Friday Update for February 16 2018
All,
This weeks update is an overview of the items we discussed at our weekly staff meeting this week.
Meetings Next Week:
Downtown Parking Report- Public Workshop
Topics to include:
- Paid Parking
- Parking Enforcement
- Business Improvement District and Assessments
- Lighting
- Employee Parking restrictions
- Zoning and Urban Design
- Others
City Council Agendas:
February 20, 2018
- Street Closure Request for Coffee Festival, Saturday, March 24
- Presentation by Yolo Emergency Communications Agency
- Budget Discussion and Department Reorganization of Admin. Services, Human Resources, and City Clerk Functions
- Staff Promotion to Mid-Management Position
- Final Acceptance of Public Improvements for Roundabout on Grant Ave. (SR 128) at Walnut Lane
- Resolution in Recognition of Putah Creek Council’s 30 Year Anniversary
February 21, 2018
- City Council and Planning Commission Joint Workshop for the Winters Downtown Parking Plan; September 2017 Draft Report being presented by Kimley Horn.
March 6, 2018
- Street Closure Request for Monthly Car Shows Sponsored by The Buckhorn Steakhouse
- Public Improvement Agreement & Final Map for Olive Grove Phase 1 Project
March 20, 2018
- Final Acceptance of Starbucks?
Department Updates:
Public Works:
- Repaired sewer main line on E. Edwards and sewer lateral on Edwards due to root invasion. Would like to budget to camera the mainline prior to slurry sealing.
- Tony is changing registers on meters.
- 24 yards of DG delivered to finish the area between the futsal court and the play structure at City Park. Irrigation is being re-routed due to the futsal court.
- Staff is working on graffiti removal, starting at the trail. Also watering elderberry bushes, cleaning any debris along the trail, and removing gravel and debris along the sidewalk and edges of the car bridge and along the edge of the roundabout.
- Will rent lift next week to trim trees.
- Staff is spraying weeds along the highway 128 and will finish on the west side of town.
- Meeting today with Alan regarding Rule 20A.
- Working on the projects list and scheduling a date for the piano drop.
- Will submit comments to SACOG for MTIP (Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program) projects that include the I-505 overpass.
- A draft amending the Martinez Putah Creek Farms agreement has been sent to Ethan for review.
- Yolo Resiliency Workshop scheduled for 2/23, 8am-12pm, to look at big climate issues, ie: heat and heat-related emergencies and how departments can work together.
- Residents on Hillview want an extra street light.
- Talking with the folks from the cat trap/neuter/release program, who would like to provide this service free of charge to the residents at Yolo Housing and are looking for ways to transport the cats and their owners to receive this service.
- Ice pigging is scheduled for March 28th to clean the water lines.
Planning:
- Meeting today with a representative of the Valadez property.
- Signed off on Starbuck’s for now until new construction begins on the Chevron station.
- Working on a staff report for the 2/27 Planning Commission meeting regarding a monument sign for Chevron, Starbucks and Fairfield Inn that is similar to the ARCO, Burger King, Taco Bell sign; will check the sight distance.
Police:
- 30 people attended Movie Night last weekend; it was a good joint group effort with the Fire Department.
- The PD may receive $1,500 back from the probation department from the Kershner DUI cost recovery.
- In the past, the PD has been reimbursed by the State for training, but this isn’t the case anymore. POST requires that officers stay current on their training and one solution is to hold POST trainings in the EOC/Training Room at the Public Safety Facility, where two officers will be able to attend at no cost. Some classes have already been scheduled, including Interview & Interrogation and Taser classes. CHP also offers several free training opportunities at their facility in W. Sacramento.
- In response to the shooting at a Florida high school, CSO/Detective Gonzalez emailed the Winters Superintendent and principals to let them know the department is available for anything they may need. Gonzalez was present at the high school and McCoy distributed stickers at Waggoner today.
- PD is working with schools to provide a teacher guide that includes red and green pages to display in their window to indicate to those outside whether a classroom is safe or not.
Fire:
- The FD is using lunchtime recess out on the playground to interact and re-engage with the kids. It is the desire of the FD to provide public safety within the community, but regarding the school shooting scenario, they have to be prepared for not if, but when.
- FISH FRY IS TONIGHT!!!
- Engine 26 is back in service and is doing well.
- An OES standard annual inspection will take place on 3/13.
- Fire Management meeting is being moved to once a month instead of bi-weekly. Brad will send John an invite to the next meeting.
- Fire Commissioner Jack Thomas passed away on February 9th. Services will be held at St. Anthony’s on February 20th.
City Engineer:
- Callahan (Crown Homes) is calling for a meeting to coordinate the infrastructure with Winters Highlands (Homes by Town). The Main Street Pump Station is being built by Homes by Town, so Crown Homes is waiting.
- Working with CalTrans on a possible u-turn at Grant & Matsumoto to access Starbucks. A median will be installed on Grant to prevent left turns other than the left turn lane. Drivers will be able to enter Starbucks drive-through from Matsumoto once the Chevron construction begins.
- The Winters Starbucks location has just been added to the Starbucks app.
City Manager:
- Working on budget items.
- Will review the Capital Projects section of the upcoming Fiscal Year Budgets with the City Council at the March 6 Council Meeting.
Finally, a couple comments on the school shooting in Florida.
The need for the City and School District to coordinate on active shooter scenerio’s is critical and needs to be ongoing. The City and WJUSD went through a comprehensive planning and scenario exercise in 2014 but the reality is that most in that training have moved on. Time for another training.
The situations of active shooting events are almost unfathomable from a tragedy standpoint. Both victims and first responders are affected for their lifetimes. How we deal with the situations needs to be planned and calculated so as to effectively deal with those affected. It is a delicate balance and a part of the business we are in as a City.
Over the years, Winters has seen many tragedy’s on the small scale, yet very similar in nature, whether it be shootings, car crashes or drowning. The effects on our personnel are often traumatic and we have mechanisms in place to respond to the tragedy to counsel both families and our first responders. I will share that there are some folks who have moved on after some incidents, choosing other careers.
Emotion, empathy, shock and sadness are absolutely critical elements of dealing with the worst situations. They are signs of strength which need release during incidents. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a very real thing, which needs to be dealt with immediately to help the psyche of those who have found themselves in horrible situations. Trying to internalize or be callus simply does not work and is something which we avoid.
At the City, we have multiple levels of address for various situations. Our leadership promotes an active debrief for all moderate and major incidents; we have our Chaplain Program (with K9 Kepi who is trained to sense PTSD); we have a professional psychiatric firm on 24 hour call to meet with our staff. We have learned to not take any situations lightly.
I will share that my instruction to our Chief’s is that in the event of a traumatic situation, once stabilized and secured, that we limit the exposure of our personnel to traumatic scenes. I have a very firm belief that “not everyone needs to see the crime scene”.
Without question, the tragedy in Florida has rocked that entire community beyond measure. We need to keep those families and first responders in all of our thoughts. There were many hero’s on Wednesday and I know so many of them drove vehicles with light bars and sirens. I give thanks every day for those who have taken the call of public service who sometimes find themselves in the worst situations imaginable. I am grateful for those who risk lives and save lives.
John