Memorandum – May 10, 2010
05-10-10 Admin Progress Report
Memorandum – April 30, 2010
04-30-10 Admin Progress Report
Memorandum – April 9, 2010
04-09-10 Admin Progress Report
Memorandum – March 19, 2010
03-19-10 Admin Progress Report
Memorandum – March 5, 2010
03-05-10 Admin Progress Report
Memorandum – February 19, 2010
02-19-10 Admin Progress Report
Memorandum – February 5, 2010
02-05-10 Admin Progress Report
Memorandum – January 8, 2010
City of Willits
MEMORANDUM
Date: January 8, 2010
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council
From: Paul Cayler, City Manager
Subject: Administrative Progress Report
The following developments may be of interest to you and the community-at-large.
Please contact me at (707) 459-4601, if you have any questions.
You can download a pdf version of this memorandum by clicking here.
LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES STARTS INITIATIVE CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT
LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVENUE
On December 22, 2009, the League of California Cities announced that signatures are
being gathered for a state-wide initiative to qualify for the November 2010 ballot. The measure
is called “Local Taxpayer, Public Safety and Transportation Protection Act”. The purpose of
the measure is to prohibit the state from taking, borrowing or redirecting local taxpayer funds
dedicated to public safety, emergency response and other vital local government services
(including redevelopment). The measure would close loopholes to prevent the taking of local
taxpayer funds currently dedicated to cities, counties and special districts. It would also revoke
the state’s authority to borrow local government property tax funds or divert local redevelopment
funds.
SOLIDWASTE AND RECYCLING COLLECTION FEE REDUCTION
Effective January 1, 2010, solid waste and recycling collection fees charged by Solid
Wastes of Willits to Willits City residents decreased by 2.79%. That’s right. The fees went
down! Most of the rate decrease results from the automatic expiration of the temporary fuel cost
increase approved by the City Council in 2009. The rest of the rate adjustment came from
consumer price index and pass-throughs of regulatory costs. No action is needed by the City
Council to implement the rate decrease.
H1N1
I received an email for the Mendocino County Health and Human Services Agency that
H1N1 flu vaccine is now available to the general public (six months and older). A vaccination
clinic is planned for Sunday, January 31, 2010, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Baechtel Grove
Middle School.
CITY FISCAL MATTERS
The City’s Financial Statements for June 30, 2009 have been completed by the Auditor.
We expect to schedule a review of the audit at the City Council meeting of January 27, 2010
along with the mid year financial report. The most recent Sales Tax data indicates a Fiscal Year
to Date drop in revenues of 20.7% from Fiscal Year 08/09 to Fiscal Year 09/10. The Sales Tax
Revenue Forecast for the Fiscal Year 09/10 is approximately $141,000 below budget. This is
distressing news that undoubtedly demands further austerity.
CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE
I have temporarily moved my office down to the Engineering and Public Works office at
the City Yard, because I am serving at the Interim Public Works Director. I am splitting my time
between City Hall and the City Yard.
ASSISTNG THE CITY OF LAKEPORT
The cities in the region have a long tradition of helping each other and cooperation. In
that spirit, I volunteered to assist the City of Lakeport on Monday, January 11, 2010, by sitting
on an interview panel for the new Lakeport City Manager.
Memorandum – December 11, 2009
City of Willits
MEMORANDUM
Date: December 11, 2009
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council
From: Paul Cayler, City Manager
Subject: Administrative Progress Report
The following developments may be of interest to you and the community-at-large. Please contact me at (707) 459-4601, if you have any questions.
GOOD WORK WILLITS PD!
Police Officer Ryan Hutts and Sergeant Tim Ellis apprehended two burglars in the act of ripping off JP’s Club last night. The two thieves are juveniles and are believed to be responsible for a number of break-ins in the community.
RETIREMENTS
The BIG Retirement Party was held on November 21, 2009. Over 150 people celebrated Leah Oberdorf, Kristi Yde, Joe Mondo, David Madrigal, Denny Caine and Marilyn Harden. It was a wonderful party. Kim Moss and her crew of helpers prepared an excellent catered dinner. Finally, I want to say “thanks” to Cathy Sanders and Joanne Cavallari for being the party planners.
MAYOR BURTON
On December 9th the Willits City Council elected Council Member Bruce Burton to be the Mayor for the next year. This is the fifth time that Bruce has served as Mayor. Council Member Victor Hanson was elected to serve as Vice Mayor. Larry Stranske steps back from serving as Mayor to being a Council Member. Larry was nominated to serve a second term as Mayor, however he gracefully declined. Larry served well the past year as the City Mayor, and he deserves the community’s thanks. A special note is that Larry and his wife, Virginia Stranske, are the only husband and wife to both serve as Willits City Mayor.
NEW DEPUTY CITY CLERK IS ON THE JOB
Adrienne Moore started as the Deputy City Clerk this week. Adrienne is a Brooktrails resident, and comes to work in City Hall with an excellent background. She got quickly in the swing of things by clerking the City Council meeting this week. Willits city voters approved Measure B in November which permits the City Council to appoint the City Clerk and City Treasurer. Today is City Clerk Marilyn Harden’s last day on the job before her retirement. At the Council meeting on December 9th, the City Council unanimously approved the introduction of a City ordinance to formally amend the Municipal Code to permit the appointment of the Clerk and Treasurer. The final adoption is planned for next month. The ordinance will then take effect 30 days after final adoption. It is anticipated that Adrienne will then be formally appointed as the Willits City Clerk soon thereafter.
COLD WEATHER AND WATER
The weather was cold this past week. On Monday morning, the Bank of Willits’ thermometer said that it was 21 degrees Fahrenheit when I drove down Main Street at 7:30am. Burrr! The cold snap resulted in a lot of calls for water leaks caused by frozen water lines.
HOLIDAY CRAFTS FAIR IN THE COMMUNITY CENTER
As I am sitting here writing this blog, I am listening to the joyful Christmas music being performed live in the Community Center. The Cultural Arts Commission is sponsoring the 23rd Willits Community Holiday Craft Fair today and tomorrow (December 11th and 12th). The live music sounds great and really makes me feel in the Holiday spirit. I did a quick cruise of the fair, and I am very impressed by the quality and variety of crafts for sale.
H1N1 FLU
A number of City Hall employees are victims of the H1N1 flu. Reported symptoms are fever, headache and generally feeling yucky. Sick employees are staying home. Fortunately so far nobody is so sick as to require going to the hospital. Tamiflu, a prescription medication, is being credited with mitigating symptoms.
TOM WOODHOUSE STRIKES AGAIN
Followers of this blog know that I have mentioned the good works of Tom Woodhouse previously, and he has done it again. Tom organized the peer counseling kids from Willits High School to clean up and cut away the berry vines around the “Welcome to Willits” sign on the north side of Town. I have not checked it out yet, but it is reported to me that you can now read the sign! Thanks Tom. You’re a community asset and few can match your energy!
WEST COMMERCIAL STREET BID BOOK COMPLETED
After the City Council approval of the West Commercial Street design on November 12, 2009, the Public Works Department had a big challenge preparing all the required State and Federal paperwork on time. This was crash program to meet the December 1st deadline. Brett Gronemeyer of Caltrans District 1 wrote about the City’s project submittals: “The format and layout of the Bid Book is very impressive and tops anything I’ve seen from the area agencies. It looks like a great amount of effort went into its preparation. Nice job!”
I want to recognize City employees Jeremy Ronco, Brandi Burtness, David Madrigal, and contract engineer Rod Wilburn of Willow Basin Engineering, for their dedicated work on this project.
Memorandum – November 6, 2009
City of Willits
MEMORANDUM
Date: November 6, 2009
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council
From: Paul Cayler, City Manager
Subject: Administrative Progress Report
The following developments may be of interest to you and the community-at-large. Please contact me at (707) 459-4601, if you have any questions.
PLANNED POWER OUTAGE
The planned power outage on the night of October 24, 2009, went off without major problems. I rode around the City with Police Chief Gonzalez for a couple of hours immediately after the lights went out. Important installations such as the hospital, the Safeway market, the Sewer Treatment Plant Headworks and the Police Station had emergency back up power and were operational. PG&E is stating that there will be a second planned outage on the night of November 14th in order that work on the Willits substation may continue.
THANKS TOM WOODHOUSE AND SHERIFF ALLMAN
Tom Woodhouse has been working with Sheriff Tom Allman to coordinate court ordered community service work to do clean up work within the community. Recently, one of the community service workers trimmed weeds, picked up garbage and painted over the graffiti on the fence that runs along the Skunk tracks between the depot and East Valley Street. The cleanup effort transformed this stretch of railroad right of way. Thanks Tom and Tom!
MEASURE B IS APPROVED BY WILLITS CITY VOTERS
The results from November 3rd special election shows that Measure B is approved by City voters. The vote count published on the Mendocino County website as of the writing of this report says that there are 442 “yes” votes and 356 “no” votes. The Mendocino County Clerk has 28 days from Election Day to certify the vote count. I expect that the final count may vary some depending on the County Clerk’s canvass of ballots, however I don’t think that the outcome will be reversed. Measure B is a special election called by the Willits City Council for the purpose of asking City voters to permit the City Clerk and City Treasurer positions to be appointed rather than elected. The concept behind Measure B is to streamline and save money in City bureaucracy by eliminating two separate elected positions.
WATER
I am writing this report and looking out the window to the scene of a light rain falling on Willits. I am hoping that the moderate early season rains continue. The latest report on City water storage is as follows: there are a total of 645 acre feet (AF) of water in storage. Centennial Reservoir is at 103 AF. The remainder of the City’s water storage is in Morris Reservoir. The City will be turning the flow from Centennial down substantially in the very near future. This is done to preserve the aquatic life in Centennial from being too concentrated and removing the dissolved oxygen.
CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING ON NOVEMBER 12TH
The City Council meeting in November will be a special meeting on November 12, 2009, because the regular meeting date, which is November 11th, is a National Holiday (Veterans’ Day).
CITY MANAGER’S BROWN BAG LUNCH
The City Manager’s Brown Bag Lunch will be on November 12th at Noon in the City Council Chambers. Usually the lunches are the same day as the regular City Council meetings, which are the second and fourth Wednesday of the month. The date has been changed in November, since the City Council is conducting a Special Meeting on November 12th. The Brown Bag Lunch is a way for City employees to have an opportunity to communicate directly with the City Manager in an informal setting. Employees pack their sack lunches, and there is no set program or agenda at the lunch. The following Brown Bag Lunch will be December 9, 2009. Since there is only one regular City Council meeting scheduled for December 2009, there will be only one Brown Bag Lunch. The lunch will go back to the twice monthly schedule in January 2010.
CITY MANAGER’S BLOG
Similar to the above two items… I will only be writing one blog per month in November and December 2009. I have been asked about my blog on several occasions by citizens and employees, so I know that people are following it and are interested. No worries though. I plan to return to twice per month blogging in January 2010.
CALTRANS MEETING WITH DOWNTOWN MERCHANTS
Mayor Larry Stranske has been working hard to have a representative from Caltrans speak to Downtown Merchants regarding signage and merchandise display regulations on Main Street. Tentatively, a workshop is set for Wednesday, December 2, 2009, at 5:30pm in the City Council Chambers.
ACTION TO CLEAN UP FORECLOSED PROPERTIES
The system to deal with abandoned, foreclosure properties is starting to work. The City received a $2300 check for the fines and administrative costs from a lender on a foreclosed property that the Code Enforcement Officer had taken action to clean up. This is the first lender that has stepped forward and taken responsibility for their property without being threatened. Hopefully clean up of foreclosure properties will take less effort to monitor in the upcoming months as improved working relationships are developed with the various asset management groups.
FIXING UP THE COMMUNITY CENTER
A group of local citizens and City staff worked to spruce up the Community Center a couple of weeks ago in advance of the Howard Hospital Gala. Cathy Sanders took the initiative to organize and direct in the cleaning and painting, including efforts after normal working hours and weekends. John Sherman stepped up with his personal power sprayer and spent a weekend painting the Community Center Hall. Mayor Larry Stranske, Lynn Kennelly and Ron Moorhead chipped in with paint brushes. These are just some of the people that put forward the extra volunteer effort to the benefit of the entire community. Thank you!
SEWER
Late breaking news… I was going through my mail while wrapping up my blog, and I am happy to report that the Section 404 Clean Water Act Permit Public Notice was published by the United States Army Corps of Engineers on November 2, 2009. Response to the notice is required by November 17, 2009. This is a big step forward in the environmental permitting process for the Willits Wastewater Treatment Plant Project.