Letters to the Editor 4-25-13

Close call
Editor: Regarding Foss Creek Circle. I’ve never read the job description for the members of the healdsburg City Council, but I would suspect that one of their primary duties would be to provide for the safety of those who reside in and visit our city.
I’ve watched the continuing debate about the dangers, near misses and close calls that have occurred on Foss Creek Circle ever since it became a one-way street. I have always hoped that common sense would prevail and the City Council would deal decisively with the problem before someone was injured.  But it appears that is not to be the case.  Foss Creek needs to be turned back into a two-way road and the parking along the street needs to be modified.
Since the road change, I have been confronted by cars going the wrong direction on four occasions. A few days ago, I was on my bicycle riding the correct direction and came face to face with a lady in a jeep driving straight at me. Realizing her mistake she stopped, waved an apology and turned around. Fortunately, Councilman Gary Plass was in the parking lot a short fifty feet from the incident and I was able to share my immediate concerns for my safety and was able to actually point out the Jeep that nearly hit me. His response, “Some people just can’t read signs.” While that may be the case, his glib response will be of little comfort to any person or to the parent of a child who is injured by this obviously dangerous situation. Healdsburg City Council, it is time to seriously fix this problem and provide for the safety of everyone who uses Foss Creek Circle.
Gary Buchanan
Healdsburg
True public servant
Editor: The fire service and Sonoma county residents are losing an extraordinary person in the retirement of Geyserville Fire Chief Paul Pigoni. I have had the opportunity to work with Chief Pigoni since the early 70’s when we both started out our careers — Paul with Geyserville and I was with CDF at Healdsburg.
Since “day one” Paul had one thing in mind and that was to provide the best service (Medical, fire and public service) to the people served by the Geyserville Fire Protection District and northern Sonoma County. After serving in other areas of Sonoma and Napa County, I was able to come back to Healdsburg as a Battalion Chief about the same time Paul promoted to Chief of Geyserville. Throughout my 13 years working with Chief Pigoni, we have had the “pleasure” of bumping heads and also collaborating over issues affecting our departments. But through it all, he was a true professional looking out for his personnel in the Geyserville FPD and most importantly, the people of northern Sonoma County. He is an superb firefighter, that I would rely on heavily during some of our worst wildland fires in our area. I could be comforted knowing that Paul was on the fireground with me.
The people of northern Sonoma County are losing a true “public servant.”
Kim Thompson
Healdsburg
Addressing the deficit
Editor: I appreciate Mr. Amato’s letter in response to mine about the Healdsburg City budget deficit and ways to remedy the situation.
As he states the Memorial Bridge rehabilitation will cost Healdsburg $1.3 million. This amounts to $100+ from every man, woman, and child in the city.
Perhaps this is the best solution to the problem of a bridge built in 1921 that is obviously out of date, but I do wonder about the cost to the citizens of Healdsburg.
Well, since our water and sewer bills are already the highest in Sonoma County, I’m sure the townspeople have plenty of extra hundred dollar bills lying around to pay for the bridge overhaul. Fair enough.
I would only disagree with Mr. Amato about his time frame for the completion of the work. Six to eight months for completion seems optimistic.
And the fact that the city has already paid out $1 million for studies on the problem (almost $100 per man, woman, and child in Healdsburg) I find very depressing.
But I thank Mr. Amato for his reply to my letter and the facts he expressed.
I agree that the problem is the city budget deficit which must be addressed in one way or another.
Tim McGraw
Healdsburg
Dodging cars
Editor: Chris Love’s story of peril on Foss Creek Circle in today’s Healdsburg Tribune (April 18, 2013) reminds me of our near-brush with a red car. We had just turned on to Foss Creek Circle in the approved (and extremely counterintuitive) manner, when a little red car shot out of the first driveway on the left. Its driver obviously did not want to make a left turn and go all the way around to Grove when it was just a hundred feet or so to sneak out by turning right and giving us a terrific scare.  Fortunately, my husband is an excellent driver and was able to dodge the little red car in its illegal venture.
It seems to us that there is more than enough evidence that the time has come to reverse the current one-way direction. Surely, there was not enough research into the planning of the one-way — an inept decision as time and near collisions have proven. Perhaps there are other feasible options. 1: Reverse the direction. 2: Make the traffic two-way with parking on one side of the street or no street parking at all.
Also, it is unfair and unrealistic to ask the Post Office to move the mail boxes. The Post Office has enough of its own financial concerns and should not have to think about changing the position of the drop-off boxes. Especially as the local staff had preferred the traffic to go in a counter-clockwise direction.
I’m sure that there are other unreported incidents. It is not fair to Healdsburg citizens as well as visitors to subject us and them to possible accidents.
Patty Ford
Healdsburg
Private road
Editor: We are the managing members of Kelly Road, LLC, which owns Kelly Road. Kelly Road is a private road providing the sole access to what is now Preservation Ranch. Various media outlets have mentioned the possibility of public access to this land should it be purchased by the open space district. We have informed the key players in the transaction but the public should also know: the easement over Kelly Road serving the property at issue explicitly precludes public access. The operative language can be found at the Recorder’s Office in Book 3319, page 522, paragraph 9. We intend to stand on our rights and oppose any action taken to provide public access over Kelly Road.
Dave and Bunny Lewers
Managing Members
Kelly Road, LLC