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.