Meeting |
|
Report |
Meeting |
|
Report |
August 8, 2000 |
| Click here for photos of this Meeting | |
| Pam Syfert,
City Manager, introduced our guest speaker, Ron Tober, the Chief
Executive of the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS). Tober came to Charlotte after
serving as Director of the Cleveland Regional Transit Authority and his role here will be
to implement the 2025 Integrated Transit and Lane Use Plan. Tober also previously served
in public transit in Seattle and Boston, as well as in the private sector. He received a
BS degree from Cornell University and an MS from Case Western University. He serves as
Vice Chairman of the American Public Transit Association, a highly regarded association of
public transit experts. Tober said the 2025 plan calls for concentrating development along five major corridors and within key centers of economic activity in those corridors. The Plan proposes a rapid transit system as a means of supporting land use initiatives. Current development policies make transit and land use planning difficult by scattering office development and higher density housing throughout the county. The land use portion of the 2025 plan plays a critical role in developing a successful transit system. Key changes proposed in land use patterns are as follows: The 2025 Transit/Land Use Plan will be implemented in phases to ensure initial benefits without exceeding available funding. The hope is to avoid the Atlanta-type traffic problems by concentrating more intense development along transit corridors. There is substantial support from business leaders, elected officials, and neighborhoods for the 2025 Plan. It is being funded by a 1/2% sales tax increase, approved by the public in 1998, which has been collected since May 1999. It generates approximately $52 million per year and should grow as Charlotte grows. The 2025 Plan is flexible so that different solutions can be used in different corridors depending on what seems to work best in that corridor and what infrastructure is available. Thus far, a Major Investment Study (MIS) has been completed for the south corridor and preliminary engineering work has begun. This is roughly an 11-mile stretch from downtown to Pineville. Once plans are more fully developed and cost is better determined, a decision will be made as to financial feasibility. Preliminary expectations for this 11-mile corridor are for a cost of $330 million. Major Investment Studies have also begun for the north, northeast, southeast, and west corridors. It is hoped that the south corridor plan can be put in service by 2005. Until then, buses must function as our muss transit solution. Accordingly, our bus system will be totally restructured with new equipment, schedules, colors, and services. Tober has approximately 650 people currency involved in mass transit planning (including all consultants) and it is expected that as many as 2000 people could be involved in 10 to 15 years as we go through the process of designing, building, and operating a public transit system. Tober offered the following in response to questions:
President Don opened the meeting by welcoming all and recognized Pete DeWitt for introduction of guests. John Lassiter gave the Health and Happiness report, Don Sanders led us in song, and Leroy Mayne delivered a thoughtful invocation. President Don challenged us all to be sustaining members of the Rotary Foundation on our way to becoming Paul Harris Fellows. He will continue to challenge all of us on this. Peggy Wesp told us about a trip to Prance to the wine country that has been put together by the Charlotte South Club. There are a few spots available for the October 18-28 trip. The head table consisted of Winn Maddrey, Jim Appleby, Harry Weatherly, and William Rikard, in addition to those participating in the program. * * * |
New Member 
ROBERT THOMAS ALEXY
2000 Air Conditioning & Heating
Robert T. Alexy is the District Manager for Trane Systems, Sales and Service, which is the Charlotte office of The Trane Company, a division of American Standard Companies, which specializes in air conditioning equipment, service, and controls. Bob was born in Cleveland, Ohio, went to college in Massachusetts, and moved south after college. He began his career in Atlanta, Georgia. While in Georgia, Bob became very involved in community and professional organizations. His civic involvement ranged from president of his homeowners' association, to soccer and basketball coach for his children's teams, to ushering for his church, to campaigning for his local government. On the professional side, Bob grew, along with Atlanta, moving from sales engineer to sales manager, to divisional vice-president. At the same time he served on the board of ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers). Bob served as president of the Atlanta Chapter in 1988. For most of the 90s, Bob was the Regional Manager for Trane, responsible for all the offices from Washington, D.C., to Halifax, Nova Scotia. In July of 1999, Trane selected Bob to manage their Charlotte office, after John Layne sold his business to Trane in the preceding month. John Layne is sponsoring Bob. Bob is from a family of nine children, which makes for very challenging family reunions. Bob likes to play golf, tennis, and basketball, and is known to jump into a game of chess or cards. Bob and his wife have been married for more than 26 years. Joanne received her Masters degree in audiology from Emory University in Atlanta. Jill, the oldest daughter, is a senior at Duke; Brian is a sophomore at Georgia Tech in Atlanta; and Jenna, the youngest, is attending Holy Trinity middle school in Charlotte. Bob's family lives in South Charlotte. Welcome to Charlotte Rotary, Bob. * * * DID YOU KNOW? In 1928, The Rotary
Foundation gained further strength with the appointment of the first Trustees. In 1931,
they adopted a declaration of trust. The Foundation was incorporated in 1938. * * * |
| Click here for Archives or use Search menu bar for Photos and Reports of previous meetings |
Copyright © 1998 The Rotary Club of Charlotte. All
rights reserved.
Revised: January 24, 2008.
