From:
To: Sean McDonagh; Ron Nelson; Dave Bray Goldridge FD; shepleyschroth-cary Cc: MaryLou Schmidt; ellen barnett; Mary Gourley; Stephen Zollman; Neysa Hinton; Sandra Maurer; Phill Carter; Jill McLewis
Subject: 5/20 Council meeting - Agenda item 5 - "SNCU requested" items Date: Tuesday, May 20, 2025 7:42:07 AM
Greetings,
I have been made aware that under Agenda Item #5 for this evening's Council meeting you see a reference to "SNCU requested" items. I cannot find that level of detail at this moment.
As the Program Director (PD) associated with the grant to Gravenstein Health Action Coalition (GHAC) to provide Sebastopol Meet Your Neighbors (Seb MYN) and Sebastopol Neighborhood Communication Unit (SNCU) services to the community, I was not involved in any discussions that made an SNCU request for any equipment mentioned.
I have been made aware there was a meeting in which Mayor Zollman requested a few important SNCU members to come together and discuss items prioritized for that gathering. Neither GHAC or I were involved. And there was no further involvement or any input from me or, to the best of my knowledge at this time, involvement of GHAC to formalize this request. Consequently, as the Program Director charged with overseeing SNCU, I cannot say that SNCU requested that equipment purchase. Nor can I say there is consensus among all important SNCU members as to the rationale and intentions behind such a purchase.
It is also necessary for both Police and Fire officials to know that, although having appropriate emergency communication avenues available for the MYN community is important, the primary goal of MYN and SNCU has always been neighborhood preparedness and the 'first mile' of radio communication within and across the neighborhoods. As we have talked about for many years, when an emergency happens our previous collaboration and inclusiveness in 'working together' directly at the neighborhood level will make the critical difference for our community members.
Please consider the above comments during deliberation on Agenda item #5. Thank you.
Be safe,
Skip
Skip Jirrels
Meet Your Neighbors - Program Director