• Residents: Anyone who lives in or currently resides/owns a home within the territory of Merrimac Shores (i.e. Brooke, Buchanan, Catesby Jones, Chesapeake, Congress, Cumberland, Eggleston, Ericcson, Monitor, Porter, Worden).
• MSCA Members: Residents who have paid annual support and in return received the gate code. This group has official access to the Neighborhood Park. This list resets (along with the code) at the beginning of each year. NOTE: For more information about annual support use or purpose go here.
• Non-Members: Residents who reside in Merrimac Shores but have not paid annual support for the current year. 
• Non-Residents: Anyone who lives outside the Merrimac Shores territory (including Ivy Home, Wythe, Kecoughtan, Sussex, etc.)
• MSCA Board Members: Visit our Board Member Page for more information.

Parks have noise, period. Pickleball has noise, basketball has noise, soccer has noise, baseball has noise, play equipment has noise.

• The choice to combine all sports together for a vote (July 4, 2022) was discussed by the Board at length before the vote, and it was agreed that either residents tolerate the sound of activities or they don’t. The recent excitement over pickleball vs. basketball illustrates precisely why we chose to have a vote as an ‘all or nothing’ sports area instead of making individual sporting decisions.
• In the end, the vote was 63 in favor of a multipurpose surface and 2 against.
• For the residents who lived here and did not participate in the vote, we understand you may or may not agree with the decision, and we appreciate both sides. For anyone who did not live here at the time, we appreciate your opinions as well.  We look forward to seeing all of you represented in future votes.

MSCA’s responsibility is to all residents. Our job is not micromanaging individual activities, nor how people enjoy their free time, but to try to find ways to make our neighborhood accessible & enjoyable for as many as possible.

The most recent fundraiser was initiated for “paved area repair” with “a more versatile surface with a new design and painted markings”, to provide a better play surface for members. It was not for pickleball courts alone.

• A professional and more expensive pickleball court installation was considered at one time, however, that idea fell apart and did not move forward. 
• During the same time period, MSCA received multiple requests for basketball hoops as well as more areas for younger kids to play. Several playhouses, pedal cars and basketball hoops were also donated.
• Due to the extreme damage to the original surface (because of age, location of tree roots, large cracks, pavement/ground shifts, etc.) and the urgency of repair, MSCA reviewed the current budget and the “Paved Area Repair (Park) “Write A Check” Campaign was shared with the neighborhood as a solution.
• Several factors contributed to the current layout of the painted lines, including tree roots, surface level, space, and even prevailing winds. Given the circumstances, we chose the best option. MSCA decided to paint lines for two pickleball courts (instead of only 1), a basketball key, and kids' focused designs (like four square, hopscotch, and a little road) to satisfy the majority of requests.
• The kid's-focused area is still under design, and will be painted by Board Members as time & weather permit.
• As for complaints and safety concerns about the size and layout of the pickleball courts specifically, we have taken these concerns under consideration and will consult service providers (if needed). At this time, the courts are usable for recreational purposes and the layout will not prioritize one sport over another (see Multipurpose Surface" section). The courts are not meant to be professional level courts, but fun for the amateur player. As with any activity, caution should be taken to avoid injury.   
• Portable net(s) will be purchased after the storage area is complete. Storage shed(s) are in progress, as we finalize foundation details.

Resident safety is always a priority, and as such, the current board has taken multiple steps towards addressing park and general neighborhood security:

• Installing park locks that are lockable from inside as well as outside the gate.
• Coordinating police volunteers to attend multiple events to answer questions, give recommendations, etc.  
• Ongoing communication with Hampton Police Department to establish “Keep Checks” for increased supervision over the park.
• Posting and advertising the non-emergency police phone number (in the park as well as regularly in the newsletter) alongside reminders to contact HPD for suspected trespassing and/or illegal activity sightings. Residents are asked not to address concerns directly, but to use the non-emergency line. This not only keeps you safe, but establishes an official paper trail for both the MSCA and HPD to address. In addition, we encourage you to send copies of any incident reports to the MSCA email so that we may track patterns and take additional steps if ever needed. As of the time of this posting, we have not received copies of any police reports in recent history.
• Posting regular reminders in the newsletter, new resident information, social media, etc., to not share the gate code with other residents. If someone (anyone— resident or non-resident) asks for the code, please redirect them to MSCA.  Do not share the code.

For everyone who has recently vocalized concerns about safety at the park, we encourage you to volunteer your time as part of our Neighborhood Watch program, as our previous requests for help have left us short-handed.

We are saddened and appalled that we have to include this but, for the sake of clarity, we will.

• The MSCA Board is committed to remaining accessible and open to feedback for this & all projects/events, and we will continue to ask for input through in-person conversations, polls, suggestion boxes, emails, contact forms, etc. To be clear, however, we will have a zero tolerance approach towards threats, threats of vandalism, bullying, verbal assault, physical confrontation, etc.
• Neighborly behavior (in person and online) is expected at all times, from guests and from residents, and if we need to implement temporary FB group restrictions, membership “suspensions” including gate code changes, or other measures, we will do so without hesitation.
• Paying support and/or making a donation does not give anyone the right to be rude, bully, make ultimatums or attempt to solely dictate the actions or next steps of the MSCA. In the end, our decisions are final.
• If you have a concern, please let us know. However, please understand that we do not have an obligation to change or overturn our decisions simply because a concern is submitted. We will accept, review and respect all concerns and we will consider and weigh them all equally. Suggestions & complaint submissions do not equal the immediate overturning of a decision.
• If you would like to learn more about voting/board processes, are unhappy with the current processes or would like to learn more about becoming a Board Member, we encourage you to visit the Board Member Page and submit your name as a Board Member nominee.

Bigger conversations on the MSCA radar in recent years include (but are not limited to): converting the park to public status, including nearby neighborhoods in MSCA park usage & support acceptance, revising the Covenants/by-laws, and applying for non-profit status. In-depth discussions of these topics are in the queue for the future, however, here are a few things to consider:

• Per the Park Deed, if the MSCA (and by extension your annual support) no longer maintains it or pays taxes, it does NOT turn into a public or City of Hampton park. Instead, ownership reverts to the original owners, and it is no longer available for anyone’s use.
• Park Insurance: current cost is approximately $1,400 a year. The City of Hampton requires that insurance coverage for events open to the public requires 1-2 million dollars of coverage per year, no matter the size of the event. This is also the reason our permit was not approved for food trucks, restricts our ability to become a non-profit, and limits our options for opening the park wider than Merrimac Shores residents.
• Currently, less than half of Merrimac Shores residences have paid support for 2024--the primary income for covering taxes, event costs, website/newsletter costs, park maintenance, etc. This level of support can make it tricky to fund high impact projects without fundraisers, raising support amounts, etc.