We welcomed visiting Rotarian Dan Maher. Dan is a former member of this club and a former club President as well. He now lives in Waxahatchie, TX where he is a member of the local Rotary club. Bob Homann brought Pastor Roger Thompson of Our Savior's Lutheran Church as a guest. Janine Solley, Economic Development Director for Apache Junction , was a guest of Bryant Powell. Norma Chase represented Frontier Ace Hardware again today.
Dan Maher and President Matt Ruppert exchanged club banners.
Sharon Stinard announced that the SOS committee will be going door-to-door soliciting support for an M & O Override proposal desperately needed by the AJ school district to continue to offer a first-class education for local students.
Jay Jones won the drawing and $10 but drew the queen of spades. The pot was worth $82.50.
Aaron McDermid served as Sargeant-at-Arms. He told us a great story about a guy substituting as a judge for a chili making contest. Sharon told us she just got through actually doing that at the Harley-Davidson store in AJ.
We had a speaker tag team today consisting of AJ City Manager Bryant Powell and AJ Economic Development head Janine Solley.
They spoke from a slide presentation titled "You Don't Know Apache Junction". Bryant emphasized that many good things are happening in AJ and we should keep those in mind and always try to talk about the city in a positive way. He and Janine then told us about some things going on.
Development south of U.S. 60
The state owns 12 sq. mi. of land south of AJ that is a prime location for housing development. It is bordered by U.S. 60 on the north, Meridian Rd. on the west, Elliot Rd. on the south and a N/S line one mile east of Mountain View Rd. on the east. The land has existing infra structure on part of it. Our new governor and new land commissioner may help get the land sold and developed.
Infrastructure Improvements
An 0.2% city sales tax is generating revenue for street and road improvements. To date, 2.5 0 million has been spent on road improvements with 10 million planned. The recent repaving and re-curbing of Apache Trail is a good example. Nine million will be raised for a new water treatment plant under construction that will give AJ its own water supply .
Downtown Area
The city has formed two redevelopment districts - the Crossroads RD and the Meridian RD. These are intended to promote development by making infrastructure improvements. Some improvements made or planned include better streets and sidewalks, better parking, median beautification, land exchanges and a new downtown city park. New businesses have moved into AJ such as Mountain Health and Wellness and the Harley Davidson dealership.
Public image
The city is promoting its new brand as a western community at the foot of the Superstition Mountains via a new website, new publications (such as the "Arizona Sate Visitors Guide") and outdoor billboards.
For a better look at what's planned for AJ, see "Downtown Redevelopment and Implementation Strategy" at www.ajcity.net/documentcenter/view/2664. It is an interesting read full of maps and photos.
Membership is very important to all Rotary clubs. Want to know how to increase membership? Let District 5500 show you how.
Rotary District 5500 is hosting its Membership Seminar from 8:15 a.m. – 3 p.m., on Saturday, Aug. 1, at the Highlands at Dove Mountain, 4949 W. Heritage Club Blvd., Marana, AZ. The fee for the event is $30 and includes a box lunch.
The facilitators for this event will be Rotary International Membership Specialists. The keynote speaker will District 5230 Governor 2012-13 Shirley Grace. Shirley is passionate about Rotary membership growth and engagement of Rotary members. Her passion is rooted in community and international humanitarian projects and also serving at the District and Zone level of Rotary. She currently serves as a member of the Zone 25-26 GETS Training Team and Membership Training Cadre as well as a Keynote speaker throughout the Zone's. She was selected to serve as her District's 2016 Council on Legislation Representative and will begin her service as District 5230 Rotary Foundation Chair in July 2015.
The event fee of $30 is may be paid at the door or in advance by sending a check made out to D5500 to Liz Cohn, 3018 N. Calle Ladera, Tucson 85715. Participants can register online at D5002015membershipseminar.eventbrite.com.
