SPUR August 24, 2016
President Greg Stokes opened the meeting promptly at 12:14 pm
Allyson Rodricks led us in the Pledge of Allegiance
Chris Casey led us in the Four Way Test
Kevin Mayo led us in prayer.
Guests included:
Keith Madore of ACC guest of Chris Casey
Julie Cotnoir of ACC guest of Sandy Z
Michelle Tracey wife of Larry Tracey
Fine – No Pin…pay a $
Happy/Sads
It was a tough week in the Bell Household as they had to put down a dog and then Jerry’s mom passed away suddenly. Our condolences go out to the Bell Family.
Adrian has returned to a new Job at WNEU, His new son is letting him sleep now & Grand Mother in Law has been a great help.
Ed P is sad his undefeated softball lost in the playoffs. He is still a happy doting Grandpa of 2.5 weeks & he is happy his brother-in-law (aka Nick) carried his golf team this weekend!
Jim Kuhn has been away as usual. ;-)
Mr. Mayor is back after 2.5 enjoyable weeks at The Cape
Bobbi M has a new Grand Niece.
Kate is embarking on big changes & is again proud of her son who won his club Jr. Championship at Twin Hills!
Eric has a wedding anniversary to celebrate.
Nick (aka – Ed’s Bro-in-law) is happy to finish 1st in Crestview Invitational with his team & says Ed did contribute. Now he is off toe Myrtle for the World Amateur so feel free to log on & follow!
Allyson is happy to have a new job & is officially now a mortgage broker!
Julie C. had a nice trip taking her daughter to school & then going to visit more family.
History/Mystery
August 29, 1989
Pete Rose, also known as “Charlie Hustle” accepted a permanent place on baseball’s ineligible list
Q1. Who was Commissioner of Baseball that made this deal with Rose?
Bart Giamatti
Q2. What was Peter Rose’s uniform #?
14
Q3. Who gave Rose the nickname “Charlie Hustle”?
Whitey Ford
Raffle –
Dick S won $10
Sandy Z won $5
Chris Leary drew the 2 of Diamonds
We received Thank You cards from scholarship students Haley Cotnoir & Heather Muir
Wine Committee Report – Chris Casey
Wine Tasting is September 29th so Mark your calendars if you haven’t already. Tickets will be distributed next week. 4 per Rotarian. There will also be Sign Up sheets for specific food items to bring as well.
Dictionary Project – Ed P asked for a status of the Dictionary project since Henry is no longer here to spearhead. He will contact the current librarian to find out need & timing.
Our speaker was Enfield Town Manager, Bryan Chodkowski.
Bryan comes to Enfield after serving 9 years in Riverside, OH which is the Dayton OH area. He is originally from the area as well. He has a BA from OH University not to be confused with OH State. Ohio University holds a Guinness record for most bars per square mile as one of its many distinctions! His degree is in Political Science and Public Administration. Bryan is married with 3 children ranging in age from Senior in high school to 6 year old.
The choice to come to Enfield was made based on a few criteria including the larger population base, proximity to both Hartford & Springfield for ease of finding his interior designer wife employment & that opportunity to serve in a town with no county government structure as there is in the Midwest. Bryan states that he enjoys his job & it’s challenges. Some of the challenges he feels we need to tackler are; after continuous growth we have had a flat population for the past 2 census counts; State Economy issues; Perception issues of being predominantly a blue collar town when we actually have a good mix of all as well as what he calls ‘The Thompsonville Effect”. On the positive side he notes that the company handling Enfield Square Mall has agreed to invest $1 million in improvements. Strip malls continue to thrive. The Hallmark facility has already sold & been re-leased with plans for significant expansion. He also noted that the leadership in his office has quite a bit of experience outside of Enfield. He notes that he has a very strong (negative) reaction to the comment “because that’s the way we’ve always done it”.
Bryan pointed out that statistics show our state continues to grow & we are the 2nd wealthiest state in the country. His plan to move the community forward is based on the idea Cute Sells! He would like to work on making the town more aesthetically attractive. Some ideas include adding a rent/least guarantee program & working on housing to compliment the train station development where we should not only export but import workers. Adding boutique restaurants & shops to attract additional traffic to the area is also part of the plan.
He is currently working toward hiring a Director of Development Services who will have responsibilities over multiple departments including both Planning & Zoning as well as Building. He wants to bridge the gap between these to both physical & otherwise which is obviously hindering development in this town.
Bryan believes in constant improvement and development that starts with funding education to bring families to town & in turn attract businesses/employers.
He welcomed anyone to come down to Town Hall & visit or contact him with issues.
Meeting adjourned at 12:30 pm