Letters to the Editor 8-27-15

Wanting a car-plane
Editor: I am writing about a letter in last week’s Reveille. How can I get a car-plane? Is it big enough so Marcia can drive me? My scooter has been giving me fits. A screw got loose and I ran it into the side of the barn and a part got smashed but they don’t sell them anymore. Also: How much do car-planes cost? Can people rent them?
The letter writer is exactly right. Wildfires are often followed by floods, landslides, sinkholes, etc. My brother Bill stepped into some quicksand down near the river one time and believe me it wasn’t funny. He got out.
Please let me know where I can find out about the car-planes. Call anytime, Marcia will bring me the phone.
Charlotte Heston
Boonville
Thanks for education
Editor: I was so appreciative of Susan Bennett’s “Skeptical about development proposal” letter. She expressed her skeptism, however I saw her information to be beneficial in providing much needed history and facts about the Alexander Valley Development. The Reveille reports information but I seldom read any in-depth information about important issues that affect this town.
It certainly sounds like this is a “family plan.” Did Mr. Slavik discuss his plan with his wife so she could start the campaign against the airport? I wonder how many Cloverdale residents made the connection between wife and developer? I think this fact should raise many questions about the proposed development.
And what is the responsibility of the Planning Commission to inform residents about the facts about the establishment of the airport? And does the Planning Commission research other potential businesses that could be approached for proposals for use of this land? And what is the environmental impact?
Opinions from both sides are being printed and discussed. I believe we should make well informed opinions. Thank you Susan for “educating” our town about the concerns that should be discussed around this development proposal.
Shirley Davis
Cloverdale
Disappointed by cheap shot
Editor: My husband Geoff and I had the great good fortune to move to what we thought was Cloverdale three years ago. We were amazed at how we were welcomed and enfolded in the community by an array of people. We have been given so much by so many and we have been honored to give back as much as we can. I’m the current president of the Cloverdale Arts Alliance board and also sit on the boards of Wallace House and the Alexander Valley Film Society. Geoff and I are spearheading a campaign to help CUSD bring a vibrant music program back into all three schools. We have invested in a number of local businesses because of our commitment to Cloverdale’s wellbeing. And everywhere we go, to everyone we know and meet we talk about what a wonderful town we live in.
But according to Susan Bennett’s letter in the Reveille’s Aug. 13 edition, we have been lying all this time. She wrote, regarding Jes Slavik – the proposed developer of the Alexander Valley Resort – that Jes does not live in Cloverdale city boundaries, instead he lives in Sonoma County in the hills around our lovely city. At the presentation I attended, Jes boasted of living in Cloverdale for 15 years. It would have been honest if he had stated that he lived in the hills above the city.
So all of us who live east of the river, aren’t Cloverdalians at all, but Sonoma Countians? Who knew?
What a petty and sad approach to community. I know it was just a cheap shot in a lively debate over a controversial project. It was just so very, very cheap. I didn’t appreciate it at all and cannot regard anyone who has such a small vision of Cloverdale as a credible voice on issues facing our town.
Geoff and I and many, many of our neighbors are proud to consider ourselves a part of Cloverdale and will continue to support the town and its economic, cultural and educational development.
Nancy Harris Dalwin
Cloverdale
Important conversations
Editor: I’d like to comment on the new feelings that seem to be starting to permeate Cloverdale. It feels like these last couple of years the energy level has risen, and folks now act a little more hopeful in their dealings in town. We have new business, downtown is looking much better (except for the closed gas station on 1st and Cloverdale Blvd.) the museum is getting a facelift, more activities are happening on the Boulevard, (and not just on weekends) and people in general are a bit more outgoing and smiling.
Even the resort proposition is bringing new and important dialog to our city, and creating conversations that will help us chart our future in an intelligent and ecologically sound way. All these factors are making Cloverdale stronger and an even better place to live. This city is a “Brigadoon” and it’s our job to protect and nurture her. The open exchange of ideas, thoughts and desires will assure this. Let’s continue to work together to keep Cloverdale special. Remember, once something is gone, it’s gone.
Robert Redner
Cloverdale
Focus on youth
Editor: I’ve been watching the airport debate with some interest. Based on numbers quoted in this paper, we are spending approximately $50,000 per year to keep it in its current derelict condition. Obviously, it could be maintained better and made less ramshackle, but at what cost? While several people have suggested that it is important for safety, I can’t help but wonder what the likelihood is that between the Ukiah and Healdsburg airports we wouldn’t have adequate coverage during fire season, or if it is has ever been used as a staging place for CalFire, etc. Couldn’t Highway 101 be used to land planes in an emergency?
In all of the comments about the airport, aside from a possible emergency, it hasn’t been stated what proportion of our community is regularly served by it. I can’t help but imagine a very small number. If the airport doesn’t pay for itself, then taxpayers are subsidizing those wealthy enough to afford having a plane or renting one for a lark.
If that is the case, and the city of Cloverdale is in the business of subsidizing sports, wouldn’t the money be better spent on a sports park and dog park, where a much larger proportion of our citizenry would derive benefit – if not for themselves, then for their children, their grandchildren, or their nieces and nephews? In a town that doesn’t have a lot of money to spare or activities for kids, focusing on our youth would help build a better community and pay the best long term dividends.
Sonja Kluesener
Cloverdale
Land use input
Editor: To the city council, planning commission and city staff: The Cloverdale Pilots Association (CPA), in response to the city’s request for public input regarding the special meeting of the council and planning commission would like to make the following comments:
1. “Whether the city is agreeable to considering an alternate recreation use on the property, in lieu of the approved golf course.”
CPA response: We are agreeable to any recreational use of the property as long as it is compatible with the Airport Safety Zone long established by the Sonoma County Airport Land Commission and the FAA.
2. “Direction as to when that alternate recreation use should be defined.”
CPA response: Alternate recreation use should be defined now as a part of the application so that all potential recreational uses can be proven to be compatible with Airport Safety Zones.
This letter was signed by 12 members of the Cloverdale Pilots Association