09/30/2022 City Manager’s Update

City Manager’s Update (pdf)
September 30, 2022

Greetings, all. Fall is in the air and lots of seasonal activities are popping up. Don’t miss out on new activities, and as always check your favorite hang outs for local music, activities, and offerings.

Don’t Miss Out!

• The High School Pep Rally is 10/7 mid-day at First & Main. Please note, Main will be closed and there will be detours around the intersection. Please watch for students!
• The Haunted Forest at Green River Tap Room runs through October 31st. Tickets are $20 to roam through 15 acres of woods and avoid ghosts, goblins and creepy things….
• On October 15 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., the UCCE Master Gardeners of Yolo with the Winters Friends of the Library will hold a plant sale at the Winters Community Library Teaching Garden (708 Railroad Avenue.) The cash or check only plant sale will feature plants from Morningsun Herb Farms of Vacaville. The plants provide habitat for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds including a variety of dwarf butterfly bushes, lavenders, ornamental sages, succulents, culinary herbs, and various California native plants plus many more. While supplies last, two types of native milkweed will be free to help increase the Monarch butterfly habitat. WFoL will have their book cart available with proceeds benefiting the Winters Community Library.
• Harvest Fest is October 28-30! Weekend festivities include Fourth Friday, a Saturday Makers Market on Main from Railroad to 2nd (please note the road closure), and the Spooktackular 5k / 10k / Fun Run on Sunday. The race is a fundraiser for the high school track team. To sign up for the race, click here. Please note there will be no parking along the race route to provide space for the runners. There will be a temporary road closure on E. Main at Rotary Park, and the intersections of Main & Railroad and at First Street will be closed while runners take off at the start of the race. Please watch for runners on the street!

Please Note:

• We were notified that the grant application for the Rural Recreation Grant to develop Paseo Park was not approved. Our $100,000 SACOG grant expires December 31, 2022, so staff is working to obtain quotes to upgrade electrical in the park to support Main Street and install an ADA pathway through the park. Whatever remaining funds are left will be used to help beautify the area while we plan future improvements. Given the short timeframe, we’ll move ahead with these core improvements and plan outward from there. Unfortunately, the new electrical equipment for the utility undergrounding on Newt’s Expressway was far more impactful visually than anticipated. We’ll need to plan some screening for that equipment. The benches, piano and free book library will all remain. Stay tuned!
• PG&E is completing their work in Newt’s Expressway, which included upgrading power to those businesses. AT&T is proceeding with their design work to pull their wire in the alley and connect with overhead wires on First Street. AT&T will remove the poles on the alley; we’ll share the schedule once we have it. The City will coordinate the final lift of asphalt for the alley roadway when work is complete.
• Filming is tentatively scheduled on the trestle bridge November 11 from 6 p.m. – midnight as part of a film school thesis project. No amplified sound after 9 p.m. The production coordinator is required to notify residents within 300’.
• This Saturday (10/1) construction work from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. has been approved for the Walnut 10 site to allow the developer to catch up after last weekend’s rains. The wet ground has taken some time to dry out.

FARMSTEAD DEVELOPMENT REVIEW MEETING – OCTOBER 7, 10:00 a.m.
Farmstead representatives and staff continue to work on the site plan for the Farmstead project ~ 62 acres north of Grant and east of Lorenzo’s. Given the scope of this project and changes since the scoping meeting for the EIR, staff is coordinating a second DRC meeting. The public may attend this meeting, which begins at 10 a.m. in the large conference room at City Hall, Abbey Street entrance. This is a working meeting with staff, the developer and 2 representatives from Council and Planning Commission. The purpose is to continue to provide feedback to the developer from each city department regarding the latest version of the proposed site plan. This is a high-level discussion for overall site plan, which will serve as the basis for environmental review and technical studies. The EIR has been on hold pending finalization of the site plan. We are trying to firm up the starting point for more detailed analysis, which will then inform more detailed site plan design. The public is welcome to listen to the presentations and discussions and provide comment at the end of the meeting. Remote access will not be available.

Upcoming Council Meeting – October 4
We have several items on the agenda, including the adoptions of two ordinances ~ one approving an amendment to the Development Agreement for Winters Highland and the other modifying the definition of site coverage, rejecting a claim against the City, approving an encroachment permit for a gas line on the trestle bridge and a contract extension for Psomas, Inc. Finally, we’ll recognize former Chief Brad Lopez for his 30 years of service to the Winters community. Come on by to thank him for his service. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in person and by Zoom. The packet is here.

Woot Woot!
Fall is a great time to gather downtown, visit with family and friends, do some shopping and get a little exercise walking around. The weather cools and businesses and homes decorate for the season with pumpkins, scarecrows and hay bales. The Chamber sponsors the annual scarecrow festival to encourage people to decorate. The public votes for their favorite locations in various categories. More information is here. A huge thank you to the Chamber for coordinating and all the businesses and homes that participate in helping downtown really get its charm on.