Roundup: Spring Break
School's out, Sebastopol FFA, Best Buddies, latest election results, and some progress on Elderberry Commons
Local schools are out next week on spring break. For the rest of us, this weekend has offered a nice break in the weather.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day. We have Irishman Jasper O’Farrell to thank for the name Analy, as Arthur Dawson explained in the Press-Democrat in 2015 - “How Analy Got Its Name.” A surveyor, O’Farrell gave the name Analy Township to what is now Sebastopol and Forestville, based on his family’s home, Anghaile (Annaly) in central Ireland.
Spring Hill School
There’s no longer a school on Spring Hill School Road, off Bodega Highway, but a school by that name existed from 1872 to 1958.
Here’s a photo of the students gathered outside the rural school in 1909. Back then, everyone had to walk to school or ride a horse. These two boys are riding bare back in bare feet!
In the late 1950’s, Spring Hill School was combined with Pleasant Hill school to form Twin Hills Union District. The school building was closed in 1958 and eventually demolished.
Sebastopol FFA
The agricultural past of Sebastopol extends into the present with Sebastopol Future Farmers of America (FFA). Emily Lokka, a plant science instructor at Analy and an FFA advisor, introduced members of the Sebastopol FFA club at the Wednesday night West Sonoma County Union High School District board meeting, which was held in the Laguna High School Library.
The students were juniors and seniors who received FFA state degrees. To earn the degree, students must:
Complete 4 semesters of Ag Education
Hold the Chapter FFA Degree
Work a minimum of 500 hours in SAE
Earned/Invested at least $1,000 in SAE
25 hours of Community Service
Pass a Parliamentary Law Exam
SAE is Supervised Agriculture Experience. For instance, many students have worked in swine or sheep production or equine management.
At the Sonoma County Fair, Sebastopol FAA was the Champion FFA Overall Team. Jesus Martinez Diaz was the 2024 Sonoma County Champion Overall and Jacob Cortes Sanchez was 3rd High Individual Overall. At the California State FFA Finals, Shellie Hance was the 2024 State Champion Overall Individual and Jesus Martinez Diaz was 3rd High Individual Overall.
Emily, and her husband, Riggs Lokka, are coaches for the Grapevine Pruning team, which competes at the state level. (Riggs is the Vineyard Manager for Emeritus Vineyards.)
Emily explained that there are competitions for different types of grapes: Wine, Table, & Raisin Grapes and two different styles of pruning: Cordon & Cane. Contestants are judged on quality and speed. The team ranked 4th overall in the Lodi-Tokay competition. Emily commented that local students who are trained on the vines in Sonoma County have a challenge when they go elsewhere in California to compete. In Sonoma County, the vines are managed to produce grapes in lower volume but with higher quality. In the Central Valley, the vines are grown for higher production and the canopy can be quite high, presenting a challenge for students.
Best Buddies at Analy
Analy students Cassidy Avila and Elena Marquez came to the Rotary Club lunch on March 8 to talk about the Best Buddies program, which got started at Analy last year. This program matches students who have intellectual and development disabilities with other students at Analy for support and friendship.
The Analy Best Buddies club is collaborating with other Sonoma County High Schools to host a Best Buddies Prom at the Poppy Bank Epicenter. A press release about the prom says: "This special event is designed to ensure that our youth living with special needs have the opportunity to enjoy a memorable prom experience. Many of these students cannot attend their school's regular prom due to the need for additional supervision and accommodations.” This event is open to all people ages 14 to 22 with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The group is looking to raise funds to rent the space and provide support for the Best Buddies prom. You can donate to the Best Buddies group through the Montgomery High School webstore.
Civil Grand Jurors Wanted
My wife, Nancy, is a former civil grand juror, and she asked me to share the following.
The Civil Grand Jury is an historic institution, sometimes called the “watchdog of the community.” If you’d like to help increase efficiency within Sonoma County local government agencies, save taxpayer dollars and improve services...
If you listen well and can cooperate with others to reach common goals...
If you are discreet and can maintain confidentiality...
If you can ask meaningful questions, review confidential documents, and write reports...
If you can commit to serving the County for a year...
If you can do these things, then consider applying to become a Civil Grand Juror in Sonoma County.
The time commitment is for one-year from July 1 to June 30, 10 or more hours per week, must be a U.S. citizen, and have basic computer skills.
To find out what it is like to serve as a civil grand juror, please join former civil grand jurors for a presentation on March 19 at AQUS Cafe, 189 H Street in Petaluma from 6:00 - 7:30 pm.
Apply online by April 29th.
Latest Election Update
The Sonoma County Registrar of Voters is still counting votes, but they released an update on Friday, March 15. There were still 20,890 votes to count as of Friday at 3:07 pm.
DISTRICT 2 STATE ASSEMBLY RACE
The Assembly race in the 2nd District is still too close to call, though former Santa Rosa Mayor Chris Rogers at 20.6% has pulled slightly ahead of the pack. Other Democratic candidates include California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks (18.3%), Healdsburg Mayor Ariel Kelly (14.6%); Frankie Myers (11.4%) ; Ted Williams (6.5%); and Cynthia Click (1.2%). Republican Michael Greer has 27.5% of the vote. The top Democratic and Republican vote getters will face each other in a run-off in November
HARMONY UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT
Measure D, a $13.5 million bond to modernize and renovate this west county school district's aging elementary schools needs a 55% majority to pass. Right now, with votes still being counted, it is squeaking by with 55.43%.
Some Progress on Elderberry Commons
On March 12th, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution that directed the Sonoma County Community Development Commission (CDC) to complete a Disposition and Development Agreement with Burbank Housing for Elderberry Commons. The agreement transfers ownership of the property from the CDC to Burbank Housing and outlines the development that will be done to create 29 units of permanent supportive housing.
The total development budget is $3,532,646.00 of which $2,285,168.00 is construction costs. The balance is soft costs such as architectural oversight, insurance, lease-up costs, prevailing wage monitoring, and developer fees ($450,000) as well as the establishment of capitalized operating and replacement reserves.
The CDC will provide $2.6M for the construction costs and a portion of the soft-costs. Burbank Housing will provide the remaining funding. The BoS summary document describes the capital improvements, which will produce 30 residential units. Here are more details on construction:
Installation of kitchenettes in all 30 units.
Four ground floor units will be renovated into Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible units, with accessible shower stalls and ADA compliant fixtures and finishes.
One existing suite will be converted to a common area to include moving and modifying interior walls to provide a gathering space, refreshment area, bathroom, and to meet public accessibility requirements.
Improvements to accommodate onsite staff will include conversion of one suite into an onsite two-bedroom manager’s unit for a live-in property manager.
The existing lobby and offices will be modified to provide workspace for staff, management, and maintenance operations with an area for equipment storage.
The laundry service areas will be reconfigured to provide additional washers and dryers for tenant use.
Exterior improvements include replacement of siding, trim, flashing and patio
decks to repair extensive dry-rot and weather damage.
Elderberry Commons will have a maximum occupancy of 54 persons with no more than two persons per unit. The placement of “qualifying individuals” at the former hotel will be done through the County’s Coordinated Entry system. “Qualifying individuals and households include those with mental illness, experiencing or at risk of homelessness, and Medi-Cal beneficiaries earning 30% of the Area Median Income or less.”
The construction work has already been permitted. Two schedules for final occupancy were provided, one with a November date and the other with a January 2025 date, depending on the length of escrow.
The Week of March 9-16
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