The September OPCL meeting was held at the CBF Brock Center. The October 8 meeting will be at the Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad. We thank the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for their generous support of the Ocean Park Civic League!

At the meeting, we heard details about the PHP Kayak Launch from the CoVB Parks and Rec Department, and updates on Pedestrian Sidewalk improvements, Phase III projects and notice of proposed Bylaws changes.

As a part of the Kayak Launch presentation, we learned that the Park Ranger program is moving forward as advertisement for the Park Ranger Manager position has taken place. An initial cadre of 2-3 rangers will eventually increase to up to 12 rangers to oversee the parks and provide another layer of support and monitoring. We also learned that Parks and Rec have investigated the possibility of improving the paths along Marlin Bay and leading to the Kayak launch site. Gravel is actually considered an impervious surface and improvements would greatly impact the trees since the square footage would trigger many required additional improvements. The kayak rental kiosk will be maintained by a contractor and provides the public access to a kayak, paddles and vests for a fee. These kiosks are in operation at other launches in the city and are very popular. Further details are in the meeting minute slides.

Upcoming events in Ocean Park in September: The PHP Clean Up will be next Saturday, September 19! Social Committee will meet Monday, September 21 at 7 PM at OPVRS. And of course save the date: Fall Fest is October 17 at CBF Brock Center!

This bylaws update is the culmination of more than a year of work by the board including extra workshop meetings open to the membership. Big thank you to Ashley McLeod, Parlimentarian and to all who participated and contributed comments. Any questions can be submitted to President Danny Murphy The update will be voted on at the October meeting.

Our civic league elections ( for President, Vice President, and Secretary) are coming up and are looking for fresh voices to join the board. We plan to introduce candidates at the October 8 General Membership Meeting (back at OPVRS) with the elections to take place at the November 5 meeting. The new board will be installed in January of 2027. Let us know now if you have any interest in answering the call!

Want the honest scoop on time commitments? If you’ve even got a tiny spark of interest, let’s talk.

Fill out the link to chat or learn more!

Ever look around our wonderful Ocean Park neighborhood and wonder WHO makes things happen? Spoiler alert: it’s just your neighbors. Neighbors just like you, volunteering their time.

Think you don’t have the time? Think again. The biggest myth is assuming someone else will step up, or that the board only runs on endless free time.The truth? Everyone currently serving is juggling a full life. Our board represents all walks of life:

• Parents with young kids

• Busy working professionals

• Empty nesters and retirees

You don’t need a specialized background—just a little care for our community.

Parks and Recreation Department Report:

This weekend had a total of 360 launches.

Friday, September 4 –            81 total launches, car parking did not fill during the day.  The overflow lot was not used for vehicles with trailers. The main trailer lot did not fill. Barricades were not deployed. Weather was hot and humid.

Saturday, September 5 –        113 total launches, car parking did fill around 12:30pm and had limited availability throughout the day. The overflow lot was used for 8 vehicles with trailers. We did not have to close the facility to trucks and trailers. Barricades were not deployed. Weather was hot with scattered thunderstorms.  

Sunday, September 6 –           166 total launches, car parking did fill by 11:50am and had limited availability throughout the remainder of the day. The overflow lot was used for 16 vehicles with trailers. We did have to close the facility to trucks and trailers at 9:30am. Barricades were deployed. Weather was windy.

Incidents:

VBPD Marine patrol issued 2 citations for violation of the “No Wake Zone” inside Crab Creek.

Review of camera footage from weekend did not indicate any additional issues.

Parking Enforcement:

Total Citation Count: 43

Total Read Count:      434    (this is the number of vehicles scanned during enforcement visits)

September OPCL meeting at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation Brock Center at 7 pm on September 10 . We thank them for their generous support of the civic league! ( Meetings will return to OPVRS in October.)

Join us for updates on the Pedestrian Sidewalks in OP and other projects, plans for the fall and up coming elections. The CoVB Parks and Recreation Department will give a presentation on the proposed kayak launch at PHP.

Social (half) hour from 6:30-7:00 pm before the meeting start at 7:00 pm for anyone interested in getting information on the upcoming selection for the 2027-2029 board positions! Come have a cookie (or a brownie) and a chat

This update to the bylaws is the culmination of more than a year of work by the board including extra workshop meetings open to the membership. Big thank you to Ashley McLeod, Parlimentarian and to all who participated and contributed comments.

This weekend had a total of 350 launches.

Friday, August 28–      44 total launches, car parking did not fill during the day.  The overflow lot was not used for vehicles with trailers. The main trailer lot did not fill. Barricades were not deployed. Weather was hot and humid with some light showers .

Saturday, August 29 – 125 total launches, car parking did not fill and had availability throughout the day. The overflow lot was used for 15 vehicles with trailers. We did not have to close the facility to trucks and trailers. Barricades were not deployed. Weather was cloudy and had a small craft advisory for the bay.  

Sunday, August 30 –   181 total launches, car parking did fill by 9:20am and had limited availability throughout the remainder of the day. The overflow lot was used for 34 vehicles with trailers. We did have to close the facility to trucks and trailers at 9:30am. Barricades were deployed. Weather was hot and humid.

Incidents:

Sunday

-We had a boat break down on Ramp #2 that closed that ramp for about 30-45 minutes.

-At approximately 11:58pm, security notified me that a car had tried to jump the curbline between the car parking lot and the trailer lot and got stuck. After about 20 minutes, they managed to push it off the curb.

Parking Enforcement:

Total Citation Count: 45

Total Read Count:      399    (this is the number of vehicles scanned during enforcement visits)

Dinwiddie Road from Shore Drive to Sea Gull Bluff Drive

Northbound Dinwiddie Road between Shore Drive and Sea Gull Bluff Drive will be temporarily closed as part of the Shore Drive Phase IV Pedestrian Improvements project. Crews will be installing stormwater pipes and making drainage improvements.  A marked detour will direct northbound traffic to Rockbridge Road during the closure.

Project Overview: The Shore Drive Phase IV Pedestrian Improvements project will provide a more continuous pedestrian route along Shore Drive between Marlin Bay Drive and East Stratford Drive near the Lesner Bridge. Improvements include replacing existing sidewalks that are less than four feet wide and constructing new sidewalks where gaps currently exist, creating continuous pedestrian connections along both the eastbound and westbound sides of Shore Drive

NEW THIS YEAR: Back to Fall Supply Drive!

Just in time for the new school year, the Ocean Park Civic League was proud to sponsor our first “Back to Fall” supply drive for Thoroughgood Elementary School—collecting hundreds of much-needed supplies for our local elementary school.

Our volunteers recently delivered the incredible haul donated by our community. It took multiple trips (and plenty of carts!) to get everything inside!

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who donated—from wipes and tissues to notebooks, pencils and more. Your generosity makes a difference and helps support the educators and students in our community.

We are so grateful for the hard-working teachers and staff at Thoroughgood Elementary and wish everyone a fantastic school year!

Ever look around our wonderful Ocean Park neighborhood and wonder WHO makes things happen? Spoiler alert: it’s just your neighbors.

Neighbors just like you, volunteering their time.

We’re gearing up for our civic league elections (President, Vice President, and Secretary) and are looking for fresh voices to join the board.

Think you don’t have the time? Think again. The biggest myth is assuming someone else will step up, or that the board only runs on endless free time.

The truth? Everyone currently serving is juggling a full life. Our board represents all walks of life:

• Parents with young kids

• Busy working professionals

• Empty nesters and retirees

You don’t need a specialized background—just a little care for our community.

Want the honest scoop on time commitments? If you’ve even got a tiny spark of interest, let’s talk. No pressure at all—we’re setting up casual “Meet the Board” chats so you can see what these roles actually look like behind the scenes.

Fill out the link to chat or learn more!

• OPCL September Meeting Thursday, 7:00 pm September 10 at CBF Brock Center
• PHP September Clean Up is moved to Saturday 9-12 September 19th!
• Social Committee Meeting to plan Fall social events on Monday, September 21 at OPVRS at 7 pm !
• Save the Date: OPCL Member Fall Fest is Saturday, October 17th at CBF Brock Center