Council Member Shaffer's newsletter

Hello Sebastopol,

Hope you are enjoying the great weather that took so long to get here. Saturday was a perfect day for the Apple Blossom Parade, and I thought the school bands were outstanding. It was good to see so many people I hadn't seen in awhile like John Wood of Burbank Heights who was watching from the Post Office steps. Great fun marching with my club, Sunrise Rotary, and our president Linda Sinkay.

Many of you have wondered what is happening with the Pellini Chevrolet property. CVS Pharmacy is interested in moving their store to the location, and Chase Bank is also interested in opening a branch on the property. It will be discussed at the Planning Commission in the near future. CVS would close their store on North Gravenstein, and new tenants would move into that building.

I am working on a town hall with Palm Drive Hospital which will be a "Senior Expo." We will provide information about medical services and care, and provide an up to date report about any changes on the state and federal levels that affect seniors. A date will be announced for the summer.

In my last newsletter, I asked for your opinion about banning the use of leaf blowers. I oppose a ban. This will come back to the council on May 17. I hope you will attend the meeting and express your opinion. I have been very gratified to see members of the community come forward and speak about this issue. Please stay involved! There are several important community issues coming up in the near future, and I will keep you advised through my newsletters. We need to hear from the Sebastopol residents on these local issues.

As you know the Sonoma County Water Agency's Board of Directors approved funding for the development of a feasibility study to develop a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program in Sonoma County. Simply put, that means we could become our own power company. Marin County has launched their own and the City of Healdsburg manages their own power which comes primarily from the Geysers. We should take the opportunity now to learn about local power so I have asked Woody Hastings of the Climate Protection Campaign to speak at a community meeting. This will be coming up in the early summer.

With the recent earthquakes that occurred in Christchurch, NZ and Japan, please take time to think about disaster preparedness. Check with the Sebastopol Fire Department about the schedule for the CERT classes and talk with your neighbors about being ready should a disaster strike. In my neighborhood, I am starting the Map Your Neighborhood Project which is a CERT program. This will acquaint neighbors with each other, and give us the basics about how to help, what to do and not to do in a disaster. I just returned from New Zealand, and I saw the terrible destruction in Christchurch. I hope everyone will think about "Mapping their Neighborhoods."

Rebuilding Together Sebastopol, (RTS) is coming up on April 30. Please volunteer, and you will spend one day helping repair homes of low income families, many of whom are seniors. My city project for the work day will be graffitti removal. Please volunteer by calling the Senior Center at 829-2440, and ask for Terry Kelly, RTS director.

I will post meeting dates on the city website and on the WaccoBB. Please contact me if I can answer questions or help with a community problem.

Kathleen Shaffer
City Council Member
Sebastopol, CA