March 24, 2010 Bulletin

The Bulletin -- March 24, 2010 (#1032)

Bernie Bassett, Town of Plattsburgh Supervisor, and Dr. Colin Read, SUNY Plattsburgh, discuss the Town's Comprehensive Land Use Plan.

Program: Dr. Colin Read (SUNY Plattsburgh Professor of Economics and Finance and fellow Rotarian) and Bernie Bassett (Town of Plattsburgh Supervisor): Comprehensive Land Use Plan

Town of Plattsburgh Supervisor Bernie Bassett is proud of the North Country. More specifically, he’s proud of the area’s human resources and their commitment to growth. He said, “There are 3.2 million people within an hour of Plattsburgh, but we don’t have to live with 3.2 million people.”
Bassett also said the new comprehensive land use plan will set a future path for the town and its residents.

Colin Read chairs the town’s Comprehensive Land Use Committee. He said, “The committee is strong, and it represents a solid cross-section of the population.” Because of that diversity, the committee has developed a dynamic comprehensive land use plan.

Read highlighted a few points of interest in the 100-plus page plan. Some of the plan’s initiatives include business parks that have integrated green space with trails and recreational access taking the place of the more industrial-style parks. A “business incubator” will attract fledgling businesses and offer support while they get started. The old county airport location is going to lend itself to more housing, and senior housing is encouraged to meet the needs of the increased aging population in the town. A local housing trust is going to be established to rehabilitate homes and provide housing to less fortunate families. In order to make the community more attractive, the plan seeks to make mobile homes more structurally permanent, develop commercial design guidelines, and possibly clean up the Route 3 commercial sprawl to beautify the community’s gateways. New commercial developments are envisioned in the Rt. 374/Rt. 3 interchange. The plan also intends to develop more sidewalk communities and distinctive hamlets. State-of-the-art sewage elimination processes will lend itself to healthier communities in general.

The overall idea of ‘Complete Streets’ encompasses a holistic view of development. Commercial and community developments shouldn’t have to be mutually exclusive. The goal of the comprehensive land use plan is to tie all of the developments together neatly and make use of the area’s many resources.

Guests: Bernie Bassett (Colin Read) and Valerie Daniels (Tracy Clark)

Committee Moments:
Food Shelf—Elle Berger: February’s Food Shelf collection totaled $380 with a special gift of $100. The Food Shelf received $190 while the Salvation Army received $190.

Radio Day—Rick Leibowitz: Sales are down from last year, and Rick encouraged everyone’s participation. Each year, the Butcher Block gives $100 worth of gift certificates and Rick auctioned them off to club members.

New Member Talk: Amanda Palmer was born in Nebraska and moved around a lot as a child. Her father was a photographer for the Associated Press, and it required traveling and relocating Amanda’s family to places around the world.
Amanda took an interest in photography, drawing and the arts throughout high school. Upon returning to the U.S., Amanda moved to San Francisco and attended San Francisco State University where she got her art degree with a focus in Art History and American Indian Studies.
In 1990, Amanda met her husband in a public speaking course at college. Shaun Heffernan and Amanda combined their collective talents and opened a wonderful store in downtown Plattsburgh selling their work. She is now a Museum Director/Curator at the Alice T. Miner Museum in Chazy.
Amanda loves the quality of life here. The low crime, easy pace of life and opportunities are unparalleled. She and Shawn continue to enjoy the beauty and bounty of the Adirondacks.

This Week:

New Member Orientation is this Friday (3/26) 8 a.m. at West Bay Financial.
First Thursday (4/1) will be at Anthony’s.
Rotary Radio Day is Monday, April 12..
District Assembly is Saturday, April 17.
The Board Meeting at CCC Dining Hall will be held Monday, April 19 at noon.
June 4-6 is the Fishing Tournament.
The Golf Tourney is June 9.
RI Convention is June 19-23 in Montreal.
Roger VanGuilder, Stan Ransom and Ellen Bouchard received their sponsor pins for bringing in new members.
Ausable Forks is looking for recipes for their Cook Book Fundraiser.
Matt Nelson thanked the club for inviting Gov. Patterson to speak. It’s unlikely he will be able to accept.
Another letter came from Shelter Box thanking our club for their donation.

Fines: Tim McSweeney had to spin for missing his Rotary duties ($5).

Announcements:

Jody Carpenter is sponsoring Amanda Palmer ($10) in the Plattsburgh Marathon.
Elle Berger described Food Shelf day: It is the last Wednesday of each month, although you can give at each weekly meeting.
Alice Recore traveled to Washington, D.C. where she attended a Public Media Summit. They received an award for Education and Innovation by PBS for Mountain Lake PBS’ website and the documentary on Samuel D. Champlain.
Marty Mannix thanked Erik Eaglefeather who generously donated x-ray equipment to the Mission of Hope.
One of our members attended a Rotary Meeting in Bath, NY. They had a tiny salad but it was full of grape tomatoes.
Maria Alexander announced that the Senior Council is accepting applications for the new Catherine Gardens Townhouses. The deadline is May 29 at 4 p.m. Contact Maria at 563-5194.
Roger VanGuilder is pleased to be sponsoring new member Patrick Ryan.

Bonnie’s Bucks:

Stan Ransom announced that Friday (3/26) 7-9 p.m., at the Public Library, Julia Spencer Fleming will be signing books.
John Seiden surprised his Aunt in a recent trip to California. It was her birthday, and she turned 88.
David Bray announced a new business that should bring over 30 jobs to the Plattsburgh Area.
Bob Smith went on a golfing trip and called home to find out his mother-in-law was raking the back yard. When asked when Bob would be returning, she said, “Probably when I get done raking the back yard.” She is 92 years old.
Bonnie’s youngest daughter was invited to a convention in Indianapolis. She experienced three days of seminars/workshops for health educators and teachers.

Another Candle Burning For: Allen Racine (3/14), Bill McBride (3/16), Carmen Carpentier (3/18), Frank Hamilton (3/20), Tracy Clark (3/24)

50/50: There are 46 cards left, and the pot is worth $1,112. Joshua Kretser drew the 9 of spades and won $9.