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Forestville January 24, 2004 Town Meeting Announcement Town Meetings occur about three times a year. These meetings are to update the community on the issues facing and developments planned for Forestville. Please check the calendar to see the dates or contact FPA Board Chair for more information. |
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Saturday, January 24, 10:00am Sharp - 12:30pm
Oddfellows Hall, Forestville FPA Board Elections • Saving Our River Board Nominees The River and Elections The meeting will be threefold:
Over the past year, FPA members have educated themselves on the issues facing Forestville. Through actively representing the concerns of our community to County bodies, we have discovered that there are people making decisions for the county who honestly want and value our input. When we provide that input, it makes a difference. This insight reinforces our commitment to understanding the needs and desires of Forestville and providing a voice for those needs and desires when and where it matters. At our next Town Meeting, we will inform you on the issues currently facing our community and how your voice can influence outcomes. “There is a secret to the creation and nurturing of true community. Once people know the secret, they can create community anywhere they choose- any place they happen to find themselves. The secret is to take the world as your own- and to take full responsibility for it. Once a person steps into the circle of those who take responsibility for the happy operation of the community- once someone decides that they are not a customer of government, but that they are government itself- the magic of community begins. As long as we are breathing and thinking, and our hearts beating, the world is ours to shape as we please, according to our values.” Granny D, contributed by Birgit Carstensen Imagine Forestville Without the Russian River For those who haven’t heard, our Board of Supervisors (also the Water Agency) are proposing that 80% of the summer flow of the Russian River be detoured away from the river and sold for development and agricultural purposes, mostly to other counties. The ploy to justify this is to save endangered species of salmon in the river. The problem with that story is that the rivers where this has been tried have suffered painful failure. Supporting ecosystems die, water quality becomes degraded, the water gets too warm and stagnant, disease enters and massive amounts of fish die, as happened in the Klamath. In our case, a 100 year old eco-system is destroyed, the river as a tourist destination is gone, our economy becomes severely threatened and our West County water supply is diminished, threatening existing agriculture and our future. The Board of Supervisors have placed this item on their Feb. 6 agenda. We must all be there! And to show our combined numbers, please wear blue to represent our water. Thank You. On January 22, Mike Reilly is hosting an educational forum with Lynn Woolsey as the Keynote speaker and a panel of experts to educate us on the issue at the Guerneville Vets Hall. Our January Town Meeting will bring in other experts to focus on the effects of this proposal for Forestville and what we can do. Relevant Information By trying to learn from the experience of the Klamath River, we may be able to avoid duplicating their tragic mistakes. According to articles by Seth Zukerman and Earth Justice, the situation developed from conflicting claims on Klamath water. Their political system promised it to Indian tribes, farmers, and wildlife refuges, without considering natural limits. The federal government was forced to admit that there normally wasn’t enough water to satisfy those promises and the needs of fish and their habitat. Earth Justice won a lawsuit with the Federal government, compelling them to balance the needs of fish and communities in their long-term plan for water use. Surely that lawsuit applies to water use planning across the country. In the Russian River, most spawning takes place in its tributaries. The health of those tributaries, supported by the health of the river’s main stem is the key to the life cycle of the salmon according to an article on the Russian River by Karen Gaffney (Circuit Rider Productions) and Laurel Marcus (State Coastal Conservancy). The health of the river is preserved by a healthy riparian habitat and “the dynamic equilibrium of the river system.” According to ecologist, Laurel Marcus, the threatened species of salmon in the Russian River require the water to be less than 68 degrees to survive. For this to happen, water can not be too shallow and must have adequate riparian coverage for shade. Obviously, a reduced flow is not the answer to saving our fish. Due to the deep level of concern the Board of Supervisors have shown over the preservation and health of our fish population, I look forward to them supporting a healthy river by reducing or eliminating the dumping of wastewater into the river, cleaning up the illegal ‘septic systems’ along the river, supporting precautionary measures to prevent damaging runoff from reaching the river and its tributaries, eliminating river mining and other mining operations that impact the river and its tributaries, gravel pit restoration and repairing and nurturing supporting riparian habitats along the river and its tributaries. These things paired with sensible conservation practices can assure happy and healthy fish, water supplies and communities well into our future. FPA Board Elections After a year of developing the FPA into a well functioning and effective organization, we will formally elect our first official Board of Directors at the January Town Meeting. These elections are open to every resident of Forestville to both run for the Board and vote. Up to fourteen seats can be filled by these elections. Another three seats will be filled by a representative from the Forestville Chamber, the Youth Park and a youth representative. Those who have currently stepped forward to run for the Board are included in this issue of the Gazette. In addition, there will be an opportunity at the meeting for anyone interested in running to place their name on the ballot. They will then have 1 minute to share the qualifications they offer the community and why they want to serve. The Board will consist of both one and two year terms. Elections will be held between 10:30 and 11:00 and will be determined by those attending the meeting and mail-in ballots (located in the current issue of the Gazette). Board Nominations Anyone interested in running for the FPA Board of Directors should contact Elizabeth Nagel as soon as possible. Your picture and a short paragraph on your qualifications and/or your intentions for running will be included in the next issue of the Forestville Gazette. Vote You can vote by coming to the January 24 meeting. Pick up a ballot and drop it into the ballot box anytime from 10 until about noon. Ballots will be counted and announced at the end of the meetings. Nominations for FPA Board of Directors (Below are the current ones submitted. Check back for others as they come in or pick up a West County Gazette.) 
Sig AndermanI want to serve on the Forestville Planning Association Board of Directors because I am deeply committed to a healthy future for Forestville, and believe that the residents of this beautiful town should have a voice in its destiny. My wife Susan and I have lived in Forestville since 1998. I have been a volunteer member of the interim Board of Directors of the Forestville Planning Association, and am a member of the Forestville Citizens for Sensible Growth. I am a successful businessman, and am CEO of Ellie Mae, Inc., an Internet-based connectivity platform for the mortgage industry. 
D. J. CarpenterI’m a community minded Architect and have served on the interim board of the FPA and am a member of the Sonoma County Housing Advocacy Group. I’m currently enrolled in the Leadership Training for a Sustainable Future, studying current local issues and have an 11-year history working with the Sonoma County PRMD. I believes in the strength of a diverse community built on responsible interdependence and mutual respect. I also feel it is our duty to ensure the built environment develops in a way that benefits our community and its long term quality of life through more thoughtful design. 
Anne GreenblattI've loved the Russian River for 30 years, and value the small town character of Forestville. I'm a career counselor at Sonoma State, and was formerly an environmental educator/nonprofit director. I bring a passion for environmental quality, low-density affordable housing, and a downtown that nurtures local businesses and a strong sense of community. 
Elizabeth NaegleI am a registered nurse at the Indian Health Project and I am passionate about healthy living, community, and our environment. I have been on the interim FPA board and would like to continue as part of a team to keep citizens informed about proposed changes in our town so we can all have a voice in Forestville’s future. 
Richard NaegleHaving lived in Forestville for four years, I continue to love its beauty and diversity — both in terms of nature and people. I would like to help maintain and further the quality of life and sense of community that we share even in the midst of inevitable change. Professionally, I am a psychotherapist and educator who has served on the board of directors of The Guild for Psychological Studies in S.F., The Redwood Men’s Center in Santa Rosa, and the interim FPA. I am a husband, father, and grandfather whose current passions include singing, poetry, playing the piano, and exploring mythology. 
Joan RibackMy skills as an Organization Development Consultant have been devoted to the development of the FPA for the past 18 months. I hold a deep level of caring for and an understanding of our town, the issues we face and the most effective methods of working with the people of Forestville and the county to create our best possible future. I hope to apply all I have learned to serve Forestville for another year. 
Gary StarrI have been fortunate to travel throughout the world, and when I come back to Forestville, I still marvel at its diversity, and its beauty. While rampant growth has happened all around Forestville, so far this town still has kept its small town atmosphere. When we evaluate any expansion plans, we need to simply ask the questions, Who Gains? Who Pays? Does the applicant really need the expansion for a livelihood? Will the community as whole really benefit or be harmed from this expansion? I believe that most of us live in Forestville because of just that… it is Forestville. Let’s work to keep it that way. Back to Top Back to Town Meeting Page |