NEW CITY COUNCIL...

Ya, know, I went to the City Council meeting last night.

At 5:00pm the City Council interviewed 4 candidates for the 3 vacant seats on the Design Review Board.  Appointed were Ted Luthin, former chair Zac Douch and Christine Level was named alternate.

I had to leave at 6pm, (there was an emergency Martini surplus at Hopmonk they needed help with) but when I returned at 8:00pm, they had just approved an extension on the moratorium for drive-thru windows.  This doesn't ban drive-thrus in Sebastopol at this time, it just gives the Council a full year to review the options on these environmental disasters.

Then, long into the night, the report on the Village Mobile Home park just east of downtown was discussed.  Seems the  City purchased the property in 2007 and now they are trying to figure out what to do with it.  It's costing Sebastopol mucho moolah each year and there's no clear solution in sight.  The odd thing to me was that no one from the trailer park or Tombe Realty who manages the park at $110,000.00 a year, attended the meeting, though they were invited.

I wonder if Tombe was nervous about answering some of the Council's questions.

Stay tuned.

But what impressed me about this new council is that every member provided thought provoking questions and opinions that really dug deep below the surface of the issues at hand.

I was very impressed and truthfully, pleasantly surprised at the type of constructive dialogue that every member took part in.

KUDOS to our new council!  Now let's get out there and support them!  Show up.

Please go to the Sebastopol City website for the minutes of all meetings.

http://ci.sebastopol.ca.us/page/meeting-dates-agendas-minutes-reports

Kathleen Shaffer pulling up stakes?

Well, how do you like 'dem apples?

It seems that Kathleen Shaffer has listed her N. High St. home in Sebastopol with Terra Firma Global Partners.  In fact they just reduced it to $649K, so they seem to be in a hurry.

Now I have no idea if she's leaving Dodge or re-locating within city limits, but if you read my earlier post, "CONSPIRACY THEORY", this fits right in to what I theorized.

But it wouldn't make sense to sell that terrific little cottage in that great location just to move to another part of Sebastopol?

You see, Ms. Shaffer has actually done some good work here.  I won't go into listing the accomplishments, but they include re-stringing Christmas lights throughout Main St. businesses.

But, why leave town?  Just because she lost an election doesn't mean she can't continue the work she did.  She can still visit the elderly.  She can still host food banks and clothing drives.  She can still help steer the entrepreneurial spirit with SEP.  She can still voice her opinion publicly at City Council meetings.  She can still be a force in rallying Rotary Club members behind causes dear to her.  And now she doesn't have to do it "under the radar".

Or maybe, the Agenda was the priority.

Maybe Kathleen Shaffer was an instrumental pawn in bringing the CVS/Chase project to Sebastopol.  You see, the CVS M.O. across America has been to enter a community though Rotary contacts.  They promise that this project will be an "all-Rotary" project; everyone (in the Rotary) wins.  Then the Rotary bullies the City Council into approving the project before the community can get involved.  Before you know it, the town is forever changed.  Landmarks and historical buildings are razed, local businesses are undercut and traffic insulates a community.  Well, at least, that's what happened here.

Is this a telling move by a former council member who once claimed great love and devotion for Sebastopol?  If so, it's pretty scary.

Or am I completely out of my mind?

Uh.  Don't answer that.

CVS vs. Sebastopol...

Here's a link to another article by Shepherd Bliss.

THANK YOU, SHEPHERD!


http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/320-80/15495-cvs-pharmacy-embattled-coast-to-coast

GENERAL PLAN SUB-COMMITTEE...

I encourage all to attend as many as possible of these General Plan Sub-Committee meetings.  This is a terrific opportunity to witness our march toward the future as a community.  No more "under cover of night" operations.  No more special interest driven agendas.

Have your voice heard.

Be informed.

Here are the dates and subjects:

Jan 7:     Environmental Sustainability

Jan 10:    Economic Vitality

Jan 14:    Community Health

Jan 17     HousingJan 24:    Conservation

Jan 28:    Parks and Open Space

Jan 31:    Community Identity

All meetings at Vets/SCA building, start promptly at 6 and end at 7:30.

THE GENERAL PLAN...

If you are reading this, you need to spread the word and attened one or more or ALL of the Sebastopol General Plan sub-committee meetings listed on the City of Sebastopol website:

http://ci.sebastopol.ca.us/city-sebastopol-community-meetingsgeneral-plan-subcommittees

The prioritized findings from each of the community meetings will be posted in the General Plan Update section of that same website.  In addition, they will be available for any future groups to reference at such time that Sebastopol engages in the formal update of its General Plan.  Three other topics have yet to be scheduled: Land Use, Safety, and Circulation (Traffic).

And tell them what you think!  This is what we fought for:

A VOICE!

To learn more about the Community Meetings, or to be added to the email list for updates concerning the SSU project and the eventual General Plan Update, call the Planning Department Monday through Thursday (707) 823-6167, or email rmansour@cityofsebastopol.org.