Tuesday October 4th Lunch Meeting

 
 
With Great Programs and Speakers each week, come join us for lunch and fellowship.
 
 
 
Englewood Rotary Club – October 4, 2016
Meeting Location: Crowne Plaza, Englewood
Presiding:  Jill Abbott
Recorder:  Steve Wiessner
Birthdays/Anniversaries: None Noted  
Visiting Rotarians and Guests: Guest speaker, Tim Dacey
Announcements:
President Jill Abbott made the following announcements:
  1. Oktoberfest will be held on Tuesday, October 25th at 6:00 pm at the Crowne Plaza, no luncheon will occur that day, $50 per person, guests welcome
  2. Joe and Judy Klyde will host a Holiday Kickoff Fete on Sunday, November 20th from 50 to 7:00 pm at their home at 10 Van Wagoner Drive, Englewood Cliffs.  Tickets are $100 per person and proceeds will benefit our club’s programs supporting Englewood youth
  3. The Vocational Assembly will occur on October 5 at the Pines Manor
  4. The Rotary Foundation seminar will be held on October 18 and a fundraiser will occur on November 15
  5. Our district 7490 will be presenting Halloween Against Hunger on Saturday, October 22nd at the Hope Community Center in Paterson.  To learn more about donating, volunteering for this contact RotaryHAH@gmail.com
  6. UN Day will occur on November 12th
  7. A food drive to support the Rotary Military Food Pantry for the Thanksgiving holiday is being planned; Jill is forming a committee for this, so contact her to join
 
Steve Wiessner noted that the Grants Committee will meet after next week’s luncheon
 
Paul Farrell announced that the Membership Committee will also meet after next week’s luncheon
 
Program: Tim Dacey, City Manager of Englewood gave an informative presentation mentioning a number of projects and activities that are going on in Englewood.  They included:
  1. A commitment from the City of Englewood to better engage the public
  2. Special recognition of the Skating Scholars program at the John T. Wright Arena that provides free after school skating lessons for middle school students at the Janis E. Dismus Middle School.  Both the City and our Club support this initiative and he noted the success of the initiative.  He also mentioned that the rink is much better utilized, new investments in the facilities have improved the public usage, and new bleachers will be installed soon.  He invited our members to attend the Mackay Park Event day this Sunday, October 9th from 1:00 to 5:00 pm which will be the opening day of the rink, opening of a new exhibit featuring Englewood musicians at the Gatehouse, and much more. Details can be found at: http://files.constantcontact.com/d3705ad2601/3e585874-c1ce-4456-8675-eb0924e1d354.pdf  
  3. City sponsored annual events including the Fireworks for July 4th, Englewood Night Market and Sidewalk Sale which both occur in July and draw thousands of people to downtown
  4. Pool parties at the Tryon and Mackay park rinks, and a basketball league in summer
  5. Working in collaboration with the Age-Friendly Englewood Coalition that our own Janet Sharma is leading
  6. Working to improve the downtown district by repaving W. Palisade Avenue this past summer, continuing to E. Palisade Avenue which should be completed son, lighting improvements, and better crosswalks and new traffic lights to improve pedestrian circulation
  7. The demolition of the old firehouse on William Street which was replaced with a new firehouse on S. Van Brunt Street which is now opened; New traffic lights downtown are linked to the firehouse so when emergencies happen, the lights can align to provide faster circulation for emergency vehicles
  8. Planting of trees on Palisade Avenue and the ability for residents to request trees for the public right of way in front of their homes
  9. The near completion of the new Eleanor Harvey Park off Liberty Road at the Teaneck border that is almost completely renovated
  10.  The demolition of the Lincoln School which has a plan approved to provide 186 units of market rate housing that is scheduled to be completed by 2018
  11.  The Route 4 West Diner was sold and will be demolished to build a 7 story assisted living facility that will have over 200 units with some portion being offered as affordable housing
  12.  160 units have recently been built near on Route 4 east, with 18 of those units being designated affordable
  13. More housing is being considered for the Liberty School building, which could be a mix used facility with both market rate and senior housing; Tim was hopeful that the exterior of the building could be preserved
  14. The fiscal budget for 2017-18 will be tough as an overall increase of 1.6% for property taxes levied over the last 6 years and a lack of increase in state aid since 2008 will make this difficult; Tim noted that a 2% increase for 17-18 might be recommended
  15. New garbage trucks with the one armed mechanical apparatus will be put into effect after a successful launch in the 1st and 4th wards
  16. City supported Improvements in city parks and Flat Rock Brook Nature Center have provided a better quality of life for Englewood residents   
 
50-50: With 33 cards in the deck and $178 in the pot, Jim Cole picked the 4 of diamonds
 
Attendance:  20 out of 73, 27%
 
Upcoming Programs:
October 11    Michael Dressler, Bergen County Surrogate, Estates and Wills
October 18    None noted
October 25    Oktoberfest evening event, no luncheon