Meeting |
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Report |
Meeting |
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Report |
May 21, 2002 |
| Click here for photos of this Meeting | |
| President Jim Woodward opened the meeting and
asked Pete deWitt to introduce our ten guests and three visiting Rotarians. This
was followed by the pledge. The song "I've Been Working on the Railroad" was
sung under the direction of Jeff Wise with back-up by Thomas Moore and
Chuck Lineberry. Next came the invocation by Suzanne Bledsoe. Don Haack was then asked to come forward to receive the Distinguished Rotarian Award. Don was selected by the board to receive this award for his outstanding contribution to our Club for 2002. Seated at the head table were Rob Thomas, Tom O'Brien, Mark Meetsma, Martin Godwin and Pam Syfert who introduced our speaker Ron Tober. Ron Tober has been Chief Executive Officer of the Charlotte Area Transit System since November 1999. In this position, he is responsible for the development and implementation of a regional public transportation system that will support Charlotte-Mecklenburg's plan to integrate land use and transit. Tober has 31 years' experience in the public transportation industry, having previously served as CEO of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority for 12 years and as Chief Operation Officer for transit systems in Seattle and Miami. He also held senior management positions at the MBTA in Boston and the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority in Springfield, MA. At APTA, Tober previously served as the American Public Transportation Association's Chair, First Vice Chair, Secretary-Treasurer and as Vice President-Management and Finance. Tober has received awards from COMTO and WIT and has been recognized for his public administration abilities by various organizations. Ron Tober said, "1 have the best transit job in the country. What makes it exciting is we are positively changing the way the community is developing. We are offering everyone multiple choices in transportation." Charlotte-Mecklenburg is the second fastest growing urban area in the 1990s. In 1994 we adopted the "Centers and Corridors Land Use Vision." This was followed in 1998 by the preparation of the "2025 Integrated Transit/Land Use Plan." In the same year, voters approved the '/2-percent sales tax to build a regional transit system. The following year the plan implementation began. "Even though the 2025 plan was adopted, it is evident that we have to move faster. By 2010, there will be service in three of the corridors and by 2020 the full rapid transit operation will be completed in all five corridors." "We currently operate 260 full-size buses and will expand to 800 by 2020. Along with the addition of vehicles will come expanded service. There will be new bus stop signs and shelters each with schedule information. Within the next two years we will add new transit "hubs" at 3-4 locations. Plans are currently underway to build a second bus garage." The South Corridor light rail project is the first to be addressed in the 2025 plan. There are only two projects nationally that have been identified by the federal government with as high a rating. The willingness of the citizens to accept a 1/2-percent sales tax brought federal funds to the project. Construction on the South Corridor light rail project should begin Fall 2003 with revenue operations by mid-2006. We have joined a purchasing alliance with Phoenix and Seattle to buy vehicles. This will hold down costs to a desirable level. The Metropolitan Transit Authority has begun studies on the other four corridors. We measure our success in several categories. It is our objective to make the appropriate land use connection and demonstrate to the community that we are making progress. We know we are succeeding if we can continue to attract both state and federal funding. Another major benchmark is our ability to contain costs and stay within budgets. Finally, user-friendly design should attract customers who will depend on our safe, efficient system. The floor was then opened to questions and comments from the floor. Ron was thanked for putting bike racks on buses. It was then noted that buses are now being used by our schools for transporting students on field trips. This was seen as an efficient way to utilize existing assets while exposing the next generation to public transportation. The question was then asked about plans for a central station. Ron said that plans for a major hub were being evaluated. The question was asked if it would be possible to partner with private enterprise to create appropriate shelters. Ron stated that plans to build 150 new bus shelters a year were in the budget along with improved signage and seating. The comment was made that our current buses were underutilized. Ron said that 28 percent of all seats were taken during a 20-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week schedule. He also stated that 26 percent of the cost of operating the system is coming from riders. * * * |
New Member
2002 Business Systems Patterson Business Systems Randolph (Randy) Minter is a native of Martinsville, Virginia and a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College. While at Hampden-Sydney, he served as president of Chi Phi fraternity and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. After college, Randy worked in banking for three years before joining Patter-son Records Management, a company specializing in records storage and retrieval solutions for business and industry. He is currently a partner and vice-president of the company, and has been with Patterson for eleven years. Randy is a fundraising volunteer for Hampden-Sydney College and a member of Covenant Presbyterian Church, where he is a co-chairman of the middle school youth fellowship and has served on committees such as elder nominating, visitation, and membership. Randy and his wife, Lucy, have two children: a son, Ran, who is five, and a daughter, Claire, two. An avid runner, Randy helps coach a YMCA track team and has completed a marathon. He also enjoys gardening. Welcome to Charlotte Rotary, Randy. * * * |
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Revised: January 24, 2008.
