show menu

Sebastappeal By Sarah Glade Gurney - November 2019

Sebastappeal

I inherited the name for this column from its original author. He and I enjoyed the humor in the title. Think about it. Apples have peel. The city has its own unique charm—or appeal—that’s often called quirky. Attorneys, which we both are, file appeals. And so on. It stuck as a name.

Then along came the SEB bumper sticker, first made by Todd at Sprint Copy Center on Main Street. Adopting the abbreviated designation on our fire trucks and police vehicles, it expresses civic pride in a European-looking, trendy way.

The SEB shorthand has endured. Here are some more examples.

SEBold

Did you read it as SEB—old.......or.......SEB—bold? It goes both ways.

Let start with “old.” Per the 2018 statistics from the Economic Development Board, Sebastopol ranks second-oldest amongst the County’s comparable small cities and older than the median age of the state and nation. Our age structure skews slightly older than the County’s, with more “late career” and “elderly” residents, along with fewer “youth” and “early career” residents. The EDB publication includes information about employment, business, housing, education, income and spending. It’s worth reading to learn how it profiles our community.

Since its last release, Sebastopol has been surpassed by Cotati in population, so we are also the County’s “smallest” city at under 7,800 residents.

Our City-supported Community Cultural Center, Senior Center, and Ives Pool serve about 60,000 people in the West County and the areas to our east and south, as does our Regional Public Library. Each of these facilities is operating at peak capacity. Each of these SEBuildings needs to be improved and expanded to reach its potential.

SebBOLD

On to “bold.” Sebastopol needs a bold vision for the future for these “de facto” City services housed in city-owned buildings. The larger community wants the public facilities that we deserve, whether we identify as the young families, the elders, the pool enthusiasts, or the literati. We also need to be financially creative and energetic in order to achieve our vision.

Led by Executive Director Cordelia Hurst and her Board, the Community Cultural Center developed plans for its flood recovery and expansion for a vibrant future. Presented to the Council on October 15, 2019, these concepts will likely be reviewed in greater detail in January 2020.

The Senior Center bounced back financially over the last two years, now running strong under Linda Civitello, with reserves but hampered by lack of space. It could use more room.

Ricardo Freitas and his team at Ives Pool managed the challenge of remodeling the women’s locker room but runs at max capacity much of the time.

Our updated Library continues to add programs and materials within its tight walls, to the credit of Mathew Rose, Branch Manager, and Staff. LANTERN is one community group already re-envisioning our library facility next to City Hall. The group will report to the Council on November 19, 2019.

SEBact

How will such as small city expand its service in these older buildings? Not without dreaming and not without the financial support of the wider SEBrural population comprising our community. West County residents and other users of these facilities can participate in imagining a grander future and can donate, time and/or money. Contact the executive directors, managers, and friendly board members about opportunities.

Consider other actions that may be more doable and immediate. For instance, take the pledge called the Zero Waste Eat Local Challenge: for one month, shop at local businesses and farmers' markets for locally produced food, and bring reusable bags and containers everywhere.

Do you have any more SEBstitutions? Send them to me at sarahgurney.seb@gmail.com .

We've moved our commenting system to Disqus, a widely used community engagement tool that you may already be using on other websites. If you're a registered Disqus user, your account will work on the Gazette as well. If you'd like to sign up to comment, visit https://disqus.com/profile/signup/.
Show Comment