Colonial Place/Riverview Civic League
COMMUNITY NEWS

February 2011

             Guest Speaker at this Month's Meeting: Brad Morgan, Back East Landscaping

NEXT BOARD MEETING will be Monday, February 21, 2011, at 7:00 pm.

DEADLINE for the March issue is Friday, February 18, 2011.

THIS MONTH'S MEETING AGENDA:   Monthly police report - Brad Morgan, Back East Landscaping will discuss raised bed gardening

There is plenty of activity happening along the waterfront in Colonial Place.

Wayne Webster of the City of Norfolk reports that the Haven Creek Walkway Project will be a reality in 2011. The contractor is J. Sanders Construction, located in West Point, Virginia. The contract price is $874,780, with a contract time of 240 calendar days. So hopefully the construction will be complete in late September. Mr. Webster and the City will keep us posted on the start date. This project will be a super addition to our neighborhood. Thanks again to Bill Nusbaum (and others) for staying on top of this long-proposed project.

To the north of the bike path, further along the Lafayette River, the bulkhead for the residents of Nichal Court and Mayflower Road is crumbling. The residents along this stretch are hoping the City will make some improvements to the bulkhead to protect land from further washing into the river. This deterioration is also a hazard. We need to support our neighbors to see improvement to this public property along the river.

Continuing along Mayflower, don’t forget about the RIVERFest on the Lafayette on Saturday, April 30th from 10-4 all along the 500 Block of Mayflower Road. There will be live music (including famous CP neighbor, Julie Clark), food and activities for all ages. We’re talking two Showmobiles, a Learning Barge, and about 30 tents!!!! You will be hearing lots more about this event in March and April.

Good news for boaters, kayakers, and water enthusiasts along Mayflower Road. The City has installed much needed new ladders along the bulkhead. Many of these ladders were initially placed more than 20 years ago when the bulkhead was replaced. Most ladders had rusted so badly they were unusable.

Further down Mayflower (along Knitting Mill Creek) there has been some preliminary work to explore options for a living shoreline. We will have a speaker from the City in February or March with an update on this project. Hopefully the erosion and lack of vegetation on this section will be addressed as well. Do what you can to keep this valuable waterfront and river clean.

For our February meeting, Brad Morgan, Back East Landscaping will discuss raised bed gardening, building and maintaining. These gardens are ideal for small areas, poor soil conditions and minimum water use because you build above ground and control growing conditions. They require less maintenance than a regular garden and it is surprising how much you are able to harvest from this form of vegetable, herb or flower gardening. As it is above ground, you are able to walk between the beds and it is a very organized way to garden.

In conjunction with Keep Norfolk Beautiful and Keep America Beautiful the weekend of Saturday, March 19th has been designated as clean-up time for Colonial Place and Riverview. Please volunteer to adopt a spot or street in CP/R for this year’s clean-up event to keep our neighborhood beautiful. I will need to know which area you will be tackling as the results must be forwarded to Keep Norfolk Beautiful. This is another opportunity for us to earn points towards our EARNN Program goals with cash awards. Please call me, Audrey Webb, at 623-1197 with any questions.

Pace Officer Report:

Officer Randy Paschal compared the crime stats between 2009 and 2010. Assault numbers are holding steady. Home break-ins are holding steady. Auto break-ins are up due to the unlocked doors and valuables in plain sight. To reduce possible home break-ins, be sure to note who is knocking on your door with some strange excuse. They are probably casing your property and checking if anyone is home.

Norfolk Utility Update:

Tim Marsh said the Rhode Island Avenue pumping station area is being done in five stages. Stages 1 & 2 are done. Stage 3, near New Hampshire Avenue and Colley Avenue, is nearing completion. Stages 4 & 5 are on the west side of Colonial Place, New York Avenue and north. These are still in the planning stage.

There is also a major project being planned for next year, which will have a large 10” line crossing from the zoo thru LaValette thru 38th Street thru Georgia Avenue thru 40th Street to the plant at Lamberts Point. There will be smaller 6” lines, going up Columbus Avenue and Holly Avenue, done at the same time to help reduce sewage back ups in Riverview. The Utility Department promised to keep us informed on when we will be affected, as the projects get closer.

Crime Committee Update:

Chris Casnelli mentioned many good points on crime prevention. Car thefts are up due to people leaving their cars running with the doors unlocked. Also vehicle break-ins are up due to unlocked doors and also due to personal items left in plain sight, which attracts actions by the criminals. On personal safety, it is important to be very aware of everything happening around you, especially for seniors. When people visit your home, be sure to check their identification, and don’t be hasty in making buying decisions. Be sure to have clearly read house numbers on the front of your home so emergency service people can find your home easily during an emergency.

Guest Speaker:

Norfolk Public Library Presentation was from Robert Hitchens, historian and archivist, who is a seventh generation Norfolk resident. He presented the history, in maps, of Colonial Place and Riverview from 1815 to the present. This included the establishment of Colonial Place in 1907 as a suburban community.

Treasurer report:

Dave Spriggs, Treasurer, reported the current checking account balance is $1,571.02 and the CD balance is $5,122.11.

New Business:

The issue of a damaged bulkhead in front of the Sykes property was brought to the league’s attention and Brian Sykes mentioned how the city, which was responsible for bulkhead maintenance, had responded that there was no money in the budget to take care of that now. He will keep us informed of what can be done to solve this problem.

Civic League President Dave McDonald mentioned that the contracts for the bike path have been let out and completion is expected in the fall of 2011.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m.

COMMUNITY NEWS is produced by:
              The Colonial Place/Riverview Civic League
              P.O. Box 6130
              Norfolk, VA 23508

Deadline for articles and advertising is the third Friday of the month

Community News Editor:   Blair Barbieri
              Phone: 908-797-8750
              Email: cprvnews@gmail.com

Newsletter Advertising Chair: James Gregg
              Phone: 757-489-8968
              Email: jamesrgregg@aol.com

Community News Distribution:   Mary Hormell, Phone 627-2392

CPRV Web Page: www.cprv.org