Letters to the Editor 9-24-15

A meeting with Merits
Editor: On Wednesday, Sept. 30, the Windsor Town Council will consider four projects requesting to be given “allocations” or permission to move forward toward development approval through the “Merit Process.”
The “Merit Process” is used to give building allocations to the various projects coming before the town requesting plan approvals and building permits in the near term.
It is my opinion that the Merit Process is by itself not a very big deal in the scope of things. It is only when the Merit Process is combined with real growth control, which limits the number of units to be built each year, that the process has meaning.
Back in the day when the past councils felt the need to restrict growth, the council would listen to the Town’s staff describe the state of the town’s infrastructure, such as water and waster water capacities, traffic levels and the like. A determination was made as to how many building permits would be issued for the coming year.
I recall the numbers usually being less than 200 units. As the process continued, the Town Green Downtown area was determined to be, and continues to be, a “priority area” and not subject to the Growth Control Ordinance. Much of the Old Downtown was built without restriction to numbers, and the great majority of our current granted allocations, about 760 units, are in this unrestricted area.
With the recession of 2007/2008, building permits and units built declined drastically.
For the past eight years, or since 2008, total growth has been approximately 164 residential units with 108 building permits issued, or approximately 20 per year. Now to quote Supervisor Gore, and you can also quote me, “the county is on fire.” Not to be unkind or insensitive, but money for development is available. Developers are coming forward with dollars to spend and there is a call for “inventory.” If we move forward without caution and serious thought to our future, the county and the town as we know it will change quickly.
Wednesday’s meeting could be important for the future of Windsor. The question of continuing with the priority area designation could be raised. Our General Plan process has not generated the interest of those who life here that I had hoped for. You who live in Windsor, and I hope you plan to stay, are the ultimate stakeholders, yet when reaching out to “the stakeholders,” we see those with development interests in the in the forefront.
This is not unexpected as those with the most to gain or lose should be present and accounted for. Many of you are engaged and I thank you. Many of you are not engaged and I would like to reach out to you and ask you, what is it you want Windsor to be in the coming years? Please take a bit of time to attend this Wednesday’s meeting or a General Plan meeting in the future.
Use our email through our website or leave the council a phone message through the town’s phone system. Build community by participating.
Sam Salmon
Windsor Town Council
Focus on roads
Editor: While I supported Measure A because our roads need fixing now, the voters spoke loudly to the Supervisors that they did not want a general sales tax measure to fund the roads fix.  Why?  Because the “No” voters felt tax revenue might be redirected to new programs, unfunded public pension liability, or hiring new county employees.   
The county already collects enough tax money to fix our roads if the Superviors would focus on roads as they have told us they would.  
Susan Gorin said at a BOS meeting (June 15, 2015):  “we need to let our community know that we have heard from them loudly and clearly that roads are a priority and we are going to focus on them in the near term.”
In October of 2015, the supes will decide whether to budget additional dollars to fix our roads, or instead, whether to spend it on MORE new programs, MORE wage and benefit increases for County workers and adding MORE staff to the  c  ounty payroll.  
This voter knows that some of our supervisors have trouble having their actions follow their rhetoric.  
Focus!
The voters want to have our roads fixed at no additional tax costs to us!
John Bly, Executive Vice President
Northern California Engineering Contractors Association