Friday Update on October 12 2018
All,
October 16, 2018 City Council Meeting:
- Public Hearing for Impact Fees (To be Continued to 11/6/18 meeting)
- Presentation- Putah Creek Council’s One Creek Restoration Internship Program Presentation
- Presentation- ADA Transition Plan Update by Public Works Department
- Presentation- Proclamation for Participating Students for the Mural Project at Lorenzo’s Market
Consent Calendar:
- Public Improvement Agreement and Two Grant Deeds for Public Utility Easements for the Winters Healthcare Project
- Chamber of Commerce Special Event Application for the Harvest Festival on October 26th
- Cal Fire Grant for Golden Bear Pre-Planning
- Request for Seed Money for Winters Community Dinner
- APS Environmental Contract for Sewer Line CCTV Inspections
- Climate Resiliency – Community Dialogue
- General Plan Reports and Updates
Discussion Items:
- Report on Senior Services by Consultant Sheila Allen
- Valley Clean Energy Alliance
- City of Winters APP
- Strategic Planning Calendar
A couple items of interest:
- Check out the updates on the Downtown Hotel on the major projects page in the City website. Click HERE to see the updated elevations, materials and the debut of Carboni’s Ristorante Bar and Marketplace, an Italian themed restaurant which will feature a bar, barista, seasonal selections, seafood, wood fired pizza, Italian sandwiches and salad along with a fresh pasta bar and an incredible wood fired grill which is going to bring a unique and updated flare into our Downtown. The project is getting exciting and is expected to open mid 2019.
- Permits for both Heartland and Stones Throw subdivisions are really ramping up. Foundations are being poured and we are hearing sales and interest in the projects is high. These are really nice projects!
- Congratulations to Winters Healthcare on the start of the construction of the new campus. Go to our major projects page HERE to see their planning application or go to the WHF website HERE to check out their vision for the project and where they are going.
Finally, the Strategic Planning Process Staff is discussing with the City Council has many important parts to it, particularly in relation to the future of the City’s organization as far as who and how we will hire people in the future for key positions. This all relates to much of our discussion on ”succession planning” as key members of our team approach the “red zone” of their careers and plan for retirement.
Amongst small communities in the Sacramento Valley, Winters holds a special distinction for the many accomplishments we have made in the revitalization of our town despite our size and limited resources. Much of this is attributable to our small but very dedicated staff who have been committed to the advancement of Winters. Community loyalty has been a key hiring criteria and a combination of the longevity of many staff along with a keen acumen for completing projects within a long term vision has made all the difference in the world. That longer vision has resulted in projects which some can take credit in marking in the legacy of their careers. They are people who have made a real and long term difference on the Winters Community.
I’d like to highlight two of those individuals who are “stars” of the City staff.
Carol Scianna has been our Environmental Services Manager in the City’s Public Works Department for almost 15 years. Her job entails much of the environmental compliance to the many governmental agencies we deal with and she is the lynchpin in the operation and compliance report for both our water and wastewater enterprises. She is the City’s lead on key climate issues involving recycling and waste management, green house gas reductions, action planning and the many permitting issues involving the restoration of Putah Creek. She has also been the key staff member on critical infrastructure projects including the Putah Creek Car Bridge, Moody Slough Overcrossing Bridge on Road 89, the North Bank Creek Trail, each phase of the Putah Creek Park Channel Realignment, Downtown Restoration Projects and the Grant Ave Roundabout. Carol is also the manager of the City’s mitigation bank areas for elderberry!
I met Carol in 2001 when she was the President of the Winters Friends of the Library (WFOL), which is one of our community’s premier organizations. Her commitment to Winters is extrodinary and the difference she has made our environment will last for decades if not centuries. Dealing within the realm of the environment is not easy because you deal with passionate people who can disagree immensely. People experience Carol’s success literally every day whether walking down the creek trail, watching salmon spawn, driving over any of our bridges or dropping a child off at school.
Dan Maguire is the City’s Housing and Economic Development Manager and is also approaching almost 15 years on the City’s Team. His job entails managing the City’s affordable housing program, working with the various affordable projects in town, serving as the project manager on key new housing projects and working with developers to strategically develop plans for future projects. Dan oversees compliance with key State agencies who deal with housing and is our liaison with a key advocacy group, Legal Services of Northern California. To Dan’s credit, he has been the City lead on the Orchard Village Apartments, the soon to begin construction Blue Mountain Terrace Senior Apartments and the many moderate for sale units in the new subdivisions. In economic development few on the City Staff have played a more important role in the revitalization of Downtown than Dan Maguire. Dan was the manager of the City’s façade improvement program which renovated 27 storefronts, was the key liaison for all three phases of the Downtown Streetscape Program, negotiated the lease assistance program which brought businesses like Arc Guitar and the Turkovich Tasting Room. He is also the project lead on the Downtown Hotel Project and is the City’s liaison to the Chamber of Commerce.
I met Dan at 2:00 one morning trying to figure out how to take down a light tower following an epic Earthquake Festival. I quickly realized Dan was an “all in guy” when he purchased a truck so he could haul all of the things he needed to do community projects he was supporting. Few drive around with a water tank in the bed of their truck to water recently planted trees along the 505, have their own set of “hay hooks” to move hay bails for beer gardens or have their own permit with Caltrans to pick up trash along the highway and a collection of vests, goggles and hard hats required under said permit.
Dan and Carol are representative of what has made the City of Winters successful over the past number of years. They have integrated the community in their own personal and family visions. When disaster has struck, they are always amongst the first to show up and always the last to leave. They have tackled some of our most difficult projects and kept them alive all the way to the finish line. As each of them prepares for retirement in the next few years, they represent the toughest parts of “succession planning” because the transcend professional acumen, there is their commitment to the Winters community and how the City organization integrates into the fabric of the town.
The City has many “stars” who make up an incredible team. Everyday I feel blessed knowing that we have people on our staff who can be counted upon to bring their absolute best to serving an incredible community. A number of years ago, Nanci Mills and I established a fundamental hiring criteria and that was to find really smart people who “loved” Winters with the acknowledgement that we would train the rest of the job to them.
I give members of our team in the “red zone” of their careers a hard time because I don’t want them to retire (mostly based on love and respect). The reality is that each has earned their transition and we need to saver all that they have given and the legacy’s they leave on our community. We have much to accomplish as we move the City forward in the coming years and we need to prepare for the next generation of really smart people who love Winters.
Have a nice weekend.
John