Some fond memories of winter holidays on the River

I can’t believe we’ve been living here long enough to reminisce about holidays on the River. It’s easy to do since we have so many wonderful community traditions, including the ones below (I’ve been so crazy-busy, I didn’t have time to write things up in advance this year -- though my neighbors and I did list them on the Rio Nido Web site at http://www.rionido.net/. Information is also available from the Russian River Chamber of Commerce at http://www.russianriver.com/ ).

• Annual Pasta Dinner/Fundraiser: The flurry of festivities kicks off on the first Wednesday of December with the Gonnella family’s annual pasta dinner/fundraiser for Bob Burke’s Kids at the Union Hotel in Occidental. This year, my daughter’s choir group, the Russian River Choir, and other groups performed holiday music while the adults enjoyed a hearty dinner of pasta, assorted sauces, salad, garlic bread, and dessert. It’s free to attend, but this event gathers enough in donations to help fund Burke’s numerous gatherings and recreational activities for children with cancer and their families. Although the eponymous and much-loved Bob Burke passed away this year, his family keeps the traditions and foundation alive. This year’s event was well-attended, as hundreds of people gathered together to celebrate and show their support. We saw folks we haven’t seen in ages!
• Annual Tree-Trimming Downtown Guerneville: Not even the winter rains and recession Grinch can keep the holiday spirit away. Every year, on the first Thursday of December, our merchants decorate their storefronts and the street with lavish holiday lights and the Russian River Chamber of Commerce gathers folks together in our little town square to light the festively decorated Christmas tree. Okay, well, this year, the tree was a tad smaller than usual … but as I always say to my petite daughter who sometimes complains about being one of the littlest kids in her class … “good things come in small packages.” About 14 girls showed up from our wonderful Russian River Children’s Choir with Sonia and Ashley to sing Christmas carols and Chanukah songs. Since things were running a bit late, Sonia and Ashley took the girls around to go caroling throughout downtown, and in the Fire Station, and were rewarded with way too many cookies!
• Holiday Parade of Lights in Downtown Guerneville: On the first Saturday in December, Guerneville closes off Main Street and everyone on the River converges for our celebratory Annual Holiday Parade of Lights, in which local businesses and other organizations display their creative talents and strut their stuff with a magical assortment of elaborately-decorated floats. Alas, the Triple R’s float was sorely missed, but the 5&10, Russian River Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and a host of others kept everyone happy and entertained. This year’s theme was “World Dance Celebration” and folks definitely seemed ready to celebrate!
• More to come: Check out Pegasus Theater’s new production of “It’s a Wonderful Life” at the Rio Nido Lodge, local New Years Celebrations at the Rio Nido Roadhouse, Village Inn (in Monte Rio), and other venues, and more.

I also wanted to share the following personal holiday memories from a few years back. It always amazes me how quirky, eccentric, and kind people can be out here on the River … especially to children.

From the trunks of babes ...

Seven holiday seasons ago, we were still living in Berkeley, my husband got a bonus at work & we decided to take a mini-vacation from our total wreck/fixer of a house & booked a little cabin at River Lane here in Guerneville for a couple of days. On top of other stresses, our daughter was in massive exploratory toddler & potty-training mode, & the remodel for our rotting, mildew-ridden, antiquated bathroom was NOT going well (probably because we had no money & had to re-do the entire thing ourselves ASAP before the floor caved in).

River Lane was a tad shabby (it has since been refurbished), but affordable & possessed of a cozy, rustic charm … plus it had a lovely deck with a view of the river. We noticed a tall, striking-looking woman in high-heeled patent leather red pumps and a sparkly, red feather boa with her daughter (approximately aged 8) struggling in the parking area with a battered old car which refused to start, & my husband chivalrously offered to give her a jump-start. Meanwhile, my daughter played with the older girl & they got along famously.

The woman & her daughter seemed nice, intelligent, & stylishly dressed. I was also struck by the warmth and affection with which they treated each other and our daughter. But it soon became apparent that they were homeless & had been taking a brief respite from car camping, courtesy of the low, off-season hotel rates. This horrified & saddened us, because my husband & I have gone through rough times & still often struggle financially despite our making a good income. There but for the grace of G*d go I … We teeter precariously on the crumbling precipice of middle-class respectability & it seems frighteningly easy to lose footing & tumble over the edge & into the yawning abyss.

We invited them to have dinner with us, but they said they needed to move on because they visiting with friends “up north” that evening & were supposed to be there already. My daughter’s erstwhile playmate then reached into an over-stuffed garbage bag in the trunk of her car, retrieved a small, plush Simba toy (the Lion King was all the rage back then) & handed it to my daughter, saying “I want you to have this.” My daughter’s eyes widened with delight as she grinned from ear-to-ear, danced a happy little caper, & launched herself into the older girl’s open arms, crying, “I don’t want you to go!”

We don’t know what became of them, but Simba remains one of daughter’s prized possessions & we will never forget this act of spontaneously generosity from this slender, pretty girl with the fluffy ponytails & large, sparkling eyes framed by enormous eye-glasses. We still wonder what became of them and wish them well.

First Christmas home on the River ...

We bought our house & moved in during the following holiday season. Flush with cash from the sale of our previous adventure in sweat equity & an overly-frothy housing market (sigh, how we miss those days now that our current home is WAY underwater), we set about doing our little part to support local businesses and decided to do all of our holiday shopping in downtown Guerneville.

After purchasing some unique and attractive gifts from Etcetera, Wayne Skala’s funky jewelry shop, and Jennifer Neeley’s wonderfully eclectic Memories that Linger (we still miss the latter two stores), we wandered into Hemp and Chocolate. I indulged myself with a couple of new, fabulous outfits (the owner designed them herself – she’s quite talented), and my daughter and I picked out a couple of soft, plushy, gauzy fairy-dolls for her friends. Since she was only two at the time, she threw a fit when she realized that she couldn’t keep them. Of course I had discretely set aside one for her, but how could she know that?

Suddenly, the door opened, and my daughter stopped in mid-tantrum and exclaimed, “Santa Claus!” Then she joyfully ran up to hug the handsome, portly, older gentleman who had just walked in. Sure enough, he sported a red flannel shirt, silver spectacles, rosy cheeks, and full silvery white beard! I apologized profusely, but he cheerfully waved me off and asked what my daughter wanted for Christmas.

While paying for our purchases, this lovely man smiled, handed my daughter the fairy doll, and said, “Merry Christmas!”

… And our first flood

There’s nothing like moving in during a flood year to initiate you into the ways of the River awfully danged fast! It rained and rained over the following weeks through Christmas and New Years. My daughter and I enjoyed all the fabulous recreational puddle-stomping available, until one morning, we woke up to the amazing sight of neighbors kayaking down our street! Apparently, this was one of the legendary floods we had heard so much about. The floodwaters had stopped just short of our property by our town’s little Post Office. We were perched high and dry above the flood line, but we couldn’t get out for several days. Luckily, we had plenty of food, a full propane tank, and had somehow avoided losing our electricity.

Since my parents had sent us two boxes of luscious pears from Harry & David, and my aunt and uncle had sent us a crepe pan with crepe mix, we invited our neighbors (who were all gathered at the Post Office) over for brunch. This proved a lovely way to get acquainted.

I was impressed with how everyone helped each other. Neighbors with electricity stored food in their refrigerators for those who had lost their electricity. Volunteers checked up on elderly, sick, and disabled neighbors to make sure they were okay and to see if they needed to be evacuated (in some sort of huge, amphibious vehicle parked in front of our Fire Station). And afterwards, everyone pitched in for all the big Spring Clean Ups in Rio Nido, Guerneville, and Monte Rio.

Raves: Oh, I DO so love the Rio Movie Theater!

I've mentioned this before & I'll mention it again. I DO so love the Rio Theater in Monte Rio. My husband, daughter & I saw Wall-E there this evening & had a grand ol' time. The Rfio is located in a quirky quonset hut in the center of town, which is colorfully & vivaciously painted with murals (inside & out) by a former high-school student with local vistas & movie scenes from days gone by.

The owners are friendly & have the best concession stand ever (with some decent food & beverages & real butter on the popcorn, in addition to the usual candy & junk), & you almost always run into people you really like & haven't seen in a long time. It's the sort of multi-generation family-run business which harks to days gone by, with various children, grandchildren & other relatives pitching in to keep the place up & running.

This place definitely has character, with its murals, dusty velvet curtains, & distinctly local feel. Folks who've been jaded by the endless slick advertisements & obnoxiously endless previews & who hence choose to arrive late for movies will need to come reasonably on time here, because the folks at the Rio actually DO show the movie within five minutes or so of the stated time.

I've often even found the preview filler stuff fun, because it often feels like a family slide show & consists of photos from local festivals or someones trip to Europe, interspersed with ads from local businesses providing services that you may actually need. Then there may be a movie preview or two (I've never seen more than two), followed by a short animation piece (if it's a movie by Pixar), & then the movie begins.

I must admit that Wall-E totally lives up to its hype. Somehow, the folks at Pixar have managed to create a couple of robot characters with more charm & a wider range of facial expressions than many humans who happen to be amongst my acquaintances. The movie works well for young children because the characters are cute, nothing overly scary or horrifying happens, there's lots of silly slapstick comedy in which nobody really gets hurt, & most of the plot is conveyed visually (because the robots only have a rudimentary vocabulary).

The kids were laughing heartily throughout the movie, yet the movie is also amusing for grown-ups thanks to the humor, charming animation, & oblique references to culture & various trends.

I do feel obliged to warn that some sensitive young children may freak out about the initial premise -- that Wall-E is left entirely alone on earth to clean up after all the humans have left & has no family or friends in the beginning, save a hardy & indomitable little cockroach. Otherwise, Wall-E is totally a movie that you & your children can enjoy.

What’s up with those cheap Russian River real estate listings?

Do you frequently browse the real estate section on Craig’s List or the San Francisco Chronicle & wonder about all those insanely affordable listings for the Russian River*? Perhaps you’ve even visited & salivated over all those “affordable charmers” beckoning tantalizingly from the local realtors’ window displays. If so, I certainly can’t blame you. Especially if you live in the Bay Area & STILL find yourself priced out of the housing market. $650K for a 2BR/1BA “fixer” starter home in a dicey neighborhood with substandard schools? Jeez Louise!

My husband & I finally succumbed to 10+ years of temptation, sold our house in Berkeley, & bought our home in Rio Nido in late 2004. Living out here has definitely required some adjustments, but over all, things have worked out quite well for us. With friends & acquaintances purchasing homes in equally far-flung places like Antioch & Patterson (which seemed far less appealing to us) & facing the possibility of our daughter getting assigned to an inferior school in Berkeley (which can happen even in the most desirable & expensive Bay Area neighborhoods), making the move no longer seemed quite so crazy as it once did.

We revel in the natural beauty around us; enjoy our friendly & caring community & neighbors; love our “adorable, cozy 3BR/2BA” (which, at 1,600 square feet is fairly modest, but spacious compared to our apartment in San Francisco & our teensy little starter-fixer-home in Berkeley); & feel totally thrilled with the Guerneville Elementary School (K-8), where our daughter is now finishing Kindergarten. We’re still only an hour & change from our former haunts in San Francisco & Berkeley … yet we’ve also discovered a surprising number of urban & cultural amenities right here at home.

Too good to be true? Maybe … or … Maybe not.

Are these relatively inexpensive properties too good to be true? As a former resident of San Francisco & Berkeley who is hence privy to real estate insanity, I have to say … maybe … then again, … maybe not. It all depends on how strongly you’re drawn to this place, & what’s truly important to you over the long haul. The Russian River isn’t just a place to hang your hat, it becomes a way of life.

As a person who since early childhood has only experienced life in heavily urban environments, small-town living often feels like entering a bizarre time-warp. It’s sort of like inhabiting Garrison Keillor’s idyllic Lake Wobegon, spiced up with a dash of Charles Bukowski & David Sedaris. For better & worse, everyone knows everyone else, & everyone’s business, which often turns out to be quite scandalous.

Homes are definitely more affordable here. You can still get a decent, 3br/2ba home for $350K or less. I’ve even seen listings for livable fixers for $300K & under. Or, you can have a larger home with all the amenities -- an acre or more of land; modern kitchen with granite counter-tops, newly installed hardwood floors; built-in cabinets, shelves & closets; deck with hot tub; fruit trees, etc. for around $500K.

And these are just the asking prices. In today’s depressed real estate market you might be able to successfully make an offer for considerably less – if you & your realtor handle things right. Even in boom-times, buyers can negotiate with sellers in this area over repairs & other issues, when they turn up in the inspection report. Apparently, our community is too small for even the most desirable properties to inspire the dreaded bidding wars endemic to the inner Bay Area.

On the other hand, you can’t be a total jerk & make an insultingly low-ball offer on homes around here. Yes, some homes are in – or on the verge of – foreclosure (as you can see on Yahoo’s real estate site). But others have extremely low (or entirely paid-off) mortgages, & sellers can afford to wait until the market turns around. I’m also surprised to see that the foreclosure listings are still rather pricey (the bidding for homes comparable to ours starts at a bit more than we paid).

The upsides to living in the Russian River area

Russian River offers incomparable natural beauty; a strong feeling of community; excellent schools & preschools (with free after school programs available for K-8 in Guerneville & Monte Rio); some truly lovely neighborhoods; reasonable commutes to good jobs in some fields; unreasonable – but do-able – commutes to more jobs in the inner Bay Area; & a surprising number of the “city” amenities you currently enjoy in the immediate area, plus more in nearby Sebastopol & Santa Rosa. And best of all ... we don't have any of those ugly subdivisions out here. The Russian River boasts an eclectic diversity of architecture, unique & beautiful properties, & there's something for everyone.

Amenities on the Russian River include:

• Culture: The newly Russian River Music Conservatory in Guerneville & the Pegasus Theater in Monte Rio perform throughout the year. If you like to sing, you can join the Russian River Choir, which performs both classical & modern pieces. We have several popular small live music venues, including The Rio Nido Roadhouse, Main Street Café, & the Pink Elephant in Monte Rio, in addition to the huge Russian River Blues Festival held at Johnson’s Beach every year. We also have a variety of art galleries featuring works by talented local artists & a book club at the Guerneville Public Library. Writers do readings at the River Reader bookstore in Guerneville. For national & regional acts, the Wells Fargo Performance Center is a short distance straight up River Road.
• Food: We have lots of good restaurants around here. Our favorites are Mosaic, Applewood, Stella’s Cafe, the Village Inn & the River’s End for fine dining; Nit’s Thai Creations & Sizzling Tandoor for great ethnic food with a view (the former is on the river in Rio Nido, the latter overlooks the ocean in Jenner); & the Rio Nido Roadhouse, River Inn Grill, & the Garden Grill for delicious & affordable casual/family dining. Lots of folks around here also love Taqueria Tapatia in downtown Guerneville. Also there’s our iconic local hangout, which is Pat’s Diner by day (good, greasy, comfort food) & Chef Patrick’s by night (with affordable classics like chicken marsala, plus an assortment of more innovative dishes).
• Outdoor recreation: With the river, Armstrong Woods, & the coast nearby, there’s plenty of hiking, surfing, fishing, & bird watching around here. It’s fun to canoe & kayak around here & a few places to rent them if you don’t have your own, or take guided tours. And we also have the lovely Northwood Golf Club, where you can golf under the redwoods. Western Sonoma County is also a beautiful place for bike rides for both serious & amateur cyclists. If you’re serious about physical fitness & also need indoor recreation, there’s the wonderful, full-service Airport Club gym within easy driving distance in Santa Rosa – it has just about everything, including childcare. For folks with simpler needs, we also have a nice, inexpensive, place right here in town (the Gym for Everybody). The service is friendly, the equipment is very basic, & the owners will enthusiastically help you create a good custom work out if you need help. People also frequently go wine-tasting, apple & berry-picking, & mushroom picking.
• Kids/Family fun: River To Coast Childcare Services offers Kindergym for the crawler through preschool set on Monday & Tuesday mornings (9:30am-12pm), with an assortment of fun art, music, literacy, & physical activities for the kids. Kindergym also offers opportunities to connect with other parents/caregivers, plus the RCCS folks all have extensive Child Development education & experience & can address any questions & concerns about ages & stages, etc. that you may have (they’re really nice & non-judgmental – many of them are also bilingual/Spanish). RCCS can also help you find childcare in the area & obtain subsidies if your annual income qualifies. The Guerneville Public Library has a fabulous story time/literacy hour on Wednesday mornings for the little ones & Saturday movies for all ages at 12noon year-round. They also feature events (including music, magic, & nature talks) during summer vacation, which appeal to kids of all ages (& grown-ups as well). For summer swimming & water play, there’s the Rio Nido Pool, Johnson’s Beach, & Monte Rio Beach. West County Services runs an excellent after school program during the school year at the Monte Rio & Guerneville elementary schools, & also a summer camp ($100 per week) at the Monte Rio Elementary School & swim lessons at Johnson’s Beach & Monte Rio Beach (you’ll need to call them – they don’t update their Web site terribly often). Mama Java’s Coffee Shop (on Route 116 next to the Northwood Golf Course) in Monte Rio also has an ongoing mother’s group, which meets on Monday mornings.
• Our schools: The Guerneville & Monte Rio Elementary schools go from Kindergarten through 8^th grade. On the GreatSchools.net Web site, we have good ratings in terms of test scores (7 out of 10, with “Distinguished Schools” awards from the state for meeting goals & increasing test scores even though we’re a rural & low-income area), & EXCELLENT 4-5 star ratings from happy parents. Our small campuses encourage an intimate, accepting atmosphere. Older kids mentor the younger ones as “reading buddies” & classroom helpers. Through our environmental education programs, children plant, tend, & harvest our school gardens & also learn to enjoy preparing & eating what they’ve grown. The kids take numerous field trips & participate in various enrichment programs, including art, music, computer lab, folk dancing, band, athletics, & more. We also have resource specialists for special & gifted education. Parent involvement is huge – my daughter’s classroom alone has at least seven parent volunteers. Class sizes are small & our children truly have the opportunity to grow up together & contribute their individual abilities towards this community.

That’s just a sampling what you’ll find in the immediate area. There’s much more in Sebastopol & Santa Rosa. And we’re still only an hour & 15 minutes (if you time it right) from San Francisco, Berkeley, & Oakland.

… And the downsides

Alas, the Russian River definitely has its downsides. Although we’re only about 60 miles from San Francisco & 20 miles from Santa Rosa, this area can still sometimes feel remote. There are basically only two ways out of here – River Road & Route 116 & -- depending on where you live – a few back roads. If there’s an accident or road construction (which you can look up on CalTrans’ Web site), you’ll need to find an alternative route &/or add 15-30 minutes to your trip.

And, yes, we do sometimes have floods, though it isn’t nearly as bad as outsiders think. Most homes are away from the flood-line (or have been raised above it, thanks to Russian River Redevelopment funds). We don’t have flash floods & hence have plenty of time to prepare (basically, we need 10 straight days of rain for a major flood to occur). But when a flood seems imminent, you will need to decide whether to stay in, or stay out. You should also keep a stash of emergency supplies around, just in case.

You really need to be laid-back & tolerant in order to live here, because you’ll have all sorts of neighbors, including: aging hippies, nouveau hippies, bikers, bible-thumpers, rednecks, Latinos, senior citizens, registered Republicans, & meth addicts, along with the cast of characters you already know from the city: young professionals, foodies, middle-class families, ultra-liberals registered with the Democrats or Green Party, Latinos, Sikhs, gays, lesbians, artists, musicians, writers, & … yes … a sizeable homeless population. And these are just the human neighbors. Prepare yourself for deer (who adore late-night snacks from your garden), brown recluse spiders, poison oak, wild pigs, raccoons, possums, & more.

And, yes, the Russian River does have the reputation as the methamphetamine capitol of Sonoma County, though much of this nefarious activity has moved up north, to Clear Lake & Mendocino counties. Alas, crystal meth has cursed rural areas in recent years, just as crack began wreaking havoc upon urban areas 20 years ago. Potential renters & homebuyers seriously need to take a look at who their neighbors will be, before making an offer on their home. On the other hand, we don’t have gangs out here & (as a parent), that’s a HUGE plus for me. When push comes to shove, I strongly prefer disorganized crime to organized crime.

You’ll also need to slow down. Way down. Rude city habits like tailgating; huffing impatiently when the person in front of you chats leisurely with the cashier while writing a check (yes, people actually do write paper checks around here); or making vehement political statements with the assumption that everyone shares your liberal views (many do, but some don’t), can quickly make you a social pariah. Folks around here are generally kind & tolerant towards one another as a matter of necessity, as well as personal inclination: You never know when you might run into someone again … or need their cooperation or help.

Career-wise, you’ll need to do some planning & research. We do have a reasonable job base with a handful of local employers & professional jobs only 30-40 minutes away in Sebastopol & Santa Rosa. Some folks hang on to their city jobs – it helps to have an employer who is flexible & allows telecommuting. If your job requires lots of travel, it may not matter so much where your home base is located. Many people successfully own restaurants, retail & other small businesses out here, but things can get tough during recessions & during our “off” season.

Also, you need to be aware that many properties around here are kind of “funky”, because many of them were built as summer vacation homes, not for year ‘round use. Keep an eye out for odd layouts, lack of insulation, & wood burning stoves as the only heating source (very charming & highly economical, but a pain in the neck for those who don’t enjoy chopping wood & sweeping ashes). Also, we don’t have natural gas out here, we have propane, which is more expensive – especially if your propane provider owns your tank & rents out its use to you.

For homes that aren’t hooked up to Guerneville’s sewer, septic systems can be a major issue. In general, septic is cheaper … until you have a problem or need to increase your capacity – which is often difficult or impossible to do in compliance with today’s more stringent codes.

Our abundant redwood trees are both a blessing & a curse. They provide beauty, privacy & shade, but they are also like giant weeds: they are highly aggressive, grow shockingly fast, & sprout out new saplings from their roots at a brisk rate as these giant Ents attempt to surround your home in a fairy ring. They have long & extensive networks of roots, so you’ll need to make sure they won’t potentially undermine your foundation. Redwoods growing within 5 feet of your house may prove hazardous to your home & eventually need to be removed (an expensive undertaking – renting the crane alone can cost $1500+). The redwoods drop huge amounts of leaves, branches & other debris on your roof & your car over the course of a year. Prepare to spend a few hundred per year on “limbing” & other maintenance to remove dead branches, keep the trees healthy, & ensure that your property receives a reasonable amount of sunlight. Fortunately, the Russian River abounds with good arborists.

Doing remodels & repairs may prove more expensive than you think. Although we have lots of good contractors who charge less than you would pay in the Bay Area, I’ve discovered that the Permits & Resources Management Department (PRMD) in Sonoma County is even harder to deal with than the one in our former city of BERKELEY (& that says a lot). Not only are they bureaucratic & uncooperative, they also have a reputation for giving people a hard time about previous & totally unrelated work that was done years before you bought your place. I do, however, appreciate the fact that SoCo’s PRMD has made their entire set of building codes available online. Also, there has been a new wave of young & eager hires, freshly graduated from the top planning programs at universities like Berkeley & Portland, OR, who are pushing for reforms & inclusion of new technologies & greener systems in the building codes.

If you think that your property taxes will be less onerous than what you’re paying in the city, think again. The percentage levied on the value of your home (what you pay for it) will be higher than what you would pay for a similarly priced home in the city (though there ARE no “similarly priced” homes in the city), because: (a) the cost of our services is distributed amongst fewer people; & (b) according to many long-time residents, Sonoma County’s government is evil, corrupt, & venal. On the other hand, you really do come to have an understanding of & intimate relationship with where your tax dollars are going, because many of the folks who provide these services are your friends & neighbors – who are all in the same boat & pay the same taxes as you do – & they care about this community & work awfully hard to make things right.

If you are still interested in buying a home here:

The Russian River isn’t for everyone, but if you’ve always felt drawn to this place, go for it. The natural beauty is incomparable. We did it three-and-a-half years ago & have few regrets, even though we bought close to the top of the market & have gained little – if any – equity (it helps that we have a 30-year fixed mortgage with a low interest rate & that we’re definitely here for the long haul).

• First of all, you need a SAVVY REALTOR who really knows this area & all the different neighborhoods & types of homes & who can steer you away from the potential pitfalls. Ideally, your realtor should actually LIVE here on the Russian River, have strong connections with some local contractors, & have a good understanding of what it’ll REALLY cost to fix things that turn up in the inspection reports.
• Make sure your potential home has decent INSULATION (many don’t). Otherwise your energy costs will go through the ROOF (literally as well as figuratively) during the winter. Our heavy winter rains also make our homes prone to rot & mold.
• DON’T buy a place as a vacation home & assume that you can defray the costs by offering summer rentals unless you have deep pockets &/or really know what you’re doing. It’s hard to profit from rentals when carrying a mortgage. Plus, there’s maintenance, taxes, etc.
• If you’re handy & willing to build “sweat equity,” you can get a good deal on a “fixer.” But you’ll need patience, because you’ll probably need to stay for several years (fix-&-flip people need not apply). You’ll also need some cash for the repairs, because home equity loans are hard to come by these days.
• Unlike San Francisco, Berkeley, & the Peninsula, you can actually negotiate with sellers around here when making an offer. Invest in all the appropriate inspections. Make sure that all work done to your house was done with a permit. If it wasn’t, negotiate for a lower price.
• Homebuyers are often floored when their first property tax statement arrives! To avoid this unpleasant surprise (& have sufficient funds set aside), review your future home’s property tax statement. Although the previous owner’s assessment will be considerably lower than yours, you can go through the list of items & percentages & do the math.
• “Funny financing” schemes like ARMS, 100% financing, liar loans, etc., can get you in trouble on the Russian River. Even when the real estate market is sizzling, homes take at least 3 months to sell. Oh, well. The banks probably don’t offer these types of loans anymore. You need to do conventional financing (20% down, 30-year-fixed) & be able to afford the payments at least somewhat comfortably. Fortunately, this is entirely possible on the Russian River, if you plan things right.

Still interested? For more information about the Russian River & to get an idea of what it’s like out here, visit the following Web sites:

• For an eloquent description of the Russian River , see the our Community Profile page in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat's Real Estate section.
• For a business directory & calendar of events, see: Russian River Chamber of Commerce in Guerneville.
  
• For a comprehensive & well-organized travel, events, & "things-to-do" guide to the Russian River, check out Russian River Travel.
• For a glimpse at local life & politics, visit the West County Gazette.

*When I mention “the Russian River,” I’m mostly referring to the three towns located within the Russian River Redevelopment Area: Rio Nido, Guerneville, & Monte Rio. This is where I live & what I know best. More “official” folks, like Craigs’ List, wine makers within the “Russian River” appellation, & local realtors also consider parts of Healdsburg, parts of Windsor, the unincorporated part of Santa Rosa, Forestville, Occidental, Camp Meeker, Duncan’s Mills, Cazadero, & Jenner to be the “Russian River.”

Ding Dong, the Sewer's (Officially) Dead

According to an article in the Sonoma West Times & News, the Monte Rio Sewer project has officially croaked. Unfortunately, Monte Rio still faces huge problems, including:

1. Ongoing water contamination (according to the above mentioned article, the Lower Russian River's water quality is officially "impaired" by Federal Clean Water Act standards);
2. Property owners' inability to upgrade their septic systems to modern standards because many of the lots are too small & too close to the river;
3. Burnt-out buildings downtown which cannot be rebuilt;
4. A moratorium which prevents property owners from building or remodeling due to the chronic septic problems;
5. I also can't help but wonder what younger folks are going to do when their families are growing & their septic systems' capacities are frozen?

There's some talk about hooking up to the Guerneville Sewer. Why didn't they pursue this to begin with? I'm sure there are reasons buried in the dusty pages of long-forgotten meeting minutes & feasibility studies ... if anyone knows anything about this, please share your information!

PRMD Poops on Monte Rio Sewer Parade

READ THIS AND GLOAT!

The Sonoma County Permit & Resource Management Department (PRMD) recommends CANCELLING plans to build a sewer system in Monte Rio. Kristin Thurman-Fein has kindly shared PRMD's press release with the Monte Rio newsgroup on Yahoo! & I've pasted the text below for my readers' (reader's?) enjoyment. Thank you, Kristin. I like Mike Reilly, but his insistence on pushing the sewer has been rather ridiculous.

BOOO-YAH!!!!!!

Press Release

Contact: Pete Parkinson, Director of Permit & Resource Management Department, 565-1925

Date: November 19, 2007

The Sonoma County Permit and Resource Management Department (PRMD) is recommending that the Board of Supervisors cancel plans to construct a sewer system in the Russian River Community of Monte Rio. The sewer project, which was planned to serve 586 residential and commercial properties in Monte Rio, has simply become too expensive, said PRMD Director Pete Parkinson.

“When the sewer assessment was approved in 2003, the project was estimated to cost $11.2 million,” said Parkinson. “Since then we’ve finalized the engineering design and obtained a significant amount of grant funding to build the project, but construction costs have increased dramatically to the point where we no longer have adequate funding to move the project forward.” Construction of the sewer project is now estimated to cost over $20 million, which exceeds available funding by at least $2.6 million. The project was to be funded by a combination of state and federal grants and loans repaid through the sewer assessments and service rates approved by Monte Rio property owners in 2003.

Fifth District Supervisor Mike Reilly expressed frustration at the news, saying, “This is a major disappointment for the Monte Rio community. The combination of rapidly escalating construction costs combined with reductions in federal and state grant funds is making it nearly impossible to upgrade sanitation systems in small rural communities.” Indeed, the financial problems facing the Monte Rio sewer project are playing out increasingly across the country as global economic factors, such as increasing demand for construction materials in China and escalating oil prices, have pushed construction costs sharply higher since 2003. Building a new sewer system from the ground up is a major capital expense, including a collection system, a treatment plant and a means to safely dispose of the treated wastewater. With only a small number of properties to share the cost of building and maintaining a sewer system, these kinds of systems are becoming less economically viable.

Even with nearly $12 million in state and federal grant commitments, Monte Rio residents would still be paying nearly $1,200 a year for sewer service, the second highest rate in the County and a significant burden for many lower income residents. Reilly noted, “Residents and owners within the proposed Monte Rio District have twice voted to assess themselves and pay annual charges for this sanitation system. We have turned over every rock to secure grants for the project and still find that cost estimates substantially exceed available funds.” Reilly felt that seeking even higher sewer rates would not be sustainable for the community and noted that some grant commitments will expire even as the County looks for additional funds to cover rising costs.

The original impetus for building a sewer system in Monte Rio was to improve water quality in the lower Russian River, which is considered “impaired” under the federal Clean Water Act. Much of this impairment is thought to result from older septic systems that were built near the river many years ago. “Not only are we unable to move forward with this needed wastewater treatment project,” Parkinson said, “but the small lot sizes in Monte Rio and proximity to the river make it almost impossible for residents to install a new septic system that meets today’s standards. This makes it very difficult for property owners to upgrade their properties, let alone consider any new development.”

A community meeting to discuss the project will be held on Tuesday, December 11 at 5:30 p.m. at the Monte Rio School Gymnasium. The Board of Supervisors will consider the matter at its January 8, 2008 meeting.

Rattina smells a rat ... SEWER rat, that is ....

Hmmm ... County Supervisor Mike Reilly unsuccessfully attempts to pressure RRROC into recommending funds for the Monte Rio Sewer again. This time by trying to tie it in with Sweet Water's proposal for desperately-needed water system upgrades. And LO AND BEHOLD ... the Board of Supervisors is suddenly grumbling about budget shortfalls & needing to put redevelopment funds back into the County's General Fund. (cue in ominous music & evil laugh MWAHAHAHA!)

Coincidence? I think not. River Rattina definitely knows a rat when she smells one ... especially when it's a Sewer Rat.

We definitely need to do something about Monte Rio's septic problems, for environmental, public health & quality-of-life reasons. The once-lovely & thriving downtown (which still has considerable charm & a handful of viable & locally beloved businesses) has dilapidated buildings which cannot be legally rebuilt because they are too close to the river for septic systems to be installed. On top of that, there are septic tanks on residential properties which need to be upgraded or replaced & the owners may lack the cash for doing so.

On the surface, it seems as though a new sewer system would benefit the community in various ways: It could increase retail space for the downtown, reduce pollution, enable construction of affordable housing, etc. Alas, the proposed new sewer system would also create some MAJOR problems, which SERIOUSLY need to be fully & publicly addressed:

• Costs per household: The sewer would serve only 400 households & could cost up to $1500 per year per home. Honestly, I don't know many folks who can afford to pay that much! Here in Guerneville & Rio Nido, we pay an $800-per-year property tax assessment for our sewer. This is already too expensive for many people, but we manage because costs are spread out amongst a larger population, & because (overall) we have have higher incomes, due to easier access to jobs in the Bay Area. If the Board of Supervisors want a sewer so badly, they should figure out a way to share the costs so they don't cause hardship for residents who are already struggling financially.
  
• Potential for over-development: Many of us would love to see a bustling, prosperous downtown Monte Rio with some new affordable housing, a nice playground, spiffy new public restrooms, cleaner water at the beach, etc. Higher tax revenues could also fund more programs at Monte Rio Elementary -- a wonderful little school which always seems strapped for cash. But can we handle all of this? New construction of homes & retail spaces would be required to increase tax revenues to offset sewer costs & things would snowball from there. Monte Rio is a small town which is environmentally delicate & somewhat geographically isolated. Could it handle the demands which would inevitably result from expansion? I'm sure it could, but Monte Rio residents would need to strongly support any development which takes place & right now, they don't even want the gosh-danged sewer.
• Traffic & Congestion: Last year, it took 20 minutes to go back & forth between Guerneville & Monte Rio during the off-season due to road construction. Which caused considerable inconvenience & even hardship for local residents. There is only ONE way to get from Monte Rio to Guerneville, & that's along Route 116/River Road. When that access is blocked by traffic, construction, flooding, fallen redwood branches, etc., those of us who need to go back & forth are totally screwed. Unless we can persuade the Bohemian Club to sell us some of their land so we can extend Neeley Road from Guerneville to Monte Rio along the other side of the River (snort, like THAT's ever going to happen), I don't see how we can possibly engage in any major new construction projects in Monte Rio. Personally, I would love to see the County harass the Bohemian Club with an eminent domain claim for road access due to the undesirable, drunken riff-raff they host at their yearly gathering (George Bush, Dick Cheney, Henry Kissinger, etc.). But it's NOT going to happen, & even Mike Reilly is no match for the Bohemian Club's Masters of the Universe. Heh heh, he may not even be a match for the River Rats & Rattinas of Monte Rio.
  
• Public hearings need to be held: People in Monte Rio have repeatedly requested public hearings & meetings in regards to the proposed sewer projects & have been repeatedly rebuffed. If we are EVER going to have a sewer, the Board of Supervisors need to work with Monte Rio residents & business owners to address public concerns & work on solutions. Without public support, the sewer has little chance of EVER happening.
  

I actually like Mike Reilly simply due to his role in reopening Charles Schultz Airport with Horizon Airlines. This was quite a coup. I believe that he sincerely wants our little corner of Sonoma County to be more prosperous. But I find his handling of the Monte Rio Sewer project to be ham-fisted, amateurish & unworthy of a professional politician. A politician is supposed to be skilled in the art of persuasion & when dealing with a community that is acting as stubborn as a mule (& which has good reasons for doing so), he needs to know when to dangle the carrot & when to brandish the stick. If he wants the sewer so danged badly, he should figure out a way to make the carrot more tempting (lightly stir-fried with a tangy ginger glaze, perhaps?).

Right now, Mr. Reilly's all stick & no carrot, & that's no way to further one's agenda around here. We River Rats & Rattinas may be hicks, but we sure ain't stupid.

RRROC Elections: & The Vote-Worthy Incumbents Are ...

In my previous posting, I encouraged my readers (both of them) to vote for the incumbents in the upcoming RRROC election on December 11th, 2007 & explained why. These folks are committed, caring, & work well together. These currently serving RRROC members who wish to retain their seats (heaven knows why -- it's an awfully thankless & unpaid job) are:

• Business Owners/Operators: Lynn Crescione & George Zastrow
  
• Residential Property Owners: Dan Fein
• Residential Tenants: Catherine Young

Additional RRROC members still serving out their terms (& who are hence not running for re-election) are: Ken Wikel (business owners); Tom Lynch (who is running for Mike Reilly's post as County Supervisor) & John Uniack (residential property owners); & John DeSalvio & Sheila Peterson (residential tenants).

These folks have worked awfully well together to pass through a variety of worthy projects which have drawn wide support from the community -- including the following:

• Funding for our beloved community radio station, KGGV FM;
• Renovations to the Koret Club (now called the Monte Rio Community Center) & the River Child Care Services building;
• Creation of two attractive parks alongside the Russian River in Guerneville;
• Construction of our first public restroom at the Guerneville River Park;
• Elimination of "urban blight" (um, don't they mean RURAL blight?) via the Spring Clean-Up, & removal of abandoned vehicles & unsafe abandoned buildings;

The currently-serving members have fought for -- & received -- unprecendented levels of provision for public input in the design & implementation of these projects. I'm sure the challengers are equally caring & passionate & have worthy qualifications, but things are balanced & going well & why rock the boat at this point?

Current RRROC Chair, Dan Fein, & Catherine Young particularly stand out in my mind as people who have supported redevelopment project proposals while also insisting upon -- & receiving -- provisions for public outreach & local control. I am also highly impressed with John Uniack (whose seat is not up for grabs this year), for his rigorous insistence upon the exercise of due diligence concerning the legal & financial aspects of redevelopment. I also adore Tom Lynch & Ken Wikle, who passionately advocate for public restrooms, affordable housing, & other much-needed community infrastructure.

Once again, I feel ethically obliged to publicly express my support for Dan Fein, who wishes to serve on RRROC for another term. Current legal provisions prohibit him from acting as Chair again. But that's okay. Mr. Fein is well connected, acts well as a team player, & does not exhibit any major attachment to his chairperson-ship.

West County Gazette is now online (yippee!)

YIPPEE!!! I am TOTALLY thrilled to read Vesta Copestake's announcement in her latest West County Gazette that she has recently launched an online (Web) version of her Forestville, CA-based monthly newspaper. You can check it out for yourself at www.westcountygazette.com. It looks as professional, cleanly- laid out, & information-packed as the print version of her publication.

I'm a huge fan of Ms. Copestake, as well as of Johanna Lynch, who publishes the Russian River Times out of Monte Rio, CA each month. These two energetic, intelligent, community-oriented women -- with generous support from local writers & advertisers -- manage to cover just about everything that's going on from Santa Rosa to Gualala, cut through the bureaucrat-ese, & succinctly explain how these various issues & developments would affect us & why we should care. They also publish listings for local events, meetings & volunteer opportunities.

What sets these two newspapers apart from two other excellent & more polished local publications (the Russian River Monthly & the West County Times) & makes me eagerly look forward to reading them each month are the passionately stated opinions of the publishers & their readers. Ms. Copestakes & Ms. Lynch make no pretense towards journalistic objectivity & clearly state their personal views. But since they care about our small, rural community & the people in it (many of whom they personally know & see day-to-day), they do make every effort to be responsible, balanced & fair. An awful lot of research, interviewing & thought seems to go into their writing, & they are also both firmly committed to publishing any reasonable (& occasionally UNreasonable) opinion or letter to the editor. They violate the cardinal rule taught in Journalism 101 -- never say "I" -- with cheerfully deliberate exuberance, because their newspapers are published as a labor of love.

I appreciate the West County Gazette & the Russian River Times because I used to publish an alternative community newspaper during my early 20's in the large, North-Eastern city in which I then lived, with a similar format, network of contributors & advertisers, & level of circulation (a free, black & white, tabloid/fold, newsprint monthly with approximately 42-60 pages & a circulation of 10,000, which was supported by a steady & devoted group of advertisers & volunteer contributors). Like Ms. Copestakes & Ms. Lynch, I was passionate, outspoken & idealistic & wanted to provide our readers -- who were ignored by the more mainstream media -- with coverage of information they cared about & a forum for their views.

Unlike them, I was only able to do this for three years before I threw in the towel. Publishing an alternative community newspaper is an interesting, personally fulfilling, & sometimes awfully danged FUN occupation. I loved it & often look back on those years as among the happiest of my life. But it also involves an awful lot of grinding, unrelenting hard work & pulling multiple all-nighters in order to deliver the paper to the printer on time. And then there's all the ad sales, circulation, book-keeping, administration & other odious tasks which nobody wants to do & you hence wind up doing yourself in order to support the writing, editing, design, & networking stuff you would rather be doing. I lived in a very expensive area & eventually got burnt-out on working so hard for such a small (& frequently fluctuating) amount of money.

Yet these women have been producing these fabulous, ad-hoc newspapers year-after-year. I can't even begin to express my gratitude. But here's a start: Thank you. You GO girls!

02.15.07 RRROC Meeting: Brief summary to tide folks over whilst I digest everything

Whew! The 02.15.2007 Russian River Redevelopment Oversight Committee meeting proved to be a long & contentious affair. I'm still digesting everything ... an arduous but self-inflicted ordeal which can only be compared to that of a boa constrictor swallowing a watermelon & hoping it will soon ... um ... pass.

For now, please accept my VERY brief summary. I promise to post the WHOLE ENCHILADA (complete with exciting dialogue, blow-by-blow action sequences, names, relevant URLs, & the spelling out & more systematic definitions of my current alphabet soup of acronyms) by the end of the week.

Brief Summary of topics discussed at the RRROC meeting for 02.15.2007:

• Election of Officers: Dan Fein & Ken Wikle are re-elected as RRROC Chair & Vice Chair (respectively) despite protests from Lloyd Guccione (who organized a petition to remove Dan Fein as Chair) & John Uniak (who wanted to discuss the petition prior to the Election of Officers because 28 constituents had signed Guccione's petition).
• Public Comment: Citoyen Larry Lane announces that Milo from 95.1 KGGV FM (our local radio station) is interviewing Mr. Fein every other Thursday evening on Milo's radio show (The Touch, 5-6pm, weekday evenings). Zelda Michaels pointed out that Mr. Fein is not officially authorized to represent the RRROC on the radio station. River Rattina fails to see why Ms. Michaels has a problem with this, since Mr. Lane is not officially authorized to represent the radio station to the RRROC either.
  
• Public Comment: Citoyen Rich Carmichael asks the RRROC to look into possible mismanagement of funds for the Niche Marketing (GLBT) project
  
• Public Comment: Citoyenne Deborah Waller states that there are too many items on the RRROC meeting agenda & that discussing them all would require our staying until one in the morning. Mr. Fein strikes most of the "New Business" items from the agenda. It is also suggested that the RRROC hand items off to subcommittees before-hand to shorten the discussions.
• Correspondence: Chamber of Commerce writes letter withdrawing application for fixing the sidewalks & tree-root problem in Guerneville for legal reasons (their legal counsel advises against it); 2 people write in support of the new Riverkeeper Park (which will be adjacent to the new Guerneville River Park).
• Monthly Reports: Boris Sztorch, Redevelopment Manager, goes over the status of & funding for current & future projects, including: Koret Club Rehabilitation, Vehicle Abatement Program, Building Removal (Norgaard/Kelso & De Monchy sites -- still need information from contractors before demolition can proceed), Design Guidelines (draft document due in March, 2007 for review by consultants & then CDC & RRROC); EcoRing (eco-tourism efforts) to proceed as planned; Woodstove Program (may be renewed for 2007); Guerneville River Park (funding requested); Riverkeeper Park (update on Phase I, request for funding for Phase II); Niche Marketing Grant (for GLBT tourism -- marketing activities continue), Strategic Plan (next public input sessions scheduled for late March, 2007); RRRPD Tennis Courts (agreement signed & will proceed), Monte Rio Fire District Feasibility Study (grant agreement signed & project can proceed). Other projects are still in the early stages of review &/or obtaining approval.
  
• Restrooms Subcommittee: Safeway says "no" to allowing RRROC to install public restrooms on their parking lot & they're still waiting to hear from CalTrans about the other two potential locations.
• Housing Subcommittee: Burbank Housing & Habitat for Humanity addressed their recent meeting. They're interested in working with us & have begun inquiring about land acquisition.
• Communications Ad-hoc Subcommittee: They've met with County representatives & pan to gather input for how we can improve the CDC & RRROC sites & what we would want from a community site.
• Koret Club Rehabilitation (Monte Rio Recreation & Parks District): After much hashing out of details with representatives of MRRPD, the motion to approve the project was passed & the rehabilitation of the community center will move forward. Yay! Presenters, including Suzi Schaffert (Facilities Committee Chair) & Brian Grant (member), were heartily congratulated by almost everyone.
  
• Guerneville River Park (additional funding to complete Phase I): The performance space/stage part of the proposal is deferred for further review & discussion; A short-term ad-hoc subcommittee is formed to visit the park, gather input & make recommendations for the next meeting so the project can continue moving forward.
• RRROC Annual Budget from County: After much contention & heated words between Kathleen Kane (CDC Executive Director) & John Uniak (RRROC member), the budget document is approved with the understanding that the numbers have been entered as estimated projections, not actual costs, & that there may be some flexibility.
• Riverkeeper Park: Don McEnhill from Russian Riverkeepers delivers an update on Phase I of the project & submits a revised proposal for RRROC funding towards completing Phase II. RRROC told Mr. McEnnis that he still needs to obtain the actual bids from contractors before they can vote on his proposal.
• Woodstove Replacement Program: The program has been reinstated, but only as a housing-funded project. This means you now have to fill out more forms, jump through more hoops & meet income qualifications.
  
• Adjournment: At this point, it was 11pm & the meeting adjourned. The following topics have been moved to the next meeting: (1) the Role of the Infrastructure Committee; (2) The formation of a Youth Outreach Subcommittee (umm, while you guys are at it, howzabout another Outreach Subcommittee for people who can't come to meetings in the evenings, like parents with young chidren & folks who work evening shifts?); & Website enhancements.
  

I promise to post all of the juicy details (along with the more dessicated ones) within the next few days! Thank you for your patience.

NEXT MEETING: MARCH 15th, 2007 at the Guerneville Veteran's Hall at First & Church Streets in Guerneville (by the entrance to Johnson's Beach).

Monte Rio sewer cont'd: Santa Rosa's sh** DOES stink

Sonoma County attempts to strong-arm the community of Monte Rio into funding a sewer plant that many folks do not want by imposing a de-facto building moratorium which prevents local residents & businesses from adding onto their existing residences or business facilities, or building upon land they own & which was previously certified as buildable -- until the sewer system that they so strongly desire is built.

The County will not even consider -- or provide permits for -- proven, eco-friendly, economical, & perfectly viable technologies like gray-water systems & composting toilets as potential solutions to the unique dynamics of population growth in our ecologically-delicate region.

Apparently, it's okay for the City of Santa Rosa to flagrantly dump their waste downstream into our river during the winter months, but it's not okay for any of our septic systems to have even the slightest hints of potential environmental contamination. Santa Rosa's sh** does not stink, but our sh** does. Environmental standards apply to us, but not them.

Where the heck do our astronomical property taxes here in Western Sonoma County go to ANYway? I've already proposed my theory of low-level functionaries running hundred-dollar bills through the paper shredder as confetti for holiday parties, but this is getting old.

Our playgrounds are littered with garbage & drug paraphernalia & have no public bathrooms; Our roads have mini-van-sized pot-holes, but no sidewalks; Our schools are good, but only due to the vigilance, caring & support of local teachers, parents & businesses. As for maintenance, we barely even keep things clean for the tourists during the summer, let alone for we residents during the winter.

WHERE is the money going? Where are the solutions? Where's the community input? Can we sue the county for our money back & incorporate for ourselves? What do we need them for, any way?

Monte Rio sewer: money down the toilet?

According to intrepid (& highly knowledgeable, pleasant & witty in person) reporter Elise Roberts' February 1, 2007 article in the Russian River Monthly ("State grant moves MR sewer closer"), the California Department of Water Resources has approved a $3.5 million grant towards construction of the sewer plant, but the county has repeatedly refused Monte Rio resident Doreen Atkinson's requests for a public meeting (the usual lame excuses ... they're sending out a letter, they need to review bids first, blah blah blah). I probably don't need to go on & on about the content of this article, since you'll all be able to read it for yourselves when the Russian River Monthly arrives in our mail boxes sometime this week.

Now, I probably am not as well-informed as I should be, since I live in Rio Nido (where we already pay a whopping $800 assessment per year for the Guerneville sewer -- more than we were paying in the Bay Area) & have only been here for two years.

But I harbor strong doubts about whether the Monte Rio Sewer will ever get built & am not entirely convinced that it should get built, for the following reasons:

1. It's hideously expensive: The tax assessment for the sewer will be over $1000 per month per parcel (unit of real estate -- property taxes are either payed directly by property owners or passed on to tenants via rent) because the town only has something like 400 households & a handful of well-run & viable -- but not immensely wealthy & mostly family-run -- businesses amongst which to divvy up the costs (the Monte Rio Chamber of Commerce describes it as a "small community ... snuggled between the river and the redwood crested mountains."). Yegads ... unless the majority of Monte Rio denizens of my acquaintance merely act as though they work hard to make ends meet because their modesty & sense of noblesse-oblige prohibits them from flaunting their immense personal wealth, I know of very few -- if any -- people who can comfortably afford the extra $1K+ per year.
2. There doesn't seem to be much enthusiasm in Monte Rio: I hear that the measure for approving the sewer project only passed by 25 votes (out of 1,104 residents, 549 households, 233 households & 807 housing units, according to the Monte Rio entry in Wikipedia). Most of the people I know or have spoken with on this subject either respond by spewing coruscating torrents of vitriol at worst or express tepid approval or resignation at best. For example, a friend confessed to me that "we do spend close to that on our septic system anyway." That's the most positive thing I've heard any one say about the prospective sewer project. This makes me wonder ... who, exactly, is for the Monte Rio sewer project? Somebody has to be.
   
3. Problems with the proposed site: The county wants to locate the sewer treatment plant on the river-front portion of what is now Sheridan Ranch -- a beautiful, historic, ecologically-sensitive, & valuable (by the standards of environmentalists, real estate developers, businesses, & community activists alike), 20-acre property that extends from a long stretch of the river-front in the southern part of Monte Rio across River Road/116 & towards the East. Not only do significant segments of the community object, but the owners (who have listed the property for sale at $4 million) refuse to sell the river-front portion of their property to the County. I can only imagine that the eminent-domain-sale price did not appeal to them, plus, they surely must have anticipated that the presence of a sewer treatment plant along the river front would significantly devalue the remainder of their property. So far, the courts have sided with the owners of Sheridan Ranch. Even if the county succeeds in purchasing the proposed site, potential adverse environmental consequences & related studies could hold back development of the sewer for years & years.
   
4. Proposed costs keep escalating: While a myriad of disputes rage through the community of Monte Rio, the projected costs of building the proposed sewer system continue to increase exponentially. It doesn't seem to matter how much the sewer proponents manage to raise from state agencies & others ... the costs continue to escalate beyond reach.

Meanwhile, the entire community of Monte Rio struggles under the burdens imposed by what amounts to a building & remodeling moratorium, because septic systems cannot be constructed or upgraded. Financially strapped families cannot build a desperately-needed new bedroom or bathroom for their new children or aging in-laws. Businesses cannot set up or expand. Land, in effect, cannot be built upon & hence cannot be bought & sold. Monte Rio's formerly prosperous downtown (part of which was destroyed in a fire) remains blighted & buildings must be razed to the ground because their proximity to the river do not allow them to rebuild septic & plumbing systems that would conform to today's standards.

Do the County representatives hope to starve the residents & business people of Monte Rio into submission & subsequently hold them up as an example to the rest of us in Western Sonoma County? I suspect so, although I would prefer to think not. If they wished us well, they would encourage us to find & implement more creative solutions for our community's slow-growth needs.