Just a few items this week:
So, Tuesday, September 10, 2019 will mark my eighteenth (18) year as the City Manager of the City of Winters. It was an exciting week because the terrorist attack on our nation was the following day, September 11, 2001! For those who do not know my background, I grew up in the greater Los Angeles area and that area is a little different than there!
A couple remembrances to share about my first year in town after these 18 years which give me perspective to this day about Winters, California………………..
If I learned anything during my first year in Winters, it was about perspective and priorities. Volunteers and community values are critical, the importance of little things (being neighborly and caring about others) and mostly, the inherent goals of the community to move it forward yet maintaining a sense of place, identity and being unique.
In Winters, I have met some of the nicest and sincere people I could ever imaging knowing. I give thanks for the blessings of raising my kids in a town which really does care and the giving I have been able to do in return. 18 years is a while, but I still remember that Halloween at Bruce’s House as if it were yesterday. I’m a lucky guy!
Go Warriors.
John
On August 21, 2019, the City held a joint community workshop of the City Council and Planning Commission to discuss a number of key planning subjects including the status of any application regarding the North Area, an overview of the application and plan review process, the status of the General Plan and an overview of key planning issues in California. The Workshop was well attended and the public provided a number of important themes in their comments.
One of the most important takeaways was the importance that the City needs to ensure a very robust process of engagement, information and planning to bring the community into a process of planning all facets of the how, where and the pace of development within the City.
From the City Staff perspective and in my discussions with both City Council and Planning Commission, the message was heard loud and clear!
Key themes in the comments included:
Staff has taken these themes and is incorporating them into an overall land use planning work program which will be presented to the City Council on October 1, 2019.
At the end of the workshop, the Council provided staff with some specific direction on some key items including the following:
Status of Annexation
Additionally, Staff is proposing projects to specifically address many of the themes which were presented at the workshop. There are many details in development and some things will take time to prepare, (and may be modified) but will be presented at the October 1 meeting.
These include:
Public Outreach:
Without question, people at the workshop are interested in participation in planning the future of the City, and making sure that the City’s residents have input into land use and planning decisions moving forward. Making sure that our citizens have this opportunity will be the number one priority.
Staff is now working on the development of a public outreach strategy to maximize community participation in the review and prioritization of general plan policy development.
General Plan:
The work program will include the following to address concerns related to the General Plan:
Fiscal Sustainability:
The important of establishing a clear picture of a sound financial future for the City to provide services, maintain infrastructure and sustain critical services such as school, public safety and the wide variety of quality of life services such as parks and projected senior services is critical. The work program will include a variety of fiscal models to help in the decision making process.
Public Information:
The importance of accessibility of information on planning is a critical part of the overall process. The work program includes:
Climate Action Strategy and Plan:
The work program will include a program toward the update and adoption of a Climate Action Plan. This may include:
The proposal will be one of the most comprehensive planning and community participation efforts in many years for the City.
Stay tuned for more information!
Have a nice labor day!
John W. Donlevy, Jr., City Manager
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:
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
Live in Esparto, Madison or winters? Join Yolobus Friday, August 16th for a FREE ride to the Fair! See attached for more info (pdf).
All,
A couple of items this week:
Some miscellaneous items:
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:
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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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:
Consent Calendar Items Includes:
The meeting will also include a presentation on Climate Change and Resiliency.
A couple more items:
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
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:
A couple updates on things:
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
