President Arnie Biondo welcomed everyone to the Centerville Rotary Club and led the Pledge of Allegiance. PDG Sivaji Subramaniam provided the prayer.

 

President Biondo shared these announcements:

Brian Hayes announced he will be passing out awards for the previous Rotary year at the Club Assembly next week.

 

Kim Senft-Paras announced the Membership Committee is working to redo the website application, working on updating the brochure and making website updates. Committee members include Dan Johnson, Scott Kujawa, and Kim. Please send ideas to Kim.

 

Crissy Allums gave an update on Operation Warm: $5,418 raised so far which would buy 246 coats. The cost went up to $22 per coat and Ginger Clark is spearheading the project again this year. Last year we were able to purchase 636 coats and would like to exceed that this year.

 

Adam Manning announced the Pancake Committee decided we needed to raise the ticket price from $6 to $8 this year due to increases in costs to put on the event.

 

President Biondo reminded everyone of the social on Tuesday August 30, 2022 from 5:30 till 7:30 at Sueño,  607 East 3rd street, Dayton. We can't wait to see you and please bring a friend that might be interested in becoming a member! We will have a little wine tasting and there will be some dips and chips to snack on. If you like to order a more substantial meal for yourself, you are welcome to do so of course, at your own expense. Please let Sofie know if you can attend and how many others you will be bringing. Jeff Senney added we have at least 30 people coming so far.

 

Another Social Committee Announcement:

On Wednesday, Sept 28th, Lock 27 Brewery in Centerville - Centerville Rotary. Trivia starts at 6:30 pm and concludes at 8:30 pm. Lock27 and their trivia host are partnering with us for a social, fun-raiser. Please join us to support a local business, bring a friend / would be member. The event will be monetized to support "Project Warm" - 50/50, raffle, etc. Lock27 will co-promote the event starting first week of Sept. Great opportunity for club and charity visibility.

 

 

PDG Harvey Smith along with sponsor Dan Johnson inducted new member Chris Norman. Chris shared he has 5 kids and 2 grandkids, with one on way next month. He has been a corporate giving officer for 40 years. Welcome to the Club, Chris!

 

Adam Manning shared a video: the Top 5 Rotary Myths Exposed. You can view it HERE.

 

 

Pat Beckel was our Sergeant at Arms this week and he said Bill Serr is a great community advocate and he hope he decides to join our club. He reminded all to give whatever you can, when you want to - that Happy Bucks are not a requirement but a time to learn more about our members.

 

Rotarians Happy Bucks this week included:

 

 

Dale Berry introduced our speaker today, Jesse Lightle. When the state was first formed, it was divided into 1,038 Townships. Washington Township is the second largest Township in the state. We are fortunate to have an incorporated area located within the Township - the City of Centerville. Dale was elected as a Township Trustee 14 years ago and Jesse Lytle came to be the Township Administrator 16 years ago, with prior experience at the cities of Clayton and Centerville.

 

 

Jesse share that currently Sharon Lowry is President, Dale Berry is Vice President, Scott Paulson is Trustee, and Gary Smiga is Fiscal officer. Their mission is to provide for and promote the general health, safety and welfare of township residents and employees as we create an environment focused on building for the future.

 

Development Services continue to address the needs as we have seen an increased population since 2000. Washington Township is just behind West Chester Township, which has the largest population.

 

The Public Works Department had a 5-year renewal levy approved in the spring. They are paving 37 streets this summer and will spend $1.3 million on curb program. She noted there was a ribbon cutting yesterday at the new roundabout and they haven’t had a traffic accident there yet! This is the first roundabout in Montgomery County, but they are very common in other communities. There is a video showing how to navigate it. It allows you to get through much faster and safer. ROUNDABOUT

 

 

Cruise-In to the Ice Cream Social - over 4,000 people attended even with the rain off and on. It was the second year and a great event that combines the traditional ice cream social with classic cars. Woodland Lights is coming up and Jesse gave thanks to Rotary for the $2,000 donation to put in a ramp at Santa’s cabin.

 

 

RecPlex is completing a park master plan and they have received over $400,000 in grant money for Bass Lake area renovations to install a new accessible ramp and observation deck to encourage kayaking.

 

Town Hall Theatre Adopt a Seat program is still available where you can have your name placed on a seat. The Noon Optimist gave $20,000 to reserve the first two rows - they don’t sell those seats but use them to move kids closer to watch the shows.

 

Unfortunately they did not receive any bids for the Fitness Center renovations and will have to re-bid. The project is estimated at just under $1 million to spread out fitness equipment and accommodate more people while maintaining safe distance.

 

The Fire Department received an award as the Ohio Fire Dept of the Year for State of Ohio, and also Chief Kujawa earned an international award for his encouragement of professional development. Washington Township has the most credentialed officers, largely due to Chief Kujawa’s efforts.

 

 

They are working on relocation of the fire station on Maple Ave to the new property beside the high school. Ground breaking on the $7 million station was in July. It will include 4 bays and provide better response times being located on a main thoroughfare.

 

 

Sheriff’s Department substation and school resource officers recently provided Run, Fight, Hide and Stop the Bleed trainings for school personnel. Max, the new canine deputy, is in schools and also doing police work. Sheriff’s trailer is taken to community events -  has grills and fun community engagement activities..

 

There are no plans yet on what to do with the old Maple Ave facility once the new station is finished, but it will probably be used for storage in the future. Have reserve apparatus that needs to be stored somewhere.

 

The majority of the American Rescue Act Funds are being used for revenue replacement at RecPlex.

 

President Biondo thanked Jesse Lightle for the great update, led the group in reciting the Rotary Four-Way Test, and wished everyone a great week.

 

 

  

 

The new laser engraved bricks have been purchased for our 50th Anniversary project at Grant Park and are now in storage ready for installation at the proper time.

 

If you haven’t visited Grant Park this summer, it’s not too late to enjoy the beauty of the pollinator area our Club seeded in the spring. Go for a hike today!