BJ Blanchard: A creek runs through it...

Glen Ellen Town ?Forum is taking root|

Energy, like Glen Ellen's swollen creeks, was high at last week's Town Forum. A group of citizens has divided into committees to attack town topics and are reporting back with new developments.

The Projects Committee reports that the Post Office will be painted in May, and the entire block from the P.O. around the corner to Girl and the Fig will be painted in shades of the natural world – lichen, leaf, bark, etc. – by October, in time for the Glen Ellen Village Fair. In addition, a Creek Cleanup is planned for Earth Day to include Dunbar kids and families. Plans to provide showers for the homeless, build new bus shelters, promote recycling, and bury electrical lines, are underway.

There is even a proposal to cobble the intersection of London Ranch Road and Arnold Drive and dot it with small parklets, to slow traffic and provide a pedestrian-friendly 'center' to the village.

The Traffic Committee is considering options to slow traffic through town. They have floated a Traffic Survey to get a sense of who is driving and how much. They are identifying safety concerns concerning parking, bicycle lanes, impaired drivers, road lighting, commercial vehicles, and more. They are asking for suggestions for the most effective way to address these issues.

The Sonoma Developmental Center Committee has joined with existing groups affecting the decisions about the SDC land when the Center is vacated at the end of 2018. The land and historic buildings will not be for sale, and it appears that the owner, the State of California, is interested in local ideas and input. The Glen Ellen group plans to articulate community-based proposals for the property, and keep the community of important developments as they progresses.

The Governance Committee is recommending for the Forum to become a Citizens' Advisory Committee/NonProfit entity. This model can offer a unified town voice to county powers that be and the nonprofit status allows for acquiring funds by grant or direct donations.

For the time-being 'Glen Ellen-ites' for the purposes of the Town Forum, are generally defined as folks living within the 95442-zip code, give or take a few miles. Get the real low-down at glenellenca.org (that's org, not com).

Dunbar School is alive and well. Faculty at this robust little school are considering introducing an International Baccalaureate Program for the Elementary School level. Further, they have fused grades 2/3, and 4/5 so that students have the same cohort and teachers for two years in a row for greater continuity. And, the school garden thrives.

Forum Meetings are held the first Monday of the month, currently at Dunbar School. See you on April 3, at 7 p.m., so you can put in your 2 cents worth.

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