Marin IJ Readers’ Forum for Feb. 16, 2020

San Geronimo plan: Vote yes on Measure D

I walked the area around the former San Geronimo Golf Course’s clubhouse and out to the 10th green at noon on a recent Sunday. There were five cars in the parking lot and no more than a dozen walkers sighted. Were the golf club open at that time it would have been fully booked and, yes, operating profitably and generating tax dollars.

I’d like to elaborate on recent letters to the editor published in the IJ. There are already existing open space preserves with proximity to the golf course. Adjoining preserves include French Ranch (403 acres), Roy’s Redwoods (293) and Thorner Memorial (33). Giacomini (1,500 acres) is within 1 mile. Preserves within 3 miles include Loma Alta (509 acres), White Hill (390), Cascade Canyon (504) and Samuel Taylor (2,700). The total acreage of existing surrounding open preserves, therefore, is 6,332 acres. San Geronimo Golf Course is 157 acres. The real question voters should consider is this, why do those who so badly want the course closed really need these 157 acres when they already have forty times that space within 3 miles?

Why are they so interested in only the golf course and not other surrounding properties? Why aren’t they objecting to cattle pasture properties where harmful cattle waste drains into and pollutes the coho salmon’s San Geronimo Creek? I guess cattle waste is OK just as long as it doesn’t come off a golf course?

And, yes, this is a countywide issue. Ponder how casually our supervisors knowingly overlooked essential needs and recklessly overspent millions of our taxpayer dollars on this non-essential purchase in the first place. Next they’d be spending more millions to un-golf and rewild the area. Vote for responsibility and fairness, and against greed. Vote yes on D.

— Ian Begg, Corte Madera

San Geronimo plan: Vote no on Measure D

I might vote for Measure D if it included the word “frisbee” in front of the word “golf.” But I’d prefer to share our new public park with everyone. That includes bobcats, which my sister-in-law saw in the tall grass of the fallowed course the last time golf failed in the 1980s. My wife saw one last month right across the street from the gym.

Since it opened to the public two years ago, the former golf course in San Geronimo, now owned by the Trust for Public Land, has been a godsend. My son was just getting the hang of riding a bike. Every weekend that dry sunny January we rode our bikes several car-free miles, without having to put the bikes on the car. We have been walking and biking on the property multiple times each week over the last two years. My son is now a seasoned bicyclist, thanks to Supervisor Dennis Rodoni and TPL’s far-sighted generosity. It is our go-to location for flat, sunny walking and bike riding close to home, transforming our lives in San Geronimo Valley.

You no longer hear people talking about sneaking across the course, or trespassing after hours or ducking golf shots. You hear people talking about riding, walking and gathering in our beloved multi-use public park. I invite you to come to San Geronimo this weekend and see it for yourself before voting on Measure D.

My daughter says the paths are too bumpy for her scooter — reflecting long-term deferred maintenance and the past year of entropy. But digging in the sand pits is fun. Measure D is outdated — it was written a year and a half ago, back when our community park was a golf course. It no longer a golf course. It is so much more than that now.

— Gregory Reis, San Geronimo

Tam District schools tax: Vote yes on Measure B

Supporting local schools is part of who we are. As a retired teacher and real estate investor, we recognize the value of local schools. Even though we no longer have children in school, we are voting yes on the Measure B tax proposal for Tam Union High School District.

When we read through the Measure B materials and learned that this measure is about protecting funding for 114 teachers, we realized just how important this measure is.

This measure isn’t about fluff or extras. This measure is about teachers. This measure is about science, math, art and music. This measure is about protecting the core of education.

If Measure B doesn’t pass, very real cuts will be made. My grandchildren now attend Redwood High School, so this matters to our family. But this goes beyond just our own families or our own grandchildren. We need Measure B so that students throughout our community have access to quality schools and are set on a path of success.

We hope you support local schools and vote yes on B.

— Cindy and Craig Morris, Kentfield