THE SENIOR MEN'S CLUB OF NEW CANAAN
Minutes of the Regular Meeting of February 7, 2003
On a cold and very snowy Friday morning, 44 brave souls showed up at St Mark's for the SMCNC meeting. Although officially cancelled, Bob Shafter called for a vote and naturally those members present wanted some real action for their efforts. Mr. Shafter then called the meeting to order. For future reference it should be noted that WHEN THE NEW CANAAN SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED, THE SENIOR MEN'S CLUB MEETING AT ST. MARK'S WILL BE CANCELLED.
Announcements: Bob Moylan, sans tie and jacket substituted for Peter Schurman and read the minutes of the previous meeting. Dick DePatie announced that Jack Roorbach is recovering at Waveny. Chick Lyttle announced that dues are now really due and at the end of the month, a $5 surcharge will go into effect.
Activities: Six hearty souls actually made it to the 8:45 bridge lesson. Unfortunately their efforts were in vain since the Lapham Center. was closed and bridge therefore was cancelled. Bowling was absent, as was 4Fs. Paddle is still going strong and bridge will have another lesson next week at 8:45.
Couth: Ron Seger officially announced that the trip to the Museum of Moving Image is cancelled. 3/12 is Mama Mia, 4/24 is the trip to Hartford, and 5/8 is the journey up to Boston with one overnight.
Resident Humorist: After a few items of trivia, John Berg told a yarn about a dying Mother Superior who told her fellow nuns to be sure to keep their whiskey producing cow. After John's story, Ed Deadrick told a story about a traveling salesman whom while on the road, met a lady of the night who just loved the law profession.
Speaker: General Dana B. Demand was a no-show. Fortunately, town First Selectman Dick Bond was one of the brave 44 and came to the rescue. Dick, in an informal chat, informed us about what was going on in town and part of what it would cost. The asbestos removal in the high school will run about $700-800,000. The high school expansion project will cost about $54 million. Hopefully, $10 million of that will come from the state, but we must bear in mind that the state isn't exactly in such good shape these days. The town hall is in great need of modernization, EMS needs a building expansion, and the police, fire, and public works negotiations are soon coming up. The Lapham Center expansion is dead for the time being. One problem with all the town expenses is that the grand list is not increasing, therefore, income is down, so we could be looking at a 6% tax hike this next year. Now, aren't you glad the General didn't show up?
Eric Musa, Secretary