LETTERS TO THE EDITOR – 12-29-11

Bad deal
Editor: Last Friday, in a special meeting called just two days
before Christmas, the Sebastopol Union School District board voted
to approve a controversial lease of their surplus Pine Crest
campus. The board approved an already fully worked out lease to an
out-of-district charter school, despite active and repeated efforts
and multiple offers on the table from the Sebastopol Independent
Charter School, an in-district public school, to lease Pine
Crest.
Although there is much to be said about both the timing and the
substance of this imprudent decision on the part of the SUSD board,
there is one salient and indisputable fact at the heart of the
matter: having received two additional active offers — one for a
three-year lease, and one for a three-year lease with several
multi-year options to extend the lease — the District board never
responded to Sebastopol Independent Charter School. Nor did it ever
ask a single question about our offers, never countered either of
our offers, and flat out refused to engage in any conversation with
us.
To add insult to injury, the rent accepted by the district for
this deal is significantly less than an offer put forward by the
Sebastopol Independent Charter School last May.
It’s hard to put together a win-win deal when the other party
refuses to talk — that’s been our very painful learning experience
with the Sebastopol Union School District. They’ve treated the 110
in-district students that attend the Sebastopol Independent Charter
School, students to whom they have both a legal and ethical
obligation to serve, very poorly indeed.
Alysson Baker
SICS Facilities Committee Chair
 
Support for CVS/Chase
Editor: We would like to respond to the recent articles and
letters concerning the “opposition” to the CVS/Chase/Pellini
Project. The project will be located at the intersection of
Petaluma Avenue and Sebastopol Avenue. We are all residents of the
City of Sebastopol. We vote and we pay taxes in this wonderful
city. Many of us work, so we do not attend every city meeting, nor
do we have time to initiate letters, petitions or email campaigns.
Many of us are busy maintaining our businesses, taking care of our
employees and families, and often do not have time to express our
opinions let alone file lawsuits. But, now is the time for us to
speak out and let the Sebastopol City Council know that we
exist.
We support the CVS/Chase/Pellini project and believe it will
benefit the economic future of our community. We want our City
Council to support the appeal by the applicant, Armstrong
Development to overturn the Design Review Board’s denial of the
project. We encourage all city residents who are in favor of this
project to contact the City Council and indicate your support.
Please plan to attend the Jan. 23, 2012 special city council
meeting starting at 6 p.m. at the Sebastopol Community Cultural
Center. The Council will make a decision about the appeal.
Linda J. Johnson, Greg Reynolds, David Sears, Rod and Mary
McAulay, Ian Kalember, Linda Rouse, Darcy and Tom Halstead, Linda
Sinkay, Stan and Nancy Simpson, Gay Kalember, Adrianna Kalember,
Tess and Gene Ostopowicz, Bill Kidd, Kimberly Kalember, Kent and
Joan Seegmiller, Bill Takacs, Stacy Kalember, Louis and Maryann
Hopfer, Jim Gilliam , L. Barry Lutz, Ralph Harmon, Sue Kelley, Judy
Rice, Janelle Roventini-Hunter, Joann Kawa, Will Brown, Gene
Bonino, Eileen Keyser, Peaches Henning, Rob and Cie Carey Gail
Mullins, Gavin Carothers and Kindli Trudell Carothers, Sean and
Melissa Kalembar, Chip and Loretta Castleberry