Roundup is out
At the Sept. 5 town council meeting, councilmembers voted unanimously to ban the use of glyphosate (aka Roundup), and all other synthetic pesticides and herbicides, on all town-owned land and facilities. This move follows similar decisions in Santa Rosa and Healdsburg, and though it passed with little fanfare, there was a veritable army of speakers in the public comment section ready to speak against Roundup.
The question going forward now becomes, how much more expensive will life in Windsor be without it, and will Windsor residents be concerned when their public spaces look a tad less perfect? “When people complain, and they will, when things do not look perfect, just remember they are not perfect because we’re not using toxins,” said town councilmember Debora Fudge. “So, pull a weed, and mellow out and be happy. Our job is now to relay the message that it’s not going to look perfect anymore and that’s OK.”
Fire district in financial distress
Fire chief Mark Heine also made a presentation at the town council meeting, and laid out the grim realities of the current funding model for the Windsor Fire Protection district. In a nutshell, they have one less firehouse than they should based on the population and call volume, some of their firefighters are currently paid for by a federal grant that will run out in 18 months, and they have aged equipment with deferred maintenance and inadequate equipment for some of the development plans going forward (in particular, anything four stories in height or greater).
Plans were announced for 2019 to consolidate Windsor with Bennett Valley and the Mountain Volunteer fire company in the Mark West area, similar to what already occurred with Rincon Valley, and while that will help the finances, the projections are clear that the town is going to need to start kicking in funds to keep things afloat. According to Heine, the Windsor Fire Protection District gets the smallest amount from property taxes of any local fire agency — 3 cents on the dollars, versus the county average of 8.5 cents.
Calling all Pliny lovers, help wanted
The Russian River Brewing company is due to open its new Windsor campus to the public in October, but the company’s Facebook page says brewing on site will commence any day now, and they are looking to hire. There will be a job fair at the Huerta Gymnasium in Windsor on Sept. 17 from 3 to 7 p.m., at 9291 Old Redwood Highway on the Town Green. The posting mentions a generous benefits package, but more importantly, it promises beer as a job perk.
Heather Bailey is the editor of the Windsor Times.
