2019 Yolo County Homeless Count

All,

A quick overview on the City Council Agenda then just a list of the projects which are on my desk and will be of particularly high attention over the next 12-18 months.

City Council Agenda for June 18, 2019:

• Public Hearing on Weed Abatement
• Planning Commission Appointments
• Pension and Other Post Employment (OPEB) Policy
• Amplified sound permit for Summer Concert Series (WFoL)
• El Rio Villa Sewer Agreement Renewal
• Olive Grove Subdivision Improvement Agreement for Phase 1
• Swearing in of Police Reserve Officer Charlie Kharsa

Now the list of projects which are on my desk and will encompass a good part of my workload for the coming months and year:

• Moving policy direction and review of the Economic Development Committee Report and Recommendations. The report will be back before the Planning Commission on June 25 for additional input, then to the City Council for more direction.
• Not so “fun fact” on City Sales Tax. For the Fourth Quarter of 2018, sales taxes per capita for the City were $1,809, 2.5% below the same reporting period in 2017. The per capita average for the rest of Yolo County was $4,963, up 10.5% from the 2017 reporting period. This means that on average we are receiving $3,154 less per resident per quarter. This indicates dramatic “loss” of spending within our own economy and our own residents.  A perspective is that if we received the “average” of what Yolo County is getting, we would receive over $900k in general fund revenues to support parks, public safety and general City services.
• Staff has been contacted and will set a meeting with the Solano Economic Development Corporation (EDC) about potential membership. This would be a really important collaboration to generate opportunities for jobs and industry expansion in the City.
• Develop an overall strategy on integrating the Draft Climate Action Plan and a draft Implementation Strategy. Climate is an important part of both future land use and economic development which will help address the City’s number one green house gas (GHG) issue- reduction of vehicle miles travelled.
• The Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) process with SACOG is heating up and I will be engaging in the process which will lead to the release of the housing numbers and formula’s which are anticipated to be released in late summer.
• The release of the RHNA numbers will trigger the process for an update of the City’s Housing Element. This will include the hire of a consultant, format, analysis, public outreach and working with both SACOG and the State Department of Housing and Community Development. This is a really BIG deal and will be a major effort.
• The recent uproar and concern over the Bellevue North Property has triggered concerns over planning and overall direction. I plan to meet with people concerned with the issue to gain perspectives and input. A need for public outreach and information is definitely there and I will be working to provide all of that. Look for items before both the Planning Commission and City Council in the coming months. For information on the North Area Planning, click HERE for a website we have set up with the applicable information.
• Succession Planning for some key retirements in Public Works and Housing/Economic Development/Planning is a big load. We are losing almost 30 years of experience/service with these retirements. When high caliber employees leave you lose quite a bit of institutional knowledge and capacity. Not looking forward to this at all.
• Preparation for the Fiscal Year 20-21 and 21-22 budgets will be on us as early as the fall. Capital Projects, Public Safety and Utilities are all big topics. When it comes to government regulation, nobody gets is worst that local government. Looks for new regulations for water, wastewater and storm water which will be significant and cost a lot!
• A needed remodel of the former Police Department will move Financial and Human Resources functions for better accessibility and functionality. This project will move into the next years budget but planning needs to begin now.
• The Fairfield Inn is moving along but there are details on my desk which need work.
• The Senior Center and Blue Mountain Terrace Senior Apartments will shift to my plate for completion.
• The Senior Commission on Aging will begin to take shape and my guess is that they will be active.

A couple areas which may be of interest:

• Staff has been researching Air B&B’s in town and frankly, we are surprised by the number in our town. The interesting thing is that, except for the month of February, none have been submitting transient occupancy taxes. We are generating the lists of addresses to contact the proprietors and gain compliance. The good news is that Air B&B and VRBO provide 1099 tax forms for easy auditing to gain compliance with the tax requirements. It certainly looks like some of our “hosts” have been very successful.
• I am expanding my “Ask the City Manager” to a City Council Briefing video which I will debut Monday on our Facebook page and Youtube Channel. Look for the posting as I will provide the same briefing given to City Council for the General Public.
• Look for a re-look at turning Abbey Street into a One Way with diagonal parking. The street construction is showing the potential for this project to generate a high quality entry for the Downtown Hotel. Better preparation and getting folks out onto the street will help for a better evaluation.
• A Job Fair for the Hotel Winters will be held on Wednesday, June 19 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at City Hall in the Downstairs Conference Room off of Abbey Street. To get started in applying, people can go to olshotels.com/careers

Have a nice Fathers Day Weekend!

John

All,

A week which has just flown by and my Friday is an absolute monster so the update will be a day early!!

• Staff attended the Governor’s Emergency Management Preparedness Summit in Sacramento on Monday. The session included a presentations from Governor Gavin Newsom, State Director of the Office of Emergency Services Mark Ghilarducci and panels which included executives from many areas impacted by wildfire over the past year. I would give the Summit 10 out of 10 Stars for effort by the Governor and his entire team in raising awareness and the need for collaboration in preparation, response and recovery.

I will admit that I had never seen the Governor in person and my impression of him was quite a bit different than the typical sound bites and media presentations. Frankly, I was impressed with his grasp of the issues, he was very articulate and well informed on emergency management needs and realities. He was quite magnanimous in his appreciation for his emergency management executive team and the efforts of those throughout the emergency management field. His grasp on the need for collaboration and the need for reform of government regulation to enable fire prevention was commendable. I left impressed with his sincerity and demonstration of leadership on the issues. Overall, well done and worth attending.

• One major takeaway from the Summit was an appreciation for the preparation and collaboration we have in Yolo County. County OES Manager Dana Carey and the Yolo Cities are extremely well prepared and could have been highlighted as a model for much of what they were talking about.
• A key concern for the coming summer will the potential for power outages which could last for up to 5 days in the event that transmission lines are turned off. A reality is that a need to turn off transmission lines in Butte County could result in outages as far as Yolo County, essentially shutting down business and operations in communities for hundreds of miles. Getting information to businesses and residents will be critical in the coming weeks. People, especially those from vulnerable groups (elderly, sick, persons on oxygen) who need power need to begin making preparations in the event of extended periods without power.
• City Staff met today to discuss the potential for a relocation of City Hall operations and maintaining our utilities and public safety capabilities. Generators, fueling contracts, maintenance of both water and wastewater operations and pumps all were topics. Key plans and assignments are going to be put in place to insure a continuity of operations in the event of an extended power outage. We all left the meeting with assignments to start things in motion to be ready in case the power goes out.
• Winters Fire this week has been busy on two structure fires, one at Burger King and the other at a residence on Hill view Lane. Quick action in both were critical in preventing spread and preventing injuries to people and pets. A special thanks to Winters Police who were quick to the scene on Hillview, helping the residents and protecting the community.
• On Tuesday, a combined meeting of the City Council and the Planning Commission was held to discuss the Economic Development Committee’s Report and recommendations. A good meeting with a nice turnout and lots of really good questions. You can access the report HERE.
• The City received its first transient occupancy check from Air B&B for the months of February and March. Something close to $20,000!

Have a nice weekend!

John

All,

A couple items for this week:

• It is with a lot of regret that we have made the decision to cancel the 2019 Independence Week Fireworks Display. The need to relocate, logistics issues, the potential for fire and the reduction in overall quality just make shooting the show a bad idea. Winters High School will be available in 2020 so we will move any donations received into that show. Shooting the show at Shirley Rominger Intermediate School would require extensive weed abatement, closing Main Street, a buffer putting people in a detention area, a traffic/parking nightmare and shooting 3” and 4” fireworks versus the crowd pleasing 5” and 6” variety. Shooting a mediocre show over a dry grassy area is just silly and would be disappointing.
• The Economic Development Advisory Committee Report will be presented in a joint meeting before the City Council and Planning Commission at 4:00 in the EOC Conference Room at the Public Safety Facility, 700 Main Street. HERE is a link to the report and recommendations. HERE is a link to a page with the background information, meeting agendas and other information.
• Construction of the First Street Parking Lot will commence beginning the week of June 10. Look for preliminary work to begin within the next week then a full construction effort over a 2-3 week period in June.
• Congrats to the Downtown Merchants on a final location and strategy for waste/trash removal and the beginning of alley activation. The future of Downtown is extremely bright with a very dynamic group leading the way. Pretty exciting!
• The Senior Commission on Aging is on the June 4 City Council Meeting. An application process, interviews and appointment will follow.
• Planning Commission allowed additional input in the Air BnB Look for it to be back on the June 25 Agenda.
• Housing is a critical issue in Winters and throughout the State. Governor Gavin Newsom has listed it as a “crisis” and one of his highest priorities. Staff provided updates on key policies and issues at meetings in the month of May. Click HERE for the report provided which includes key links on policies, issues and resources.
• A really cool event on June 12 will be a “Pop Up Garden Dinner” hosted by the Putah Creek Café featuring a four course family style dinner paired with Turkovich Wines. Sounds like an absolutely awesome event which will sell out fast. To make a reservation, you can purchase tickets here

Finally, the Memorial Day Weekend is the Davis World Cup Soccer Tournament where Winters AYSO sent 8 teams to compete against teams from throughout California. Soccer is pretty competitive and the Davis World Cup is a pretty prestigious tournament which closes the 2019-20 season.

Of the 8 teams, Winters walked away with 2 second place and 3 third place finishes, meaning each made the semi final games amongst elite teams in five brackets. Simply amazing!!!!

I referee the tournament and have an opportunity to meet and ref with folks from throughout the western states. People always ask me where I am from, with many assuming I am from Davis because I am “local”. When I tell them I am from “Winters”, literally every ref will comment “hey, I reffed a game with a Winters team and they played hard yet fair”. It’s always, “you have incredible players, coaches and teams”.

Saying I am from Winters is a real pride thing! Each of our teams become ambassadors representing the quality of play, competitiveness, the attitudes of our players/coaches/parents and they help define the impression people walk away with about our community. Most have never even heard of Winters but once they meet our teams on the field, they never forget! Our players and teams can compete with anyone on any field at any time and when the game is over, they know where we are from.

I tell our players that soccer is really a metaphor for life and that being from a small, yet mighty town gives them a huge advantage. They grow up challenged, supported and they have the opportunity to show they are second to none. Our kids compete on the same fields as teams from larger communities and leave victorious. They can do the same in life!  It doesn’t matter who they are competing against, in the end, you play with the same ball, on the same field and its more about determination.

I am always proud to say I am from Winters.

Have a nice weekend!

John