Letters to the Editor

Cows not a threat

Editor: About cows on the Montini property. I am an artist and have gone out painting where cows are, and cows are very curious and will sometimes come over to see what you are doing, seemingly to critique your painting! So I can’t see any harm in them being loose in the pasture. In fact it would spoil the scene to have a fence around a path there. Not only that, but my son recently relocated to Arizona right by Catalina State Park. He has two dogs that must be walked every day. And cows with horns are in the park loose and no one has had any trouble with them.

Margie Rangno
Sonoma

Editor: We would like to thank the people responsible for the big, lighted Christmas tree at the corner of Arnold Drive and Highway 37.
It has brightened our many trips between Sonoma and Novato during the holidays this year (and other years) and we appreciate the beautiful tree and the work that went into constructing it.
Thank you very much.

Ed and Mickey O’Flynn
Sonoma

Editor: January is National Mentoring Month. It is our hope that Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance will recruit 30 new mentors this month. Here are two letters from students at Altimira who are part of the mentoring program there. We’d love to see them in print. Thank you.

Susan Millward

Mentor Program Facilitator
Sonoma

Editor: Being a mentee is really cool. My mentor Joan and I have good times together. I feel special because I know that there’s someone there for me. My friends wish they could have a mentor who would spend time with them like my mentor does with me.

Dianely Ake
Sonoma

Editor: Hi, my name is Patricia Garcia. I go to Altimira and have been with my mentor, Debbie, since fourth grade. Having a mentor is fun and makes me feel special. There are lots of kids who would love to have a mentor in their life. Now is your turn to take a chance and become a mentor. Trust me, you will put a smile on a kid’s face.

Patricia Garcia
Sonoma

Editor: In a recent editorial (Dec. 26, 2008), you criticized the Sonoma City Council for becoming a sponsor of the newly reorganized Sonoma International Film Festival. You also attacked them for supporting the preservation of the historic Sonoma Community Center building by providing funds from the Community Development Agency, with a promise to look into additional ways to preserve the building in the future.
There were flaws in your arguments that I would like to correct.
First, you accused the council of violating their own policy in providing funds for the film festival. Yet no such policy exists. It is being developed, and still has many issues to resolve.
Next, you chastised them for providing funding outside the budget process. Yet we all know that you can’t possibly foresee every expenditure you might have in a two-year cycle. Most of us, in our businesses, have unexpected expenses that were not predicted, and when they occur, we pay for them as best we can. The council is no different.
This is a council that has demonstrated fiscal restraint on many occasions. It has followed in the footsteps of its predecessors of the past 10 years and has built comfortable reserves. If the June 30, 2008 fund balances are correct, there was nearly $4 million in project reserves, $2 million in capital reserves and $1.5 million in operating reserves in the general fund alone. Plus, there was a balanced budget, which still had money left at the end of the year that was allocated to three nonprofits. To put this in perspective, 13 years ago there were no reserves. I’d say we have elected excellent stewards of public funds.
The community center is one of Sonoma’s treasured historic buildings. The nonprofit housed in it provides cultural, artistic and recreational services that some cities have to provide through their general funds. It is difficult to preserve this building and still provide programs for a large number of residents. On June 30, the Community Development Agency projects and administration fund showed a $6 million reserve committed to capital improvements. The agency operating budget projected a $400,000 uncommitted balance at the end of the fiscal year. It was from this “remainder” that the council took the allocation for the community center, to help preserve the building, with a promise to find ways to help preserve it in the future.
Yes, there is always concern that the state will raid redevelopment funds. It has in the past and has notified cities it will do so again. This was one of the “unforeseen” expenditures that was added mid-year to the CDA budget. Hopefully, future “raids” will be known in advance and will be budgeted.
This is a community that gives to those who need help. We give our time, our money and our resources. We are a community that looks after one another. The five council members have come out of this culture – some were born into it. So it seems appropriate and consistent that these expenditures would be approved. They would not have been approved if they felt the city couldn’t afford it.

Pamela Gibson
Sonoma