Letter from the President – June 2021

Howdy Neighbors!

Spring is in full swing, and it looks like we may be able to have a “normal” summer this year as more and more people get vaccinated against COVID-19. It’s going to be so nice to leave this virus and its effects behind us. Though, will things really be back to normal?

At our last Civic League meeting, we heard from Captain Barry Kirschner, head of the VB Lifeguards, on last year’s responses and this year’s plans for coverage. While COVID created a problem for the group last year, this year the situation is better managed, and they have plenty of personnel to provide the
essential life-saving services we need on our beaches. They’ll also be mentoring the young ones who have an interest in becoming a lifeguard.

In a return to normalcy, we will be having the Memorial Day Parade, though no cookout, the July 4th Boat Parade, Pig Pickin’ and Oktoberfest. Last month’s Community Yard Sale and Community Cleanup were huge successes. Special thanks to the organizers of both of those events for their hard work and
commitment.

For the first time, we will be hosting a SBCL Food Drive to benefit Samaritan House on June 12 and 13. Thank you to Terry Stevens and Amy Barton for getting this worthy cause off the ground!

At the meeting, we also addressed the initiatives we are working on for the community and provided updates on the various projects occurring in and around Sandbridge. The reports are in this newsletter.

I’m looking forward to this upcoming summer season and meeting in person as a Civic League. In the meantime, continue staying safe, and remember to greet each other with a smile and a wave.

Yours Truly,
Andrew Roper

SBCL President

Letter from the President – May 2021

Howdy Neighbors!

Small victories! Or, in this case, a major victory for Sandbridge with the completion of the Sandpiper Road and neighborhood roads repaving project. Finally, after 20 years, we have a nice, new and relatively flat road into the neighborhoods and City attractions within our community. Now, if we can just tackle on-street parking, we’ll be all set. Well, almost.

At our last meeting, via video conference, we heard updates from the Infrastructure Committee on the initiatives that they are working on with the City beyond the repaving. We also got an update from the Beach Accessways Committee on the progress of the access ways under construction, under contract and planned for the future after the summer season. All of this information will be in this newsletter under the minutes of the meeting.

Captain Johnny Gandy with the First Precinct for the VBPD was gracious enough to be our guest speaker and addressed some citizen questions. Some were about the road marking and signs, for which he could not comment. But he did inform us about the precinct’s plans for coverage during the summer season and in preparation for any large gatherings. He also informed us that he is working with the City leadership and the State to obtain and install license plate reader cameras at the entrance to Sandbridge in the hopes that this technology will help with any criminal investigations. While we do have a working camera at that same entrance, in a lot of cases it does not provide enough information to be helpful. Captain Gandy is hopeful that the LPR cameras will provide that additional evidence.

Though we are not meeting in person yet, we are considering holding meetings outside now that the weather is getting nicer. We’ll keep you updated when and if that occurs. In the meantime, the video conferencing has been working really well, and it inspires me that this is something that will work well for our Civic League for the future.

The Beautification Committee has been hard at work making Sandbridge aesthetically pleasing, and the City has approved some of our initiatives. They could use some help, and this is a great opportunity for citizens and students to get any community service hours that they may need. One consideration is the SBCL Scholarship, for which applications are due May 20. Please spread the word to anyone you know who would qualify.

Thank you to everyone who helps with the Civic League and for attending the meetings. We are only as successful as our collective participation. Speaking of which, we are gauging interest in the Independence Day Boat Parade, and we have a survey on our website. Please take the time to indicate your interest level on that survey. As always, stay safe, stay healthy and active and remember to greet each other with a smile and a wave.

Respectfully,

Andrew Roper

SBCL President

Letter from the President – April 2021

Howdy Neighbors!

Spring is officially here, and Mother Nature did not disappoint. The air is getting warmer, the pollen is afloat, the bugs are starting to buzz, the birds are chirping, and even the frogs have begun to emerge from their long winter slumber. And you know spring has sprung when the daffodils start to come out!

At our last meeting, we heard an excellent report from our new Beautification Committee Chair, Karen Thumb, who set out a comprehensive vision for the improvement of the areas surrounding the entrance to Sandbridge and at various public locations in our neighborhood. Her plan involves more plantings, cleanup and cooperation with some of our business partners to spruce up the areas around their businesses. The membership unanimously approved her budget and plan, and we are excited to get started. If you have a green thumb and some free time and want to enjoy some fresh air, please contact Karen for information on how you can help with the multitude of beautification projects we have lined up.

We also approved our new year budget and briefly, very briefly, discussed what to do about this newsletter. The printing and mailing of this newsletter are a huge expense to the Civic League and one that we would eventually like to reduce or eliminate. There are no immediate plans for change, but we will have discussions regarding this issue in the future.

We have some community events coming up in April! For the first time since the start of the pandemic last year, we will be resuming our annual spring events. We have our Community Yard Sale and Spring Cleanup the weekend of April 24 and 25. Please join us in these great opportunities to meet our neighbors and take pride in our community.

Our Sandpiper Road and adjoining neighborhood roads repaving project is proceeding on schedule and looks to be completed by the end of April. Several access ways are also under construction, and they should be done by the beginning of June. We are also still in talks with the City about getting community sponsored benches installed at some of the larger access ways.

It is starting to feel like things are turning around for us as a community, state and nation. We must continue to be vigilant until everyone is vaccinated against COVID-19 and its variants. If we continue the good fight, we may finally put this scourge behind us and get back to our “normal” routines. I hope that everyone is doing well, staying safe and sane and remembering to greet each other with a smile and a wave.

Yours truly,

Andrew Roper

SBCL President