Friday Update on February 3 2017
All,
A couple items:
February 7, 2017 City Council Agenda
- Waste Management Contract Options
- Reject All Bids for Walnut Avenue Roundabout on St. Hwy. 128 (Grant Avenue)- The project is under some revisions and will to out again very soon,
- On-Call Storm Drainage Engineering Services Contract with Wood Rodgers (Renewal/update of contract)
- Proclamation Celebrating June 3, 2017 as Elder Day in the City of Winters (1st Sat. in June)
- Resolution to reimburse certain Capital Expenditures made to the City Water System
- Public Hearing- Second reading and Adoption of Ord. 2017-01 – Second Residential Units
- Introduction of Ord. 2017-02 – Affordable Housing Interest Rate Requirements
- Reso. 2017-07 Adopting Tax-Advantaged Bonds Post Issuance Compliance Procedures
- Reso. 2017-06 Adopting Continuing Disclosure Compliance Procedures
- Successor Agency – Authorization for issuance of Tax Allocation Refunding Bonds
Other items:
· Data for the Parking Committee is starting to come in and it is amazing stuff. On December 3, we did an all day count of parking turnover in the Downtown which generated over 48,000 pieces of data. We are now crunching the data and many of the results are telling us about trends which will help in recommendations on improving the availability and efficiency of parking in the Downtown. The core of our Parking Committee includes Sandy Vickery, Gino Mediati, Chris Turkovich, Peter Hunter, Pierre Neu, Wade Cowan, Bill Biasi, Nicki Chapman, Dan Maguire, Kate Frazier and Devon Vickery. These folks have done an incredible job in helping work on parking issues and are making a real difference in improving the business climate for Winters! These folks are really stepping up to help our town.
· Special recognition to Karla Jenkins at City Hall who input all the data. A really difficult task and she really did a superior job in putting it all together!
· Congratulations to the Solano Resource Conservation District (Solano RCD) which was awarded one of 12 2016 Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Awards (GEELA) for its excellence and leadership in conducting environmental education programs in Solano County. Chris Rose and his staff do incredible environmental work in our area and this award is well deserved recognition for the education and environmental stewardship they do to benefit our region. We have some real stars in the area and the Solano RCD is one of those agencies. HERE is the article on the award.
· Our Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar Curry (former mayor of Winters/West of 505) had dinner on Wednesday night with the Governor and new Attorney General Xavier Becerra. Hopefully the conversation surrounded Chromium 6! Cecilia always talked about getting Winters “at the table” and when that table has the governor in one of the chairs, we have hit a high point. Kudos to Cecilia!
· Last weekend, Winters Fire hosted practically every major public safety organization for training in Putah Creek and the Monticello Dam for a variety of swift water, rapelling, helicopter and search and rescue training. The accolades have been coming in with comments attributable to “Winters Regional Leadership”, “incredible coordination”, “very professional” and “an incredible training opportunity for all the agencies”. Our entire staff did an amazing job of developing and implementing training over a two day period which benefitted agencies both large and small.
I have always been proud of my association with Winters Fire and the work of our paid, reserve and volunteer staff who really shined last weekend. The men and women of Winters Fire serve our community with an incredible sense of pride and commitment which is second to none. The Department is doing things at levels today which are as complex and advanced as any fire agency in our State. The idea that we are a “regional leader” in the professional development of other fire personnel is a high point. This week brought moments which made me as proud as I have ever been of our staff and where the Department is today!
I have had the pleasure of knowing the Fire Chiefs from the past 50 years of Winters Fire. They came from a time where finances were frugal and things were tight and required ingenuity to make things happen. They formed a sound foundation which still sets the tone for how the Department operates today. Chief’s Vernon Bruen, Dave Kidder and Scotty Dozier helped lead a committed volunteer force who brought incredible pride and personal sacrifice to making Winters a safe place. The were/are all men of high integrity and were role models for the fire staff. The community has also benefitted from an incredible Fire Board which has been led by the likes of Tony Turkovich, Don Rominger, Jack Thomas, Bob Bell, Kathy Gilpen and Gloria Lopez. I will share that Tony Turkovich who has chaired and led the District Board for the last 30 has served as a fiduciary to the community in positioning Winters Fire for success from a business standpoint. His leadership has been amazing and the community, both District and City, owe where we are today to his stewardship.
I personally credit both Tony and Scott with getting the Department to where it is today. I wish Scotty was here last weekend to see the leadership of his firefighters with the other agencies. I know he would have been especially proud.
Finally, last weekend, my wife Kathy and I were honored as Citizens of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce at their “Year in Review” along with Chris Turkovich (Theodore Winters award for service to Winters), Gino Mediati and the staff at Ace Hardware (Business of the Year) and Sharon and Wally Pearce who were named Senior Citizens of the Year. The event at Park Winters was incredible and the entire Board led by new Board President Megan Curry, Past President Kathy Cowan and Executive Director Carrie Green deserve a huge applause for their efforts.
Kathy and I were very honored for the recognition but mostly we are grateful to live in Winters. We both feel that the community has been a blessing on our family.
In reality, the recognition is less about us and more about us representing the many groups and activities we have had the pleasure of being involved with over the years. Winters AYSO, Youth Day, Rotary, Winters PTA and schools, Winters High School, Girl Scouts, Winters Fire, Relay for Life, March of Dimes all have incredible core groups which help make Winters the place it is. These volunteers are the every day heroes who coach our kids, present incredible events and donate time unselfishly to keeping things going in our small town.
Winters is full of folks who are “all in” putting the community first, perpetuating kindness, service and making it a place people proudly call their home. There are many “couples” whose daily and weekly routines include some form of service to Winters as part of the lives. It is the soul of that commitment which gives our town the strength.
Winters is especially blessed by the Winters Express led by Charley Wallace, Newt Wallace and an incredible staff who write our story each week, record our history and remind us of the past. They really are the glue which binds both the old timers and newcomers. We genuinely believe the town owes the Wallace Family considerable gratitude for what they have done for Winters. Debra takes a lot of heat for her opinions, but few do more than her to perpetuate the things which make our community special.
Kathy and I view being Citizens of the Year as a reminder of our obligation to keeping committed to serving our community. Our lives are tremendously enriched by the people who have become as much family as friends. We feel blessed and are thankful for all we have here.
Have a nice weekend!
John