As 2023 comes to an end, the final touches are being added to the roundabout at Windsor River Road and Windsor Road. The central feature rock wall is nearing completion: Programmable LED lights will soon to be installed on the wall and around the surface of the central feature. Workers will also add fencing, planting, benches, and trash cans to beautify the roundabout within the next month. We estimate that the project should be complete around the end of January.
 
We’ve been busy all year long with roundabout construction: Workers in the past months completed all underground utilities, splitter islands sidewalks, and curbs and gutters. In the fall, they also completed final asphalt paving, striping and signage. We also opened the intersection for roundabout travel after the crosswalk was installed. 

Additional railroad foundation work was also completed, and brick pavers were installed in front of several businesses on the east side of the intersection. Stay tuned for details in early 2023 on a community event to celebrate the completion of the roundabout!

Extended: Water Conservation Regulations  

With drought conditions persisting throughout California, the State Water Resources Control Board readopted an emergency regulation prohibiting wasteful water practices like watering lawns when it rains and washing driveways, sidewalks, and other hard surfaces. This state regulation to bolster our water conservation practices now expires in January 2024.  The original regulation was set to expire on January 18, 2023.
 
The emergency regulation only impacts drinking water, not recycled water or water from private wells. As a reminder, the following practices are prohibited to all California water users, including Windsor residents and businesses:

• Outdoor watering that lets water run onto sidewalks and other areas (except incidental runoff)
• Washing vehicles without an automatic shutoff nozzle
• Washing hard surfaces like driveways or sidewalks that don’t absorb water; except for when needed for health and safety purposes
• Filling decorative fountains, lakes, or ponds, unless fitted with a recirculating pump
• Outdoor watering within 48 hours after 1/4 inch of rainfall or more
• Watering ornamental turf on public medians 

Support Local Businesses

This holiday season (and throughout the year), please support small, locally owned businesses. When you do, you support your Windsor community: your tax dollars help to fund essential Town services like police, fire, parks, and roads. Local businesses invest in our community and help to create our unique, small-town Windsor character.
 
Shopping local also helps to reduce your transportation miles. Did you know that transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Sonoma County? It accounts for about 1.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents annually.
 
In addition to shopping local, here are some tips to help lower your transportation impact:

• Combine trips to drive less. Make a list of your errands and plan the most efficient route. Offer to pick up items for family and housemates so they don’t have to make a separate trip.
• Walk or bike when you can. Another benefit: working off some of those holiday calories!
• Carpool to social gatherings.
• Take public transportation. Check out https://gosonoma.org/public-transit/ for route-planning and real-time departure apps.

Portello Tree Planting Project

Town Staff recently completed a large planting project to refresh the frontage of the new Portello subdivision on Hembree Lane. This project included 15 new valley oak trees, 10 flowering plum trees, two coast live oak trees and 25 hawthorn and English lavender plants to fill in around the trees.
 
This project replaced the large valley oak tree which had to be removed last year and follows a new approach to public street landscaping under the Town’s Integrated Pest Management Policy (IPM), which reduces the amount of pesticide and uses a more natural aesthetic. 

Video: Charlie Brown Xmas Tree Grove

Get a bird’s eye view of the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Grove on the Town Green at dawn in this fantastic drone video by community member Tom Rennie. It really shows the festive colors of the season -- Happy Holidays!

Holiday Recycling Tips

Did you know that Americans throw away 25% more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s? The extra waste -- including food, wrapping paper, and shopping bags -- amounts to 25 million tons of garbage, or about 1 million extra tons per week!

If every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet. and if every family wrapped just 3 presents in re-used materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.
 
Reduce your landfill waste this holiday season by following these tips:

1. Keep items like bubble wrap, cellophane, ribbons, and Christmas lights out of the recycling. Consider reusing these items or donating!
 2. Unfortunately, most decorative wrapping paper is not recyclable. Instead, use plain craft paper or newspaper and embellish with natural decorations such as pinecones.
3. Recycle your Amazon and other delivery boxes or use them as gift boxes. If recycling, break them down completely and placed in your curbside cart or in one of the community cardboard bins around Windsor.
4. Finally, use your green cart! All food scraps, plate scrapings, food soiled paper, and plant trimmings (including small Christmas tree branches!) can be placed in the green cart for composting.

Image credits: Sonoma County Resource Recovery

Small Daily Acts Make a Difference

How do you properly dispose your lunch leftovers and garbage? Kindergarten through 2nd grade students at Windsor’s Mattie Washburn Elementary on Dec. 9 learned how to sustainably sort these items at a presentation and puppet show led by Cole Yoxall of Sonoma County Resource Recovery – the Town’s waste hauler -- and Cathy Taylor and Jenni Silverstein of WeAct, a local climate-action group.

The overarching message: Simple daily actions can make a difference for the environment. Yoxall, SCRR’s outreach and education coordinator, demonstrated how to use the organics (green) bin, the recycling (blue) bin, and landfill (grey) bin. Sorting food scraps into the green bin, he said, allows them to be composted which in turn improves soil quality, provides nutrients for plants, and sequesters carbon.
 
“Why is there so much trash in the ocean when we have all these bins to use?” one student asked. 
 
“Kids get it," Yoxall said. “They can be ambassadors and take these skills home to their families.”
 
He plans to visit more Windsor schools in 2023 as well as educate Windsor businesses on state regulations on organics collection and food recovery.

Spreading Holiday Cheer

The Town of Windsor Montessori Preschool program got a surprise visit on Thursday by none other than Santa Claus himself! Santa sang Feliz Navidad with the students, gave them candy canes and read them a story.

Start an Action Tracker in 2023

Want to make a positive impact on your community in the New Year? Start an Action Tracker campaign to protect Windsor’s creeks.
 
Action Tracker is an online tool that helps you set a goal, tell other people why and how you want to protect our creeks and waterways, and invite friends, neighbors, and classmates to help you meet the goal. The tool is a project of Streets to Creeks, a coalition of Sonoma County cities, including the Town of Windsor. For more info, read the Russian River Watershed Association’s article.

Town Offices Closed Over the Holidays

The Town of Windsor's offices and facilities will be closed Dec. 26, 2022, through Jan. 2, 2023, for the holidays. Regular business hours return on Jan. 3. 
 
If you experience a water emergency during the holiday closure, please call (707) 838-1000. The Windsor Police Department will remain open Monday through Friday from 7 AM to 5:30 PM. The contact phone number is (707) 838-1234.

Safety Resolutions

A message from the Sonoma County Fire District: Are you ready for the New Year? Here at the Sonoma County Fire District, we would love to help you be successful in keeping your resolutions this year. Here is a list of five easy things you can do in 2023 to make a difference to keep you and our community safer.

1. Learn Hands-Only CPR
2. Make and practice a Home Fire Escape Plan
3. Create Defensible Space around your home and property
4. Join your neighborhood COPE (Communities Organized to Prepare for Emergencies) group
5. Make or update your Emergency Kit/Go Bag