THE SENIOR MEN'S CLUB OF NEW CANAAN
Minutes of the Regular Meeting of March 8, 2002
President Lee Hindenach opened the meeting on a spring like morning with 148 members present. Current membership is 500 with 45 on the waiting list.
Announcement$: Dick Depatie reported that Bill Sheridan is recovering from open heart surgery. Also, Marvin Newman had hip replacement surgery. Lee informed members that referendum voting will be held on March 15, at NCHS, from noon to 8pm. The League of Woman Voter's will address Election Reform, on March 18, at 10am in the Carriage Barn. Charlie Morris softly informed us of the formula used to arrive at the cost of the SMC 25th Anniversary and Gala luncheon. By adding $10 to the 25th anniversary, yields a grand total of $35! Well done Charlie! Please note that the last SMC meeting at the YMCA will be March 22nd. Beginning on April 5th, the venue will be in Morrill Hall at St. Marks Church. There will be no meeting on Good Friday .
Activities: Bowlers convene at 1230 today. In spite of disappearing cards and
one deck up each sleeve, Walt Hoffman declared nothing will hold back the bridge players. Paddle tennis M/T/TH, 9-11am, in Waveny. Bob Witt inferred a correlation between an increase in the number of paddle participants and a rise in temperature. Bob Moylan shyly chimed in, and announced that the first golf outing is planned for the end of May at NCCC, with a possible warm-up earlier in May. Racquetballers, where are you? Pete Luke promised he will announce the location of the March 4F luncheon next week. Paul Strassmann for Trailblazers, succinctly informed us of hikes scheduled for March 13, to the old Berkshire RR, on March 27, to Huntington State Park. A hike to the Brooklyn Bridge is planned on May 1 st.
Couth: April 23-25 is the trip to Washington, DC. On May 14th the venue will be the Bronx Zoo with lunch at Mario's on Arthur Avenue. Member's interested in attending the West Point football game on Nov. 9th, please sign up ASAP.
Acting Resident Humorist: Peter Stair met the challenge by informing the members that booze, woman and trickery can lead to a disastrous predicament.
SPEAKER
VP Ron Seger introduced guest speaker Harry P. Harris, Bureau Chief, CT. DOT. Harry began by stating that traffic congestion in CT. is "augean." CT. cannot keep up with the annual growth in traffic. In the past, transportation in CT was developed without regard to where the future centers of need would be. Transportation funding comes mainly from taxes on motor fuel and DMV receipts, as well as
Federal funds which are expected to be flat in the future. No state sales or income taxes fund transportation. In 2002, total transportation funding is estimated to be $844M, with 47% going for debt and 37% for DOT. In 2002 DOT expenditures will be 37% for highways and 47% for public transportation. Public roads handle 97% of traffic, while 3% is handled by public transportation. The New Haven Line with
35 stations, 33M annual trips, and 258 weekday trains, is the single busiest rail line in the USA, and has a loss of $2.05 per rider. Major capital improvements are needed. Buses carry 38M passengers annually with a deficit of $1.84 per rider. Expenses which are growing faster than inflation are impacting the operating budget. Harry summarized by saying, to meet CT's future needs, $1.28 are required. Therefore, significant new and innovative sources of funds must be found and made available to the DOT. TSB website is: "www.tsb.state.ct.us".
Stan Stanziale, Assistant Secretary