Southmouth Feb 23, 2009

Call to Order : President Greg McDonald

Anthem : Paul Monaghan

Toast: Matt Taylor

Invocation: John Klassan

Guests and Visiting Rotarians: Ron Kozub introduced Joel Chatterton from the St. Catharines Club. Counsellor Heather Foss (speaker). Brittney Williams and Paul Chapman from the City of St. Catharines and Karen Ting exchange student.

Sergeant-At-Arms

Jim Hooper fined Matt for calling Jim on Sunday to get Karen home.  Matt had a happy dollar as he and Georgette will be in India for six weeks doing dental work. Karen is now staying with Jean and Jim. Karen went on a trip north.  It was warm and they did a lot of walking.  They saw the stars which were very pretty and bright.  Paul had a happy dollar for Matt who exemplifies Rotary through his service above self.  Jean is happy that her daughter is coming home from New York for an interview.   Najeeb is happy for the golfing he did over the weekend. John is happy for a tennis game he had. Ron commented on Friday night bingo and Jim did an excellent job. Sheila was happy for a ski trip in BC with her family. Joel is happy for feeling welcomed and having done four medical assistance calls.  He encouraged everyone to take CPR. It could save a life. Greg is happy for selling four cars. Dan had an excellent ski vacation in Vermont.

Announcements : June Manning's mother passed away.  The club sends their condolences. The gala meeting is cancelled.  Members were requested to follow up with their gala donors. Reminder that April 1 is the joint St. Catharines Rotary Club meeting at Cuppola's.  April is "End Polio Now" month.  Clubs are being asked to do something to move the eradication forward quicker. Ed announced that Adolescent Family Support Services is receiving the Howard Hetherington Award and will receive $2,000 for a six-seater stroller. Awards have been presented for the last 17 years to "worthy causes".  The award was advertised in November.  Six applications were received.  The Board accepted the committee's recommendation at the February meeting.  A representative will be at the next meeting for a cheque presentation.  All members are asked to attend the meeting. The next bingo is March 7.  Two volunteers are required.

50/50 Draw:   Brian Radford drew the eight of hearts.

Guest Speaker: Dan Toppari introduced Heather Foss.  Heather is a native of St. Catharines and was a teacher.  After living in the US and Japan she decided to come home. He is past president of the University Women's Club. She currently is a city counsellor sitting on several committees.

Heather introduced Paul and Brittany who work at the city.  Heather outlined the priorities for downtown:

1.     Niagara Centre for the Arts partnership with Brock which will include a 1,600 seat theatre.

2.     N-Genwhich recognizes Niagara as part of the vibrant interactive media sector.  It opened in April 2008.  The focus is to retain youth through the interactive media centre.

3.     Wine route enhancement: moving the wine route through downtown St. Catharines.  The two-way street conversion discussion is still underway. The mayor is meeting with the Wine Counsel of Ontario soon.

4.     Residential Development- new development to bring people living downtown.  Incentives are available to develop residential unit's downtown.  St. Catharines is the only urban centre mandated to increase its residential development with a target of 2031.

5.     Spectator arena-looking at a new 5,000seat arena.

6.     Regional Service Centre with a focus of keeping police headquarters downtown.

7.     Parking amenities-the replacement of the Carlisle St. Parking garage.  Currently developing a parking strategy.  Should hear soon about the federal funding for the garage. It is combined with offices.

All of the incentives above are linked together and will make downtown successful. A creative cluster master plan is being created integrating provincial, federal and municipal funding. A 3D visualization tool is being developed to demonstrate the vision. The Downtown Development and Revitalization Committee focuses on downtown development.  They are ambassadors for change.  Its a link to information and a forum for ideas and suggestions. The floor was opened for questions. Club members were encouraged to attend a public meeting on March 4 at the Mills Room, Centennial Library from 2-4pm and 7-9pm.

Ron thanked Heather for attending.  Ron stressed the role of community and Rotary's role in our community.

Attendance :  Ron noted 16 members in attendance with 4 make-ups for 65% attendance.