MEMBERS ATTENDING (14): Becky Raymond, Ron Annis, Dick Drumm, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Kevin Leyhane, Jim Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Andy Leyhane, Murray Forth, Debbie Rodriguez, Pat Bailey, Terry Brewer and Phil Kellerman.

GUESTS (2): Cathleen Peter and Charles Peter, Schodack Town Supervisor.

President Kevin Leyhane called the meeting to order.

Theme for the Year: “Growing Fellowship and Service Locally and Globally.” 

Hybrid Meeting:  Please let Kevin Leyhane, Jim Leyhane or Roberto Martinez know if you plan to join the weekly meeting via Zoom.

Proxy Votes:  If unable to attend please submit your proxy votes to President Kevin Leyhane or any board member who will be attending the meeting. Proxy votes can also be submitted using the Remind App. Text to the number 81010.

MEETING NOTES

Rotary Bowling Event:  On April 18th, Phil Kellerman, Jim Leyhane, Roberto Martinez and Ray Hannan attended the student assembly at Mapil Hill Junior/Senior High School. Phil Kellerman presented a check for $544 to the students of Maple Hill Junior/Senior High School for the Iron Giraffe, Water for South Sudan Project. The funds were raised at the recent Rotary bowling event. Jim promoted the Student Exchange Program. Phil said that the student response was enthusiastic.

Website: We are still updating club information on MYRotary (International), ClubRunner (District), SRCRotary.org.  Our information is posted in numerous places. Kevin Leyhane is also updating information on our social media.

Scholarships: Terry Brewer sent out the letters to the Maple Hill, East Greenbush and Rensselaer School Districts for their nomination for scholarships. Both Maple Hill and East Greenbush have responded and will send in their nominations. Terry will follow up with the Rensselaer School District. Nominations are due by May 31st. The student recipients are invited to attend the Club meeting on June 8th to receive their scholarships.

Albany Water Project Video Presentation: Per Kevin Leyhane, the presentation video was transferred to Len Tantillo. It may be posted on the Slater website. Kevin will also post the video on the SRC Rotary website.

Student Exchange Program: Peter Brown and Jim Leyhane sent a letter to Jeff Simon, Superintendent of the East Greenbush Central School District. They have not yet received a response. A student from Maple Hill is still interested in a summer exchange in Australia.

Gift of Life: The District Rotary is once again offering the barrow of booze raffle. See Jim Leyhane for tickets. Tickets are $20 for one and two for $30. The drawing will be held live on Facebook on May 26th. Proceeds will go to the Gift of Life.

Dues: A reminder from our Treasurer, Murray Forth, that our yearly membership dues of $175 should be paid by June 1st or you can opt to make two payments of $87.50 each. Members will not receive a bill.

Summer Programs: The change over meeting will be held on July 6th at Peter and Debbie Brown’s house.

New Member: Burke Adams was voted in as a new member.

Rotary Sign: The Rotary sign that used to be at Quigleys cannot be located.

Fundraising: Beth Kissinger and Jimmy Thomas from the Glenville Rotary club are hosting an IN PERSON meeting to discuss fundraising ideas after a very successful start to a club project titled the Doggie Paddle over the last six months (or so.) The goal is to share ideas, suggestions and mentorship.  Everyone is welcome to attend and bring a friend. 

Rotarians, community members, service groups and interested parties are invited for a group discussion on topics such as:

• How to institute a new project
• Identifying fundraising ideas that are new and innovative
• Obtaining community involvement for project help
• Attracting media attention for projects/good works
• Attracting helpers and volunteers
• Identification of opportunities for collaboration
• Managing expectations
• Identifying mentors/helpers/supporters

Next Meeting: Thursday, April 27, dinner at 6:00 pm at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant, Route 4, North Greenbush. Also, you can join the by Zoom using the link on the websites calendar page. Denise DiNoto, District Govenor will be our speaker.

Entree choices will be Chicken Caesar Salid, Chicken Florentine and Portobello Ravioli.

Charles Peter, Schodack Town Supervisor grew up in Schodack. The family farm was established in 1912. He has also served as a member of the County Legislature and the local school board.

Schodack has approximately 13,000 residents and encompasses 63 square miles. The Town has a Highway and Police Department and contracts for Ambulance services. There are numerous infrastructure projects currently underway in the Town that will ultimately assist in future development. Sewer and water lines will be extended from the Amazon warehouse down Route 9 to the county line. Sewer services will be extended along Maple Hill Road to the Castleton sewer facility. The Town is also working with East Greenbush to fix bottlenecks in the sewer systems.

The Town has also become a place for family events. The annual Easter Egg Hunt had several hundres participants this year. The Town also hosts Music in the Part which had expanded from four to seven nights. New this year is Movies in the Park.

The Town is also developing recreational access in the park. Mr. Peter visited the Town of Wilton. He would like to install a splash pad in the park. He also looked in the National Fitness Campaign which had some grant funding for installing fitness equipment. However, the Viking Gym proposal from Rotary, Top Form and the Kiwanis Club is more cost effective. Space has been set aside in the park for the gym. The Town is ready to move ahead with the project and purchase equipment. There is also land behind the Town Hall that was donated to the Town of Schodack by Dick Drumm. Future development there may include a dog park and splash pad. The Moordener Kill has two waterfalls and can be developed into a nature preserve and park with hiking trails. The majority of the miles of the Albany-Hudson Electric Trail are located in Schodack. The Rensselaer County Land Trust operates the part of the trail that runs through Schodack. The Town Park Supervisor position has been expanded from a part-time to a full-time position.

There is a General Environmental Impact Study (GEIS) being done for business along Route 9. The Amazon Warehouse has had a positive impact on local business such as restaurants and stores. There has been an increase in emergency services calls, but Amazon has paid for those services. The building development on Route 150 and Route 9 currently lists Amazon as the future tenant. The DMV satellite office had moved out of the Town Hall freeing up space in the basement and second floor. Rotary members suggested that the space be used for a food panty or a youth center.