Joe La Mariana rushed back from San Carlos to call the meeting to order at 12:17
Pledge of Allegiance: We were led in the pledge by Jennifer Pence
Invocation: Christine Krolik gave a touching remembrance of her father, who greeted her each morning as a child with the following: “This is the day the Lord hath made - let us rejoice and be glad II it.” Christine lost him at age 97 right before COVID, but she felt his presence every hour of every day. She also told us that her father was a member of the Gideon Society, the group that placed copies of the Bible in hotel rooms. In the course of his life, her father gave away literally tens of thousands of copies of the New Testaments.
She concluded with, “So when I say this is the day the Lord hath made, I think of my father and I rejoice and am glad for the life he led, the children he raised, the country he served and the heaven he so clearly deserved. So let us join together and say Amen to this day the Lord hath made.”
Guests of Rotarians: Joe Galligan introduced our guest, Susan Baker. Susan is the new CEO of the Burlingame Chamber of Commerce. She replaces former Rotarian Georgette Naylor. Hope to see you at a future meeting, Susan.
Announcements: President Joe informed us that this year’s District 5150 Conference will be held on May 14. The event venue will be the Westin St. Francis.
Col. Alden Cunningham announced that the initial Rotary Means Business meeting will occur on March 16 from 5PM. The location will be the offices of the Peninsula Health Care District on Trousdale. This will be an opportunity to network and meet fellow Rotarians from a number of Peninsula clubs. A speaker is being sought.
Break-out Session: Chris Ramirez transported us all to various break-out rooms so we could have a bit of fellowship.
Newscast +: Fritz Brauner provided a newsflash!! Valentines Day is Monday! He then turned it over to Jennifer Pence who picked up on the theme. She suggested that we all help President Joe come up with the perfect Valentine gift for his wife, Terri. Flowers are out since she does that as part of her business. The suggestions ran the gamut from the romantic to the clever to the practical. A few Rotarians advocated for a family portrait. There were recommendations for artwork along with a clever suggestion for map coordinates for the location of a special place. Then there was the useful idea of a Dust Buster/Dirt Devil. Not exactly romantic
Program: Donna Colson introduced our speaker,
Linda Gates. She is part of the team working on the North Rollins Road Development. Donna noted that the City of Burlingame is mandated to provide 3600 new housing units. This plan is slated to add 1200 of those units.
The North Rollins Specific Plan will contain development standards, open space, circulation and utility provisions, and implementation measures for development of active and sustainable live/work residential projects while accommodating the industrial uses that exist in adjacent areas.
The Rollins Road industrial corridor is a major employment base in Burlingame. From the middle of the last century, the area largely has supported light manufacturing businesses, warehousing, auto repair shops, and wholesale activities. In the early 2000’s, commercial recreation facilities were added. Given the presence of the Millbrae multimodal transit station less than one-half mile from the north end of Rollins Road, the district presents opportunities for further evolution and particularly, to support housing development. The northern one-third of the corridor reimagined as a live/work complete residential neighborhood – with parks, tree-lined streets, and a pedestrian orientation – that connects to the Millbrae multimodal transit station.
The primary objectives to be achieved through the North Rollins Road Specific Plan are:
· Accommodate increased housing density along with other transit supportive uses and improvements in the North Rollins Road area
· Improvement of motorized, non-motorized, and transit connectivity between the Millbrae station and existing and future adjacent commercial, industrial, and residential uses
· Development and implementation of urban design standards which promote a walkable and livable environment within the project area
· Development of a strategy for providing open space amenities within the project area
Development of incentives or standards to promote state-of-the-art green building practices such as Net Zero carbon buildings.
Adjournment: President Joe thanked the speaker. He informed Linda that our Rotary Club would be donating 5 polio inoculations in honor of her appearance today. The meeting concluded at 1:30.
