MAY 1, 2020
~ Charlie Forman
The Barefoot Neighborhood Watch Program was established in 2009 following the Highway 31 Wildfire that caused 2500 residents to be evacuated in the middle of the night. More than 100 homes were damaged in Barefoot alone, of which 69 homes were completely destroyed.
Barefoot Neighborhood Watch is a program which –
Two open Community Coordinator positions were filled.
The open Community Coordinator position in Bridle Ridge was filled by Jeannie Reeder. In addition, seven new Block Captains volunteered to serve Bridal Ridge.
The open Community Coordinator position in LeatherLeaf was filled by Albert Curley.
The Community Coordinator position is still open in Longbridge I & II.
Officer Amy Vicks is now the Barefoot Neighborhood Watch liaison for NMB Public Safety
The NW Committee held 12 open meetings in 2019:
January – Refuse to Be A Victim
February – Basic Home Security
March – Travel Security
April – Alarms
May – How To Be A Good Witness
June – The 9-1-1 Process
July – Refuse To Be A Victim
August – Guest Speakers: NMB Councilwoman, Nikki Fontana and State Senator, Greg Humbree
September – Traffic Control – Golf Cart laws
October – Fire Prevention
November – C. P. E. D. (Crime Prevention thru Environmental Design)
December – Holiday Safety
The August Meeting with State Senator Humbree was highly attended. Other meetings were less heavily attended. As a result, the Committee voted to hold 4 Open Meetings in 2020 and focus on 4 key areas of concern: 1. Cyber Security, 2. Sharing the Road; Auto, Golf Cart, Bicycle and Pedestrian Rules, 3. Hurricane Preparedness; an inside look at the agencies responsible for warnings, evacuations, rescue, recovery, and 4. Holiday Safety - How to avoid being a victim.
Early in 2019 the Committee began inviting all the Community Coordinators to each quarterly Committee meeting in 2019.
The Committee planned and developed its first Home Security Trade Show with local vendors. The Show was held April 4th at the Barefoot Golf Clubhouse and consisted of 7 vendors and the NMB Department of Public Safety. The Show was open to anyone in the Myrtle Beach area interested in upgrading their home security. The event was free and drew over 100 interested property owners. All the vendors praised the event as a success and vowed to participate in future shows. A second show, the Home Security and Fire Safety Expo was held on October 24th . This show was lightly attended. The Committee has voted to have only one show in 2020.
The Traffic Committee, with the approval of the BRRA BOD undertook and successfully completed an effort to replace the traffic cameras located at each of the three entrances to Barefoot. The Committee also monitored the traffic and road conditions in the Community throughout the year.
Charlie Forman – Chairperson
Candy Watkins – Assistant Chair, Single Family Coordinator
Robert (Bob) Moyse – Assistant Chair, Multi-Family Coordinator
Scott Slater – Traffic Committee Chair
Neal Witkin and David Garrett – BRRA BOD Liaisons