09/24/2021 City Manager’s Update

City Manager’s Update  (pdf)
September 24, 2021

Greetings, all. Fall is upon us! Which means the town will be decorated to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, fall harvest, and Halloween. And it’s getting cooler! What a great time to stroll around downtown and the various neighborhoods to see how people have decorated. For information about the scarecrow festival, please read below…

COVID-19

• Yolo County is looking for volunteers to assist with vaccination clinics. Volunteers assist with set up, take down, registration, screening, vaccination, traffic control, translation, medical observation and overall management of the vaccination clinics. Anyone sixteen years of age and older can volunteer and community service certificates can be issued for volunteer hours upon request. Volunteers must complete the “Medical Points of Dispensing (MPOD)” course at https://yolopodclasses.org before applying to volunteer. For more information, please email coordinator@yolocounty.org.

Please Note:

• People are still falling victim to phone scams; please be careful and do not provide personal information to callers, even if they say they are from Amazon…
• The new playground equipment that has been installed at both Blue Oak and Valley Oak Parks need replacement pieces so the equipment will be closed for one to two weeks while we wait for the new parts. Please remain off the equipment in the meantime as it has not been certified as ready for playtime. Also, work continues at Three Oaks Park. The landscape will require a three-month establishment period once completely installed before the park opens in order for the plant material to take hold. We’ll keep you posted on that schedule.
• The new EV chargers at the Community Center have been programmed and are ready for use. Please note users will be charged for use.
• We’re still looking for a tractor for the Putah Creek entrance into town….If you have an old one rusting in a field someplace, we would be happy to relocate it and provide a tax donation letter or purchase it at a reasonable cost…I’m told the damaged tractor cannot be repaired.
• The pool heater thermometer needs to be replaced; the part has been ordered. In the meantime, during the week, staff manually heats the pool in the morning and turns it off around noon. Staff is also tarping the water to help maintain a comfortable water temperature. However, the weekend water temperatures will be chillier until the heater can be repaired since no one will be able to manually set the heater…Apologies for the inconvenience.
• An Information Technology Virtual Career Fair will be held on October 7, 2021, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., which will provide job seekers the opportunity to connect with over 30 State of California departments that are actively looking to fill hundreds of information technology openings. Attendees will gain access to live virtual booths where they can ask questions directly to departments. Interested parties can register for the job fair at https://tinyurl.com/36jwkjsror or by visiting the YoloWorks! webpage. The State of California will also offer an hour-long “How to Begin Your Information Technology Career” seminar at 10 a.m. during the virtual career fair.
• The City of Winters is looking for a shebang Administrative Services Director to replace Shelly Gunby who is retiring in 2022 following a 25-year career at City Hall. More information is here if you know of a municipal finance professional!

Don’t Miss Out!

• The Chamber is ready to kick off the Scarecrow Festival! There were so many outstanding decorations around town last year. More information and images are available here. I can’t wait to see what people come up with this year…
• Yolo County Library will host a free virtual screening of the documentary "Not If, But When: Wildfire Solutions" on Monday, October 4, from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m., which will be followed by a Q&A with the directors. This 40-minute film delves into the controversial world of wildfire solutions with their pros and cons and their successes and challenges. The film includes expert interviews, drone footage, historical data and maps. This event is generously sponsored by the Friends of the Davis Library.

Zoom Link:   https://us04web.zoom.us/j/71587167061?pwd=TzdZNis5SklJTjFGTGJndjZNU1Yxdz09 

Zoom Meeting ID: 717 8716 7061; Zoom Passcode:  8niYbT

Did You Know?

This week’s cultural corner is brought to you by the Yolo County Library System, which is celebrating Banned Books Week, September 26 – October 2.  This annual event celebrates the freedom to read whatever you want. The theme of this year’s event is “Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.”  The Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2020 are listed here yolocountylibrary.org/banned—books. Banned Books Week was launched by the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. It celebrates the value of free and open access to information while highlighting current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. Happy reading to all you readers out there! Open minds = open hearts.

• The Davis League of Women’s Voters is hosting a virtual community forum, “Health Reform & Social Justice: Opportunities for Reducing Inequity and Addressing Health Disparities” on Wednesday, October 6 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. This forum aims to educate voters about our current healthcare model and how it impacts local care access, affordability, quality and equity. Use the QR code or type in the link address for more information.

Upcoming Council Meeting

The next meeting is October 5, via Zoom. Staff is preparing a large discussion item related to Council priorities, the FY 20-21 budget surplus and American Rescue Plan funding, as well as a variety of proposed projects that can be funded with these sources.

Woot Woot!

I love how Winters celebrates the fall, and how the town comes together to decorate and beautify. I like to say it takes a team at work, and a village at home. I love pots (plural), and the planter pot outside of City Hall’s main entrance is fantastic, so a big thank you to the Guerilla Gardeners who maintain pots and planter beds around downtown.

And another big thank you to the Hispanic Advisory Committee members who decorated downtown for Hispanic Heritage Month. In their honor, and in honor of all of our Hispanic community members (from whence they came recently or five generations ago), please take the time to sample some carnitas or any of your other favorite dishes from our local restaurants. HAC may have canceled the Festival de la Comunidad, but we can still savor the flavors of Hispanic culture. From my family to yours, !Viva España! And to all the other countries that make up Hispanic cultures.

And talk about community collaboration! The Winters booth at the Sacramento Farm to Fork Festival last weekend was nothing short of phenomenal. I understand kudos go to Lynda and Bill Hinds and Emarie and Nick Vangalio. “Stay and savor the charm” is a great tag line. So well done, everyone.