The highlights of Healdsburg
I do not want to start a debate with Richard Burg, however I thought his letter in last week’s Tribune was far from what we actually have in Healdsburg regarding the city manager and the city leadership. Richard’s comments made it sound like we were some backward country unable to get out of our own way.
The following is just a short list of the great things about Healdsburg he failed to mention: excellent police department, very low crime rate, excellent fire department made up of professionals as well as dedicated volunteers, outstanding recreation department taking care of our many parks and tree lined streets, several schools, including The Healdsburg School, Saint John’s School, Fitch Mountain school,Healdsburg Elementary, Healdsburg Junior High and Healdsburg High School, not to mention the numerous excellent preschools which take care of our diverse mix of children.
The city finances are in very good shape even with the recent fires and virus that have hit us over the last three years. If we take the time to look around, we will see a very strong and all-inclusive industrial base. We have a large lumber yard, wine tank manufacturing company, wineries, electronic companies, door manufacturing company, a couple of large steel manufacturing companies, gravel company and blacktop plant and this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Our downtown features a great Plaza surrounded by world class lodging as well as 4-star restaurants, many small locally owned businesses catering to the tourist as well as our community at large. One block off the Plaza we have a world-famous bakery and even farther north you find 3 very well-established car dealerships all of which are very supportive of our community. We have 1st class grocery stores, several doctors, dentists and great health support staff and a community hospital.
We have an excellent senior center, museum and library that continue to serve our community well every day despite the many setbacks of the last few years. We all know our real estate can be pricy however that has not held us back in supporting low income housing and our continued efforts to create more low, moderate and middle income housing even with a growth management ordinance that makes it very hard. There are several new projects coming to town, the Mill District, the north entry housing, and senior housing project as well as the new middle-income project on Chiquita Road.
Healdsburg may not be perfect but with the past and current leadership through the city managers and staff as well as the many commissions and committees feeding as much information to the city council as possible, I believe we are head and shoulders above the rest of the world. There will always be room for improvement and I believe if we pay attention to the leadership of the past and our history, and grow with what has already been done, we will continue to be the best little town in the country. If the Tribune would have allowed me more space I would have told you about the great service clubs within our community supporting everything from farmers market to Future Farmers, 4-H, Little League, Wonder League, many Soccer Clubs, the Healdsburg Boys & Girls Club and on and on.
As someone whose family has been a part of Healdsburg since 1850, currently seven generations, I am very proud of Healdsburg and what we all have accomplished.
Jerry Eddinger
Healdsburg
