Letters to the Editor 11-7-13

The draw and return
Editor: Several letters in your last issue of The Healdsburg Tribune caught my attention.  I am a 24 year resident of Healdsburg, my husband is a 35 year resident. We have seen our small town evolve from lumber as it’s primary industry to tourism.  
The path to our town by tourists may be our “small town charm,” but it would be naive to think that the amenities around the charm are not a big part of the draw and return.  Wine tasting, restaurants, shopping, art galleries, lodging, all surrounded by acres upon acres of beautiful vineyards and wineries. It was suggested in one of the letters that tourism brings with it only one type of employment, hospitality. Tourism, as it is enjoyed in our City, has brought us many types of employment. The obvious would be hotels, restaurants, and wineries.  The not so obvious are small business entrepreneurs, banking, real estate and insurance companies, agriculture, construction, food services and providers, city services and improvements, and service businesses in general.
Regarding a letter that said ‘TOT revenues’ were not needed, a quick glance at our annual budget would dispel that assumption. I am sure a good argument for responsible spending by our city could be made, but that’s another topic. Tourism brings much needed tax revenue, but we often overlook other revenues that it brings that are not so obvious. With our tourism, property values have increased to values not sustainable in nearby cities. Where else can you sell a fixer upper for $700/SqFt, and within the same proximity, provide the highest number per capita affordable housing in the County. As a result, higher property taxes generate additional revenues for schools, fire, police, and city improvement.  
In response to the concern of increasing pedestrian traffic, isn’t that a good thing?  Feet and bikes, not cars? I agree that parking could be a problem, but Kessler is bringing solutions with their plan. Underground parking, adjacent parking, and funding for nearby Public Parking concepts and a set aside fund.  It’s up to our city representatives to make sure Kessler keeps the promises they make, as should our City in accepting the funds. To suggest that ‘tourists’ stay in Santa Rosa, Cloverdale, and Windsor, ignores that if they did then they would be relegated to using their cars to get to our town to enjoy our amenities. As a result, most likely using our public streets for parking. So let’s bring the lodging, bring the funding for solutions, and let’s embrace what we have to offer. I recall the days of Hotel Healdsburg’s planning, and the protests then against that project. Look at it now, and with it’s sister hotel H2H, both now welcome additions to our City. That is what is coming with Kessler and hopefully with any other similar projects.
June M. Snowden
Healdsburg
Community Cats
Editor: I read with interest the article about Community Cats, the new multiagency program by Sonoma County Animal Care & Control, Forgotten Felines of Sonoma County, and Sonoma Humane Society. I confess to mixed feelings about Trap/Neuter/Return; specifically the “return” component. While it’s true that feral cats have been living among us for thousands of years, it’s not true that they’re perfectly happy. They get into fights, get attacked by bigger animals, go hungry and thirsty, contract diseases and incur injuries that go untreated, and often die slowly and painfully. They live in fear, untouched, un-petted, un-groomed, and unloved. At the same time, I acknowledge that the shelters can’t hold them all, that life in a shelter is also difficult, and that euthanasia hasn’t solved the problem. The new Trap/Neuter/Return program should at least serve to reduce the numbers of cats that have to live and die unwanted. For more on the subject of feral cats, and also the importance of keeping pet cats safely confined, I recommend the Cult of Otis website (don’t worry, it’s not that kind of cult) and especially the beautifully written blog (http://cultofotis.wordpress.com). I learned the safe-confinement lesson the hard way last September, when my cat, Luna, was attacked outside my house by two off-the-leash dogs. One of them picked her up and shook her, herniating her intestine. Her recovery included three weeks of explosive diarrhea – fun – and the final cost was $5,000, a big hit to my savings. Since then I’ve found a way to keep her from getting out of my back yard. If you’d like to know how I did it, please write to me at [email protected].
Nancy Roberts
Healdsburg
Nonsense
Editor: I find a degree of local nonsense that has been slipping into letters to the editor of late.
First we hear repeatedly from a few locals and vocal out-of-towners that we don’t need any more hotels and maybe we need a referendum to stop them. Yes the city has been lax in recent years to add parking when new hotel rooms were added. Now the time has come when they must deal with current deficiencies and future needs which may very well require one or more parking structures. Saying no to new hotels rooms however, be they close to downtown or east of south Healdsburg Avenue or at the north end of town, would be a mistake. On the other hand it is likely that hotel bed tax allocations will have to be changed by the voters from supporting recreation to public safety and revenue bond debt service for new parking. Parking alternatives should be up front an issue one coupled with how to pay for it.
Another interesting subject is the question of whether a traffic circle at Healdsburg and Mill/Vine makes any sense. The proponents site Carmel but none of Carmel’s Traffic Circles include a railroad grade crossing which would require likely eight or more mechanical crossing arms and very costly signalization for SMART trains we are not sure whether they will ever arrive. Friends from Europe tell me that despite the fact they have hundreds in not thousands of traffic circles none that anyone knows of include a railroad grade crossing. Those who came up with the wild idea are wasting limited resources that should be reallocated to addressing all too many years of deferred street maintenance.
Kurt Hahn
Healdsburg
Not on my behalf
Editor: Personally I like the idea of the proposed downtown hotels as long as they provide parking for their guests. I respect the rights of others to disagree, but it would be nice if they didn’t speak on my behalf.
Jeff McCarthy    
Healdsburg
Wildlife rescue
Editor: The future of Sonoma County wildlife depends upon us all. As their habitat is destroyed, wildlife must deal with more hazards. Wildlife Fawn Rescue is searching for responsible Sonoma County homeowners with remote acreage to set up an out-shelter facility in which to raise four fawns each year. Fawns are raised in this natural habitat by the homeowner. Rescued fawns are stabilized at WFR headquarters then transferred to these out-shelters where they are raised for four months. Once they are weaned, recognize their natural foods, and are prepared to survive in the wild, the gate is opened and they are free to, live in the surrounding territory. Training is provided by our Animal Care Coordinator. All expenses are assumed by WFR. We need you. If you can help please call WFR at 707-931-4550 for further details. Pass the word.
Marjorie Davis
WFR President-Board of Directors