Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Joint meeting of the Town Council and Parks and Recreation Commission

The evening of Wednesday, February 3rd, following a brief regular Council meeting at 6pm, the Town Council and the Town Parks and Recreation Commission will meet in joint session to hear reports on the following topics:
  • Update and status of the Windsor Wellness Partnership
  • Status report of the Parks and Facility Capital Improvement Projects
  • Status report on the Windsor Parks and Recreation Foundation (People4Parks)
  • Status report on the Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update
  • Presentation on the new GreenCity Geographic Information System Project for Parks and Recreation
The link to the agenda and packet is: http://windsor-ca.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=1650

The meeting is open to the public.

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

County of Sonoma - Lytton Public Meeting


The County of Sonoma has informed the Town of the following public meeting.
 

The County of Sonoma will hold a public meeting hosted by Supervisor James Gore, Supervisor David Rabbit, and County Staff regarding the Fee to Trust Application and potential development of the Lytton Rancheria Homeland.

This will provide an opportunity for all to share information, updates, and feedback regarding the County Memorandum of Agreement with the Tribe, the Fee-to-Trust Application with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Legislation proposed in Congress, and a variety of other issues.  Supervisors Gore and Rabbitt are the co-leads for the County Ad Hoc on this issue, which was formed late last year after receiving substantial input from the public.  This Ad Hoc will consider holding a series of public forums to address issues identified in this first meeting.    

Meeting Details:

 
When:   Monday, February 1st

Time:  5:30pm-7:00pm

Where:  Windsor Grange Hall

                  9161 Starr Rd, Windsor, CA 95492

 
James Gore

County Supervisor

Northern Sonoma County's 4th District


707-565-2241

 

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Lytton Rancheria of California update


Congressman Huffman has shared some recent correspondence with the Town.

On December 2, 2015, Congressman Huffman wrote to Kevin Washburn, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior to seek clarification on a few issues with respect to the Department of the Interior's position on the land-to-trust process and the Lytton Tribe's application to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

The Congressman asked for a description of the Obama Administration's stance on taking lands into trust; whether the Carcieri v. Salazar case was an insurmountable obstacle for tribes seeking land-to-trust decisions such as Lytton; and whether the federal government would enforce agreements between the tribe and local governments, such as Memoranda of Understanding prohibiting gaming on trust land, and whether the BIA would enforce a no-gaming provision if not required by federal statute.

In a letter dated December 17, 2015, Mr. Washburn responded to Congressman Huffman, and explained that the Department of the Interior considers taking land into trust for tribes as one of its highest priorities. The Department hopes to take approximately 200,000 acres of land into trust in the coming year to support the Obama Administration's goal of acquiring half a million acres of new trust land. He further notes that the Department has applied a case-by-case methodology to land-to-trust applications in light of Carcieri, and has prevailed in courts even in the face of challenges by opponents citing the Carcieri decision. Mr. Washburn notes that nearly all of the 300,000 acres of land taken into trust so far during the Obama Administration has been taken into trust following the Carcieri decision. The Department intends to apply the case-by-case analysis to determine whether it affects Lytton's application. A determination has not yet been made with respect to the Lytton's application. Further, the letter notes that the federal government does not enforce agreements between a tribe and a local government, and that tribes and local governments cannot overrule Congress on matters of federal law. The letter closes by stating that tribes presumably have a right to conduct gaming if such gaming is lawful under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

In transmitting these two letters to the Chair of the County Board of Supervisors and Mayor Millan of Windsor, Congressman Huffman notes that without his bill, HR 2538, there is every reason to believe the BIA could and very likely would grant Lytton's pending trust application before the end of 2016; that the land would come into trust with none of the federally enforceable limitations and restrictions in HR 2538; and that Lytton would be eligible for gaming if permissible under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, unless it chooses not to do so.  Thus, unlike the Huffman legislation which makes no-gaming a condition of the land being taken into trust, the BIA itself would not make a no-gaming provision part of its trust grant and therefore would not enforce a contractual no-gaming provision.  
 
Copies of the letters have been placed on the Lytton page of the Town's website under the section Correspondence by Congressman Huffman: http://www.ci.windsor.ca.us/index.aspx?NID=973.

Friday, January 15, 2016

January 20th Council meeting

The agenda and packet for the Town Council meeting of January 20 have now been posted at the following link: http://windsor-ca.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=1333

The two major discussion items on the agenda are:
  • Potential expansion of Keiser Park - staff is seeking Council direction on potential purchase of property to expand Keiser Park.
  • State Medical Marijuana Legislation - staff is seeking Council direction on recent State medical marijuana legislation and Town regulations with respect to these laws.
The meeting begins at 6pm and we welcome public participation.

Friday, January 8, 2016

Appointment of Interim Community Development Director

Attached is a press release announcing the appointment of Interim Community Development Director Toni Bertolero.

Thursday, January 7, 2016

"Windsor employees cost least per resident per region"

Here is an interesting article in the local press, the Windsor Times, noting that the organization Transparent California has reported that the Town of Windsor's employee salary and benefit package is cost effective for its residents in relation to other municipalities in the region. The Town was not contacted nor asked to comment on the article before its printing.
http://www.sonomawest.com/the_windsor_times/news/data-windsor-employees-cost-least-per-resident-in-region/article_f7af1cf8-b4b6-11e5-86d1-f7d83722d8e1.html