Pledge, Prayer, 4-Way Test: President Alan Schwarz
Card Game Winner: Charlie R
Raffle Winners: Charlie R, Jan, Kathy L
Happy Bucks: PZ for the nice day; AS for the nice day; CN happy to talk buses; MD for the UCONN Huskies (Men and Women); GM for our speaker; KL for the beautiful day; KC for the beautiful sunrise; CR for our speaker; KC for sitting with Charlie; GM for the nice day; JA for the nice day
Program: Charlie Norz, a member of the board of the Estuary Transit talked about bus service in the shoreline.
We've all seen the green buses with the 9 Town logo. Started in 1981 by selectman from 9 area towns, the buses provide a needed transportation service in our area. 3 years ago, the Estuary Transit District (EDT) merged with the DOT in Middletown which at the time service large cities. The goal was to improve service and reduce cost. There was a study done and it was decided to make Middletown the operations center. The 9-town coalition disagreed saying they needed storage and maintenance, etc. to be closer by. The DOT agreed but finding land for a facility was a problem. Westbrook is a possible location which will include a small office.
The Middletown district consists of 3 towns, Middletown, Middlefield and Durham. After the merger July 1, 2022 the new name is River Valley Transit. The Centerbrook operations moved to Middletown. Each of the 9 towns has a board member, Charlie represents Old Saybrook. 3 were added from the Middletown district making the total 12 board members. Madison, Guilford, Portland and Cromwell have shown an interest in joining. There are 5 main routes the longest one being Madison to Old Saybrook with several stops in between. 4 of the routes involve Old Saybrook and it would be a goal to get the buses to rendezvous in OS thus increasing the service to people. There are other bus services including Extra Mile which is an on-call service. Summer services run Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Who uses the bus service? Mostly people in lower income brackets who cannot afford a car, seniors, students, and workers. Fares are currently covered by a federal program but that is ending soon. The fare will be $1.75. People must have exact change - drivers do not have cash. Support is provided by federal grants which pays for buses, fares cover 6-8% of operating expenses, towns pay a yealy fee (OS pays $33K, Middletown pays $400K). The balance is reimbursed by the DOT. There is a 4-step process to paying bills. A recent audit came up clean and the ETD is in good financial shape. Middletown drivers are unionized while shoreline drivers are not. Drivers are paid $20 -HR, keeping drivers can be challenging. For more information, go to estuarytransit.org/expansion
Member induction of Susan Beaudoin - welcome Susan!
Reports:
- Wine Tasting Report: Marty reports the final numbers aren't completed yet. There are a couple auction items not picked up and paid and 3 sponsors have not paid yet.
- Golf Tournament: Charlie Renshaw has been in touch with Fox Hopyard (Ron Beck, Pro) and we are moving ahead with them. They lowered the price for us to $170-$175.
- Shredding Day: John Aforismo had posters done and has started getting them out. The date is April 22 which is also Earth Day. Lawn signs will go out and members of the Interact Clubs will help.
- Next week's meeting is an evening social at Myrcenes Ale Co., the cost is $15 per Rotarian including their guests. Serving chicken, pasta, salad, cookies and more
- Day of Service: Kathy, Joan W and Nancy have been coordinating this which is May 20. Beach cleanups in Old Saybrook, Westbrook and Old Lyme are planned with participation from Interact kids.
- Alzheimers event: Susan Beaudoin reports that Monday April 3, free ice cream at Ben & Jerry's will be served by volunteer scoopers from 12-8pm. Ocean Beach in New London will be hosting an event Sept. 23.
Commodities Exchange: Gary reports that he has been told by First Selectman Carl Fortuna that they are very close to final plans so we should be seeing some action.
Please check the meeting schedule for upcoming meetings
