Concerned Citizen Looking for Your Suggestions

[flygal]

I am very concerned about the construction activities currently happening at "A Place to Play" park on the Corner of Fulton and West Third, in Santa Rosa.

Not only are trees being cut down along the creek trail, but the sprinklers are running non-stop, while my own water bill states we are in a WATER SHORTAGE Emergency!

However, after speaking with Jen at the SR Parks Dept., my greatest concern is that they are now in the process of coating acres of land with Roundup! This is a product developed by Monsanto and it is not safe for humans (although they will tell you otherwise), it is not safe for the environment, and it will surely get into our water supply, with the huge amount they are using (hundreds of gallons). Read more about RoundUp here. (https://www.theecologist.org/pages/archive_detail.asp?content_id=2349)

I tried to call 4 members of the Santa Rosa Parks and Recreation Dept., but not one of them was available to speak with me and they have not returned any phone calls.

Why is the City not using Native Ground Cover and Native Plants for Xeriscaping in this time of need regarding water conservation? Why are they using chemicals such as RoundUp when there are other more earth-friendly options?

Please drive by this so called "park" and see for yourself.

Although it is too late to stop the current actions, there must be something we can do to halt them from further destruction and from continuing to spray the RoundUP concoction where nature exists and where children are supposed to play in the near future.

I look forward to hearing from you!
Lisa Casey, Concerned Citizen

[NudeTea]

By trying to call not just one but 4 of the Parks and Rec members you have far exceeded the norm. Double Gratitude to you.

Sadly, it's typical for city personnel to be under public scrutiny from anyone and everyone who happens to drive by and see them do anything. All kinds of opinions about right and wrong and why and why not ~ city workers hear it all day every day. The effect of this can in some cases cause a numbing effect in their minds where they just go about doing what they do regardless, or in your case specifically ... it would cause them to simply not have time to talk to every caller.

I look forward to hearing a change in the pattern of what they're doing to your park. I love the sound of frogs ... I don't hear them as much when rainy season is over ... wet weather seems to pull their croaks out into the open air.

I don't have answers for you, Lisa. But I certainly applaud your concern and your efforts.

Did you speak to the workers that physically were on site? If so, were they willing to contact the bosses on your behalf and state that a resident has a concern?

[lifequest]

I've found that contacting the Santa Rosa City Council member for your area or the mayor can be helpful. I had problems in the past with the Water Department and this method worked for me. Even got an apology of sorts from the department as a result for being so unresponsive.

Some of the department heads and employees are so insulated from the public they're supposed to serve that they can sometimes act irresponsibly. The City got into trouble with work done by a contractor for the Place to Play and they may be practicing burying their heads in the sand and hoping you'll just go away.

Be persistent and even try interesting the Press Democrat in the story as well.

[flygal]

I called both the Press Democrat and The Bohemian today and left messages about the situation and I am waiting to hear back from them. Sadly, it doesn't surprise me that officials and city workers bury their heads. However, one would think in this day and age, and in this forward-thinking part of the country, that such pathetic and harmful practices would not be commonplace.

I was also told by a Sebastopol resident tonight that the use of Roundup is banned in Sebastopol. I don't know if this is true or not, but how can the lady behind the desk of the SR parks and rec, sit on the phone and tell me Roundup is perfectly safe, when it is supposedly banned in the next town over?

So far, it has not been possible to talk to the actual workers, as there is a locked fence around the work area. I was also told today when I called the city that since the area does have a fence around it that the city does not have to post any warning signs or give any information out about what they are doing... meaning, unless somebody is watching, they can do whatever they want to.

[The A Team]

My question is -is Parks and Rec actually doing the work? My experience with them they are reasonable and listen to our desires of no spray.
You absolutely can get the spraying stopped , we have done this many times.
It is best to write a short petition with signatures and explanation. I am wondering if this is a private construction/LANDSCAPE company?Still, I would use the same process, find the contact person and fax the petition. This type of trashing the environment needs to end. It is easy to find evidence of the toxicity of Roundup online. A good website(s) is Californians for Alternatives to toxins, also google PANNA. Also it is banned by the State Attorney of NY to label itself as safe.
I'd be happy to sign on a petition and know a few other people who would if you find the site Supervisors. Usually the workers are unwilling to talk about it. Thanks for fighting this
Andrea

[jay]

Lisa:

I'd call the County Environmental Health Department at 565-6565 at the county level. There may be some jurisdictional overlap where they have standards that the Parks Department isn't upholding. If anything, they should be able to assist you in finding out what standards there are for Round-up and possibly steer you in the right direction. Also, they would be a good sounding board for discussion on what alternative options there might be, etc.

Also, talking to the Parks and Rec people really isn't where the authority is. They are an arm of the City. You should be talking to your city council people. Especially those who are environmentally aware.

I'd eventually call your supervisor. If you really wanted to stir the soup, I'd call every supervisor. But that is probably overkill at this point and should only be used if you have a plan for going county-wide in stopping the use of Round-up.

If you have any questions you can give me a call. Email me first and I'll respond.

Good luck - jay

[flygal]

Ok, I spoke with Tom LaCoco from the Parks and Rec dept. yesterday, and he is very familiar with the goings on at 'A Place to Play'. A bit of good news is that the city is at least using reclaimed water for the park. I was told that they don't have to post signs about any of this, since they have a locked fence around the area.

Tom also told me that the city is working with a contractor who was spraying a hydroseeding concoction with a cellulose binder, a dilute fertilizer, and a blue colorant. He didn't know what else was in that particular concoction and he wasn't sure of the correct names of the ingredients being used. He did say, I could find this info out by trying to contact the contractor. I don't know the name of the contractor at this point, so that is the next step.

He also informed me that the City of SR has over 50 parks and they are down to only 15 park maintenance workers due to budget, so they are going to continue using RoundUP in all parks as they have been doing for several years now. He stated that if I had a concern I should go to City Council, but that since he was the go-to man for City Council, they were just going to contact him.

I think the real issue has become what cost effective, safe alternatives to Roundup are there for weed killing?

I have seen volunteer work and clean up days in parks around the city in the past. I am wondering if something like that wouldn't work--like a weed pulling party. :wink: Personally, I don't hate weeds, so I can't see the justification of using Roundup throughout Santa Rosa, but I am going to look into alternatives before going to City Council.

Thanks for everybody's responses and helpful information. If Sebastopol can outlaw the use of chemicals such as Roundup, why can't Santa Rosa?


Lisa:

I'd call the County Environmental Health Department at 565-6565 at the county level. There may be some jurisdictional overlap where they have standards that the Parks Department isn't upholding. If anything, they should be able to assist you in finding out what standards there are for Round-up and possibly steer you in the right direction. Also, they would be a good sounding board for discussion on what alternative options there might be, etc.

Also, talking to the Parks and Rec people really isn't where the authority is. They are an arm of the City. You should be talking to your city council people. Especially those who are environmentally aware.

I'd eventually call your supervisor. If you really wanted to stir the soup, I'd call every supervisor. But that is probably overkill at this point and should only be used if you have a plan for going county-wide in stopping the use of Round-up.

If you have any questions you can give me a call. Email me first and I'll respond.

Good luck - jay

[The A Team]

Well, Tom knows there are no spray parks, including Juilliard Park, which our group Friends of Juilliard takes care of as well as Doyle Park, that a group there cares for.

He gave you a standard line to get rid of you, but as I said- , written petitions do carry power at Parks and Rec, as well as at City Council. And there are no spray advocates on the council! It is true Parks people are overworked at this point and- willing to consider alternatives if there is a small group willing to do a little bit of work, such as going out for a few hours a month with weed tools and weeding. I am personally pro-weed but we work with in their guidlines for Parks. This could be done at a Place for Play as well. We found that about 7 out of 10 of our neighbors did not want spray and were willing to help. You may be surprised how many people would be interested in no spray in your neighborhood. More power to you- Good luck!

[Siddartha]

I would be delighted to go to city hall with you to file a statement and to change policy . I appreciate you having an intrest in sonoma countys health and your familys ! I am interested in a poisen free environment !

Siddartha

[flygal]

Thanks again for everybody's continued support.

This past Saturday I volunteered at a local community garden. While I was there, I happened to meet several people who are activists in our community, so I picked their brains. They helped me to develop a plan of action that is completely doable in my opinion. Anybody interested in helping me on this journey is sincerely welcome!

Here is what was suggested to me:
Create a presentation about my research on the negative impacts of RoundUp and provide suggestions for alternatives. Then contact Veronica Jacobi. She was recommended as the best member of City council to speak with regarding this subject matter. Her email is [email protected].
Design an informational flier on this topic and organize my neighbors. I also need to include those families whose children play soccer on the fields. I need to obtain the name of the person in charge of the soccer organizations that use Place to Play so I can get a schedule of the games to distribute flyers at. I definitely need to make the flyer bilingual, so I will need some help with this.
Possibly contact the Sierra Club as they have a strong voice too and it would be good to obtain their support. There is a Sierra Club meeting on 7/25 that is going to be about topics like this that affect our community, but I would not like to wait until July.If you would like to help in any way, please let me know. I think that educating the general public is a great place to start. I believe there aren't too many families out there who really want their kids and/or pets playing around in grass that is full of harmful chemicals.




I would be delighted to go to city hall with you to file a statement and to change policy . I appreciate you having an intrest in sonoma countys health and your familys ! I am interested in a poisen free environment !

Siddartha

[The Owl]

Thanks again for everybody's continued support.

This past Saturday I volunteered at a local community garden. While I was there, I happened to meet several people who are activists in our community, so I picked their brains. They helped me to develop a plan of action that is completely doable in my opinion. Anybody interested in helping me on this journey is sincerely welcome!

Here is what was suggested to me:
Create a presentation about my research on the negative impacts of RoundUp and provide suggestions for alternatives. Then contact Veronica Jacobi. She was recommended as the best member of City council to speak with regarding this subject matter. Her email is [email protected].
Design an informational flier on this topic and organize my neighbors. I also need to include those families whose children play soccer on the fields. I need to obtain the name of the person in charge of the soccer organizations that use Place to Play so I can get a schedule of the games to distribute flyers at. I definitely need to make the flyer bilingual, so I will need some help with this.
Possibly contact the Sierra Club as they have a strong voice too and it would be good to obtain their support. There is a Sierra Club meeting on 7/25 that is going to be about topics like this that affect our community, but I would not like to wait until July.If you would like to help in any way, please let me know. I think that educating the general public is a great place to start. I believe there aren't too many families out there who really want their kids and/or pets playing around in grass that is full of harmful chemicals.

This is such a good idea. I am appalled by the number of people I see every day spraying this stuff and by the streaked brown amid the new green near roadsides and fences. Today while shopping in the hardware store a man came in and complained about wanting to knock back some invasive blackberies and the old guy working that department said ROUND UP, just like a commercial. People are just programmed to use and recommend that stuff... The company that makes it says it breaks down but what they don't say is breaks down in SUNLIGHT. The stuff that runs down into drainage ditches and through shady culverts and streams stays active a long time.

[The A Team]

A while back there was a post about toxic Round Up being sprayed at a Place to Play, I couldn't find the original post.
I got this notice from Parents for a Safer Environment, they may be a group to join forces with, if you're still out there.:fairy duster:
Here is a link:
Take Action | Pesticide Action Network North America (https://action.panna.org/t/5185/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=2018)

[Barry]

A while back there was a post about toxic Round Up being sprayed at a Place to Play, I couldn't find the original post.
I got this notice from Parents for a Safer Environment, they may be a group to join forces with, if you're still out there.:fairy duster:
Here is a link:
Take Action | Pesticide Action Network North America (https://action.panna.org/t/5185/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=2018)

I have merged this post with the original thread. You can see the whole thread here: https://www.waccobb.net/forums/general-community/53200-concerned-citizen-looking-your-suggestions.html#post89804

[jeffreyiam]

A while back there was a post about toxic Round Up being sprayed at a Place to Play, I couldn't find the original post.
I got this notice from Parents for a Safer Environment, they may be a group to join forces with, if you're still out there.:fairy duster:
Here is a link:
Take Action | Pesticide Action Network North America (https://action.panna.org/t/5185/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=2018)



there was an article this week in the paper where it has been proven that round up is not as safe as it was made out to be and to use caution

[The Owl]

there was an article this week in the paper where it has been proven that round up is not as safe as it was made out to be and to use caution

I told you so... it has never been safe. In the absence of sunlight, it can persist for a long time in the environment. Just think about where you see these happy homeowners spraying that stuff... usually in and around roadside drainage ditches where it gets carried by the water there into culverts, into shady woodland streams, and just plain old soaking into the ground.