Special Town Council Meeting
The Windsor town council is holding a special meeting on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 at 6 p.m. to consider demanding that Mayor Dominic Foppoli resign from his elected position of at-large mayor of the town of Windsor.  
The town council encourages interested parties to participate in the meeting and provide comments on this matter. Pursuant to Executive Order N-29-20 issued by California Gov. Gavin Newsom on March 17, 2020, the special meeting will be held by Zoom Webinar. Members of the public can participate in the meeting by visiting: https://zoom.us/j/93594176326 or by dialing 877-853-5247 and enter Webinar ID: 935 9417 6326. 
If you wish to provide testimony and are unable to participate in the meeting, please submit written comments to the Town Clerk’s office via email at [email protected] prior to the meeting. Written comments will be made a part of the public record.
Another Free Compost Giveaway Coming April 17
Get your garden growing right with some free organic compost Saturday, April 17 in Windsor. The self-serve event for Windsor residents is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Keiser Park, 700 Windsor River Road. The first event April 3 was so popular, more than 115 families turned up, and organizers from WeAct Windsor had to turn families away at the end of the event. Due to demand, WeAct, the Windsor Garden Club and the town of Windsor are joining forces again to host a second compost giveaway April 17.
Wear your masks (masks are required) and stay socially distanced. Participants should bring their own shovels and gloves plus tarps, buckets, feedbags and/or a pickup truck to take home up to a half cubic yard of compost, donated by Cold Creek Compost of Ukiah.
The Free Compost Giveaway is organized by the Windsor Earth Action Climate Team (WeAct), the Windsor Garden Club, Windsor Wellness Partnership and Zero Waste Sonoma. Gardeners know organic compost replenishes the soil and boosts plants with nutrients, microorganisms, and organic matter, improves water retention, recycles organic resources, helps conserve landfill use, and pulls carbon out of the atmosphere.
“We really want to promote organic gardening. It’s good for our neighbors, good for our town and good for the planet,” said Bob Adams of WeAct.  
For more details or questions contact WeAct at [email protected] or 707-494-0222.

Visit the Town Green Community Garden during Earth Week

As part of Windsor’s Earth Day activities, the Windsor Garden Club is offering open hours and gardening tips at the Town Green Community Garden. Open garden hours for visitors will be from noon to 3 p.m. daily the week of Monday, April 19 through Saturday, April 24.

Windsor Garden Club will give out free milkweed plant starts to families with coupons available in the town of Windsor’s Earth Day Giveaway Kits for children, and at the Healdsburg Library. Milkweed will be given out to coupon holders during open hours while supplies last. Those without a coupon are welcome to buy milkweed starts for $3 each.

The Windsor Garden Club is hoping to recruit 100 Windsor families to plant milkweed in their yards to make the town a safe place for the endangered monarch butterfly to stay, eat and lay eggs.

The 11-year-old community garden is organic and beds are open for rental by Windsor residents. The garden is certified as a butterfly sanctuary, features garden art by local artists and is a site for classes and presentations by the UC Master Gardeners of Sonoma County. It is also a hands-on lab for the Windsor High School Bridges Program. Special needs students in the program are in the garden weekly, planting, tending and harvesting vegetables and herbs for the Food Bank.

Other items of interest at the garden include an insectary border to house “good bugs,” and examples of a food forest, composting and blue barrel rainwater collection.

“Gardens of all types are one way to support healthier Earth ecosystems. This includes planting the fruit and vegetables that we eat, as well as an intentional focus on plants that are necessary for sustaining pollinators. We invite you to visit the garden — it’s our labor of love,” said Community Garden Leader and Event Coordinator Jeanne Knapp in a statement.

The global theme of Earth Day 2021 is “Restore Our Earth.” The international date for celebrating Earth Day 2021 is April 22.

Please wear your mask and shoes that are good for walking in dirt. The Town Green Community Garden is located at Windsor Road and Joe Rodota Way in the town hall complex just off the Windsor Town Green. Visitors can enter at the gate facing the town hall parking lot, and exit at the gate on Windsor Road. A reminder: no pets are allowed inside the garden, there are no restrooms there, and no water available. Please bring your own water if you think you’ll need some during your visit. Children are very welcome as long as they are with an adult.

For details about the Community Garden, visit www.windsorgardenclub.org. For questions about the open garden hours, email [email protected].
Vote for the library’s new mascot
Which cute critter will be the new face of Sonoma County Library? It’s up to you! Sonoma County residents are invited to choose from three adorable animals and vote at sonoma-library.org/mascotsurvey for the library’s new mascot; the Sonoma Chipmunk, the California Tiger Salamander or the North American River Otter. Online voting will be open from Tuesday, April 13 to Sunday, April 18.
“Choose the mascot that you think would best represent the library, and help us promote library services and literacy,” said Sonoma County Library Director Ann Hammond. “We can’t wait to see who the community selects.”
The contenders:
• The Sonoma Chipmunk (Tamias sonomae) is native to Sonoma and Marin counties. This critter is known for being shy and difficult to spot, but if you are lucky enough to see one they can be quite charismatic.
• The California Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma californiense) is an amphibian in the family Ambystomatidae. This slippery salamander is endangered in Sonoma County but can still be spotted if you know where to look.
• The North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis) is a semiaquatic mammal native to the North American continent. These cuties can be found in and along Sonoma County waterways and coasts.
The library will announce the winner in May. Please vote in our online survey at sonoma-library.org/mascotsurvey. The survey closes on Sunday, April 18.
Pen Pals at Boys & Girls Club
For the past year, Boys & Girls club members have been grouped into cohorts by grade level, with each cohort placed in a different area of the club facility. The kids have really been missing getting to interact with the other groups, especially the younger kids.
In response, staff developed the Big Buddy/Little Buddy Pen Pal Program. The older members (fourth to eighth grade) got assigned a ‘Little Buddy’ from the younger cohorts who they are getting to know by sending letters and pictures back and forth. Staff even presented printed certificates to the kids that revealed their Buddy, along with some information about them. The kids have all been really excited about it and it has helped them feel less isolated, while still being COVID safe.