After President, Annette Oborn led us in the Pledge of Allegiance, Program Host, John Pribonic led us in the invocation.
Annette thanked Sgt. at Arms, Steve Dunton and his helper, Dave Renninger for getting us checked in this morning. She welcomed our guests Kari Suhadolnik, Gavin Waskovich and Nate Leppo.
CELEBRATIONS:
Rotary Anniversaries: Bonnie Housley (36 years), Marty Tass (27 years) and Annie Hanson Hilaire (14 years) are all celebrating anniversaries this week.
50-50 Drawing: Jim Laber pulled the winning ticket which was at Tom Loepp's table. Tom drew both the 3 of hearts and the 8 of spades, so although he did that, he didn't find the joker.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Bench Collection: Annette announced that she is still collecting donations for a bench to honor Marv Mills.
Foodbank: Remember that this is our time to volunteer for Foodbank. Work from 4:30-6:30 at the Foodbank and than have dinner together afterwards. In October we will still volunteer on the fourth Wednesday but then will move to the second Wednesday.
Reverse Raffle/Silent Auction: Gail Moseley thanked everyone for their donations of wine and gift cards for the event. She sill has two tickets and would be glad to sell them to anyone who is interested. Be sure to let Andy Denton or Karen Monbeck know the names of people you are sitting with so that the table seating can be arranged and go smoothly for your guests. Any further donations of gift cards, cash, wine or silent auction items need to be turned in by next week. Also, tickets need to be paid for by next week. It looks like a great evening is shaping up!
Football Pool Winners: Club winners from last Saturday's game are: John Long, Maria Ferrara, Mary Parr and Dinah Henderson. The other 8 winners were outside of the club.
Adopt-A-Spot Our bed is still looking very nice and colorful, so Marty Tass says that if anyone wants to weed one more time, it would probably be a good idea.
Bulldog Bags: By October 11, Bulldog Bags would appreciate the following donations from us: juice boxes, macaroni and cheese cups, bars of soap, 32 oz. boxes of pancake mix and 24 oz. bottles of pancake syrup and peanut butter. Drop your donations off in the lobby of City Hall or at the Library.
Membership: Kari Suhadolnik has been approved for membership and will be pinned in the next week or two. Will Sumser has submitted his name for membership and will be proposed at the next Board meeting.
PROGRAM: Program Host, John Pribonic introduced Nate Leppo, Planning Director for the City of Stow. He explained the relationship between Nate's department and Parks and Recreation by saying that Parks and Rec gives flavor to the community and helps us call Stow home, while Planning is future oriented and gives residents reasons to believe we want to be here for the future.
Nate talked about various aspects of his department's role in the community. He first discussed residential parameters. He said that zoning gives a separation of uses for the land in Stow. There has been strong growth and demand for homes in Stow but with the rise in interest rates ad housing prices, it seems that we may see a leveling of the market in the not too distant future. One way that builders attempt to counteract their rising costs of supplies is to place homes closer together and therefore increase their density.
The commercial sector is seeing demand in the service and retail industry, but seeing almost no demand for office space since COVID saw a switch to working from home. He discussed the need for a Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) that would enhance incentives we could offer to businesses. Council would have to support a proposal to reinstitute a CIC. If we want to attract a business to Stow, we need to be able to offer assistance and reasons for them to be here. A solid City Center needs to have as much activity as possible and when there is a nucleus of activity, people being centralized attracts business.
The industrial sector of the city is seeing companies coming back since the pandemic. They want assurances that there are people to hire. The Seasons Rd. interchange has made a big difference for the city which is one of the best performing cities in Ohio. There will be a million square feet available in the next year as Fogg plans on a couple more buildings. They receive a 25% income tax grant as one of their incentives.
Mr. Leppo's report was positive but at the same time realistic as far as what we still need to accomplish.
President Annette closed the meeting by leading us in reciting the Four-Way Test.
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Today 4:30-6:30, volunteer time at the Akron-Canton Foodbank
Wednesday, October 4, 7:30, Morning meeting at Bellacinos with Julie Brandle, District Governor as our speaker.
Wednesday, October 11, No morning meeting
Wednesday, October 11, 6:30 p.m. Reverse Raffle/Silent Auction at Guys Party Center
Wednesday, October 11, Bulldog Bag items due.
Friday, October 13, 7:15 a.m. Board meeting at City Hall
Tuesday, December 12, Helping Hands Wrapping Party in the evening at City Hall
Saturday, May 11, 2024 Heroes Day
Friday, June 14, Golf Outing at Fox Den
Submitted by Andy Denton