07/08/2022 City Manager’s Update
City Manager’s Update (pdf)
July 8, 2022
Greetings, all. The weather was pretty phenomenal this last week. Perfect for Music in the Park on Thursday nights, beginning at 7 p.m. Winters Friends of the Library are sponsoring the July series. For more things to do, check out www.discoverwinters.com and your favorite destinations for activities, music, libations and food. Downtown Winters is popping on the weekends!
Please Note:
- The utility contractor for Walnut 10 has been given permission to work on Saturday to complete the installation of a water main. Work is not to begin before 8 a.m. Labor and material shortages have plagued
the builders, along with every industry, so we are accommodating fluctuating schedules to help builders manage timelines and costs. - The Yolo County In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Advisory Committee seeks committee members interested in the delivery of IHSS. The IHSS program helps eligible persons with disabilities remain safely in their homes, helping pay for authorized domestic and personal-care services. The committee has current openings for four consumers and two residents; applicants may live in any part of Yolo County. The Board of Supervisors appoints members to four-year terms. Applications can be found and submitted at yolocounty.org/government/board-of-supervisors/advisory-bodies.
- Calling all history buffs ~ The Friends of Yolo County Archives have issued their latest newsletter https://www.friendsyca.org/news/newsletter, highlighting the Blowers Family “Fruit, Family, and
Leadership in Farming”, and the Capay Valley Telephone Company. The Winters Museum exhibit “Remembering Monticello” is also featured. If you haven’t had a chance to see this exhibit, it’s well worth a visit and some thought about whether public benefit supersedes private property rights. The Winters Museum is open Thursday through Sunday from 1 – 5 p.m. at 13 Russell Street. - Several individuals will be cited for illegal fireworks last weekend. As someone shared with me, not only are animals terrified by fireworks and homemade M-80s, veterans with PTSD are jolted by trauma every time an unexpected blast goes off. And we can’t ignore the risk of injury or fire. Despite the “we’ve always done it,” let’s hope next year the only fireworks are those shot by professionals during the event.
Did You Know?
- Your Ride from Yolo County Transportation District (YCTD) provides low cost on-call door-to-door service between Winters and El Rio Villa to Davis and Vacaville Monday through Saturday. More
information is at yolobus.com/yourride/.
COVID-19
- Omicron sub-variants B.4 and B.5 are proving to be highly contagious and have the ability to re-infect individuals who have already had COVID. Testing and isolating when contagious are important to minimize exposing others. Masks are strongly recommended, particularly indoors, for people who are immune compromised or just don’t want the inconvenience of having to isolate for 1-2 weeks.
- The school district continues to provide free community COVID testing. Click here for more information. Thank you, WJUSD.
- Free rapid tests are available at the Winters Library. Thank you, Yolo County.
- Retail pharmacies have home antigen test kits available for purchase, and insurance companies, including Medicare and Medi-Cal, are required to reimburse each member for up to eight tests each month. Many pharmacies bill insurances directly so customers pay nothing out of pocket.
- All U.S. households can order three rounds of free COVID antigen test kits through the US Postal Service at COVID.gov/tests for home delivery.
Upcoming Council Meeting
The next meeting is July 19, via Zoom and in-person. An interesting note, the public mostly continues to participate remotely with some staff and councilmembers attending in-person. Remote access to public meetings has increased public participation in local governance in Winters and elsewhere, which is a positive outcome from the pandemic. State legislators are discussing if and how to amend the Brown Act to allow remote participation beyond the pandemic emergency declaration. We are closely monitoring potential regulatory changes.
Woot Woot!
A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to make the Fireworks Show a success: The Mariani Family who allowed us to use their dirt parking lots for paid parking and the School District for the same. To Taylor Buley, the volunteers and lifeguards who worked the parking lots and gates, collecting payments and donations. To the Public Works team for setting up, cleaning up and working the event. To Police and Fire who kept us safe and traffic moving. To all the attendees for keeping the field family friendly and cleaning up after themselves. And to all the food trucks and popup vendors who offered amazing food for the thousands of people at and around the field. And most of all, to Fireworks America for an amazing show and those extra shells ~ the grand finale was spectacular. We raised approximately $12,000 toward the $20,000 event costs. Thank you, everyone!