Council said goodbye to two
The Windsor Town Council swore in newly elected councilmembers Dominic Foppoli and Mark Millan, and re-elected councilmember Sam Salmon last Tuesday night while also saying goodbye to longtime councilmembers Steve Allen and Robin Goble.
The Dec. 3 meeting began by acknowledging Robin Goble’s contributions to the Town of Windsor. Goble was first appointed to Windsor’s Planning Commission in January of 1997 and later elected to Town Council in November 2006. She was reelected in 2010 and served as Windsor’s mayor in 2007 and again in 2012.
During her service, Goble worked on projects such as Bell Village, Fire Station 2, Hampton Inn, Kendall Jackson, Mary Agatha Furth Center, Town Green Village, Vintana and many others.
After the proclaimation was given, Goble first thanked her family for surprising her at her last council meeting, then turned to her colleagues, “It was a labor of love, it’s time to do something different, but I will still be here in Windsor.”
“It has been an absolute honor to serve the people of Windsor and serve with everyone else, including our wonderful staff,” she said.
Steve Allen was also honored with a proclamation for his 16 years of service and for his work on projects such as Bell Village, Fire Station 2, Los Amigos and Manzanita Affordable Housing Projects, among others. He also served on SCTA, the water board and the Russian River Water Shed Commission.
Like Goble, Allen started on the Windsor Planning Commission, joining in 1998 and shortly after campaigning, won a seat on Town Council. He was reelected in 2002, 2008 and 2010. He served as Windsor’s mayor in 2004, 2006 and 2010.
“I have been thinking about a couple of things as I am stepping off and it is a little bitter sweet, there is a whole lot of sweet, but it is a little hard to step down from it,” said Allen. “It has been an honor and I appreciate the people of Windsor putting me back on here again and again…I was elected in the last millennium so I have been here for awhile.”
Allen said that while he was listening to Mayor Okrepkie list the projects he was a part of, it brought up feelings of pride.
“At the same time that I am proud of these projects we have done, I am humbled to be able to work with such an incredible staff. I love being able to point to the Town Green and the downtown and all of the projects that we have done, and say ‘I had a hand in that,’” said Allen.
Following the farewells, Town Clerk Maria De La O, administered the swearing-in of reelected council member Sam Salmon and newly elected members Dominic Foppoli and Mark Millan.
All three took oath of office and proceeded with the agenda for the Dec. 3 meeting. When the time came for reorganization, and nominations opened to elect a mayor, councilmember Mark Millan thanked the voters of Windsor for his opportunity to serve and then elected Mayor Bruce Okrepkie to serve another term. Councilmember Deb Fudge nominated Sam Salmon.
“We have several challenges at our doorstep right now, particularly the ones with the Lytton Tribe. Because of this, I feel that we need to have continuity and consistency on the council right now,” said Millan.
The council voted 3-1 in favor of another term for Okrepkie. Newly elected councilmember Mark Millan was voted in as vice mayor.
Before the meeting moved to a regular agenda, one more proclamation was given to re-elected councilmember Sam Salmon for his 20 years of service on the council.
“The hours that you have put in over the years shows how much you have done for this Town and made it what it is today,” Okrepkie said.
Salmon was first elected in 1994 and campaigned for re-election five times following.
“It really has just been the people that I work with and the people that I meet on the street,” said Salmon.
