Added to our Social Calendar: Movie Nights on the Beach tentatively: June 15, July 13 and August 10! Holiday Lights Neighborhood Bike Ride Saturday, December 7th!
Next Social Committee Meeting: Monday April 29th 6:00-7:00 pm. Hopefully we can sit outside!

Thursday afternoon, Parks and Rec. are installing multiple speed bumps at the boat ramp entry and in the parking lot. Workers said we almost got speed tables but they are pricey. The workmen were great and showed us the diagram.

Our speaker for the April meeting, Mike Benedetto, President of TFC Recycling gave a great presentation about recycling now and what’s ahead. Did you know that we actually paid more for recycling in 1996 than we do now? This was before China entered the business and brought down prices but they pulled out in 2018. Mr. Benedetto answered lots of questions about what was actually recyclable (labels ok, staples/ tape ok on boxes, bottles need to be clean etc.) He also relayed that he plastics industry often falsely labels their products with a 1 or 2 symbol so folks think they can recycle the item but only plastic bottles currently are recyclable. For details go to: Virginiabeach.gov/trash-recycling/recycling-information

Mr. Benedetto relayed that the results of the City survey about preferences showed an overwhelming support for continuing the recycling program but the City Council needs to hear from residents during the Budget Comment Period. Go to Speak Up VB to comment on the budget.

FAQ’s about Membership:

• When should I pay my dues? 2024 dues must be paid in 2024. Dues paid at Fall Fest last year were in 2023.
• Is it $20 per person? No- membership is a wonderful bargain! $20 for the whole household!

Thank you to all who paid 2024 dues!!! Join your neighbors! If you are a resident or property owner in Ocean Park please consider supporting the Ocean Park Civic League with your $20 membership or renew your membership for 2024! Join or Renew OPCL today-only $20 per household! We have more than 1300 households in Ocean Park and in 2023 we had 335 paid memberships. Let’s get to 400 in 2024! We will not raise dues but our costs: IT costs and event costs have gone up like everything else. We really need our neighbors to support the civic league. If you can give more than $20- that helps so much!

What does your membership pay for? The civic league budget pays for the costs of getting information out – website costs, email blast Mailchimp services, snail mail post office box, IT services. We make contributions to Lynnhaven River Now, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and we give a four year $1000 college scholarship every year. With your membership you will also have free entry for your household to our Fall Fest (October 15th this year!) and Spring Fling– a great opportunity to meet your neighbors! Please help support your neighborhood civic league!! If you are new to the Ocean Park neighborhood- welcome! We look forward to getting to know you!

What a great turn out for the second annual Easter Egg Hunt at Loch Haven Park by the Brock Center. Special thanks to our volunteers!! We had generous donations of candy, prizes, decorations (loved the garland and bunny feet)and of course time and effort!! Thank you to our beloved Easter Bunny! The kids love him! Thank you to Beach Built for collection donations for us!

There are more pieces of the puzzle out there! We would like to include more stories! The plan is to include new chapters in an addendum to the book and republish an anniversary edition. If you or your family have information, documentation, memories, photographs or are interested in working on the project: please contact communication@opcl.org. Talk to your neighbors! We have identified some interesting new resources!

In 2024 the Ocean Park Civic League marks the 80 year anniversary since its founding on Nov. 28, 1944. As a part of this celebration, we would like to continue the work of The Ocean Park Story: a soft cover book published in 2015 by a committee headed by Nadine Isaac Hook Costenbader after five years of work piecing together the history of Ocean Park with articles, documents, photographs and oral history from residents and descendants.

On Thursday, March 21, the BAC met at OPVRS. Vice Chair Bob Magoon had raised concerns with the new beach access being constructed by Westminster Canterbury that will ultimately be turned over to the City of Viriginia Beach. The ramp construction is being built into the dune. To answer the concerns brought up by Mr. Magoon, Mr. P.J. Scully from the Dept of Planning and Community Development and Mr. Seth Edwards, P.E. Development Services Administrator joined the meeting. Mr. Scully related that the city has not accepted the ramp as constructed and mediating work is being undertaken. There is a suit brought by a citizen in regard to the ramp.

Derek Dubay presented his plan to restore the Ocean Park Baptist Church and turn it into a wedding and event venue. He addressed concerns of noise and parking as he had at the Ocean Park Civic League meeting on March 7. The plan will require a zoning change from R5b to B-2 and require a conditional use permit restricting use for assembly only. Mr. Dubay is working now with the city about proffers and expects that the plan will be reviewed by the Planning Commission and then the City Council in June or July.

Discussion of the update to the Shore Drive section of the Comp Plan was tabled until the next meeting.

In the public comment portion of the meeting, a representative from the Active Transportation Committee noted that approval for bike racks at some beach accesses had come through including several in Ocean Park.

We collected 25 pounds of trash! Thank you to all who helped and especially to Mary Faust who organizes the effort and bakes the chocolate muffins and cornbread! YUM! Next clean up will be Saturday, April 20 9-12 am.

Thank you to all who paid 2024 dues!!! Join your neighbors! If you are a resident or property owner in Ocean Park please consider supporting the Ocean Park Civic League with your $20 membership or renew your membership for 2024! Join or Renew OPCL today-only $20 per household! We have more than 1300 households in Ocean Park and in 2023 we had 335 paid memberships. Let’s get to 400 in 2024! We will not raise dues but our costs: IT costs and event costs have gone up like everything else. We really need our neighbors to support the civic league. If you can give more than $20- that helps so much!

FAQ’s about Membership:

• When should I pay my dues? According to our bylaws membership dues are for the calendar year and are due in January. Dues must be paid and current to attend members only events like Spring Fling (coming up on Saturday, April 20!).
• I always used to pay my dues in the summer. Have things changed? Many residents pay at events at different times of the year. During Covid when we didn’t have any events, we strongly urged folks to pay electronically and it especially helps if people pay membership dues at the start of the year so we know what funding we will have for events. Bylaws state that dues are for each calendar year and are due in January.

What does your membership pay for? The civic league budget pays for the costs of getting information out – website costs, email blast Mailchimp services, snail mail post office box, IT services. We make contributions to Lynnhaven River Now, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and we give a four year $1000 college scholarship every year. With your membership you will also have free entry for your household to our Fall Fest (October 15th this year!) and Spring Fling– a great opportunity to meet your neighbors! Please help support your neighborhood civic league!! If you are new to the Ocean Park neighborhood- welcome! We look forward to getting to know you!