September 26, 2011
Jim Hunter led the pledge of allegiance and Gary Todoroff gave the invocation beginning with a tribute to Daniel Boone followed by a fine prayer.
Guests of Rotarians
Bill McAuley introduced Sharon Pierson, wife and guest of our club President.
Heidi Moore-Guynup was the guest of John Bartholemew; Heidi is with the Decade of Difference Initiative. Jim Howard had three guests: Andrew Caldwell, Anita Hall and Elizah Sherry. Sue Bosch had a guest, Debbie Provolt.
Visiting Rotarians
Jim Seiler (Fortuna) Kathy Miller (Southwest), Kathy Phelp (Fortuna) and Ryan Sundberg (Mad River, McKinleyville).
Exchange Students
Once again, we welcomed Tonje Sorum from Norway and Marina Ferreira Rocha Campos from Brazil. Marina is willing to work for pay: she can baby sit, walk the dogs or pet sit. If you need her contact her at Marinafr_campos@hotmail.com, or call 498-1197 or 444-9313. If you plan to do something fun they might like to tag along with you!
Birthdays
Matthew Owen (20th),Sid Anderson (27th), Dan Heinen (29th) were recognized, and Stacy Lane (23rd) got fined $10 for not sitting at the front on her birthday week.
Anniversaries
None.
Announcements
Dave Hall announced that he is no longer with the Humboldt Bay Harbor District, but thanked us for the amazing support for the harbor and all that was accomplished during his 15 years of tenure.
Past President Bert Campton announced applications for the Sign Smith scholarships; they are due by September 30th. No grace, says Bert.
Fall Event:
Greg Seiler reminded us of the Backpack for Kids Buddy Night… TOMORROW NIGHT!
Where: Cher-Ae Heights Casino, Trinidad
When: Tuesday, September 27, 2011, 5:30-9:30pm.
What: Prime Rib dinner with all the trimmings for $30.00 per person.
All proceeds benefit the Backpacks For Kids Program, a weekend nutrition program for local elementary school children.
To reserve tickets call 269 4335 or 845 9489
Pat Folkins said our Foundation Dinner will be October 15th. This would be a good opportunity to contribute to your Paul Harris Fellowship. Tickets are five for a hundred dollars. Tickets are available online at District 5130 website. Buy them there, but if there is a problem, contact Pat.
Greg Foster introduced Kathy Miller from the Humboldt County Office of Education Economic Fuel program. She greeted the club with enthusiasm, describing YEP, (Youth Entrepreneurship Program), which is a new program in our county. Do what you love, follow you passion and make a living at it, she proclaimed as the motto for the program. The inflatable “sausages” (for want of a better description) were impromptu-auctioned off to Rick Littlefield for $25.
A $400 dollar check was presented to Victor Zazueta for the Humboldt County Library by President Greg. Victor said they now have e-books and overdrive books available, and last year the library circulated 690,000 items. Even though support for the library is declining due to loss of property taxes, the trend is toward electronic books and media.
Recognitions
John McBeth and Will Kay recently traveled to Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama where they attended a National Security Forum. Gary Todoroff, Bill McAuley and Ron Pierre were also asked to stand, and got fined $10 for having previously attended the National Security Forum. Ron got tagged five more dollars for being ‘special.’
Carolyn Crnich is on a panel for Humboldt Election Transparency project; she was recognized for producing a fine example of fair elections, receiving recognition from MIT. Her theme is “Don’t trust me.” We were encouraged to think about it. Since it was her big birthday she bought a Rotary tape measure for $145.
Raffle ticket winners
John Harper & Stacy Lane
Program
Our speaker, Kirk Girard, is the current Community Development Services Director. Kirk previously worked for SHN Engineering, after obtaining an engineering degree at HSU. He is a licensed civil engineer. Kirk became Planning Director in 1997 and lives in Bayside with his wife and children. He thanked us for having him for lunch and hoped it was literal and not symbolic.
Kirk said there is a part of what he does that is seldom recognized, it is the regulatory part of the job. Clear up the backlog of projects, get the planning department and other regulatory agencies to talk and cooperate was his initial charge…and still is. Every project has people on both sides of the equation and therefore it is challenging to meet everybody’s needs. The Board has land use responsibilities. Gregg Foster was fined $25 dollars for disrupting the meeting with his phone (which he claimed he was turning off). Much of our tax dollars used to stay here, said Mr. Girard, and now they go away to Sacramento; grants are one way to get the money back. We have partnered with a large number of people in this community, Girard said, and $92 million dollars was retrieved from the federal government for economic development in Humboldt. The Headwaters fund has worked wonders in the county, according to Girard, and has over 18 million dollars in it, with12 million in the county already invested.
How do we stimulate our economy in terms of growth, housing, and infrastructure? Disparate views within the county present big challenges. The Planning Commission is about 2½ chapters away from the completion of the new plan, and in that process Girard said that policies, process and people need to be kept in balance—which he admitted is not easy and takes a toll on many including himself. Communication and facilitating everybody’s participation is a great challenge that Girard hopes the current Planning Commission will keep in mind.
During the question and answer time, Girard was asked if we are seeing too much urban planning for a rural county? He responded that when marijuana cultivation wanes, the timber and agriculture industries will need to keep our economy going. Timber harvests are very costly for all Californians. Can our planning commission help timber harvest planning be expedited? He seemed to think not. Girard was also asked by a local politician about the Headwaters fund conflict of interest with the Planning Commission? Is the Headwaters Fund actually creating jobs?
A book was donated to the library on Mr. Girard’s behalf, titled Frog Heaven.
Respectfully Submitted,
Dan Price
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