08/21/19 City of Winters Joint Land Use Workshop
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Friday Update on August 16 2019
All,
Happy Yolo County Faire Weekend! Getting this out so I can go support the Winters FFA students and pour beer for Rotary. Here is the update:
- The August 20, 2019 City Council Agenda has a bunch of items on it including the Air bnb Ordinance, a Resolution requiring “any” application which goes beyond the City’s General Plan/Urban Limit Line be accepted for processing by the City Council, a bus sharing agreement between the City and Hotel Winters, and updates on the Parking Master Plan implementation and a City Projects Overview. Also included will be the Groundwater Monitoring agreement for our Wastewater Facility, a Proclamation in support of the Yolo Food Bank, Funding for the Salmon Festival and the Street Closure for the Earthquake Festival. For the Agenda or the full Packet click HERE.
- The Planning Workshop on August 21 at the Public Safety Facility will be from 5:00-8:30. The Workshop will be mostly educational in nature but will cover some of the hot topics of the past few months. Think the ABC’s of planning, Topics to be covered at the workshop will include an update on any status of the North Area/Annexation Project, Overview of the land development application process, Status of the General Plan, Overview of the LAFCO and Annexation Process, the difference between General Plan and General Plan Implementation and Planning Trends in California. Good news on this is that the session will be facilitated and presented by both our Contract Planner Heidi Tschudin and City Attorney Ethan Walsh!
- The First Street Parking Lot adjacent to the Hotel Winters was paved this week and we expect the marking of the stalls and finishing touches to occur next week. In total, 38 spaces which will include handicapped stalls and a high capacity electric vehicle charging station. Overall, it looks pretty good!
Finally, a big thanks to the “Guerilla Gardeners” who have become an important partner for the City of Winters in maintaining and manicuring the Downtown Area. All through the area from Railroad Ave to Main and First Street, these volunteers are doing an amazing job and showing a lot of pride and “Winters Spirit” in making our community look really good! A shout out and many thanks for a job well done.
Go to the County Faire, support our FFA and enjoy one of the last “free” experiences of its type in California!
John
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Yolobus Free ride to the Fair!
Live in Esparto, Madison or winters? Join Yolobus Friday, August 16th for a FREE ride to the Fair! See attached for more info (pdf).
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08/21/19 Joint Land Use Planning Workshop
- Joint Land Use Planning Workshop (PDF): Agenda / Staff Report / Attachment
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Friday Update on Thursday August 8 2019
All,
A couple of items this week:
- From the City Council Meeting, the Air B&B Ordinance was continued to the August 20 Meeting with a request for more information on how Accessory Dwelling Units are treated within the scope of affordable housing and as vacation rentals.
- Approved at the meeting was an upgrade to the City’s Building Permit System with direction to include a “citizen portal” to allow permit applications, payment and tracking online.
- Mayor Pro Tem Wade Cowan was selected as the Alternate Board Member to represent the City on the Yolo Housing Authority.
Some miscellaneous items:
- Due to unavoidable issues, the paving work schedule for Downtown streets and the First Street Parking Lot has changed: On Saturday, August 10, Vintage Paving will be doing road work on Railroad Ave and on Abbey St. The south bound lane on Railroad from Abbey to Main will be closed. The north bound lane will be open but moved over to the east side a few feet. Their will be no parking on the east side of Railroad from Main to Abbey during this construction period which is scheduled to be from 6am to 4pm. Abbey St will be closed on the West side from the west edge of the hotel to the First/Abbey intersection. There will be access to Napa Auto Parts and the Barber Shop from Railroad. Vintage will be paving the entrance into Newts Expressway, the entrance into the parking lot and will be paving Newts Expressway. On Monday, August 12, they will be paving the parking lot but no road closure.
- Congratulations to the Winters Joint Unified School District for their open house and the launch of the new buildings on the Winters High School Campus. A really important sign of the upgrades to the school and the investment the community has in our education system. 10 new classrooms for our students. Well done!
- Kudo’s to the Downtown Merchants for the Albarino Wine Stroll. A first class event which really took things to a new level! Estimates have the participants at about 400+.
- For those interested in Planning and Development, mark you calendar for Wednesday, August 21 from 5:00 to 8:30 at the Public Safety Facility (700 Main Street). The Workshop for August 21 2019 will be mostly educational in nature but will cover some of the hot topics of the past few months. Think the ABC’s of planning, Topics to be covered at the workshop will include an update on any status of the North Area/Annexation Project, Overview of the land development application process, Status of the General Plan, Overview of the LAFCO and Annexation Process, the difference between General Plan and General Plan Implementation and Planning Trends in California. Good news on this is that the session will be facilitated and presented by both our Contract Planner Heidi Tschudin and City Attorney Ethan Walsh!
City Hall is extremely busy! A key project I am working on involves the development of a key project list to inform the City Council and the public about the myriad of issues and projects we are working on. Lots of projects which are interconnected means the need to plan the appropriate sequencing to maximize the overall efficiency and effectiveness of how we proceed. For some folks it may seem frustrating but it is just the reality for how we need to proceed.
Finally, I would like to highlight the Police Department’s Cadet Program which provides personal development and leadership opportunities for young people in our community. The young men and women in the program have the chance to not only learn about law enforcement and public safety, but to make a genuine impact on their community and become role models amongst their peers and especially with children.
In 2019, the Cadets have represented the community in a number of events, most notably at the services for fallen Davis Police Officer Natalie Corona. I will share that I saw the cadets the morning of the services, looking amazingly professional and ready to go represent. They shined at the event and those in the Department and I could never have been prouder to have such fine young people wearing the name “Winters” on their uniforms. It was special!
Cadet positions are non- sworn volunteer positions and complement the Winters Police Volunteer Program. The goals of the Police Cadet program are to expose men and women to the various aspects of police work in order to prepare them for a career in law enforcement. The Police Cadet program also helps to provide quality candidates for all law enforcement. Cadets increase services the Police Department can provide to our community and can provide support in the following areas:
- School, Park, and Bike trail Patrols
- Community Events and Festivals
- Safety Presentations
- Traffic control and scene management during emergencies
- Senior wellness checks
- Vacation checks
- Clerical/ Office Support
The program is administered by Cadet Program Director Officer Alan Pinette and Coordinator CSO Gail Jimenez. For more information regarding the Cadet Program please contact: Cadet Program Winters Police Department 702 Main St Winters, CA 95694 (530) 795-2261 ext 146 tips.winters@winterspolice.org Or download our information brochure by clicking this link: Cadet Brochure
Have a good weekend!
John
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Aug 19
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Download Our New City of Winters App from iTunes or Google Play Store
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Download your city’s app and start engaging with your city on a more meaningful level. Become a civic citizen today!
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08/08/2019 LPCCC Meeting
- 08/08/19 Meeting Agenda / Packet
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Friday Update on August 2 2019
All,
Back from a couple of days in a very hot and monsoon driven trip to Arizona. A couple items:
City Council Agenda:
Discussion items includes:
- Air B&B Ordinance
- Designation of Alternate City Council Liaison to Yolo Housing Authority Board
- Building Permit System Software Upgrade
- Natural Resources Element Review
Consent Calendar Items Includes:
- Purchase of a Float Sensor for East Street Sewer Pump Station
- Amplified Sound Permit for Thanksgiving Dinner Fundraiser
- Delinquent Utility Bills
- Claims Filed Against the City from Foxglove Flooding
The meeting will also include a presentation on Climate Change and Resiliency.
A couple more items:
- The Planning Workshop for August 21 2019 will be mostly educational in nature but will cover some of the hot topics of the past few months. Think the ABC’s of planning, Topics to be covered at the workshop will include an update on any status of the North Area/Annexation Project, Overview of the land development application process, Status of the General Plan, Overview of the LAFCO and Annexation Process, the difference between General Plan and General Plan Implementation and Planning Trends in California. Good news on this is that the session will be facilitated and presented by both our Contract Planner Heidi Tschudin and City Attorney Ethan Walsh!
- Transient Issues in the Creek have created work for our public works and public safety folks. A busy week with some law enforcement and emergency medical response.
- First Street Parking lot and Newt’s Alley will probably be paved around the weekend of August 10. Overall both of these projects are looking really good.
- Saturday is the Albarino Wine Stroll. Check in is at the Green River Tap Room. For full information, go to www.albarinowinestroll.com . It is going to be an amazing event.
Finally, the article in the newspaper on the Planning Commission was a little hard on my comments related to “millennials”. Mostly, my observation is that the overall processes need the participation of a broad cross section of the community, when it comes to issues, especially when looking at our future on issues like planning, economic development and shaping the future course for the community. Yes, I give a hard time to millennials, because they are a really tough group to outreach to in relation to community meetings. Millennials are good in their own forum (online, social media, etc) but when it comes to the melding of interests and groups in a community forum like a City Council or Planning Commission Meeting, they simply do not show up.
Some of this is clearly the fault of the City in trying to find those avenues which get into a more technical approach to engagement. We are looking into alternatives and if we have community members who know of effective community outreach tools in this area, I would appreciate hearing them. Social media seems to be a pretty difficult environment but there must be other avenues out there. Let me know.
Have a nice weekend.
John
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Friday Update on Sunday July 28 2019
All,
The heat of summer is upon us and this time of year marks the start of our fiscal year budget and a lot start for many things, meaning smaller agendas with the City Council.
The tentative August 6 City Council Agenda has the following:
- Public Hearing on the Air BnB Ordinance
- Presentation on Climate Resiliency (effects of heat)
- Designation of an alternate City Council liaison for Yolo County Housing Authority
- Installation of a float level transmitter for the East Street Pump Station
- Amplified Sound Permit for Thanksgiving Committee Fundraiser
A couple updates on things:
- First, if you are feeling ignored by not getting response to emails to City Hall, you are probably not alone. We upgraded all of our computer programs last weekend and most of us feel like we have landed on another planet. Be patient and understand that the positive effects of an “upgrade” take months to be realized. We will get there!
- Mark Wednesday, August 21 for a joint City Council/Planning Commission Land Use Planning Workshop as an education forum on many of the topics brought up regarding the north area including Specific Planning, Annexation, General Plan and LAFCO Process. This will be an opportunity for the City, community and stakeholders to get on the same page on the status of many key issues. Look for details to come out in the coming weeks.
- Staff met with about 20 community members with concerns about the North Area Planning issue. It was a facilitated meeting with many questions and some amazing input. I will share that I was grateful for the honesty and directness of folks along with some pretty direct questions to try and clear the air on things. Winters is blessed with many people who love the community. From the meeting, there is more common ground than disagreement on things and I am confident that we will get to understanding and agreement and move forward in a united direction. I will be scheduling a follow up meeting in the coming weeks to check in on some things we are working on at the staff level and get input. The meeting gets 5 out of 5 stars in my view.
- The Planning Commission had a really good workshop on the Economic Development Advisory Committee Report. Some really good input. We have an exceptional group on the Commission and the other night shows!
- On July 9, I was on a panel for the “Sacramento Groundbreakers” which featured Visit Sacramento, Visit Lodi, Rob on the Road from PBS and me representing Winters. Click HERE for a link to the podcast, it came out pretty good for us.
- The Hotel Winters is scheduled to have its grand opening on September 6, 2019.
- The OLS Hotels Team who will operate the Hotel Winters have been training at City Hall and it is really pretty cool. Most of the hires are from here in Winters and the orientation process is absolutely amazing. This is going to be a first class hotel and the emphasis on excellence in the training of their staff shows. This is very exciting!
- I personally walked through the Hotel this week with most of the rooms furnished and the ambiance beginning to emerge. The views from the rooms are amazing and really show off the town and vistas in a way unlike any other place in the City. We cannot wait for the community to see the project, the wait is absolutely worth it.
- Look for the First Street Parking Lot and Newts Expressway to get rocked this week, concrete gutters installed and paving to happen over the next two weeks. The project is blessed with Vintage Paving as our contractor and their quality subs. The project is on schedule and will be really nice when we are done.
- Rumor Control on the First Street Parking Lot- THIS WILL BE A PUBLIC PARKING LOT AND NOT EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE HOTEL.
- Two HUGE projects on the City Manager’s desk are project lists for General City Projects from each Department and a Planning Project List. Both will be presented at the August 20 City Council Meeting. Lot’s going on and the project lists will show that.
- The City hosted a quarterly meeting for the Sacramento Division of the League of California Cities with about 40 elected officials from the greater Northern California in attendance. An update on our Putah Creek Projects, a Tour of the PG&E Academy, a tour of our agricultural assets and finally a tour of Berreyessa Gap Winery and rootstock. It was a first class event organized by City Councilmember Jesse Loren with Buckhorn Truck Food, a presentation and welcome from Mayor Bill Biasi and a quality representation by our businesses. Our little town is the talk of the Sacramento Region and it did not disappoint! Kudos to all who participated!
- The Albarino Wine Stroll is on August 3. Get your tickets at www.albarinowinestroll.com . $45 dollars per person which is a bargain!
Finally, controversy over the past few months has put a real critical eye on these Friday Updates. Social media has not been kind, often taking a different spin and taking something which is relatively non-controversial and making it the coming of the apocalypse. I have some folks telling me to end them.
I have been sending the Friday Updates out to a general distribution for the better part of eight years. In total, I hit about 8,000 people weekly through email, twitter, facebook and Instagram. The goal is pretty simple, to give folks a glimpse into things happening in the City in a concise format and some insight into things happening at Winters City Hall and my desk. I include some perspectives and stories in my own goofy way and sometimes bring a self-effacing approach to some situations. Yup, I am very patriotic, pro public safety, have a really dry sense of humor and put an unfiltered view on things (I get interesting feedback on lots of my views). Not trying to generate controversy, propagandize or proselytize, just my view which can be totally ignored and deleted.
The Friday Update is going to continue. For those on my email distribution who don’t want to be on the list anymore, just respond and Ill take you off. On social media, just ignore it!
Try and avoid the heat and see everyone at the Albarino Stroll.
John
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July 16, 2019 City Council Meeting
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2019-20 Waste Management Collection Schedule
2019-20 City of Winters Waste Management Collection Schedule
Waste Management Collection Schedule Magnets will be delivered door to door this week. (printable pdf)
2019-20 WM Collection Calendar
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