President Paul Grey brought the meeting to order with a somewhat casual ring of the bell at 12:30. In his opening remarks he talked about how joining together amplifies one’s ability to help others. He highlighted the thousands of grants provided by the Rotary International Foundation, Districts, and local Rotary clubs to local, national, and international projects. He noted that RCOB has been involved in several global/international as well as many district grants supporting our projects here and abroad.
President Paul lamented how the pandemic has altered many club members’ habit of attending meetings regularly. For carpooling a fellow Rotarian who is much loved, but who has been missing in action, President Paul applauded Marty Haines who brought Brian Griffin, the longest-serving member of our club and a lifelong friend of Marty’s. Both of them were warmly dressed in stylish but traditional sweaters, suitable for the frigid winds blowing outside.
Rather than music to start off the meeting, President Paul led us in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. That the attendees finished well ahead of the teleprompter demonstrated the pledge is still alive and well in our memory banks.
Happy happy Bucks
For Happy Bucks Hans Erchinger-Davis was happy to announce – for the first time at our RCOB meeting -- that the Lighthouse Mission had received the donation of the Willows Restaurant on Lummi Island. Public announcements of this important step in their campaign for a new facility will emerge over the next few days. Congratulations Hans et al. !!!! Thanks for letting us hear it first at RCOB in-person meeting!
Hot off the press! The Rotary Club of Bellingham is one of several local service Clubs highlighted in this article. Although Service Club numbers are on the decline, there is a lot of work to be done and we are making changes to serve our community better.
Dick Tucker encouraged everyone to sign up for bell ringing on Dec 10. He said that he was still short 7 bell ringers. One time slot has no one signed up, giving a perfect opportunity for one of us to bring a friend to ring with us. Dick noted for members who regret that bell ringing happens only once a year, that they are free to sign up for more than one timeslot, on a space available basis of course.
Shawna Naf said that there were 8 people who were part of the wreath-making at The Garden Spot, including one person who brought three friends.
Ward Naf reminded us that there would be a work party this Saturday from 9-noon at north Cornwall Park to help the city clear out blackberries and noxious weeds. Contact Ward if you are planning to attend.
Because neither Andy Day nor Sara Maloney were able to attend today’s meeting, President Paul reminded us that tomorrow is Giving Tuesday and encouraged us to give generously to this year’s Major Project Fund for the Whatcom Early Learning Center.
Up Coming Events - Additional information and registration is available in Events on the bellinghamrotary.org website
December 3, 2022: NSEA (Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association) Work Party
12/5/2022 Blackened Chicken Breast, Sweet Corn, Roasted Baby Potatoes, Garden Salad, Fruit Tray and Beverage
12/12/2022 Beef Stroganoff with Noodle, Steamed Vegetable Melody, Fruit Tray Garden Salad and Beverage
12/19/2022 Meatloat, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, peas and carrots, Garden Salas, Fruit Tray and Beverage
WE MOVED TO THE SYRE STUDENT CENTER - SYRE THEATER AT WHATCOM COMMUNITY COLLEGE. HERE ARE THE DIRECTIONS.
The buildings address is 235 W Kellogg Rd. But this is not where you park. There is no parking off of Kellogg Road. You must enter parking off either Eliza Ave or Cordata Parkway. You are looking for the YELLOW lot (look on light poles for Y2 or Y3).
Enter from Eliza Ave: the driveway between Kellogg Rd and Westerly Rd has a driveway into the campus, follow that about 200 yards until it slopes down, park in the area between the three buildings.
Enter from Cordata Parkway: Just north of the WTA station and Cruisin Coffee before the round about is Orca Lane, take Orca Lane around the first two buildings until you find a large parking lot between three buildings.
You will still receive an email from Sandee each week prior to the Monday 12:30 meeting if you are unable to attend in person (you can start logging in at 12:00 for short socializing) with the link for that privacy-protected meeting. If you have n done so, please download the Zoom app on your computer (you need a camera and microphone on it), iPad or phone. There is no cost to you. If you cannot do either, you can also call in. On the invitation, there are US phone numbers you can call and enter the meeting ID number also indicated on the invitation.
Lunch will be $22 for a buffet meal. We must notify them by Monday at NOON the week prior to the Monday meeting as to the number of members attending. We are sending out meeting "Invites" weekly and members are asked to sign-up ASAP. You can also sign-up by going to the event section of our website at bellinghamrotary.org. If you sign up for a meal at the meeting, you will need to pay the $22 even if you don't wind up attending the meeting after the numbers are turned in. If you plan to attend but not eat, PLEASE indicate that on your sign-up so we don't overorder meals and still make sure there is enough seating.
The Club will collect payments prior to the meeting or at the door.
We urge members of the RCOB to set up a Venmo account for ease in payment of Meeting lunches, Happy Bucks, Minister of Fun, Dues or donations to the club. Our account is @RCOB- Bellingham. If you do not have a Venmo account you can set up an account with your computer then download the app. on your phone (just Google "Venmo" and you will find all the information you need) You then attach it to a debit or credit card (a fee on your end) or attach to your checking account at no cost. Payment will be sent di ctly to the RCOB checking account. When you use it for the first time it may ask you the last 4 digits of the RCOB phone number which is 0282. Give Sandee a call if you need help. 360-734-5532
Other payment options are to bring a check in the correct amount to the meeting made out to RCOB or cash in the exact amount to speed up the payment process. There is also the PayPal option as usual and we are set to take payments at the meeting. We have a QR Code that you scan and simply click to pay thru paypal also.
Website and Phone App instructions:
Here is a tutorial on how to login for the first time. (Click here) Go to belling mrotary.org first. In order to login you need t know your user name and password in your Clubrunner account. The user name is Your first name.Lastname.264 unless you have changed it. Example: Sandra.Lindhout.264 the password is initially set by Clubrunner at 264 unless you have changed it. Sandee can see your Username from her computer but not the password. She can also change your password for you from her computer at your request if you run into problems.
Once you have originally created your User Name and Password you can download the ClubRunner Mobile app on your phone:
Please contact Sandee at 360-734-5532 or rcob@comcast.net if you run into any trouble.
Guests
Ward Naf introduced Tim Douglas, former Mayor.
Steve Ban introduced our speaker Blake Lyons with COB Planning and Community Director of Bellingham
Members attending on Zoom: Loch Trimingham, Paula McCandlis, Mark Knittel, Roland Trenouth and Monty McAllister
Other Zoom visitors were our Arizona guests, former members Chuck Snyder and Gary Goldfogel
Presentations:
Paul Harris Award
Former president, Bob Morse, wearing a to-die-for ultramarine blue sweater, was presented his 7th Paul Harris Fellowship pin by President Paul.
New Member Talk
Jennifer Dowd, director of Explorations Academy, gave her new member talk. Because her mother was Mexican and her father Irish and Swedish, she saw first hand how different the educational quality was for her Hispanic cousins and how that affected their life course. That fueled her desire to bring quality education to everyone. She has cultivated a life-long love of nature, starting with a shimmering beetle in her backyard. She also loves music, particularly playing the flute, and majored in Music Education at the University of Michigan.
Her first job was teaching music in Chicago’s tough South Side. Since she was interested in broadening her educational efforts to include her love of nature, she took a year off to learn about ecology with hands-on experience at the Ecology Center in NJ. She developed her ideas into what were later adopted as best practices. This led to a career of consulting with schools throughout the US and eventually, through the UN, to schools around the world. She decided it was time to test her ideas in practice which led her to Bellingham and accepting the position of Head of School at the Explorations Academy.
Program:
Steve Ban introduced today’s speaker, Blake Lyon, City of Bellingham’s Director of Planning and Community Development. He has had an extensive career in urban planning in the United States. He arrived in Bellingham in March 2022, an auspicious time given the city was developing plans for addressing our chronic housing shortage. He noted that the city had adopted three principles for managing growth: 1) developing urban villages, 2) promoting economic development and 3) preserving open areas for wildlife, recreation and protecting sensitive areas. There are also four additional considerations: 1) public safety, 2) creating affordable housing for middle-income and low-income residents, 3) equity and inclusion and 4) the city’s ecological goals. He pointed out that 70% of Bellingham was zoned for single-family dwellings but that less than 40% of Bellingham residents can afford to buy a home in today’s market. The median family income in Bellingham is $97,300 but an income of $154,000 is needed to buy a median single-family home. The gap points to the acute need to evaluate and potentially pursue alternatives to traditional situation single-family homes, using the tools the city has available (zoning, taxes and fees, incentives, land supply, permitting processes, regulatory frameworks, funding).
He showed a map and described how the city has designated seven urban village areas: Barkley Village, the Fountain, Old Town, Downtown, Waterfront, Fairhaven and Samish Way Districts. About 40% of all new housing has been established in these districts.
After Blake concluded his remarks, there were spirited questions from our members who have observed/been directly impacted by some of the actions the City has taken or are implied by the plans. Since it generated so much interest in our members and is so critical to our futures President Paul suggested that we have a follow-up program at some point.
Closing:
President Paul closed the meeting at 1:30 by thanking those who contributed to the meeting.
Because time was running out, Minister of Fun and the announcement of football pool winners were postponed until next meeting.
