The town will host a Coastal Resilience Master Plan community meeting at the Civic Center has been booked on Wednesday, October 13, 2021, from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

The Town was contacted by a representative working with the Commonwealth of Virginia to schedule a community meeting at the Cape Charles Civic Center to provide a briefing on this project and to receive feedback from the public about flooding impacts.

Coastal resilience means building coastal communities’ capability to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from hazards, such as flooding, with minimum damage to social well-being, public health, the economy, and the environment. It also means finding opportunities to maximize community benefits that support thriving coastal communities, such as protecting our fisheries and recreational areas.

The Dune and Wetlands Board application from Bay Creek to construct a floating dock to be used as a kayak ramp was withdrawn before the board could review and make a recommendation. There is a group of active kayakers, and the ramp is being designed for their use.

The actual property is owned by the Bay Creek Resort, however, they gave permission for this application to be filed by Robert Smith, adjacent property owner, on their behalf. The location is at the end of Palmers Landing Cul-de-Sac.

The application may be reworked and resubmitted at a later date.

For the month of August 2021, the Cape Charles Police answered 99 calls in Cape Cape Charles and 8 outside of town–7 calls for Northampton County and 1 with the State Police.

There were no Felony arrests this month, but 12 Misdemeanor arrests including assault and battery, a battery of a family member, DUI, Hit and Run, Driving on a suspended license, and refusal to comply with police officers, and trespassing.

The CCPD logged 35 patrol hours, including 18 hours in Bay Creek.

Other August Activity: All officers completed Radar recertification with CBBT.

FOIA Requests continue to usurp a large amount of time and town resources. It’s not just the clerk’s office. The number, type, and scope of FOIA requests being received are taking a toll on staff in the various departments. Town employees, which already have daily workloads, are having to drop what they are doing to attend to marginally frivolous inquiries into topics such as, you guessed it, zoning, and clamming operations.

Here is a rundown as of August 30:

-Researched the Northampton County real estate tax records for a FOIA request received on August 11, 2021. This could have been a very large FOIA request, but no properties in Cape Charles were found to match the requester’s criteria. The response letter was sent to the requestor on August 26, 202.
-A FOIA request was received on August 26, 2021, regarding short-term rental communications. Due to the volume of information requested, an extension letter was sent along with a request for payment per Code of Virginia § 2.2-3704.H
The deposit payment was received on August 30th. The scope of the FOIA was also increased and the affected staff members were notified.
-A FOIA request was received regarding communications on zoning changes, clamming operations, or other business operations. The request was forwarded to the affected parties. Due to the scope of the request, an extension letter was sent.

Town Clerk Libby Hume also attended virtual FOIA training sessions on Criminal and Other Law Enforcement Records, Access to Public Records, and Access to Public Meetings, and covered some changes that took effect July 1, 2021, as well as providing a refresher and best practices for FOIA in general. The training was provided by Alan Gernhardt of the FOIA Council.

A new bus stop shelter has been installed on Mason Avenue near Rayfield’s Pharmacy.

The shelter will provide protection from the weather for STAR Transit patrons waiting for a bus to arrive.

This was a cooperative project among STAR Transit who furnished the shelter, Canonie Atlantic Company who provided the location, and the Town of Cape Charles who provided for the installation.

At 10:30 a.m. on both Friday, September 17th and Saturday, September 18^th, Dr. David Scott will conduct the second lecture in his Genealogy Series, entitled, “Ancillary Sources for Researching Genealogy in Northampton County”.  To accommodate the expected interest, NHPS is offering the same session on two consecutive days and will limit the number of participants in each session to 25. The lectures will be held at Christ Church Parish Hall in Eastville.  Although this is the second in the series, participants do not need to have attended the first in the series to participate in either of the sessions. To see if the session you are interested in has reached the 25 limit, please check the Northampton Historic Preservation Society website.

This lecture will complement Dr. Scott’s first lecture on researching genealogy at the clerk’s office in Northampton County.  He will review many sources of published and unpublished information essential for anyone interested in the families of Northampton County.  Examples include published transcriptions of the early record books, abstracts of wills, census records, tax records, bible records and more.  He will also include information about several valuable online sources and show participants how to use them.  

NHPS is fundraising to restore the historic 1907 Jail on the Northampton Court Green for use as a museum and genealogy information center.  In lieu of a registration fee, we hope you will consider donating to the 1907 Jail Restoration Fund. Register to hold your spot now at: www.northamptonhistoricpreservationsociety.com.

EXMORE:  Free Shakespeare in the Park is set to return to the Exmore Town Park on Friday September 24 at 7:30 pm with a full-length professional production of “Much Ado About Nothing” presented in partnership with Boston’s Brown Box Theatre Project.

This year’s presentation, the fourth for Exmore, is a fast-moving comedy filled with witty banter, clever repartee, lies, deceit and plenty of action. Set in 16^th century Messina Italy,  “Much Ado About Nothing” pokes merry fun at social conventions, including love and matrimony.

The play opens with soldiers returning victorious from war only to encounter a different sort of conflict—the one between men and women. The action is centered on the seemingly unassailable love of Claudio and Hero and the seemingly enduring disdain between Benedict and Beatrice. But things are never as they appear. Jealousy, deception, both malicious and benign, distort the truth, and deceit, a core theme, is presented as a handy tool. Happily, all ends well, and like many Shakespearian comedies, with a marriage —or two.

Exmore’s Free Shakespeare in the Park productions are presented outdoors under the stars in the spacious Town Park with professional set designs, lighting, and costumes by the skilled Brown Box Troup. “The high caliber of the production ensures audiences in this small rural town on the Eastern Shore experience the same level of professional theatre as audiences in major theatrical cities like New York or Boston,” says Exmore Mayor Douglas Greer.

And it’s free.

“This is one way we give back to our residents while elevating the quality of life and the image of our town, our county and the entire ESVA,” Mayor Greer adds. “These benefits are concrete. Free cultural and arts events in our park add just the right spark of energy to our little town, bringing outside interest to the community and helping ignite a renaissance.”

To enjoy this free evening of professional entertainment, just bring a lawn chair or blanket. Picnic blankets too. There’s plenty of free parking and plenty of space to accommodate large audiences.

The Exmore Town Park is located at 3386 Main Street, within minutes of Exmore’s downtown, and three national hotel chains. For more information, email visitexmore@exmore.org or check the Town of Exmore’s Facebook Page, http://tinyurl.com/y8g6lkuq.