12/11/2020 Friday Update

 City Manager’s Update
Friday, December 11, 2020
(click here for pdf)

Greetings, all.

At midnight last night a Regional Stay-at-Home Order became effective for the Greater Sacramento Region, which includes Yolo County, because the availability of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds in the region dropped below 15%. The State developed this metric as a threshold to order more restrictions to help slow the spread of COVID-19. More information is in the COVID-19 section.

Clearly, the economic wellbeing of the community, from individual families, to our non-profits, to our businesses, continues to be significantly impacted by this pandemic. We can all do our part by wearing masks, staying 6’ away from people we don’t live with, and supporting our local business and community partners. Volunteer time to support others, follow businesses on social media, take out from Winters restaurants, shop local, donate if you can to social service providers. We will get through this together.

COVID-19

Yolo County updated its Health Order to align with the State mandate. More detailed information is available at Only Attachment B (Updated Restrictions).

Some highlights include:

• -Outdoor recreational facilities: Allow outdoor operation only for the purpose of facilitating physically distanced personal health and wellness through outdoor exercise.
• -Retail: Allow indoor operation at 20% capacity, and 35% of capacity for standalone grocery stores; special hours for seniors and others with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems.
• -Hotels and lodging: Allow for COVID-19 mitigation and containment measures, for essential workers, or for providing housing solutions for homeless.
• -Restaurants: Allow only for take out or delivery.
• -Offices: Allow remote only except for critical infrastructure and services sectors where remote working is not possible.
• -Places of worship and political expression: Allow outdoor activities only.

All operations in the following sectors must be closed (except to the extent that their operations fall within critical infrastructure):

• -Hair salons and barbershops
• -Personal care services
• -Wineries, bars, breweries, and distilleries
• -The Winters library has suspended curbside service and in-person computer appointments.

In response to some questions:

• -AA and NA meetings at churches: please check with the facilitator about meeting remotely during the Stay At Home order or outside socially distanced with masks on. These and other supportive meetings and services are essential for wellbeing; please follow CDC guidelines and comply with health orders.
• -Playgrounds, parks and outdoor recreational facilities remain open. Physical and mental wellbeing are priorities to help people get through the pandemic. Please be responsible when in our public parks by remaining socially distanced to the degree possible, washing or sanitizing hands frequently, and wearing a mask if not exercising. No contact games are allowed, but practice, drills, and exercise are.

Please Note:

• -CARES Act Outdoor Dining Winter Enhancements: As reported to the City Council, a significant portion of the City’s CARES Act grant was earmarked to enhance outdoor dining areas and to open up two-way traffic on Main Street from Railroad to the mid-block crossing. Pergolas are getting constructed and decorated, and roofs will be fabricated to provide some cover from rain. Plans were made and materials ordered prior to the new Regional Stay-At-Home Order, and since funds must be expended by December 31, 2020, we will proceed as planned, even if we cannot enjoy those facilities until the order is lifted.
• -Waste Management has released the temporary brush pick up and street sweeping schedule in response to a driver shortage due to COVID-19 quarantines. The schedule is below and a map is available here.

Brush Pile & Street Sweeping Schedule (until further notice)

• Yolo County is hosting webinars on Monday, December 14 and Monday, December 28 at 10 a.m. related to businesses and workers who may be impacted by work stoppages, layoffs or furloughs. More information is available here.

Don’t Miss Out!

•  -Downtown is looking extra festive this year and the decorations are still going up! It’s especially magical at night with the lights. When visiting to shop, take out food, exercise or just sit and soak up the magic, please wear a mask.
• -YoloArts, as Yolo County's arts council, is honored to be distributing $12,630 in CARES Act funding among eligible arts and cultural applicant organizations or groups serving socially vulnerable populations and particularly communities of color in Yolo County. Award amounts will be between $500- $3,000 toward general operating support and on-going programming. Grant guidelines and application can be found HERE on the YoloArts website. The deadline to apply is January 6th, 2021.

Did You Know?

• -CA Notify is a new COVID-19 app that allows you to be notified if you have been exposed to someone that has tested positive for COVID-19. If you sign up, you will receive COVID-19 exposure notifications to your cell phone. Your privacy is protected, and your identify is not known. The app uses your cell phone location to match up with the cell phones of other people who have tested positive. For more information, visit the CA Notify site here.

Woot Woot!

• -Santa’s ride through downtown made my Wednesday night, and warmed the hearts of so many families as they waived to Santa on his tractor from their front porches and sidewalks. A special shout out to the Cowan family for this special treat, Police Chief Miller for escorting Santa’s tractor around town for four nights, and everyone else involved in pulling of this surprise. -I can’t wait to see the real parade next year!
• -A huge shout out to the Public Works crew that has been constructing the pergolas in the downtown area. Using city crews allowed us to reduce CARES Act costs for the outdoor dining program so that we could increase the Rent and Mortgage Assistance program by $20,000 (from $40,000 to $60,000) in order to fund direct support to businesses that had not already received grant assistance through the County’s Small Business Grant Program. 17 businesses were funded up to a maximum of $4,000 per business.
• -Thank you’s and kind words make all the difference. I wanted to share a comment we received this week because it warmed my heart and hopefully our employees’. And since it made us feel good, I wanted to share.  During such difficult times, kind words, expressions of gratitude, and simple gestures can do so much to lift someone up during a weak moment, a bad day, a difficult time. This season in particular, which can bring such joy for so many, has been challenged in many ways. It’s also a season that can exacerbate a sense of isolation. We need each other. A few seconds to spread some kindness goes a long way….

 “A big thanks to all of you in City government and up the line for doing the best you can during unprecedented circumstances. We (residents of Winters) all owe you all a monster amount of gratitude! Keep up the excellent work you do.”