Willits City Council welcomes new finance director

The Jan. 12 Willits City Council meeting was held virtually, due to the pandemic. The council and city staff welcomed City of Willits Finance Director Manuel Orozco. City Manager Brian Bender said of Orozco, “He is a wonderful asset to this organization.”

Bender said the city has also increased staff by hiring in Community Development, a Dispatcher and at Public Works. He explained these positions were funded through the budget process. He said, “We have identified a need in our staffing plan to have these positions filled and we were very fortunate to get three creative and talented people to bring into the organization.”

While discussing business license activity for last month, Mayor Saprina Rodriguez said, “I am very happy to see that despite Covid we continue to have applications for additional business licenses.”

The council adopted a resolution authorizing the installation of 195 linear feet of red curb marking a “No Parking” zone along the east side of Humboldt Street, north of the intersection with East Commercial Street. Essentially, the “No Parking” zone that is currently located on East Commercial Street in front of the old library will be moved to Humboldt Street, at the request of Little Lake Fire Department.

Engineering staff and Public Works have been coordinating with Fire District personnel for some time to get the “No Parking” zone moved to the new location. Bender said, “It’s the best solution that we have to accommodate parking for personnel at the fire district.”

Mayor Rodriguez stated that she is pleased the move of the restricted parking area will add some more public parking on East Commercial Street for the businesses located in the vicinity.

The council adopted a resolution accepting the construction completion of the 2021 Pavement Preservation Project and authorized the filing of the Notice of Completion.  Project Manager Jeremy Ronco said crews performed maintenance saving dig outs on streets in Willits including Maple, Marin, Poplar and State streets that require frequent pothole repairs. The project also addressed specific failed sections on otherwise decent roads, such as the corner of East Commercial and Lenore streets.

Ronco said, “We thought the project went pretty well. We were happy with the work.” He said that some problem areas were fixed without any major issues. Bender said, “These were great projects that the city completed this year.”

Bender expressed gratitude to the patience shown by the public as the streets were being torn up. Public Works Director Scott Herman said, “I would like to commend the Engineering Department as well. They do a phenomenal job at communicating with the neighbors in the area. I would also like to thank the residents on that street, too. They are very accommodating and understanding.”

Bender stated the next big project the city will look at is the Blosser Lane reconstruction. The Engineering Department is currently working on the Blosser Lane Project and will likely present the project to the council next month.