I am Charlene Adair, your beach & parks chair. Our liaison with the city is Paul Bertram, the parks and grounds manager under Public Works (identify those present). We thank the city for your support and for supplying picker uppers and gloves! I am now also serving on the Keep Fort Pierce Beautiful Advisory Board as a way to further our tie with the city.
Our volunteers worked 1,218 hours in 2015. We have 33 volunteers (11 in Mariner Bay, 6 in Harbour Isle, rest scattered). Only 16 are year round, so we have a huge need for more help in the off-season. We are excited that Ocean Village now plans to form a group to help with their beach. Our territory includes 9 city parks and about 4 miles of beach.
Our group has worked with the Fort Pierce Public Works to accomplish the following:
- Get new signs in Causeway (3) and South Beach (1) Parks
- Get additional recycle cans in Causeway, Jetty, Gulfstream, South Beach, Bergalis, and Surfside Parks
- Replace handicapped signs
- Replace and repair garbage cans
- Make landscaping improvements
- Power washing and cleaning of parks
- Treat fire ants
- Repair roadway through Causeway
- Sweeping of bridge, Seaway Drive and parking lots
There are basically 3 reasons for trash on the beach:
- Debris washes in from boats and containers – we had a huge job after the shipping company lost containers this past year.
- People accidentally leave debris on the beach.
- People are careless and don’t value keeping our parks and beaches beautiful.
#2 and #3 apply to the parks as well. We hope that by keeping the parks and beaches clean, we will make it more difficult to be careless with trash. It’s a lot easier to throw something on the ground if it’s already littered. Our new shirts provided by the SBA and a private donation have provided visibility, promotion, and (hopefully) encouraged the public to use trash cans. When you see these shirts, please stop to thank your volunteers.
This is a great volunteer job for those of you who enjoy the outdoors! Every hour is appreciated. We need more help, so please consider becoming a volunteer. Flyers are on the table as you entered with my contact information, or see me after the meeting.
Thank you for this opportunity to contribute to this community which we love so much!
Charlene Adair
772-285-3757
cbadair@yahoo.com