10/28/2022 City Manager’s Update

City Manager’s Update (pdf)
October 28, 2022

Greetings, all. It’s Harvest Festival time! Tonight is Fourth Friday, Saturday is the Main Street Market from Railroad to Second, and Sunday is the Spooktacular Race. The downtown will be popping! Please watch for pedestrians, runners, goblins, etc.

Don’t Miss Out!

• The salmon have arrived in Winters! See if you can spot any from the bridge. Don’t forget the Salmon Festival is Saturday, November 5, beginning at 11 a.m. at Rotary Park.
• Our local businesses need you! Are you looking for a full or part-time job to help make ends meet? To just help out? Help save the environment and your gas tank; walk or ride your bike to work. Please swing by your favorite store or restaurant, like Steady Eddy’s and Carboni’s, to apply. Steady Eddy’s offers minimum wage + tips, a great work environment, and the staff there  help build community. Please email carla@steady-eddys.com for more information.
• Want to explore the world through the eyes of the Fridaes? Well, you can, through their https://fridae.blog as they travel through Southeast Asia on their current trip, or scroll down and see where they’ve been since 2018! The photos are wonderful. Thank you, Rebecca and Woody, for sharing.

Please Note: 

• We are hearing anecdotal reports of campaign signs being vandalized or removed. Please don’t do that. An open, unfettered election is core to our democracy and that includes the public’s right to understand the issues before the community and for people to promote and vote for candidates they feel best represent their interests. Please respect people’s freedom of speech and right to participate in the election process. By the way, tampering with signs is a misdemeanor and a finable offense.
• Property taxes are due November 1st and delinquent if unpaid by December 12. Don’t forget!
• The sewer contractor for Walnut 10 has been given permission to camera lines on Saturday.
• The Fire Department Shrimp Feed is sold out. 250 tickets went quickly.
• PG&E will soon begin replacing the temporary gas line on the trestle bridge with a permanent line, which will require some tree trimming and tree removal on the south side of Putah Creek on the upper bank. Work will be completed by November 24.
• As the cost of living goes up, the California Public Utilities Commission offers financial assistance related to various utility services for qualified households. More information is here.
• I just learned about STEAC, a Davis based non-profit that works through other non-profits or government agencies to provide financial support for rent and utilities to prevent homelessness, to help people gain and maintain financial independence, and provide food assistance. Please visit their website and if any of the services are of interest, please reach out to RISE for referral services. They are located at 200 Baker Street, Room 5, 530-794-6000. St. Vincent de Paul Society is another great organization that can help families in need.
• History buffs, the Fall edition of The Archives Ledger is available here.
• Mark your calendars, the Planning Commission is holding a special meeting on November 17 to continue the public hearing on the Grand Prince Odeum. The meeting will be hybrid (in person and Zoom access). The packet will be posted the week of November 14. The regularly scheduled Planning Commission meeting of November 22 will likely be cancelled ~ no business items.

Upcoming Council Meeting
The November 1st meeting has one discussion item – a proposed ordinance banning flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, within the City of Winters. Consent calendar items included an updated Community Services Officer I/II classification, ratification of emergency repairs to aerators at the wastewater treatment facility, contract amendment with Ample Electric for the EV charging station at the First Street parking lot, and an update on repurposing of the OES PSPS grants. The Police and Fire Chiefs will also provide an overview of this week’s Winter Apartments fire. The packet is here.

Our agenda platform Granicus has been having trouble with video services. We hope the video playback will be restored soon.

Woot Woot!
Tuesday night’s fire at the Winter Apartments was certainly a very scary event that could have had a tragic ending. Thankfully, all the occupants managed to escape with the help of one of the tenants who heard her neighbor’s smoke detector go off in the middle of the night, saw the orange glow out the window and alerted the others. She likely saved their lives. The Fire Department and overnight police officers responded quickly, entering the building to look for occupants. Thankfully, our first responders also were uninjured. And finally a shout out to the apartment manager who is working to relocate those tenants to other vacant units within the complex. The Fire Chief reports she has been outstanding. Red Cross and several community-based volunteers are offering assistance. It certainly takes a village.