By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
On Arbor Day in 2019, Sea Isle City officials celebrated the planting of dozens of new trees that were expected to add lush green scenery in the spring and summer and a canopy of brilliant colors in the fall along the main entryway into town.
Currently, many of those same trees lining John F. Kennedy Boulevard are little more than scraggly and leafless skeletons. Some are simply dormant for winter, but others are dying or dead.
“I noticed that a lot of them are dying,” said Tom Maguire, a resident of 40th Street. “There’s a lot of these dead trees here, and I understand we paid quite a bit of money for them.”
Maguire, who made his comments during City Council’s teleconference meeting on Tuesday, noted that other residents also are concerned about the dying trees.
“Has anybody looked into this, or can they look into this?” he asked the Council members.
In response, City Business Administrator George Savastano assured Maguire that the city is already aware of the problem and will work with a landscaping architect and the tree contractor to have the dead ones replaced.
“We’ll either get the trees replaced or get reimbursement for those that are under warranty,” Savastano said.
Maguire responded by telling Savastano that he was glad to hear that the city intends to plant new trees.
Altogether, 40 trident maples were planted along both sides of the JFK Boulevard entrance and 35 sweetbay magnolias were added to the Landis Avenue corridor in the downtown business district between 39th and 43rd streets as part of a $98,000 beautification project in 2019.
It is not immediately known how many trees have died. However, the magnolias are under warranty until May 2021 and the maples until November 2021, according to Sea Isle’s municipal website.
The shore’s harsh environment – the salt air and blustery winter conditions – make it hard for some trees to survive. Ironically, the trident maples and sweetbay magnolias were touted as being salt-tolerant and conducive for the seashore environment when they were planted in 2019.
The maples and magnolias had replaced scrawny and dead trees that were leftovers from Sea Isle’s multimillion-dollar “Beach to Bay” beautification of JFK Boulevard completed in 2013. A series of road, landscaping, safety and municipal projects were added to the central corridor stretching from the city’s marina to the beachfront Promenade over a five-year span.
Leafy green trees were counted on in 2013 and then again in 2019 to add a touch of natural beauty to complement the city’s manmade attractions.
“We will be seen as a shining example of a beautiful, tree-lined community,” Mayor Leonard Desiderio told onlookers during an Arbor Day ceremony in April 2019 to celebrate the planting of the maples and magnolias.
With a crop of new trees on the way, the JFK Boulevard entryway is expected to be adorned once again this spring and summer with ornate flowery branches and silky green leaves providing shade and beauty.
