Pay and Tell: Scott Burns was drinking from his Core Values and Life is All about Balance Rotary Cup. Judith had a beautiful holiday decoration on her Zoom virtual background. She showed her “over the chair green screen which she got specifically to use when attending the ukulele group practice sessions. Eric said that both his children were home for the holidays. Oscar shared that his daughter has been having health issues. Kathy Scroggs was joined by husband Lawrence Wallin. They sadly recently lost their cat, Lucky. Kathy announced she will no longer be preparing individual tax returns. Lily Carey, who recently resigned from the club, has reevaluated and is remaining a member. She said, “it is not all about me but about giving and doing things for others.” Sandra is now her mentor.
Call to Order: President Eric called the meeting to order at 7:32 a.m. Judith gave the flag salute, Sandra the invocation and Connard provided the raffle prize that was won by Hannah.
Guests: Steve Carlson, Honorary Member Cheryl Jensen, Lawrence Wallin, Christine Holland ad speaker Jason Harris.
Committee Reports:
Club Service: Judith reported on the great hike on Saturday at Parma Park. She has one more hike planned for this year: December 19, and one in the New Year on January 2nd, locations to be determined. Diana W. indicated that we will not be having our usual holiday get-together but she, Judith and Karen are planning a fun Happy Hour at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 17. Eric will demonstrate his famous secret eggnog recipe. There will be a holiday trivia game with prizes, and surprise guests. Put on your holiday finery and join the Zoom get-together whenever you can.
Community Service: we are getting pallets of hand sanitizer for La Casa de la Raza and the City Fire Department. Showers of Blessing would like one. Team Rotary: there will be a creeks clean-up on Saturday, December 5, together with the SB Urban Creeks Council. Meet behind the Chase Palm Park Center on the Oceanside at 10:00 a.m.
International Service: Oscar reported that we had received an emergency email from Nicaragua telling us that hurricanes Eta and Iota had devastated the bean crops. They had a window of opportunity to buy more beans to plant. The International Service Committee approved a donation of $300 overnight, which was shortly thereafter matched by the Club and Foundation boards from our disaster relief fund, so we will send $600 to Nicaragua.
Fundraising: Dennis talked about The Giving List; there are 2,400 non-profits in town. Think about who can sponsor the Dolphin Dive fundraiser in July 2021.
Treasurer: 13 members have not paid their dues for the quarter.
Public Image: Karen reported that Tom Rhodes is creating a microsite for the Spark program.
Membership: Hannah said she is happy Lily is staying on as a member and Sandra will be her official mentor. The committee will meet next Tuesday at noon by Zoom.
Vocational: Scott reminded members of the Spark event next Wednesday, December 9, at 6:30 p.m. Speakers will be Eugene Whitlock, Asst. Vice Chancellor at U.C. Berkeley and Mel Vines whom we saw in the first Inclusion and Diversity Spark event. Eugene is the son of Sylvia Whitlock, the first woman Rotary Club President. Eric recommended watching the HBO program, “Between the World and Me,” from the book by Ta-Nehisi Coates about being a black man and father of a black son.
Program: Joanne introduced Jason Harris who was hired on March 30th by the City. His responsibilities will be to support downtown, business retention and changing the perception of permitting in the City which has the reputation of being difficult for doing business here. Everything was shut down when he first started through May. Then businesses were allowed to operate outdoors, so State Street was closed from Haley to Sola Streets to allow outdoor dining in the roadway. Originally, it was set to expire September 8, which was extended to December 8, then March 8, 2021.
Downtown has been suffering for several years with the loss of two department stores and other businesses. The population wasn’t coming to downtown. A subcommittee of three councilmembers has been formed to oversee the State Street revitalization project. There are new traffic control devices on order which will better organize pedestrians and bikes. There is green paint at crossroads to indicate the bike path and additional overhead lighting. They are looking at the permanent closure of State Street in this area. There will be improvements to Plaza de la Guerra and Library Plaza. The City has released a survey to the public and wants to know what experiences you would like; imagine the future ten years out. Think of other places you’ve traveled to that you like. The survey can be found at: https://surveymonkey.com/r/FutureStateStreet_public. Suggestions will be brought to the Council in the latter part of January, with a vision statement leading to a conceptual design.
Three Council members are now overseeing the permitting improvement process. While Jason doesn’t have the authority to change these processes, they are working on the culture of the department and staff. He said that people who work in public service want to serve the public but the City has high standards for review so processes have grown up around that. Jason can be reached at jharris@santabarbara.gov.
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 8:33 a.m.
