Page 42 - Sonoma County Gazette April 2017

The Community Alliances would like to announce our stance on any proposed homeless service center. We would like to start by being very clear that we are neither for nor against any proposed service center at any proposed location at this time. We reserve the right to change that position as information changes, specifically after the town meeting hosted by Supervisor Lynda Hopkins on March 29th. We are encouraging the community to come up with constructive ideas in the event a service center is opened somewhere within our community. It is our hope to try and change the conversation from a divisive one, to let’s all work together and fix this as a community.
Spring has arrived:
Here are our initial suggestions we would like to see included in any Memorandum of Understanding (M.O.U.) between the county and any service providers that would be tasked with operations of such a facility, if a service center were placed anywhere in the lower river area. Some of these ideas could also be implemented whether or not any new service center is opened.
April is here and we just have to hang in there for Spring has arrived a bit slowly. We will have the usual Spring showers but certainly not the crazy rain we have endured all winter. The one thing I have to say about RN is that I sleep exceptionally well here. Its so peaceful and quiet under the majestic towering redwoods. With the change in seasons, there is now a nest in a tree by my house. Every morning I hear little baby birds chirping. Its lovely and I enjoy listening to their little voices. Ahh, nature at its best.
1. Complete transparency and consideration for ALL community members and businesses needs as an absolute priority. The non-homeless population has been at the bottom of the priority list for far too long.
2. Any potential service center must be restricted to the use of the existing lower river homeless population exclusively. We will NOT support any facility that attracts a larger homeless population to our area.
3. We will not support any service center that is not a clean and sober facility with licensed professional addiction and mental health services. The evidence is very clear outside the “behavior based” shelter at the Veterans’ hall, and in the surrounding areas all over downtown and lower river area in general, that the “behavior based” shelter model has had a seriously adverse impact on the community without helping the homeless population deal with their homeless, mental health, and/or addiction problems. If the intent is to solve the problem, we believe this is an absolute necessity. We further believe if another “behavior based” shelter is just going to be placed in another location, the results will similarly be unsuccessful, and the out of control problems will just continue in additional locations.
4. We need additional law enforcement to specifically deal with our unlawful behavior issues within our communities, which have significantly a ected the health of our environment and the health of our community to the point of a crisis, regardless of if a new service center is established or not. We mean this to included whether housed or unhoused, and as to not cause a nuisance or adverse/illegal situation for anyone else. No exemptions or excuses for any group. We have been meeting with the Sheri ’s department with this request for some time. We have also started a petition that can be found at various businesses in town, will be available at the town meeting, and can be found in electronic form using this link – gopetition.com/petitions/we-need-a- dedicated-deputy-at-the-river-for-homeless-issues/signatures.html
5. We want an independent citizen review board to monitor compliance of any M.O.U. between the county and any service provider, as well as to mitigate any neighborhood/ surrounding neighborhood nuisance or unlawful behavior situations for ANY service provider facilities in the lower river areas. We want the county to agree that any such board be given the proper authority necessary to promptly and e ectively resolve any violations of any M.O.U. agreements and/or nuisance/unlawful situations. We want all residents and businesses to have an e ective process for complaint resolution, with no negative impacts caused by any service center in the lower river area to continue to be tolerated or ignored.
6. We will not support any facility that is likely to perpetuate the cycle of substance abuse and homelessness.
7. No registered sex o enders should be allowed at any service center near a school under ANY circumstances. We believe the distance should exceed legal standards and be applied whether on active probation/parole or not.
8. We would like to have a farm and/or jobs program included in any proposal.
9. We would like to suggest a “savings” program in which any client income from state disability or any other source is kept in savings on their behalf with the exception of a minimum agreed upon allowance, so that when they are ready for re-entry they have
the means to begin supporting their own housing and other needs.
10. Privacy fencing should be placed around any service center to minimize impact on surrounding neighborhood, as well as tourists.
If you would like to learn more about the Lower River Area Community Alliances, become involved as a volunteer, or if you have some community concerns or solutions you would like to share, you can “like” our Guerneville Community Alliance and/or Russian River Alliance (Monte Rio) FB pages. You can also contact Mark Emmett at 707-529-0534 (Guerneville) or Chuck Ramsey at 707-239-1639 (Monte Rio).
42 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 4/17
Upcoming RN Events:
We in RN have had some beautiful, sunny days. Makes us all giddy for the sunshine to return and bestow its warmth upon us.
Garden Elves:
The RN Garden Elves have been out in the RN garden like busy little bees this past weekend. Those of us who are fortunate to reside here are aware of how beautiful the garden becomes every Summer and Fall. It is a lot of work
to maintain the garden and keep it pristine. I personally do not have a garden plot because I do not have a green thumb. But my neighbors do and they share their hearty bounty of robust, colorful and avorful tomatoes and cucumbers with me every summer. I have to say that I love to see pumpkins in the garden. Not everyone grows them so its a bit of a treat to see them in a plot or two every year. I am eagerly awaiting to see the large sun owers. They are glorious, colorful and tall.
RN Lights:
I’m sure most of you have noticed how bright the evenings have become. The old yellow street lamps are no longer. PG&E crews came out a week ago and switched them out to LED lights. Several Friends of Rio Nido (FRN) members have been attending meetings for the last few years discussing this very thing. To our surprise, PG&E did not disappoint. Walking home the other evening on Canyon 7 after dinner at a friend’s home two doors down from my home it was great that the LED lights illuminated the street and night sky.
Rio Nido Roads:
The County came out two weeks ago and filled in the potholes all around RN. Most of us are glad that they at the very least filled them in with asphalt. However, this is a temporary Band-Aid. Just tossing the asphalt over the gaping potholes is not enough. In order to do this properly, the streets need
to be cleaned and swept and all the dirt from the rains needs to be cleaned up and removed. Not a di cult concept. Tossing asphalt over the mud and dirt is a complete fail. I’ve already seen a lot of the asphalt turning into gravel. These roads need to be repaved properly. Its 2017 we should have properly paved streets here period.
ART Salon: The third Art Salon is scheduled for Sunday, April 22nd. Where: The Rio Nido Roadhouse. Important: The last Art Salon was a packed full house. Sadly, due to such a large turnout we had to turn people away. (Pre- Registration is required). To register call the RNR at 707-869-0821.
Memorial Day Homeowners BBQ:
It’s getting to be that time of year for the HOA BBQ. Mark your calendars for Sunday, May 28th. More info to come next month.
Rio Nido Pet of the Month
There is a new pack in town.
You may have noticed an in ux of
Queensland Heelers. These beautiful
pups are six months old. Momma is
Leyote, a red heeler. Daddy dog is
Jesse, a miniature chocolate heeler. A
romantic conception happened in the
back of the breeder’s car in the Bull
Pen parking lot. On September 14th,
Leyote gave birth to nine stunningly
gorgeous puppies. Pictured here is
Alexsia on the left and Corazon on the
right. Let’s give these darling pups a warm Rio Nido welcome.