,” Desiderio told Council.
Desiderio thanked Sea Isle’s Environmental Commission for working with the city on plans to plant crepe myrtles along both sides of JFK Boulevard and for agreeing to pay for the trees from the Environmental Trust account.
City officials and representatives of the Environmental Commission will celebrate the new crepe myrtles on Arbor Day with a ceremony at 12 noon Friday in front of the Sea Isle Welcome Center.
“There’s no better way to celebrate the day than with the recognition of our collective efforts to ensure we have a tree-lined entrance to the city,” Desiderio said.
Sea Isle has struggled to find the right types of trees that are hardy enough to withstand the punishing winds and salt air at the shore. However, crepe myrtles are commonly found in the gardens of private homes around town and have a reputation as a robust tree that can adapt to the seashore environment.
