Letters to the Editor 10-25-12

Contributions
Editor: Mr. Robertson’s column “Money for nothing” (Sonoma West Times & News, Oct. 18) mentioned county retirement.
Seems he is under the impression that county retirement is paid out of current employee’s contributions like Social Security.
That is incorrect. County employees are paid out of investment earning on their contributions while employed, not someone else’s current contribution.
By the way, that contribution was a significant percent of their pay, just like your contribution to Social Security.
George Taylor
Sebastopol
Our kids need your help
Editor: Our kids need something that only you can give them: the opportunity to become educated so that they can make knowledgeable, ethical choices in the 21st century.
You, the voters of west county, have passed parcel taxes for the West Sonoma County Union High School District since 1993. The current parcel tax expires in June 2013. Your approval of these moneys will continue to go directly to classes for the students.
There are exemptions for seniors and owners of contiguous parcels.
Please join me in voting yes on Measure K in this November’s election.
Diane Landry
Parent and Trustee of WSCUHSD
Feeding the hungry
Editor: The Christian Church in Sebastopol has been serving the community with innovative meal programs.
They quietly began providing a Saturday meal to those in need, one Saturday a month. The Saturday meal expanded, with Pastor Jesse’s blessing, to become an interfaith effort when Kathleen Shaffer called local congregations together. She continues to schedule regular meetings; secured funding for the program from the Palm Drive Foundation and now five congregations host a Saturday noon meal called the Saturday Table.
Thanks to the Christian Church for its vision and hospitality in starting this Saturday hot meal for those in need and for their willingness to include other congregations and even community members and organizations in their outreach.
The Christian Church has another innovative meal program. Unless you have been a recipient of their hospitality, you may not know that they provide meals to thank teachers, firefighters, police, staffs of congregations and other public servants. These delicious meals start with a thank you, then moves to a time of community and warm social conversation. I think they deserve a public thank you for the care they extend to others.
Rev. Judith Stone
Pastor,
Sebastopol United Methodist Church
Commending Shaffer
Editor: As a property owner in the Sebastopol area, I have watched with dismay, the proceedings regarding the downtown property owned by the Pellini’s, a very well respected local family, who have contributed greatly to the well-being of the city and its economy for several generations. I feel that they have the right to sell their property to whomever they choose and/or makes them the best offer. I own my property, struggling to stay afloat in a difficult economy, and I can’t imagine someone telling me what I could or couldn’t do, should I choose to sell it.
Being a 23-year resident of this area, and loving its beauty and unique character, when the Pellini’s closed their car dealership, I was envisioning a wonderful new use of the old building. I had hoped that someone would purchase it, who would remodel and retrofit it to today’s standards, preserving its historical characteristics and perhaps re-design it into a vibrant centerpiece for the city, creating something like a marketplace, bazaar or collective with commercial opportunities for small businesses and maybe even a little housing. I was disappointed to hear that two big businesses would be razing the building and replacing it with a stereotypical, modern commercial building that would add very little, if any, charm to our lovely little city.
But, CVS was the only business that made a viable offer to the Pellinis. I’m surprised when people say they can just wait ‘til another offer comes along that the city likes. That might please the opponents to the project, but it certainly disrespects the owners of the property and all the years that they supported the city by running their business on the corner of two of the busiest streets. It sentences the rest of us to continue looking at the poor, old building with ugly fencing and weeds growing up around it.
It’s a fabulous location. Why doesn’t someone put together an investment group to make a fair offer to purchase this historical spot, right in the heart of this sweet town and turn it into an eye-appealing, diverse, well-designed marketplace that we could all be proud of? What a novel idea. Where are those creative citizens?
I know it’s been a battleground, fraught with a lot of time-consuming and heart-rending controversy, and I’d like to commend Councilmember Kathleen Shaffer, for her practical-minded common sense and respectful attitude that she held onto throughout the proceedings. That is why she does her job so well and why she’ll continue to have my support — and should have everyone’s — in this upcoming election.
Please do re-elect her. The town needs and deserves sensible people like her on the city council to see us through these difficult times.
Kaye Love
Sebastopol
Best for Sebastopol
Editor: I’m proud to be a member of the Sebastopol community, a Design Review Board member and downtown property owner. I enjoy working with our smart and diligent city staff. I’m looking for Councilmembers that can get something done and not put the City in legal jeopardy. Kathy Austin will work with city staff, listen to citizens and put us on a sound financial and legal tract.
We moved our family here in 1979 when there was a real mix of people and lifestyles. But it seemed that we would all end up at Marty’s Top of the Hill for a good Friday night dance. Farmers, hippies and other working stiffs, we could respectfully discuss issues about town and get things done. This lifestyle and community eventually attracted many more residents to the area.
Things have changed and it seems that a small but vocal group of “entitled” folks feel they’re the only ones that know what’s good for our town. The anger, discrimination and disrespect put forth by this group is palpable. Compromise appears to be a dirty word, so we live in gridlock and in fear that the disregard of our established regulations will lead to a lawsuit that Sebastopol can ill afford. These activities are poisoning our community.
Don’t be blinded by the smokescreen of anti-corporate, leaf blower and EMF rhetoric put out by the opponents. We need to address crucial budget issues, traffic, sustainable infill and city infrastructure. Please vote for what’s best for Sebastopol. Make a positive choice for reality and constructive collaborators Kathy Austin and Kathleen Shaffer.
Craig Boblitt
Sebastopol
Why I support Jacob
Editor: I am a 6th generation Sebastopol resident and recent graduate from UC Berkeley with a degree in political science. I am also the founder of a small local children’s organization in Sebastopol that provides health and education support for children.
When I heard about Robert Jacob running for City Council, I knew I had to be involved. As a fellow young social justice organizer, Robert is a role model and an apt leader for our town. No one else has taken the time to engage the younger generations as Robert has.
Never before have I, or my friends and family been so personally motivated to see a candidate be elected to our city council. We need representatives who will make decisions that actually benefit our community: financially, socially, and environmentally.
Please join me in voting for Robert Jacob for Sebastopol City Council.
Jordan Burns
Sebastopol
Putting it off
Editor: The suit against CVS/Chase filed last year by Committee for Small Town Sebastopol has, three times, been extended at the request of CVS/Chase. Why?
The latest extension moves action on the suit to mid-December … one month after the Sebastopol City Council election.
We believe that is because CVS/Chase is waiting to see if the election next month will result in a pro-CVS City Council.
The Small Town Sebastopol suit charges that a new traffic study for the project must cover what the existing study left out:
The Barlow Project just east of the Pellini corner and the neighborhood intersections west of the library, Senior Center and City Hall, none of which were considered in the flawed study.
What’s your guess?
Helen Shane
Committee for Small Town Sebastopol
Right choice
Editor: Kathy Austin is the right choice for election to the Sebastopol City Council.
Kathy brings experience to the table. She has served as mayor, councilmember, Planning Commissioner and Design Review Board member. She has raised her family here and operated a small business in town for many years.
Her experience will continue to serve us well in dealing with the numerous issues that face the City, be it street repair, neighborhood preservation, police and fire protection, parks and recreation, business development or environmental stewardship.
Most of all, Kathy has demonstrated that she understands the proper role of serving on the City Council. She is open-minded, listens to all voices, gathers facts and makes decisions based on what she believes will benefit the entire community. Those are the qualities that make someone a good elected representative and support our system of governance.
I urge my fellow residents of Sebastopol to cast a vote for Kathy Austin on Nov. 6.
Richard M. Johnson
Former mayor and councilmember
Sebastopol
Just the facts, ma’am
Editor: There are facts (few), fabricated “facts” (many) and confused facts (mostly) in Ms. Johnson’s recent letter (“Not single issue,” Sonoma West Times & News, Oct. 18). I am unclear if this is due to a lack of knowledge or by design.
It’s naive to characterize this as a “single issue” election. CVS/Chase merely symbolizes the type of future development that each current City Council candidate feels is acceptable. The citizens of Sebastopol understand that the choices they make today will determine the look, feel and function of their town for decades to come.
We are blessed to live in a unique, special place. Sadly, even paradise has money problems. Creative economic solutions exist. Shortsighted quick fixes for our current financial condition will ultimately prove to be counterproductive. Blind allegiance to “Business Is King” and “Anything Is Better Than What’s There Now” mentalities, at the expense of all other considerations, will devolve our town into “Generica” — a less appealing Sebastopol where none of us wants to live.
I value the existing character of Sebastopol and will lead the preservation and enhancement of our downtown, the creation of clear design regulations that require appropriate, aesthetically-responsible mixed-use infill development, planning philosophies that put people before cars, a General Plan update that accords pedestrians, bicyclists and people of all abilities the same respect as automobiles, economic vitality through our existing local businesses and the attraction of new businesses that we want and need, and reductions in traffic through better use of our existing roads, walking and biking.
You hold the key to Sebastopol’s future. If you share these ideals, please vote for me on Nov. 6.
John Eder
Sebastopol
Been there, done that
Editor: I read with irony a letter by Jude Kreissman. Jude was writing in support of two other candidates for Sebastopol City Council. Well Jude and your readers should know that I worked on the Barlow project as its architect. I spearheaded the approach and got it approved and then did the design development of the project. I agree with her that my design was right for the site. You would think that should mean voting for me for the City Council. I understand what the city needs and how our Zoning Ordinance works and what our General Plan says. The candidates she supports have been saying they will stop a lawfully approved project, the CVS/Chase development. One wonders how they could do that lawfully and without causing the city of Sebastopol great harm. Is that who we want as our city leaders? Or do you want a visionary who is also experienced and produces results. I hope Sebastopol will vote for me, Kathy Austin, for City Council.
Kathy Austin
Sebastopol
Campaign politics
Editor: Nov. 6, Election Day, is on the radar. Letters opposing or supporting the candidates and the CVS Project are plentiful in this newspaper.
The supporters of two of the candidates who oppose my re-election have two favorite topics expressed in their letters. The first concerns an e-mail in which I used the term “under the radar” that references my actions in encouraging people to speak out about the CVS/Chase project. To effectively represent all of the people, I tell them to come to meetings, speak on the issues, and take part in local government. Bringing more citizens into the process is a commitment that I have made whether it is considered over or under the radar by those who don’t agree with me. This is the only way to know what all of the voters think, not just the loudest.
The second issue is my vote on the CVS/Chase project, which was one of the three council votes to approve. While some do not consider an applicant meeting city requirements for project approval equivalent to following the law, I do. I believe that upholding our city’s ordinances are the primary responsibility of an honest, committed council member. My vote has provided ample fodder for letters, e-mails and campaign hit pieces that voters have, and will, receive in the mail and at their doors before election day.
I very much appreciate the concern expressed to me by voters about the negative attacks by opponents and the acrimony directed at me in this campaign. I have committed to conduct a positive campaign, and I hope voters will view the negativity expressed in “hit pieces” and letters in these final days as campaign politics at its worst.
Kathleen Shaffer
City Councilmember
Sebastopol
Better than ever glimpse
Editor: The recent CVS/Chase controversy, throughout its entirety, provided a better than ever glimpse into the wide range of our community’s values. The opinions expressed in favor of the project were especially revealing, since they were almost entirely concentrated on the single-minded issue of profits, jobs, and the revenues that the project would yield. In other words, they were “in it for the money.”
These are certainly desperate times and it can almost be understandable, in a reckless moment, to consider sacrificing our community’s general welfare in order to alleviate feelings of insecurity. This, however, is an illusion that has all the characteristics of “eating our seed stock.” It utilizes temporary, stop-gap strategies that never work in the broad view or the long run.
Conspicuously absent from such commentary was any reference to the issue on the other side of the coin, the quality of the project.
This is often the more elusive factor in any consideration and the easy tangibility of raw money can too often prevail and be given undeserved priority. Quality, however, if we are to have a truly viable community, must never be discounted; it is the essential root to the humaneness, the charm, and the spirit that makes a place have aliveness and vitality. Deep inside, consciously or subconsciously, we all want quality; urban environments that acknowledge historic heritage, for example, and are pedestrian sensitive, humane, environmentally sustainable, and supportive of mostly local businesses that are engaged in meaningful products and services demonstrate such quality. Those that utilize self-serving, fake, cookie cutter, pseudo-architectural gimmickry with a dehumanizing, insensitive obsession towards profits alone, are not.
Community quality is community self-esteem, and needs to be an integral part of every project. It can occasionally take longer, and sometimes cost more, but its benefit will invariably be more appealing, more enriching, and, always, more profitable, job creating, and revenue enhancing.
Hasty, simplistic, politically motivated positions towards the management of our community based on adamant adherence to irrelevant belief habits serve only to propel us irreversibly toward the same dreary, impersonal deadness that has afflicted too many unfortunate communities before us. The forces of exploitation are insidious, powerful, organized, ever present, and completely insensitive. They will prevail whenever we compromise our resolve, our perspective, our vision.
John Eder and Robert Jacob have demonstrated that they are the candidates not only committed to an economy that is healthy and balanced, but one that has the levels of quality appropriate to our needs. They will do so, in addition, without hidden personal agenda, favoritism towards special interest groups, or manipulations of the democratic process. They will get my vote come November.
Robert Beauchamp
Sebastopol
Amazing vitriol
Editor: I continue to be amazed and saddened by all the vitriol, name calling and anger expressed both in letters and in city council meetings surrounding the CVS and Chase Bank debate. I had hoped that most of the people who live in Sebastopol were beyond all of this and were kind and compassionate towards everyone, but I guess not. Instead of putting our energy into fighting with each other, why don’t we focus on the bigger issues that impact all of us: our schools, decaying roads, helping the less fortunate in our community and climate change? Let’s work together on the things that truly matter to our community and our world. I believe that Kathy Austin and Kathleen Shaffer have this broader vision and I stand solidly behind them in the upcoming election.
Trish Power
Sebastopol