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March 1, 2017
The Ithaca Country Club was the stage for last week’s meeting, and keeping with his tradition — have tradition, will travel — President Dale Johnson opened with the Four-Way Test. Then, the order of business was switched to accommodate the speaker’s schedule, and this month’s program coordinator Josephine Allen introduced Tompkins County Legislator Martha Robertson. Still, keeping with the newsletter tradition, you’ll find the report of her presentation in its usual slot, further down in the text.
Mel Richards gave the Thought for The Day. He read Sam Walter Foss’s poem The House by the Side of the Road in its entirety. “Let me live in a house by the side of the road … and be a friend to man.” Mel chose this poem because, to him, it embodies the spirit of Rotary. And, it was his grandfather’s favorite.
With time short, Dale referred to a previous Chautauqua Irrelevancy about the Monopoly game player piece poll, reporting to the group that the Thimble has been eliminated as a playing piece in Monopoly board game. “The lucky Thimble has lost its shine,” stated a story in Fortune online.
Brad Carruth made introductions. The red ticket drawing was for a grab bag of goodies containing a man’s necktie, a woman’s scarf, and a one-month YMCA membership. It was won by soon-to-be new-member Gail Lyman, wife of already-long-time-member Nate.
 Jeff True presented Kathy Nivison with her first Paul Harris Fellow pin. Kathy spoke briefly about how proud she was of this accomplishment. A couple of years ago, then-president Brett Bossard outlined the simple steps for setting up an automatic deduction plan, allowing your bank account to make donations to Rotary while you sleep. Kathy was inspired; she set a goal, hit it, and now she’s a PHF. Wonderful, Kathy!
There was a loud round of applause in recognition of Brian Wilbur’s return from surgery recovery. Glad to have you back, Brian!
President Dale made an announcement about the Johnson City club’s 90th anniversary celebration. It was noted that despite rumors to the contrary, Johnson City is NOT named after either Dale OR Steve Johnson, just to set the record straight. (Nor is The Dalles, Oregon, named after any combination of Baker, Flinn, or Johnson.) All that aside, be it known that the Johnson City Club is holding a pancake breakfast and open house on Thursday, March 9, at 8:00 a.m., to celebrate their milestone. All are invited. Click here for the event’s Facebook page, with details and directions.
John Barradas thanked the Rotarians who helped clean the highway last weekend. Check out last week’s newsletter for accolades, haul data, and photos.
Marshall McCormick announced that the District Training Assembly, which includes the Young Leaders Summit, is coming up on April 1 and April 8. He’s looking for a representative from our club and presenters for a panel discussion on conflict resolution. Please see Marshall if you’re interested — OR Marshall might find you!
An additional note, that very same Marshall McCormick has been selected by the Chamber of Commerce as one of the Fab Five this year, honoring young professionals in our community. Congratulations, Marshall!
County Legislator Martha Robertson’s expertise is in housing, and her presentation was aptly entitled “A Place for us All: Housing By Choice or By Chance.”
 Martha explained how an unstable housing situation can take over a person’s life. Just think, she said, about the last time you moved: not only is it all consuming, but you probably had a home to move into. That is not the case for many people, especially seniors, students, and those with disabilities and/ or low incomes.
Times are changing in Tompkins County and there is no doubt there is a housing shortage. We can either let it happen by chance, or take the reins and direct it. Following up on a county-wide housing needs assessment done in 2014, a number of organizations came together last November to discuss options for the future at the Tompkins County Housing Summit. The group is looking ahead to 2025.
Martha outlined some basics:
- The student housing situation is going to get worse. Ithaca’s vacancy rate for large properties with multiple apartments is 1.8%; a healthy rate is 5%.
- Research indicates that if available, real estate agents could sell about 313 more single family homes a year than are currently sold.
- Finding any houses under $200,000 is difficult. This is a critical need that is not being met.
- In 2015, 165 average single family homes were built; the demand is 313, so we are falling behind by about half. This trend will continue if we don’t remedy it.
 In a recent survey, 58% of incoming commuters said they would like to buy and move into Tompkins County if affordable housing was available. As if to add one more bit of proof to the level of need, the Housing Summit attracted 220 people, far above the organizer’s expectations of 150 at most.
And then, there are the baby boomers, cascading into their retirement years. According to Martha, there are currently no Medicaid-funded assisted living facilities in Tompkins County. This will become a huge problem if not addressed soon.
As one might expect, there are no simple answers. The next steps call for setting goals, doing research, organizing within the community, and factoring in transportation, just for starters. To learn more, visit www.housingtompkins.com.
Ambassadors: None
Visiting Rotarians: Mike Katz, Ithaca Sunrise
Students: Paula (Poland) and Freshy (Thailand)
Workers:
• Greeter, Ivy Stevens Gupta
• Kettle, Bill Currie
• Thought for the Day, Mel Richards
• Introductions, Brad Carruth
Set-Up: Ron Provus, Joe Giordano, Steve Johnson & Brad Carruth
Bulletin Reporter: Kelly Buck
Photos: Kelly Buck
Bulletin Editor: Ted Schiele
Club Service Facilitators, Beverly Baker & Joanne Lamoureux
Sunshine Chair, Kellyann O’Mara
Club Service Facilitator Emeritus, Dave Barr
March 8, 2017
Coltivare, S. Cayuga at Clinton St., Downtown Ithaca
Cornelia Laemmli Orth, Conductor, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra: Musical Notes
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