LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 9-13-12

Blame the state
Editor: I have followed the Graton Community Services District for years. They have a similar history to my district in why they were formed.
The Graton CSD was formed because it used to be operated by a larger entity that viewed the treatment of Graton wastewater and its facilities unimportant, not a priority, and cut corners. Their negligence led to untreated water to be spilled into Atascadero creek seven years ago, polluting the creek, contaminating drinking water wells, incurring fines and requirements from the state.
This led Graton to form their local service district. It is the state fines and requirements from before the district was formed that is causing the district to have tertiary treatment now and the rate hikes experienced.
It is not the fault of the board or their general manager. The Graton CSD has tried to save its ratepayers money by trying to prevent the current costly tertiary treatment project requirement. They have done this by consistently producing such high quality water that fish live year round in their finishing ponds.
It has not been enough to appease the state. I’m sure it has been a huge effort and has taken a lot of time and planning, but they actually acquired funding in these times when there is minimal funding for public works. I’m disappointed to read in the paper that a few misinformed people want to undermine it. I support the district and all that it has been doing.
Hope Sturges
Director Tomales CSD
Rohnert Park is okay
Editor: In his Aug. 30 column (“Compromise and kindness”), Councilmember Patrick Slayter “publicly admonishes those who cast Rohnert Park in a negative light.”
Slayter must be admonishing me. In my Aug. 23 letter to the Sonoma West Times & News (“Sebastopol at crossroads”), I wrote that Sebastopol can choose to “redevelop our downtown like Sonoma or Healdsburg. Or we can redevelop to resemble Rohnert Park.”
This isn’t casting Rohnert Park in any light other than the light of reality.
Here is my public response to Councilmember Slayter:
Patrick Slayter, Kathleen Shaffer and Guy Wilson made the wrong decision and voted to approve a tasteless, auto-centric, strip mall in our downtown core. These three don’t taste our “Local Flavor.” They are blind to our “Global Vision.”
Boss Armstrong bullied the City Council with their hired attorneys and court reporters. Fear of litigation against the City by Boss Armstrong/CVS/Chase numbed some hearts, shrank some minds, and closed some ears to public comments. The law did not compel approval of CVS/Chase. Developers have sued us before. We have won.
Three council members were wooed or cowed by Boss Armstrong and they voted against the Sebastopol community on Aug. 7.
Worse, despite what Kathleen Shaffer says as she campaigns tirelessly door to door, Shaffer worked, long and hard, for CVS/Chase “under the radar”—her words in an e-mail on Jan. 8, 2012.
Shaffer, Slayter, and Wilson dance to the beat of the developer’s drummer. The tune? “Local Sellout. Global Takeover.”
On Nov. 6, vote for Robert Jacob and John Eder. They have the eyes, ears, hearts, minds, taste, and most importantly, the courage and integrity to fight for Sebastopol’s local flavor and global vision.
Dan Gurney
Sebastopol
Pulling the wool
Editor: The following is a letter addressed to Councilwoman Kathleen Shaffer:
Dear Councilwoman Shaffer,
Anyone who has watched the CVS/Chase struggle over the past year recognizes that you have been a leading supporter of CVS/Chase.
At the very first hearing at the Council on July 5, 2011, you fought to overturn the Planning Commission’s denial of the project. Then you led the vote to grant Council approval of CVS/Chase.
When it was pointed out that the resulting traffic would violate Sebastopol’s General Plan guidelines, you tried to convince the Council that the General Plan was “only aspirational.”
At the subsequent meetings of the Design Review Board, you were invariably sitting with the developer’s supporters and conferring with the developer after the meetings.
When the town rallied to oppose the design, you organized supporters to turn out and to write letters of support for the developer.
For example in January 2012, as it became evident that the Design Review Board was not going to cave in to the developer, you sent e-mails to supporters stating that you were  “… working ‘under the radar’ to help Linda Johnson rally the community to express support for the project.”
Your e-mail even attached the developer’s four-color propaganda brochure of the project.
When the Design Review Board twice refused to approve the mall design of the project, you voted every time to grant the project by overturning the findings of the Design Review Board.
When Vice Mayor Kyes and Councilwoman Gurney attempted to mandate solar panels on the giant CVS building, you voted against even this accommodation to our solar Sebastopol.
Now you claim to have opposed the project, but say that you were forced to vote for it. That is unbelievable. To the people who watched you drive this project through the City Council, this seems like a brazen attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of Sebastopol’s voters.
Sebastopol Tomorrow believes that moving two existing Sebastopol businesses downtown with their 2,000 additional car trips will literally choke our downtown with traffic. You evidently think differently.
We should have the election debate about this. You should stand up and say what you really believe and not attempt to fool the voters.
For you to claim that you opposed the project but were forced to vote for it is an attempt to deceive our community.
John Kramer
Sebastopol Tomorrow
Sticking to promises
Editor: My wife and I have been residents of Sebastopol for over 40 years. In that time I cannot think of a single Councilmember that was as effective as Kathleen Shaffer. When she was campaigning for the position, she promised us and our neighbors that she would work on repairing our street, Valley View Drive. Within the year it was completed, after much hard work by Kathleen. Kathleen sticks to her promises, is honest, hard working and committed to the community. We support Kathleen Shaffer for re-election.
Larry Nielsen
Sebastopol
Vote Austin, Shaffer
Editor: The Sustainable Sebastopol citizens’ group is pleased to announce the endorsement of candidates Kathy Austin and Councilwoman Kathleen Shaffer for City Council. Both of these women have a wonderful sense of Sebastopol and how to keep it sustainable. Both are able to analyze facts and reach decisions that are based on more than one factor. We trust Ms. Austin and Ms. Shaffer to represent the Sebastopol community with common sense, mainstream values, and with fiscal responsibility. Both understand the many issues facing our town and have a good appreciation for balanced growth and business interests while maintaining our friendly, small town charm.
Ms. Shaffer was awarded the 2012 Sebastopol Outstanding Public Service Award and actively donates her time assisting several non-profit organizations. She has led the creation of the Sebastopol Entrepreneurs Project that promotes and assists small businesses. She understands the importance of Sebastopol’s varied businesses and their impact on Sebastopol’s economic vitality and quality of life. She is able to make the hard decisions based on Sebastopol facts, laws and ordinances.
Ms. Austin served on the Sebastopol Planning Commission (1992-1996) and
City Council (1996-2000). She participated in the development of the General Plan, the Zoning Ordinance, the Subdivision Ordinance, the Downtown Master Plan and the Laguna Park Master Plan. Austin’s intimate knowledge of these documents make her uniquely qualified to participate in their 2013 updating. As an architect, she has designed numerous infill projects and historic restorations in Sebastopol including Main Street and the Barlow Project.
Shaffer and Austin have hands-on experience and a proven track record. They have worked hard for our town, on many issues, always from the perspective of what’s best for all of our citizens and the surrounding community.
Randy Coffman
President, Sustainable Sebastopol
Thoughtful Eder
Editor: I like my elected officials to ask questions. As a research scientist, I am impressed when my representatives turn to more than the usual suspects of their comfortable advisors and do some original research on their own.
During the CVS/Chase design review process, I was particularly impressed by John Eder’s forwarding of Google Map links to CVS/Chase developments in other towns across the country. He found sites that had exactly the same layout as the first design (so much for their contention that the design was tailored just for us). He also found links to their Buckeye, AZ complex which in fact had a look very much like the multiple-shops design that was intended when the Council asked for something stylistically more like our downtown core. This kind of original research showed me that John is a person willing to do the research to find his own answers.
I also like officials who answer questions. When “interviewing” John, I asked him what he learned most from his experience on the Cotati City Council. He said, essentially, to never discount the possibility of alliances across the aisle. He then went on to tell me about how he and another representative, who on first glance was diametrically opposed politically, found their common ground on many issues and were able to collaborate on meaningful policies for the city.
That’s the kind of thinking I want in the elected officials representing me. I imagine you want this kind of brainpower working for you as well.
Tasha Beauchamp
Sebastopol
JPMorgan Chase
Editor: The hoopla in the CVS/Chase debate over parking lots, building designs, and compatibility with the Sebastopol General Plan obscured an important, perhaps in the long run the most important, consideration: the character and ethics of JPMorgan Chase bank.
JPMorgan Chase is not just another bank. It is one of the 10 largest banks which together control 77 percent of the nation’s banking assets. JPMorgan Chase is also an unrepentant monolith that continues its bullying and at times illegal behavior.
“The bank has paid millions in fines for deceiving investors with fake research on the sales of stocks and bonds. Chase was fined $2 billion in a settlement for its role in financing Enron Corp. In 2009 the bank agreed to an almost billion dollar settlement with the SEC to end a probe into sales of derivatives that caused public entities to lose millions. And in 2011, Chase was charged with overcharging several thousand military families for their mortgages, including active-duty personnel in Afghanistan and Iraq” (Joseph W. Cotchett, author of “Greed and the Casino Society,” in the San Francisco Chronicle Aug. 19, 2012)”.
Most recently, in reaction to several regulatory investigations of its $5.8 billion trading loss back in May on wrong-way bets on credit derivatives, the bank has persuaded its most generously funded members of Congress to push for abolition of the relevant regulations.
Also, the bank was recently discovered to be foreclosing on the homes of soldiers posted overseas, a federal crime. The bank’s response? We didn’t know.
In sum, I would not let them expand in this city no matter how lovely and fitting their building. I’d rather deal with the Mafia; they don’t pretend to be honest.
Will Riggan
Sebastopol
Proud of Sebastopol
Editor: As that great American Woody Guthrie sang, “This land is your land, this land is my land.” To paraphrase, “This town is your town. This town is our town.” You cannot take it away from us. Nor can Chase/CVS/Armstrong.
Shepherd Bliss
Sebastopol