Embedded Files
We had ~10 attendees at our community meeting. Saturday February 8. Our next meeting is tentatively scheduled for Saturday March 22 @ 10AM.
Info from the last MBA board meeting
There will be an MBA townhall in Feb or Mar. Several MBA board members expressed that it is important to hear from the community.
Bathhouse renovations are in progress.
Julien Henley is involved with accessibility.
Restaurant hours are currently 9-4, including some local items & continental breakfast, expect to experiment with hot breakfast soon.
Most of the taxi companies are collecting fares in advance, but one (the one that has the concession in Havensight?) refuses to do so.
We discussed how we and other groups can pressure them, and ideas for making use of multiple lines at the entrance gate.
Announcements & open discussion
Where are we with incorporation?
Seem to be stalled. Looking for someone who wants to handle (re)submitting and/or someone with legal expertise. Please send suggestions.
Neighboring properties [now on our website]
Nature Conservancy is selling the land they held (where the trail) to MBA. Confirmed that there are deed restrictions: No use except for trail, overlook, boardwalk rebuild, etc. Must remain free access - no charge for individual hikers, though people leading group tours could charge.
Do deed restrictions require them to make parking available at the top of the trail? We will ask.
Also for sale: 10 Misgunst - has deed restrictions
Also for sale: 17 Louisenhoj - deed restrictions [discovered after the meeting]
CZM approved the Trans Americas Fiber submarine cable in the bay/to the ATT property in Peterborg. CZM permit application, CZM hearing back in October.
Commented on the difficulty tracking the CZM agenda ahead of time rather than finding out after hearings.
Philip is writing a piece on no anchor / no mooring and wants to clarify what our position is.
While some of us would be okay with a few moorings, as a group we take the stringent position of no mooring.
Discussed the fact that if we start saying moorings are okay, we will end up with moorings (and probably more than any of us want); if we start with no moorings, we could potentially compromise on a few moorings (if we are willing to).
The mooring proposal may be picking up speed, so this is a good time to publish something.
Sen Blyden had mentioned a bill to protect the bays. Have we heard anything from him since the meeting he attended? No, we will ask him again to see a draft.
General discussion of boat/watercraft activity like jetskis and how the traffic impacts turtles & swimmers even if they aren’t anchoring.
Discussed the fact that the territory’s land & water use plan passed. [More watershed management docs on our website.]
Drone spotting
Someone saw a drone at Magens recently and reported it to MBA staff. Prompt response although by the time someone (security?) got to them, they had stopped. Expectation is that if there are drones, lifeguards will tell them they aren’t allowed.
Signs say no drones without permission. Is that only because of the FAA restrictions? Or does MBA additionally explicitly prohibit drones at Magens? We will ask MBA to clarify.
Discussion about interactions with security, gate staff, etc - generally very pleasant. A couple exceptions - everyone has a bad day.
Turtle snorkel tour
Contract up for renewal soon, might not get renewed.
Very concerned about the tour - it’s a large crowd of people (~50), presumably disturbs animals, some snorkelers have little ocean experience and there are minimal guides with them in the water, strong currents along Peterborg where they do the tour (all the way out to Little Magens), lifeguards have been pulled from other areas to watch snorkelers even though they are outside the buoy line, tour leaves immediately after snorkeling so they aren’t otherwise spending money at the beach.
Let MBA know our position on the turtle tours.
This is exactly the sort of thing we should be publicizing on facebook. We need someone to volunteer to manage a facebook account for us.
FYI: List of all known cruise ship excursions - includes turtle tours at Magens and Brewers.
FYI: MBA is looking to clean up the personal kayaks and paddleboards that people keep on the beach near the YakShak. If you are one of their owners, please retrieve your gear; spread the word.
Plants & animals working groups
There is an island-wide birding group doing Sunday morning walks, sometimes at Magens.
We have photos of a lot of identified plants (could be used if/when we physically label some of the plants).
Sounds like there is interest in doing a plant walk. We can talk to Eleanor Gibney about leading one.
Discussion of many things that the Friends of VINP does on STJ.
In addition to nature photos, there’s other educational information on our website, mostly history/pre-history (could be used if/when we do school field trips).
Trash working group
Resuming trash walks - Wed evenings 5:30PM (unless people prefer a different day/time). Calendar. Come and meet other Friends.
The beach has definitely been cleaner most days.
Talking to Island Green and other nonprofits about combined island-wide sunscreen signage efforts. Want to get cruise ship docs and businesses at docks & beaches to post signs. Seeking willing contacts.
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