Letter from the President – April 2022

Howdy Neighbors!

Well, it’s official. Spring is here! The clocks have been “sprung” forward, the flowers are blooming, the birds are chirping, and the warm air has begun to blow in. If only baseball was going to start on time this year.

At our March meeting, Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate, updated the membership on Virginia Beach’s crime statistics over the past several years and showed comparisons of our crime rates compared to other cities of a similar size. Not only is VB the safest city in the Hampton Roads region, but it is the safest city of its size compared to other metro areas. While Chief Neudigate didn’t have specifics with respect to Sandbridge, I am sure that we live in the safest community in one of the safest cities in the US. The chief also outlined equipment, technology, and other logistical initiatives to improve the efforts, responsiveness and accountability for the force. All of this, and they are still short over 80 uniformed personnel.

Speaking of our police force, our own Adopt-AMuster program is doing really well and has been well received by the community and the officers that it supports with meals provided by the community. However, they are in need of help by way of donations and suggestions for local area restaurants that would like to participate. If you are interested or have any ideas, please contact Kathie Springer.

We formally announced Andrew Horne as a replacement board member for John Monacci, who is resigning in order to move to Cape Cod. We will miss you, John, and wish you all the best and thank you for your help. Andrew Horne is heading up the Wind Farm project committee, and he is working hard to keep us continually updated on new developments.

April is going to be a busy month with a lot of activities in our neighborhood. We will be having our annual Easter Egg Hunt, Community Yard Sale and Spring Community Cleanup. All the details are in this newsletter. I know I am looking forward to kicking off the season with these wonderful gatherings.

As always, remember to greet each other with a smile and a wave and stay safe and healthy.

 

Happy Spring,
Andrew Roper

SBCL President

Letter from the President – March 2022

Howdy Neighbors!

What a strange winter we are having. At times, it feels like we are on the verge of an early spring, and then all of a sudden, it’s winter again. We can only hope that the weather will settle out and we’ll have a nice transition into spring and see all the wondrous beauty that comes with the season.

At our February meeting we had our City Manager as guest speaker. Mr. Duhaney talked about a wide range of subjects from the Flood Prevention Program to Nimmo Parkway and Little Island Park expansion. He also talked about the Kitty Hawk Wind Farm Project, short-term rental litigation, confirmed the new city official voting system, and highlighted no further knowledge of changes at the state levels of leadership. We also heard from the Back Bay Natural Wildlife Refuge about the fires in Back Bay and learned that one was a controlled burn that was properly handled and that the other three fires were unrelated and most likely due to arson. However, further investigation is necessary.

In the business section of the meeting, we heard an update from our Kitty Hawk Offshore Wind Project Committee. The committee has drafted a letter that will be sent out addressing the areas of concern about the project and its potential impacts in six key areas. The letter was approved by the membership for distribution to community organizations, city leaders, local businesses, and state leaders. The committee and the civic league will be paying close attention to this project and its developments. The parent company, Avangrid, will be holding an open house next month, and they will be providing more information at that time.

The membership also approved the 2022 budget, and we installed Monica Michaud as our new treasurer.

Here’s hoping we have some mild weather ahead as we look forward to spring’s arrival and all the fun stuff that comes with its approach. As always, please remember to greet each other with a smile and a wave and stay safe and healthy.

Warmly,
Andrew Roper

SBCL President

Letter from the President – Feb 2022

Howdy Neighbors!

As I am writing this letter, I am hunkered down in my office trying to stay warm as we have just endured a rare winter storm in Sandbridge. Out of the entire city, our neighborhood received the highest snowfall total from the coastal storm. The timing couldn’t have been better with the storm mostly happening on the weekend. We woke up on a Saturday to a winter wonderland delight. And that meant sledding for the young and young-at-heart and also plenty of “snow-people” decorating lawns!

Since the pandemic has taken an ominous turn, we held our January meeting virtually. Our originally-scheduled guest speaker couldn’t attend, so Councilman John Moss was gracious enough to update us on the upcoming changes on how we elect our city government representatives. There was a lot of information about the who, what, where, why, and when. We recorded the meeting and will make that portion available for viewing. It’s also important to note that all this information is on the city’s website.

We discussed several items at the meeting but spent the most time discussing the Kitty Hawk Offshore Wind Farm Project and its potential impacts to Sandbridge. It was decided that we would form a committee to gather information about the project so that we can reach a position regarding the project and how we will be engaging with the project leads and government entities. A representative from the company behind the project is slated to be our guest speaker in coming months.

Switching gears to other civic league business, it was announced at the meeting that our current treasurer, Ron McDowell, will be stepping down from the position. I and the rest of the community would like to offer a heartfelt thank-you to Ron for his many years of service. Fortunately, one of our neighbors has already offered to fill the role.

There is a lot happening in and around Sandbridge, and it is more important than ever for all of us to be engaged with the community. The issues at play are significant and have the potential to affect us all in different and meaningful ways. Our strength comes from our numbers and our solidarity. Together we can face the challenges and achieve the best possible outcome so long as we are united in our efforts. We are working very hard to make information accessible and available, and the online platform is also helping with expanding our reach. However, the movement only works when we make it move.

As always, remember to greet each other with a smile and a wave. Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay warm.

Warmly,
Andrew Roper

SBCL President

Letter from the President – Dec 2021/Jan 2022

Howdy Neighbors!

Fall is in full swing, and the crisp is in the air. We had some really nice weather when we were out cleaning up our wonderful little slice of paradise that reminded us of just how fortunate we are to live where we do.

At our November meeting we heard from two guest speakers. One of our speakers spoke about the benefits and costs of solar energy production for residential properties. The aim with solar is to reduce demand on the electric grid, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and ultimately reduce your own power bill. Our second speaker spoke about the Kitty Hawk Wind Farm project. While this project will be built offshore from Kitty Hawk and is separate from Dominion’s own wind farm, the utility lines for the Kitty Hawk project are proposed to arrive in two locations in Sandbridge. We are expecting more information in future meetings about this particular project, and more details can be found at www.kittyhawkoffshore.com.

We also elected our executive officers and two new at-large members. All positions were uncontested, so our secretary recorded one vote for each officer position on the slate. Your current executive officers were re-elected, and John Monacci and Jean Davis were elected to the at- large board seats.

Joan Davis informed us that the food program for the officers of the First Precinct is going really well, with several businesses providing food at a discount for the men and women in blue. We are hopeful that we can provide meals for an additional day each month. You can help by donating to a fund we have set up to purchase the food from area restaurants.

We had a few volunteers come out and help string lights around the firehouse this year. There weren’t as many as in years’ past, but I am thankful for those that did come out and help. As is usually the case, the lights will be a nice addition to the entrance of Sandbridge for the holiday season.

By the time you receive this newsletter, we will have already celebrated Thanksgiving. I hope that your holiday festivities were wonderful, full of joy, and left you feeling full – in more ways than one. We won’t have a meeting in December, so I will wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I will see you at our next meeting in January or at one of our upcoming events. As always, stay safe and healthy, and remember to greet each other with a smile and a wave.

Warmly,
Andrew Roper

SBCL President