NOTES FROM MEETING OF NOVEMBER 2, 2022
Announcements
We will be providing and serving a Thanksgiving Dinner for the senior citizens of South Berwick who sign up at the Community Center. This will take place on November 21st. Rotarians will be setting up the food and serving to the approximately 90 seniors who will be coming. Then there will be clean-up. This valuable volunteering opportunity will start around 10:30 a.m. on that Monday and the clean-up is usually complete by around 2 p.m. Official sign-up will take place at the next club meeting on Thursday morning.
The Marshwood Interact Club's trick or treating for cans on Halloween was attended by around 26 Interact-ers who filled up Skip Cousens' pick-up truck with food collected for the South Berwick Food Pantry. Nice job, everyone, and thank you, Skip, for for the pick-up and delivery of the goodies.
We are tentatively working on having our next Geography Quiz night on the last Friday in March. Skip Cousens is checking on whether that works for the Great Works School, the venue of this event.
We are excited about a prospective new member, Jocelyn Gregg, sponsored by Deb DeColfmacker.
NEXT THURSDAY'S MEETING WILL BE A GOOD ONE: AMY MILLER WILL BE REPORTING ON THE LIFE AND HOPE SCHOOL AND THEIR ACTIVITIES IN MILOT, HAITI, AND WILL ENLIGHTEN US ABOUT THE CONDITIONS IN THAT POLITICALLY TROUBLED COUNTRY. IT SHOULD BE A FASCINATING PRESENTATION.
At Thursday's meeting we will be welcoming a couple of Marshwood High School students, one who attended RYLA this summer and one who is a member of Interact. Please plan to give them a friendly greeting when you see them there.
Program of the Day (as summarized by Amy Miller)
Denise Clavette, South Berwick's new economic development director, spoke to the South Berwick - Eliot Rotary Club this week.
Denise, who started this position on September 12, came from a job as economic development director for the city of Saco, where she worked since June 2018. In that role she helped revise the zoning ordinance and update the comprehensive plan, goals she has in South Berwick.
At the club meeting, Denise spoke mainly about the creation of TIFs – or tax increment financing districts – and the use of funds that come from TIFs. Currently South Berwick has only one such district in the Punkin Town area across the high school. These districts allow towns to keep the funds that come from new taxes rather than send a large portion of the funds for county and state taxes, as she explained it. A slide show Denise put together summarized many of the ways the TIF funds could be used.
Hired in a unanimous vote of the town council, Denise has a salary supported by the Punkin Town TIF. During the club meeting she reviewed some of the projects she has in mind for South Berwick, including a market analysis of the town, a traffic study and several infrastructure projects. The need for more broadband is also on her radar.
She is looking to bring in more businesses and to invite developers to the table to help “diversify” the tax base, she said. She agreed that the employment situation has shifted with more people working at home, expanding the need for broadband. We welcome Denise to South Berwick and wish her well in her new role in the town.