I’ve compiled a brief list of resources for people who would like to take responsibility for staying informed of the many City and community meetings, forums, round tables, Town Halls and other events that happen every month in Sebastopol. Whether or not one chooses to attend is up to them. There are usually ways for community members to comment on items whether or not they attend meetings by contacting the appropriate individuals (listed below) by email, phone, or snail mail.
I’m sure there are many other resources that I am missing. I invite readers to add to this list.
MONTHLY GOVERNMENT MEETINGS, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTICED
All City meetings are open to the public.
All agendas and accompanying documentation are published on the City website the Thursday before each meeting. Agendas are posted on the notice board outside City Hall (7120 Bodega Ave.). Archived meetings are available on the City website.
City Council Meetings
1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month, 6PM
Youth Annex (425 Morris St.)
Comment in person and/or address comments to individual or all City Council members. See complete contact information on the City website, but the simplest way to address comments to all of them is to contact City Clerk Mary Gourley and ask her to enter your comments into the record and relay them to the Council. Her email is [email protected].
City Council Meetings may be watched live online here.
Past meeting videos are also archived there.
Some older meeting videos are archived on YouTube.
For those who aren’t able to/don’t want to go to a City Council meeting or watch it online and would like to see the outcome of these meetings before the official minutes are published, Sebastopol Citizens usually publishes a recap within a few days of each meeting. Subscribe here.
Design Review Board Meetings
1st & 3rd Wednesday of the month, 4PM
City Hall (7120 Bodega Ave.)
Comment in person and/or address comments to [email protected]
Planning Commission Meetings
2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month, 7PM
Youth Annex
425 Morris St.
Comment in person and/or address comments to [email protected]
CITY EMAIL UPDATES & NEWSLETTERS
Subscribe to updates from the City by contacting City Clerk Mary Gourley at [email protected]
Subscribe to Planning Director’s newsletter by contacting Kenyon Webster at [email protected]
Note: The City is updating its website to improve usability. It is slated to go live by November 1, 2016. The update will also make it possible for people to subscribe to an RSS feed and follow specific topics that interest them. Watch the City website and Facebook page for news on this.
PRINT AND ONLINE RESOURCES
Sonoma West Times & News
Press Democrat
Sonoma Gazette, especially Mayor Gurney’s “Sebastappeal” column (free)
North Bay Bohemian (free)
Notice board outside City Hall
Notice board at Youth Annex
Sebastopol Planning Director’s newsletter in monthly water bill for Sebastopol residents
ONLINE
City of Sebastopol website
(Look for a new, improved website soon)
Wacco (preaching to the choir, I realize)
FOLLOW OR JOIN ON FACEBOOK:
City of Sebastopol
West County News Feed
The Core Project
Cittaslow Sebastopol
You Know You’re from Sebastopol When