Fall Fest could not happen without the wonderful volunteers who bring their creativity and enthusiasm and do all the hard work (and have some fun too!) to make it a great event for the community! Thank you to all and now you can rest your aching feet!!

Thank you to all our neighbors who came out for Fall Fest! We are so fortunate to live in our wonderful Ocean Park neighborhood with terrific friendly people. Thank you to all who came out!! Thank you to Lewis McGehee for his great music! Thank you to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation Brock Environmental Center for the beautiful venue! Great food from Pollard’s!

Remember the Little Free Food Pantry that used to be by OPVRS? It has moved to 2224 Greenwell Rd by the Bayside Christian Church right behind the Sunoco Station on Shore Drive. Donations are urgently needed now and through the winter months. There is a drop off box there. Donations can also be dropped off at the Pleasure House Point Clean Up on Saturday, October 18th from 9-12 at the Marlin Bay Trailhead on Marlin Bay Drive. Thanks to all who have donated! Needed items: canned soups, noodles, pasta and sauce, canned meats, breakfast bars.

Separate from the COVB Wetlands Project at Pleasure House Point is the wetlands restoration project by the Army Corps of Engineers which has been in progress for 10 years. The 3rd phase will restore 6.6 acres at the southern tip of Pleasure House Point on Crab Creek.

“Over time, marshes around the river have been particularly impacted by invasive species and human development, such as waterfront property owners installing bulkhead barriers”, said Gina Dotolo, a biologist with the Corps’ Norfolk District. “Their shorelines and wetlands have been filled in,” she said. “Now there’s more flooding going on because there’s no tidal wetlands there to absorb all the water, and a lot of wave action hitting the shoreline is causing a lot of erosion.”

Two phases of wetlands restoration are already completed. Invasive species were pulled up and about 28 acres of marsh were planted behind Princess Anne High School and in the Seatack area.

The entire Lynnhaven ecosystem project will cost nearly $40 million, Phase 3 will cost about $6 million. The federal government covers 65% of the project cost, with Virginia Beach responsible for the rest. Officials hope to start construction at Crab Creek in 2028.

Full article: link here

Thank you for joining us for the latest updates on Fall Fest (October 18), First fall Pleasure House Point Clean Up September 13 and CB PHP Wetlands, Marlin Bay Subdivision and the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp.

The next Social Committee Meeting to plan Fall Fest, Halloween Pet Parade etc. is Monday, October 6th 6:00 pm at OPVRS. (rescue squad on Shore Dr. ) Join Us! Newcomers welcome!

President Danny Murphy announced that the funding for the GardaWorld security at the LBR will continue through the fiscal year to June 2026. We thank Councilman Schulman for his efforts in securing this funding. Looking ahead, OPCL Board Representative Brian Snyder has proposed a motion which will ask City Council to include ongoing funding for this security in the next budget year. We ask members to review the motion which will be further discussed and voted on at the October 9 OPCL meeting. Here is the proposed text of the motion.

The Ocean Park Civil League recognizes the progress made to discourage inappropriate, undesirable, and illegal activity during evening and overnight hours at the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp. That progress is largely in part to increased awareness from two sources:

(1) The addition of camera equipment, along with additional resources to monitor the cameras

(2) A dedicated security patrol assigned to the boat ramp and surrounding areas, acting as a deterrent to bad behavior, and as necessary, an additional source for reporting and information to coordinate Police response.

We appreciate that the city has extended the dedicated security patrol to June 2026, 9 months past the original 31 Oct 2025 end date. The Ocean Park Civic League recommends that the FY2027 City budget include funding for a year-round dedicated security patrol to provide continuity of the oversight and provide additional flexibility to assign resources until evidence is shown that it is no longer required, and/or other measures are implemented.

From Mary Faust, Pleasure House Point Adopt a Spot Clean Up Organizer: This is a photo from a cleanup the Ocean Park Civic League conducted earlier this year!! We paused for summer but it is that time of year to get back to cleaning Pleasure House Point Natural area!! Please join us at the main trailhead, corner of Marlin Bay and Ocean Tides Drive on Saturday September 13th from 0900 until noon!! We provide grabbers and bags and dog treats and baked goods and non-food items for the little ones and more!! The preserve needs a thorough cleaning over and many hands make light work!! Dress for the weather and if you plan to go off-trail long pants, sturdy shoes and heavy gloves are recommended!
Hope to see YOU there!!

The Little Free Food Pantry is located by the Bayside Christian Church on Greenwell Rd. and needs more supplies! You can bring donations to the PHP Clean Up on Saturday and they will be picked up. Also there is a QR code so people can donate to the food pantry. Needed items: canned soups, noodles, pasta and sauce, canned meats, breakfast bars.

 Parks and Recreation staff share weekly updates regarding weekend activity at the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp (LBR):

“For the weekend September 5-7, we are starting to slow down overall for the weekend with the changes to more fall like weather. Saturday was still busy for that day. We had a small craft advisory on Sunday. Overall operations were very smooth. We had a total of 325 launches over the weekend.

Friday, September 5 –     95 total launches, car parking did not fill up there was available parking throughout the day. The overflow lot was not used. We did not have to close using the barricades at any time.

Saturday, September 6 – 190 total launches, car parking.  car parking was full around 11am with limited parking until 6pm The overflow was used for 17 trailers.  Barricade operations were not needed. 

Sunday, September 7 –   40 total launches, car parking did not fill up there was available parking throughout the day. The overflow lot was not used. We did not have to close using the barricades at any time.

Incidents to report:

• No issues to report this weekend. Operations went very smooth.

• Review of video data from Friday until Monday morning showed normal facility use after staff hours. Police Real Time Crime center was seen monitoring the cameras during the overnight. “