The Beaches and Waterways Advisory Committee (B&WAC) is finalizing their Recommendations Report that will be completed on 15 December and according to the B&WAC chairman, Mr. Fraim, it will then be presented to City Manager Spore for his consideration.  At the B&WAC meeting held 17 November, Chairman Fraim stated that the City Manager will then determine what to do with the report and when to present it to City Council, the elected representatives for whom Mr. Spore supposedly works. As directed in the City Council resolution of 14 June, the B&WAC  report was supposed to be a comprehensive study “complete and accurate”.  It has not been either complete nor accurate in my opinion.  For a city project costing tens of millions of dollars over 16 years, you would think that more public scrutiny beyond the Lynnhaven waterways area would have been forthcoming.  I do not think the Virginian Pilot nor the Beacon have given the project the balanced coverage that it needed.  Many residents do not even know what it is all about as if the project will not affect them.  This project could potentially cost $100 million over 16 years with an estimated 1/3 coming from the General Fund.   This project is NOT a “pay as you go” project, or revenue neutral. But, what is going to happen when this AAA rated City of Virginia Beach runs into a deficit problem in next year’s budget cycle and raising city tax rates comes into the discussion? Residents will look for wasteful city spending and areas to cut.  Does a major city project like the Neighborhood Dredging Program benefiting only an estimated 2,500 property owners in a city of 460,000 at the BIG expense of the tax payers look like a candidate?  People will probably still know little about this project because it has not popped up on their radar. Maybe Mr. Spore will wait for an opportune time to present the Neighborhood Dredging Program project to City Council after the tax increase has been debated and approved. I am hoping that City Council will call for the Beaches and Waterways Advisory report, read it carefully, look at the numbers and the impacts on the neighborhoods, and come to the conclusion that it is neither complete nor accurate. Therefore, how can it be approved?

David Williams

President, SDCC