Tom opened the meeting by informing the group that he has placed his tomato plant outside on his deck. There was some fear that the cold may yet affect this hardy plant. Tom asked Joe Thompson to open with Prayer and Pledge.

We then had a special recognition of one of our members by Captain TeBrink of the Highway Patrol. He wanted to take the moment to embarrass Patty Burkholder. Patty has the distinction of being an honorary Colonel in the Highway Patrol. The purpose is to act as a liaison between the community and the patrol. She was given a badge and an identity card. Patty said that she has learned a lot about the Patrol and feels that is a great organization. Her son is a trooper up in Northeast Colorado. She and the Captain picked on Mike much to his embarrassment.

Mark Prouty mentioned that six people have not given him their envelopes from the Mexican Food Fiesta. We are looking at about what we did last year for results. Mark said he has turned in about ten thousand dollars for the event to Mark Seiter.

Brian Myers stated we would be giving away 3,000 locks on the twelfth of May in the parking lot at the High School. Wells Fargo (Patty) gave a donation to buy an additional one thousand locks for the project. Brian has also gotten some handouts we will give to parents that speak of gun safety.

Tom mentioned the Fireside Chat did not occur, as the Red Badge members were not a quorum. Tom informed the club that we would be having a GSE team from Israel with us on May 26, 27, and 28. Three homes are needed for these folks. Call Tom if you can house them. This is a great way to learn about folks from other countries and their cultures.

Chessa Gill needs a junior or senior high school student to go to Rotary Youth Leadership Academy. The club has paid for two scholarships and we need to fill the second spot. Jeff Brown has offered to take the kids one way and a second member will need to do the other trip.

Mike Matheson gave an overview of the Park Project. Cathy has become flexible and is willing to work with our club. Two options are being presented to the construction company to get a firm look at the cost of the project.

We then introduced our guests. Ted Robson return to the group this day as did Tami Coddington and Doug Lashley. Kent Curtis, Jack Taylor, and Barry Victor also were present for the day's events.

Officer friendly was fined thirty- five dollars for some nefarious reason. Volunteering to be fined were Roy Crow, Margaret Gray, and Dave Brooks for being in Texas. Dave had the privilege of going to Midland, Texas were his father was inducted, posthumously, into the oil and gas Hall of Fame. Paulette Church paid a fine for being elected President of the Adult Education Association. Joe Thompson had Jim Mulkey fined as his wife Carla was elected President of the High School Councilors Association.

Bob Ledger was our guest speaker this day. The Prince of Pennies Wayne Bedor introduced him. Wayne did inform the club that Bob had the distinction of serving in two distinguished roles one of City manager and the other offering advice to the county. Bob recognized Shari Tabor as an excellent employee and a great find for the city. He spoke briefly about the election and the efforts of Doug Lashley and Jim Sheppard for the city. Bob feels that the biggest issue facing the city is that of Growth and the impacts of that growth. He feels that the potential of Rivers Trails Ranch (380 to 695 units) and the development of Ewing Mesa (4500 people) the city is faced with a significant issue. The Grandview annexation also brings new issues to the city in the areas of infrastructure. The challenge Bob sees is keeping pace with the change. This requires that things like roads, parks, water and sewer all be looked at to keep pace. The city will be looking at nearly twenty-two million dollars in road construction over the next two years. The water treatment plant is in good condition but the capacity of the plant will need to rise from twelve million gallons to eighteen million gallons. The cost is expected to be six million dollars. Also, the water treatment plan has only a seven-day reserve capacity. The sewer plant has a three million gallons per day capacity. The current volume of sewage is two point one million gallons. The cost to double the plant capacity will cost nearly ten million dollars. The city faces a capacity issue with their buildings. When Bob arrived here the city had one hundred and thirty two employees. Today they have a total of two hundred and seventy one employees. The buildings that house these employees are stuffed to the gills. Bob did not give an estimate of cost for replacing these buildings. He did however mention that the cost of a new library would be in excess of six million dollars. The major challenge faced by the city and Bob is to keep the city economically viable given the rising rate of expectations, the desires of the local community, and those who spend time here as visitors or users of city services. Bob feels we will need to begin the process of separating the wants from the needs. Bob did say that the city depends on sales tax for their revenue source. Thanks, Bob.

ONE FINAL NOTE: " The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook." Bear