To:
Sebastopol City Council Members
[email protected]
Sara Gurney
re: URGENT The COMMONS at Council TUES 9/15 - Item # 14 Sebastopoll Times
To the above:
While unable to attend the City Council meeting tonight due to a prior commitment, I wish to state again that I oppose the City Council spending our money to investigate and/or purchase the non-walkable O’Reilly Street property. I am concerned that moving a large group of city services out of our central walkable downtown area will gut the community quality of our city and dis-serve our growing non-driving and pro-walking population.
To promote purchase of the O'Reilly property and at the same time allow one more chain store into downtown, undermining long-term local businesses and taking up the available downtown RiteAide property, further undermines an eco-walkable downtown center. The RiteAide property may not fit all the offices we’d like but, if a larger space still can not be arranged downtown, it could certainly be coordinated with a second walkable downtown property.
The questions and concerns so politely brought up by Glenn Minervini-Zick clearly indicate that the Council and other financially interested parties are moving too fast into a questionable arrangement with O’Reilly Street owners and need to slow down, stop and hear residents' concerns.
Though I personally know and care for many members of our current Council, I am concerned that as an organization it seems to repeatedly disregard citizens’ concerns and announce plans to invest large amounts of our money in unworkable plans and projects that are unsupported by a large portions of Sebastopol voters.
Thank you for your attention.
Marghe Mills-Thysen
Long-time Sebastopol Resident
Previous Member and Chair of Sebastopol’s Public Arts Committee