Biddeford has begun work on the playground at J. Richard Martin Community Center, installing play structures and removing dead or dying trees. (Sydney Richelieu/Staff Writer)

The city of Biddeford has broken ground on a new playground at the J. Richard Martin Community Center on Alfred Road.

At an Aug. 19 City Council meeting, directors from Public Works and Parks and Recreation provided an update on the project, focusing on the removal of dead and dying trees on the site.

Several long-standing trees were recently removed from the community center grounds, shocking nearby residents, who only received notice six days prior to the trees being removed.

Jeff Demers, director of Public Works for Biddeford, apologized for the quick timeline, but noted that the trees posed a danger to community center patrons.

“There was no doubt in anyone’s mind on the professional side that the trees did need to come down,” Demers said. “With the amount of money that the city is investing on that park to get it in there, the last thing we wanted to do was to go in there and cut down the trees after the playground was up.”

According to Demers, some of the trees were improperly pruned over their lives and were rotten in the center.

Councilor Marc Lessard said that after speaking with Demers, he also believed the trees needed to be removed.

“There was no question that the trees were diseased, or dying, and needed to come out,” Lessard said.

But some residents were blindsided by the removal, Councilor Dylan Doughty said.

“Everyone I spoke to said that they were not notified or they didn’t know anything about all of the trees being removed,” Doughty said.

Part of residents’ concern about the trees being removed comes from a place of nostalgia, Doughty said.

“I had several neighbors coming to me saying ‘my kids played under those trees, my grandkids played under those trees, and we’re watching them come down with no notice,’” Doughty said.

The Public Works Department and Parks and Recreation are already taking steps to replace the trees that were removed.

In the coming months, Parks and Recreation plans to plant 12 new, mature trees around the site of the playground, providing ample canopy and shade for the area.

“The trees that we’re looking forward to putting back will be bigger trees,” Demers said.

Biddeford Parks and Recreation Director Lisa Thompson said she “totally understands” that trees are important to the community, and wants people to know that the Parks and Recreation Department cares about keeping trees in the community.

“We want to replant some trees that are robust and create some shade,” Thompson said.

Other plans for the $241,886 playground project, which was approved by the City Council in April, include the possibility of sun shades for added protection and a green space where kids can play.

“We’re hoping to have some green space,” Thompson said. “We really want some open space for kids to play ball.”

The playground project is being completed in phases, with the play structure slated to be completed by the first week of school, and additional trees being planted in the spring.

Parks and Recreation also plans to develop a program for an “adopt a tree” program later this year, which would allow Biddeford residents and organizations to name a tree in honor of a loved one or their organization.

“I’m very proud of this project,” Thompson said. “I think it’s going to be very well received in the community.”