Category Archives: LESNER BRIDGE

City’s holiday plans for Lynnhaven Boat Ramp & Beach Facility. “We can understand how frustrating this situation is for you and your neighbors.”

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Email from City Managers Office:

Thank you […] for reaching out as we navigate the upcoming holiday weekend. It is our hope that the information below addresses your concerns. We can understand how frustrating this situation is for you and your neighbors. We’ve worked to collaborate on a high-level synopsis of how the City is preparing for Memorial Day Weekend and the summer in general as it relates to the Shore Drive area and Bay Beaches.

We are excited to kick off the summer season welcoming locals and visitors alike to safely enjoy our many beautiful beaches and waterways. As always, City Departments have been planning months ahead of time in anticipation of the 2025 summer season.

What is the Public Safety plan for Memorial Day Weekend?

Police: The Virginia Beach Police Department is committed to proactively addressing the concerns surrounding the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp. Following an incident in March, Captain Gordon attended an Ocean Park Civic League meeting with Director Kirschman from Parks and Recreation. This engagement allowed us to hear directly from residents about their concerns and share our constructive response. In response to the community feedback, we have significantly increased our patrols in the area, asking officers to remain visible for a period of time when circumstances allow. This includes patrol officers completing paperwork on-site of the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp from prior calls for service which also enhance their presence within the community.

To further discourage any issues, we’ve strategically placed a police vehicle in the parking lot on occasions, serving as a visible deterrent. Additionally, the 3rd Precinct has conducted musters (shift roll calls) in the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp Parking lot which also increases visibility. Our Traffic Safety Unit has assisted with increased presence to ensure smoother traffic flow and enhance safety around the boat ramp. We have also intensified parking enforcement to effectively address violations. The feedback from the community meeting has been encouraging, demonstrating that our increased efforts are appreciated. We have also communicated our initiatives to those who couldn’t attend via outreach from the Ocean Park Civic League president. Since the March incident and the resulting increase in our presence, we are pleased to note that no further issues have been reported to the department.

Looking ahead to the upcoming weekend, we are deploying officers on ATVs, UTVs, and a Motor Carrier unit as additional resources for traffic management and beach oversight. Our marine unit, in collaboration with the Virginia Marine Police and Virginia Conservation Police, are resources that we can call upon to address boating violations. In addition, cameras at the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp are being monitored by the VBPD Real Time Crime Center. We will do our best to monitor and address conditions at the boat ramp as they arise, realizing that this will be an incredibly busy weekend for the city with a significant number of events in all four precincts that will draw upon our finite resources.

Emergency Medical Services: through the Chesapeake Beach Volunteer Rescue Squad and Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad, will have EMS personnel conducting ATV/UTV safety patrols on the beaches at various times throughout the summer.
In addition, the EMS Marine Rescue Team conducts weekend marine patrols off the beaches and in city waterways throughout the summer on Fridays through Sundays.

Emergency Communications & Citizen Services: ECCS is staffed 24/7/365 for informational calls, non-emergency reporting, and 9-1-1 Emergency Services.
Information: 3-1-1 or 757-385-3111
Non-emergency: 757-385-5000
Emergency: 9-1-1

Fire: Fire is upstaffing to ensure Fire boats will be staffed for the holiday weekend and most weekends throughout the summer.

How will the City address Waste Management on our beaches, boat ramps, and parks throughout the weekend?

Public Works Beach Operations | Beaches
Beach Operations is operating under normal conditions.
Regular service for all beach waste containers (barrels) is being provided at beach entrances and those on the sand.
Service for these containers occurs each morning around 5:30 a.m.
Should Beach Ops receive prior notification of a large unauthorized party on the beach, they will arrange to have roll-off containers for beachgoers to utilize.

Parks and Recreation | Boat Ramps and Parks
Boat Ramp staff are onsite from 5:30 a.m. until 9:00 p.m.
Service for the ramp’s dumpster is provided by a contracted commercial waste hauler and performed on a set schedule. If needed, they can request a special pick-up.
Parks Staff will be actively checking all parks and ensuring that waste containers are serviced as needed.

Public Works Waste Management | Residential Household Waste
Waste and Recycling Collection Services for the residential homes in the Shore Drive/Bay Beach areas occur on Wednesday.
To find when your next recycling service day will be, visit https://VirginiaBeach.gov/wastemgt and use the “Find My Trash Day” tool.
For service day reminders, residents can sign up to receive text or email notifications at VB Connect
To report a miss in service (trash, recycling, bulky or yard waste), residents can create a Service Request at https://vb311.virginiabeach.gov/assist/servicetypes

What happens if the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp Reaches Maximum Capacity 

Ramp Signage: Parks and Recreation (PAR) will change all four ramp signs to full to indicate no availability. These are drop down “full” signs located on Shore Drive in the east and west bound directions.
Staff at Entrance: PAR will place two staff members at the entrance to the boat ramp, equipped with radios for communication. Staff are there to assist with the notification to boaters that the ramp is full and to continue traveling on East Stratford Road to exit the neighborhood.
If upon exiting the parking lot traffic becomes a problem, staff and/or residents are asked to notify Police to assist in either flushing the traffic out onto Shore Drive and out of the neighborhood. If a vehicle is unoccupied, Police will ticket the violator.
Barricade Road: PAR will use crowd control barricades to close off Piedmont Circle access into the facility. Once open spaces are available then staff will let trailers begin entering.  
Car Lot and Trailer Monitoring: PAR is going to consistently check the car lot and trailer numbers to ensure proper parking and space utilization. 
Launch and Recovery Monitoring: PAR will ensure individuals who are launching and recovering boats are exiting the ramp area promptly and moving to the designated areas. 
Ramp Control Staff: PAR will station one staff member for ramp control to maintain order and assist with operations. 
Staffing: Parks and Recreation has hired an additional staff person to support the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp and Supervisors are scheduled proactively during the busiest times.

Please let me know if you need anything additional.

Thank you,

CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE

Desk | 757.385.4242 | CMOffice@vbgov.com

City Hall, Building 1, Suite 2017

2401 Courthouse Drive | Virginia Beach, VA 23456

Hopefully these plans works this holiday weekend and the entire summer before people die.

City leadership is “alert” to potential issues at Lynnhaven Boat Ramp as summer kicks off this holiday weekend.

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Neighbors who’ve been concerned of the increasing public safety issues have started sharing videos on YouTube recently.

Hopefully the beloved Lynnhaven Boat Ramp & Beach Facility will be fun and safe for everyone this Memorial Day weekend.

“Join Parks & Rec for public input meetings on the proposed Urban Forest Management Plan to shape the future of the City’s forestation program. Share feedback online if unable to attend.”

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Start here to learn more!

Great Neck Rec Ctr, 11/14, 6-8 p.m.
Princess Anne Rec Ctr, 11/29, 6-8 p.m.

Urban Forest Management Plan Feedback Survey.

Your voice, even if it’s just a single person, does matter!

Lynnhaven Boat Ramp & Beach Facility with treeeees!

Shore Drive, the 2nd most densely populated area in the largest city in Virginia, is getting contiguous sidewalks & bike lanes soon!

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The Gateway to Virginia Beach, which is located on the Chesapeake Bay, has now become a high priority on par with the Oceanfront.

Woo hoo!

APRIL FOOLS you fool. 😐

BAC August 18th 330p at OPVRS. Join us!

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Thanks to Mark for Agenda.

BAYFRONT ADVISORY COMMISSION

Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad

  3769 E. Stratford Drive 

(enter on side opposite Shore Drive)

August 18, 2022

CALL TO ORDER – 3:30 pm

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Review and Approval of Minutes from 7/21/22

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

Welcome Guests and Introductions – Phil Davenport, Chair

STAFF REPORTS

COMMITTEE REPORTS & UPDATES

Design – Bob Magoon

Communications – Vacant

​Public Safety, Transit, Parking & Pedestrian Access – Martin Thomas

PRESENTATIONS

1) Green Clean Car Wash Conditional Use Permit application – 4769 Shore Drive

2) Discussion of Virginia Beach Commercial Areas Pattern Book

OLD BUSINESS

NEW BUSINESS

COMMUNITY REPORTS & UPDATES

ADJOURN

“As of now there are no plans to use it as a dredge materials transfer station”

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Or:

A brief history of attempting to use the beloved Lynnhaven Boat Ramp & Beach Facility(LBR&BF) as an industrial operation including safety conflicts with families, kids & boaters without checks & balances and logical rules & regulations for its safe use.

We don’t think it’ll look like this but we haven’t seen “AN ORDINANCE”.

You probably heard by now BAC voted to support:

“AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF USE AGREEMENTS BETWEEN THE CITY AND INDIVIDUAL PROPERTY OWNERS PERMITTING USE OF THE CITY-OWNED LYNNHAVEN TRANSFER FACILITY FOR PRIVATE DREDGING PROJECTS”

We look forward to working with all stakeholders of the LBR&BF in ensuring “private dredging operations” will be safe and have the least amount of negative impact on this wildly popular VB Parks & Recreation facility.

We also look forward to seeing the words in “AN ORDINANCE”.

You might want to contact your City Council person today about this.

BRIEF HISTORY

Today:

We believe a couple of the rules might come from Beaches & Waterways Commission Report from 2012.

2018

“…there are no plans to use the wharf for a dredge materials transfer station.”

“The wharf was approved on a temporary basis back in 2012, as part of the Lesner Bridge construction. Now, the city wants to keep the wharf permanently.”

2012

“The Assistant City Manager and City Staff were there to present plans for the Lesner Bridge replacement AND Building a Permanent Industrial Site at Crab Creek.”

Links to, and screen shots of archived Official Western Branch Lynnhaven River Maintenance Dredging (CIP 8-005) Public Works page at VBGov.com.

Partial screen shot of Official Page at VBGov.com.

A response from Mayor Sessoms re: turning the beloved Lynnhaven Boat Ramp and Beach Facility into a permanent dredge spoils location for the entire Lynnhaven Watershed.

2009

LBR&BF will not have dredge spoils transfer station

2008

“Based upon feedback received at the Public Meeting, alternate sites for a dredged material transfer station were evaluated. The proposed transfer facility has been moved from the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp Facility to a site located near the crossing of Thalia Creek and Virginia Beach Blvd.” City of Virginia Beach April 2009

Do you remember a barge hitting the Lesner Bridge days before City Council was to vote on making the LBR&BF a “dredge material transfer station”?

Do you remember a boat going up in flames in minutes on beach in river by LBR&BF?

Do you remember the tractor trailer delving to Starbucks losing all electronics – as in no brakes, no lights etc on Lesner Bridge & fortunately the skilled driver successfully jack knifed the truck to stop it which closed the Lesner Bridge for hours?

2007

BAC was concerned with permanent dredge material transfer station.

BoatRampClosing.com.

Interested in serving on City Council representing the Bayside District?

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As you know, Virginia Beach and the Bayside District lost our long time serving Mr. Louis Jones recently. The citizen appointed by City Council will hold office until Dec. 31, 2022 and must reside in the Bayside District.

Start here to learn more about applying to City Clerk Amanda Barnes.

3 items the potential candidate might be interested in advocating for for the Bayside District and Bayfront:

Helping enhance resiliency for SLR & storm water management plus helping leverage resources at Brock Environmental Center for Virginia Beach, Hampton Roads & Virginia.
Accelerating the completion of Phase 4 in Ocean Park.
Actively engage with SDCC, BAC, Civic Leagues & bayfront residents.

IT’S A GO FOR SUNDAY !

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SDCC General Meeting – Monday Feb. 24th at 7:30pm

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Click here for a printable version of the agenda 2.24.20 SDCC Agenda

SDCC General Meeting Agenda
Monday February 24, 2020 from 7:30 to 9:00pm
Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad Hall – 3769 East Stratford Rd
(parking in back, on side streets and across Shore Drive)

Special Presentation – None

Officer’s Reports
Secretary – Kathleen Damon
Treasurer’s Report –Tim Solanic
Vice President – Empsy Munden
President – Todd Solomon

Old Business-
Westminster-Canterbury (WC) High Rise and Memory Center Expansion – Update on WC expansion project that included a 22 story high rise to be built at the Casa del Playa/Old Pier site and a memory center to be located on a current parking lot. All facilities are planned to be connected with pedestrian bridges crossing public streets at Ocean Shore Ave and Starfish Rd. Developer presented to 100 attendees at Lynnhaven Colony Civic meeting. Project will be heard by Planning Commission on Wed. March 11th at Noon. SDCC Survey on proposed development can be taken at

Sea Level Wise (SLW) Public Input – The Department of Public Works concluded their public presentations on the draft SLW plan. Thank you to all who attended. The meeting at Cox HS was largest crowd of all meetings. Next step will be formal adoption of the plan by City Council. Comments will still be accepted through the end of February and can be sent to C.J. Bodnar at CBodnar@vbgov.com

New Business –
Leasing of Lynnhaven Boat Ramp for Commercial Use – City wants to lease part of property for 3 year as commercial use to support off-shore wind turbine construction. An office building, parking spots, 5000 gallon fuel tank and boat mooring are planned. Your comments and questions are needed and will be submitted to Staff for answers prior to a Council vote on Tues March 3rd.

Lesner Bridge Lighting Issues – Repairs will be made over the next 60 days to fix lighting problems with the overhead road pole lights, the under bridge pier lights and the Canoes sculpture accent lights.

“Your Speed” Sign – Public Works Engineer Phillip Koetter informed the Cape Story Civic Association that City Traffic engineers plan to install a “Your Speed” radar sign near the intersection of Shore Drive and Kendall Street for cars coming from the State Park heading west. Installation should be this summer/fall.

Shore Drive Community Coalition Future Structure – Revisions to the SDCC Bylaws were presented and reviewed at Jan meeting. The proposed changes are posted online and will be voted upon at this meeting.

Community Concerns– Please share any issues or concerns your groups/organizations may have at this time.

Civic Engagement Opportunities

Sea Level Wise Draft Input – Comments on the draft can be sent to City Public Works Stormwater Engineer C. J. Bodnar at CBodnar@vbgov.com Deadline is Feb. 29th.

Leasing of Lynnhaven Boat Ramp – City Council Meeting Tues March 3rd at 6:00pm in Building 1

Proposed Expansion of Westminster-Canterbury – Planning Commission Meeting Wed March 11th at Noon in Building 1 City Council Chambers. Briefing is held at 9:30am in City Managers meeting room. Take the SDCC Survey at

. Survey closes March 10th.

City Budget Citizen Discussion – Councilman John Moss will be holding public information sessions in the Bayfront area at the following dates and locations. Both meetings are held from 6:30pm to 8:00pm
• Wed March 4th at the Bayside Rec Center & Wed March 18th at Great Neck Rec Center

 

 

Public engagement at City Council FEB 18 ’20 re: Ørsted plan at LBR&BF

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Direct link (3:18:00) to Councilwoman Henley mentioning Ocean Park Civic League letter to them re: Ørsted.


Direct link (9:58) to City Council Formal Session Public Hearing Testimony.

“It appears that the power supply coming to the lighting system is not “clean power”. It works fine for normal lights, the necklace lighting, etc., but for purposes of the aesthetic lighting on the piers, it’s causing some problems.”

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Update about LED aesthetic lighting for Lesner includes:

They’ve noticed that pier lights will go off randomly which means the Building Maintenance staff have to come out and reset the specific breakers. The problem has been that it’s not the same pier going out each time. I would equate this to how the power in your house might flicker during a wind storm and one clock gets interrupted while others aren’t impacted.

The proposed solution is to install some line conditioners to clean up the power supply. It’s not a big deal, it’s just a procurement process that we need to go through to get a contractor to add the components to the system. We expect to have something installed in the next 60 days.

You may remember the plan to change the aesthetic lighting we shared here.

I’m going to talk to them about the programming, since I think it can still run regardless of the pier light issues. If they have to reset breakers anyway (short term), it doesn’t matter what the light color is.

Yes – the street lightening acting randomly is a separate issue from the aesthetic lighting goofs.

All the lighting on Lesner should be resolved within 60 days as Public Works has been working on this for awhile now and are very close to completing the solutions to fix the issues.

Hope it’s fixed soon! People come from miles around – even out of state – to view the pretty lighting.

Sea Level Wise Adaption Strategy Draft Report

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Download the entire 306 page 106.6MB PDF report here.

A few highlights.

Executive Summary
In the last five years, the City of Virginia Beach has completed a comprehensive effort to develop strategies to respond to sea level rise and related increases in flooding. The study, known as Sea Level Wise, has produced a wealth of information to understand what challenges the City will face and develop diverse strategies to pro-actively reduce the impacts. This document presents the findings of the Sea Level Wise effort. . . .

Report includes:

A Call To Action
Maintaining Good Credit
The City’s flood risks are also recognized by organizations that rate the financial strength and borrowing ability of municipalities.

In 2014, the credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service Inc. sent a questionnaire to the City. It asked about the City’s sea level rise vulnerabilities, expenses, and plans to address future impacts. Thanks to the newly created Sea Level Wise program, the City was able to speak to proactive flood mitigation efforts underway, stating:

“The City firmly believes that the cost of damage done by ignoring sea level rise will far exceed the cost of mitigation.”

Satisfactory responses to these questions has allowed Virginia Beach to maintain a AAA credit rating. This high credit rating is essential for the affordable financing of City improvement projects through municipal bonds.

Page 8 Introduction.

Page 18 Community Engagement.

Page 46 Aging Infrastructure.

Page 58 Where are the losses occurring. Note Shore Drive area.

Page 72 City-Wide Objectives.

Page 78 Preserve Environmental Assets.

Page 104 Regulate Building and Development.

Page 110 Support Risk Mitigating Interventions. Note: “Priority areas for supporting risk-mitigating interventions at the parcel-level.”

Page 166 Lynnhaven. Note: “Over the last 40 years, this historically
agrarian community has undergone extensive development in both commercial and residential areas. However, the loss of naturalized landscapes has only served to make flooding worse, as development has formed on manufactured land and has surrounded the numerous water ways, rivers, tributaries, and bays that make up this region.”

Page 188 West of Lesner Bridge Neighborhood Alignment.

Page 190 East of Lesner Bridge Neighborhood Alignment.

Page 200 Residential Community Education.

Page 284 Planning and Coordination.

There is a massive amount of information in this report.

Download the entire 306 page 106.6MB PDF report here.

#LesnerBridge wins 4th place in Roads & Bridges’ Top 10 Bridge awards for 2019

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At Roads & Bridges:

“People really love coming to the bridge—more than just crossing over the top, it becomes an experience sitting underneath the bridge and seeing the lights from the beach,” Wojtowicz said. “It’s very majestic looking from the beach, seeing these aesthetic lights. It makes an impression on folks that see it.”

Screen shot of construction cam December 22 ’18.

Have ideas which VB you want to live in? Take the Comprehensive Plan survey NOW to help CoVB set a vision for a city you want to live in.

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Start here to take the Official CoVB Comp Plan survey.

Questions include:

For the local economy to grow, what job sectors would you like to see develop or expand? (select all that apply)

Which of the following were reasons you chose to live where you do now? (select all that apply)

What 3 things would you change about Virginia Beach?

Start here to start the Official CoVB Comp Plan survey.

Have photos of Lime scooters parked, being used, anywhere ? Share them!

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From a request:

If you have any photos of “good” and “bad” scooter riding or staging examples, please feel free to pass them along. I may use them in upcoming presentations. I have plenty from the Resort Area.

Thank you.
-Brian

Brian S. Solis, AICP
Assistant to the City Manager – Special Projects
2101 Parks Avenue, Suite 500, Virginia Beach, VA, USA 23451
bsolis@vbgov.com | 757-385-2907

Please cc: tim@sdcc.info or todd@sdcc.info also so we can share them as well.
Photos only. No videos please.

“On Sunday, February 10, 2019 at 4:30 pm westbound lanes on Shore Drive at the Lesner Bridge will be closed and diverted to the eastbound side of the bridge for two way traffic. The diversion will end by 10 pm.”

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From NextDoor:

The diversion will move westbound traffic onto the eastbound side of the bridge at the intersection of Shore Drive and Vista Circle. Traffic will be routed back into the westbound lanes at Shore Drive and East Stratford Drive.

Official News Release from VB Police Department. (1 page PDF)

SDCC General Meeting Monday Dec 17th at 7:30pm – Special Presentation “Bayside Rec Center”

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Please note the meeting is this Monday.  I apologize for the short notice, the advanced date for the meeting due to holidays snuck up on me.  Click here for a printable version of the agenda 12.17.18 SDCC Agenda

SDCC General Meeting Agenda
Monday December 17, 2018 from 7:30 to 9:00pm
Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad Hall
(parking in back, on side streets and across Shore Drive)

Special Presentation – Bayside Recreation Center
Mr. C.J. Gajan, City of Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation Department, will inform us of all the amazing activities and opportunities the Bayside Rec Center has to offer. Did you know if you are a group retiree or part of Medicare you may be eligible for a “No Cost” membership? Come learn about the many programs and ask C.J. any questions you may have about this amazing City amenity.

Officer’s Reports: Secretary – Kathleen Damon; Treasurer’s Report –Tim Solanic; Vice President – Wally Damon;
President – Todd Solomon

Old Business-
Lesner Bridge Replacement – The official ribbon cutting dedication ceremony for the completion of the bridge was held on Wednesday Dec. 12th. Check out the amazing photos taken by Tim Solanic on our website http://www.sdcc.info

Sea Level Rise & ASERT Meetings – Dewberry, continues to assist Public Works in the long term potential solutions/planning for the four major watersheds in the City: 1) Atlantic Ocean and Vicinity 2) Lynnhaven Inlet 3) Elizabeth River 4) Southern Watersheds. Analysis uses a combination of the EPA software and MIKE21, another dynamic modeling tool primarily used for the Southern Watersheds that includes analysis for wind based tides. The ASERT program – Action-oriented Stakeholder Engagement for a Resilient Tomorrow, had many Open-House offerings this past winter. There are many different strategies, some of which could include larger scale Dredging, Seawalls and Tide Gate structures. City Council will be reviewing these strategies in the January/February 2019 timeframe and then will re-engage the ASERT meetings with the public following that review.

Short Term Rentals (STRs) – The Planning Commission on Wed. Dec. 12th approved a list of regulations and code changes regarding STRs. These changes will be sent to City Council for review and approval. The City Council hearing date has not been set. Some of the highlights (Conditional Use Permits for new STRs; Two contracts per seven day period; Minimum one on-site parking spot per bedroom with overflow parking off street only)

New Business –
Pleasure House Point (PHP) Wetlands Mitigation Bank – Updates regarding the upcoming project that will convert parts of PHP into wetlands. Learn about plans for the parking lot, walkways, live oak tree removals.

Shore Drive Community Coalition Future – In preparation for the start of a new year, we will discuss ideas for the future of SDCC. Will new leaders step forward to help continue? Is cutting back to quarterly meetings a possibility? Would a website presence with emergency meetings model work? Let’s bounce some ideas around.

Community Concerns– Please share any issues or concerns your groups/organizations may have at this time.

***Next SDCC Meeting – Monday January 28, 2019***

 

#LESNERBRIDGE Ribbon Cutting yesterday at beloved Lynnhaven Boat Ramp & Beach Facility

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3 Mayors, 2 City Managers, 2 Delegates, 2 VB City Councilman and a lot of senior VB Staff who helped make it happen attended plus neighbors who love the new Lesner.

There was even a surprise light show by Randy Burkett Lighting Design who also attended.

Yay!