The BAC monthly session on January 18th (there was no meeting in December) included some good news announcements. The temporary sidewalks for Shore Dr. have been recognized as part of Phase IV project and will be funded out of that pot of money which just got a boost from the infusion of funds from the sale of easements to Dominion Power. Jeremy White, Public Works, had no update on when the project would get started. Our lone bus route 35 will be funded to have 30 min. runs.

Chic’s Beach sand nourishment is planned for March to include 105,000 cubic yards of sand. The neighborhood has concerns about the sand quality.

The community’s continued and frustrated concerns about the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp were raised. Most recently in addition to illegal car racing, parking and other problems, now the street lights have been out for weeks with no action from Dominion Power. Given the illegal and unsafe activities at the LBR that go largely unchecked, the dark streets are not helping.

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Walter Camp, Chair of the Active Transportation Advisory Committee gave a very informative overview about the work of the advisory committee and the recent Site Tour where members of the Planning Commission, City Council and others visited Shore Dr. to view the conditions. He included a video of the Virginia Beach Trail. (we had some sound difficulties so you may want to see it again!) Here is a link to the ATAC page .

Andy Broyles narrated a presentation about the many problems at the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp. President Danny Murphy said that the civic league would like to convene a summit of all the principals: Parks and Rec; Police, Dept of Public Works in order to get concrete action before the season begins and the boat ramp gets busy again.

Upcoming Meetings:

Bayfront Advisory Commission Thursday, February 15 at 3:30 at OPVRS.

VBCCO MeetingTuesday February 27th 6:30 Bow Creek Rec Center

Social Committee Monday, February 26 at 6:00 pm at Taste. All are welcome!

Well there has been some good news and some bad news as we look back at 2023!

Our social calendar expanded to include lots of great new events: Easter Egg Hunt, Piling Day, Movie on the Beach, and Holiday Party! Huge thanks to the awesome Social Committee and all the wonderful neighbors who come out and join in!

Great times at Chilli Out Night, Spring Fling, Fall Fest and FIREWORKS!!

Our traditional Fall Fest was a hit again!

On the Bad News side: money for long awaited improvements to Shore Drive was diverted again in the 2023 City Budget (waiting for decades for these improvements). Some monies have been restored to the project with proceeds of easements sold to Dominion Power. We thank Councilman Schulman and City Council for their efforts! We hope the funds remain attached to this CIP and the project moves forward.

Many plans in the works for fun in 2024! The Chili Cookoff sign up will be available shortly for the Thursday Feb. 8 event at OPVRS. Maybe this is your year to WIN! Stay tuned for news about wine tasting, Easter Egg Hunt, PHP clean ups, Movies on the Beach, Spring Fling (April 20) and Piling Day (May 5th)! Best wishes for health and joy in the new year to all our Ocean Park neighbors.

At the December VBCCO meeting, Chris Taylor, City Councilman for District 8 and mayoral candidate, talked about the budget issues that face the city: increased spending for storm water projects, wise spending for festivals (the first SITW got $250,000 from the city while an untested Beach It Festival received $1.5 million resulting in a big loss for the city as it brought in only $350,000). He also talked about right size spending for the new school designs. He urged residents to contact their District Council member with their input on the Festival Task Force and the School Modernization Committee.

Sheriff Rocky Holcomb brought his entire staff (not really) and gave an overview of VBSO programs, facilities and challenges – chief among those is the need for a Virginia Beach firing range. Currently ‘crimefighters’ (Rocky’s term for deputies) must travel to North Carolina to renew firearm qualifications resulting in lost time and increased costs. Sheriff Holcomb mentioned a number of programs to include the year around GED program, a Re-entry Program that this year included a job fair for inmates transitioning to post jail life, a food service and landscape service certification programs as well as increased attention paid to providing needed mental health services.

Meetings are open to the public. The VBCCO seeks to bring together the civic leagues and other civic organizations in the city to educate, inform and empower residents of the City of Virginia Beach through its civic organizations. The Ocean Park Civic League is a member of the VBCCO. All members of the civic league are therefore also members of the VBCCO. If you would like to volunteer for a committee or a board position ( right now the secretary position is open), contact: secretary@vbcco.org. On January 24th, City Manager Patrick Duhaney, Planning Director Kathy Warren and Planning Administrator Kaitlen Alcock will join in for a question answer session. This will be a free but mostly likely a ticketed event. Details to follow at VBCCO.org.