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It's almost spring, but it doesn't seem like it with abnormally cold temperatures and a very rainy first quarter of 2019. At the end of February, over ten inches fell in two days at some locations in Bennett Valley.
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The Bennett Valley VOICE
In this issue of the VOICE, we provide an update on the reorganization of the Bennett Valley Fire District, a report on continuing efforts to improve our county roads in Bennett Valley, an announcement about upcoming workshops on how to manage vegetation in fire zones, and a remembrance of former BVCA director Richard Lukasko.
We still need an editor-in-chief for the VOICE, and if you are interested please contact any board member.
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The number of accidents on Bennett Valley Road continues to climb, including this one on March 6. Drivers continue to go too fast, especially near the S-curve. Most speeders probably are not residents of Bennett Valley, but everyone needs to slow down.
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Please Join or Renew Your BVCA Membership
The Bennett Valley Community Association (BVCA) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to:
- Promote and preserve the residential rural character and natural environment of Bennett Valley
- Educate, instruct, train and inform the local residents on disaster preparedness and emergency response as well as local land use and environmental issues
- Serve as an open forum for active Bennett Valley community participation
- Provide a bridge for communication between county agencies and the Bennett Valley community
Please add your voice to our community by renewing your membership or joining for the first time. Our dues are $20 per year. You will help fund the many activities in which we are involved and stay informed via the VOICE newsletter which is sent to members six times per year.
Send checks to BVCA, P.O. Box 2666, Santa Rosa, CA 95405 or pay online at www.bennettvalley.org by choosing “Join/Renew: BVCA Membership." For questions about dues contact Larissa Goliti at lgoliti@hotmail.com or 578-3453. For questions about paying online, contact Bill Finkelstein at bill@bennettvalley.org or 536-1026.
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Reorganized Fire District Moves Forward
by Marilee Jensen, Editor Emeritus
On September 5, 2018, the Local Agency Formation Commission of Sonoma County (LAFCO) had a public hearing about its proposed change to the sphere of influence for the Windsor Fire Protection District (WFPD) to include the geographic territories of the Rincon Valley Fire Protection District (RVFPD), the Bennett Valley Fire Protection District (BVFPD), and the Mountain Volunteer Fire Company in County Service Area No. 40 (Mountain VFC). The hearing included a careful review of all four agencies. LAFCO also approved unanimously the change in the sphere of influence for the WFPD.
The proposed changes were part of the effort to modernize Sonoma County's antiquated firefighting network, by reducing the number of agencies and the bureaucracy needed to oversee them. The next step was for the board of directors for each fire district plus the Board of Supervisors for Mountain VFC, to approve dissolving the entities, and then annexing the areas into the newly Reorganized Sonoma County Fire District. The boards of directors for the three fire protection districts approved the changes during October. They also agreed that they will enter into a property tax allocation agreement to transfer the dissolving districts' property tax allocation to the WFPD to fund the reorganized regional district.
But will the new Sonoma County Fire District include Mountain VFC? This required the Board of Supervisors to provide further financial support because Mountain VFC, which has no parcel tax, receives only $40,000 a year in property tax allocations. Also, all four agencies are likely to experience financial difficulty in maintaining their existing levels of service if there is no regional consolidation. New sources of revenue are needed to ensure ongoing services by all four agencies.
On January 29, 2019, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors authorized $1.6 million a year as additional revenue for the new Sonoma County Fire District to facilitate the annexation of the four fire protection areas. The supervisors also included a one-time authorization of $500,000 which Fire Chief Mark Heine says will be focused on establishing the first fire station for the Mountain VFC, so it can provide the necessary fire protection for this area. The four fire protection agencies will now request Sonoma LAFCO to undertake the proceedings to accomplish the proposed reorganization. If everything proceeds smoothly, the newly Sonoma County Fire District will become effective in May 2019.
This complicated, years-long effort also bogged down with regard to deciding the fate of the county's 11 volunteer fire companies. The supervisors did not approve allowing the Gold Ridge Fire Protection District to take on the other currently "homeless" volunteer fire companies. The board did direct a team of the affected Fire Chiefs to develop a plan for a possible countywide sales tax measure this fall to pay for more firefighters, equipment, and stations. "It's disappointing." said Mark Heine, Fire Chief of the proposed Sonoma County Fire District. Mark Heine went on to say, "We'll go back to work and hammer out the details."
The Windsor/Rincon Valley Board of Directors has designated the new Board of Directors for the newly Reorganized Regional Fire District to be composed of seven members, that is three of the existing directors of the WFPD, three of the existing directors of the RVPFD and one existing director of the BVFPD. Fire Chief Mark Heine announced that the Sonoma County Fire District Board of Directors, once authorized, would rotate its monthly meeting location to hold one or more of its meetings each year at the Bennett Valley Fire Station to provide for direct public input by Bennett Valley residents without them having to travel to Windsor for a board meeting.
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County Supervisors Set to Keep Promise for Road Funding
by Craig S. Harrison, Save Our Sonoma Roads
In January, SOSroads directors met with Supervisor David Rabbitt, Chair of the board of supervisors, to discuss road funding issues.
Supervisor Rabbitt told us that the board reaffirmed its commitment to fixing our roads and voted unanimously to make the county road system a top funding priority despite mounting budget pressures arising, in part, from the 2017 fire disaster.
The supervisors plan on spending about $20 million each year for the next two fiscal years on pavement preservation using a combination of general fund monies, state funding, and the additional state gas money from increased gas tax funds (so-called “SB1 funds”). SOSroads is pleased that the county is staying the course with road funding during a difficult budget period.
The county anticipates that it will receive approximately an additional $12 million annually from the recent increase in gas taxes. Half of these funds will be spent on road maintenance, and half on pavement preservation (repaving).
However, the county road system continues to face funding challenges to fix damages from flooding during winter 2016-17 and February 2019. In addition, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is currently refusing the county’s request for $20 million to repair damage to county roads from the October 2017 fires.
While the specific roads to be improved are still under consideration, county officials are looking to improve 85-90 miles of roads during the next two-year cycle.
Many of the repaired roads will be new asphalt overlay projects that place a large amount of new asphalt on top of the damaged surface. These are more expensive than chip seals (fine aggregate rock sprayed with a layer of oil) and provide longer-lasting road surfaces.
SOSroads wants to ensure that the county continues its past financial contribution to roads and not cut back because it is now receiving SB1 funds. Fortunately, SB1 requires counties and cities to maintain their prior levels of road repair efforts. We will monitor the county’s use of SB1 funds and periodically report what we find.
Finally, this very rainy winter has sprouted pot holes everywhere. Please use DTPW’s app for smart phones to report potholes or other road problems. The app is called SoCo Report It and allows you to take a picture of a pothole and report it. You may also use the link on their website (https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/Services/SoCo-Report-It/Submit-a-Service-Request/) to report an issue or call DTPW at 561-5100. Both the app and the website have a brief “Video Demonstration” showing how to use Report It. Sending photos is especially helpful because sometimes the county crews are unable to find the problem that was reported.
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Grass Fire in Bennett Valley, July 3, 2017
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Vegetation Management in the Fire Zone
Susan Gorin, 1st District Supervisor
Last December, the Board of Supervisors approved the Sonoma County Office of Recovery and Resiliency’s Recovery Framework. This Framework came out of a long process of community engagement throughout 2018, and provides a foundation for action for our county for the long term. Along with the Framework, we also approved a list of 10 Priority Projects that we will focus on in 2019. One of these priorities is helping property owners navigate vegetation management opportunities through partnership with Fire Safe Sonoma and similar programs.
Join us these upcoming Events:
• Living With Fire Workshops: Vegetation Management and large scale lands. March 23, 9-12 at Altimira Middle School in the Multipurpose Room.
• Individual and Neighborhood Preparedness and cover topics like home hardening and defensible space, emergency preparedness and firewise landscaping. May 4th, 9-12 at Altimira Middle School in the Multipurpose Room.
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Things that are hard to bear can be sweet to remember.
—Portuguese proverb
Richard Lukasko, RIP
November 20, 1944 – February 19, 2019
Richard Lukasko passed away peacefully in Santa Rosa after a four-month-long battle with pancreatic cancer. Born in Sonoma County, Rich graduated from Santa Rosa High School. He earned a Doctorate in Pharmacy and a master’s degree in business at the University of Southern California and became an avid supporter of USC’s football team.
After successful careers in the pharmaceutical industry, Rich and his wife Alma moved to Sonoma County twenty years ago. They planted the Blue Moon Vineyard on their 20-acre Bennett Valley estate and Rich became a gentleman farmer. True to his Sonoma County roots, they built a studio designed as a traditional water tower and a barn that resembles the Fountain Grove Round Barn.
Rich was a director of the Bennett Valley Community Association (2008-2013) and a founding member of the Bennett Valley Grape Growers. He had a sweet and happy nature, and an infectious sense of humor. Rich’s friends and neighbors cherished him.
Rich is survived by his wife Alma, sisters Carol Lukasko Pope and Susan Lukasko Agnew, two daughters, two sons, and ten grandchildren.
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Bennett Valley Community AssociationBoard of Directors
Craig S. Harrison, President craigspencerharrison@gmail.com 573-9990
Larissa Goliti, Vice-President and Membership Coordinator lgoliti@hotmail.com 578-3453
Gary Barner, Secretary gbarner@cds1.net 481-6196
Bill Finkelstein, Treasurer and Webmaster bill@williamfinkelstein.com 536-1026
Frank LaCombe, Director frankklacombe@gmail.com 585-3482
James Cobb, Director cobblaw@pacbell.net 586-9172
Jamie Burkart, Director bc3burkart@gmail.com 303-859-0489
Nate Belden, Director nate@beldenbarns.com 415-577-8552
Robert Stephens, Director rstephens1@gmail.com 612-234-5671
VOICE editorial team: Vacant
Minutes for the previous meeting of the BVCA Board of Directors are typically posted on its web site soon after they are approved. You can find them at: http://bennettvalley.org/index.php/meetings/33-meeting-minutes
The forthcoming meeting of the Bennett Valley Community Association Board of Directors will be held at the Bennett Valley Guild Hall on, Thursday, March 21, at 7 PM. The public is invited to attend. The Agenda for the board meeting opens with public discussion, with each presenter invited to address the Board for up to three minutes with name, address, and concern. Following public input, the board will receive a report from the Treasurer, and reports of any official notifications from the County. Additional topics of discussion will include county roads, VOICE, the BV Fire Protection District, and potential speakers for 2019.
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Bennett Valley Guild
Go to http://bvguild.org to learn more about the Guild, including the most current Guild calendar or, for an article on the early history of the Bennett Valley Guild. A member and guests only corned beef and cabbage dinner is at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, March 15.
Note: Ricardo's Bar & Grill, 2700 Yulupa, Santa Rosa, is donating 10% of all day sales on the fourth Tuesday of every month in 2019 to the Bennett Valley Guild Building Fund. If you have any questions, please email Bill or Patty Allen, paddybill@sbcglobal.net
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Bennett Valley Community Calendar
Mark your calendars now!
Bennett Valley Community Association: Next meeting is Thursday, March 21, 7:00 PM, Bennett Valley Guild Hall at 4145 Grange Road.
Bennett Valley Guild: Members only corned beef and cabbage dinner on Friday, March 15, at 6:30 PM, Bennett Valley Guild Hall at 4145 Grange Road.
Bennett Valley Guild 147th Annual Picnic: Sunday, June 2, from 2-4 PM, Bennett Valley Guild Hall at 4145 Grange Road.
Bennett Valley Fire Protection District: Board of Directors meets the second Tuesday of each month, 7:00 PM, at the Bennett Valley Fire Station. Please call 823-1084 to confirm meeting date ahead of time.
Sonoma County Board Of Supervisors: Meets most Tuesdays at varying times; 575 Administration Drive, Santa Rosa.
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