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Winters Express
312 Railroad Avenue, Winters, CA 95694
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shawnpatrickcollins
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We should find a way to say ‘yes’

I was reading an article in a publication designed for newspaper editors about saying “yes” to your subscribers. There was a discussion a few months ago among this same editor’s group about what can and cannot be used in obituaries. This group ISWNE, International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors, has debated for years about charging for obituaries, and the subject of obituaries is always a hot topic. The Express is one of the few area papers that doesn’t charge for obituaries and lets the family write their own, with help from the editor.
The publisher from Blackshear, Georgia wrote about finding a way to say “yes” to your readers even if what the subscriber wants to say isn’t what you would have wanted in the obituary. I’ve always tried to accommodate our subscribers, and I would like to think that most of the time I am successful. I’m sure there have been times when I’ve upset readers by not doing something they wanted, or didn’t do the kind of job they expected of me, or my staff, but I try to keep everyone happy. I’ve told Debra hundreds of times that if we won’t remember it in five years, fix it so the subscriber won’t have a bad memory of us for the rest of their lives.
Sometimes that means running a wedding story twice, three times, or until we get it right, or re-running a birth announcement because they left someone out. Even if it wasn’t our fault, if we can fix it and don’t, it becomes our fault and people have long memories when they think they have been wronged.
I’ve had several dealings with City Hall and I don’t come away with the feeling that they are here to help me. When you walk in the door it isn’t “What can I do to help you,” or “What problem are you having that I can help you with?” You get the feeling that you are interrupting their day and they will make time for you when they find the time.
I don’t want to imply that there aren’t people working at City Hall that don’t work hard and try to help you, but it isn’t the culture of City Hall to find solutions for you. They expect you to know more about the process than you do, and when you ask too many questions they seem bothered by your inexperience.
There may be a lot going on behind the scenes at City Hall, but over the last four or five years, things have been pretty slow in the development department. Just ask the school board how their student population has been affected by the lack of new housing in Winters.
Things are about to change and change in a hurry. Housing prices are rising almost as fast as they went down, and that means developers will be back, hat in hand, looking to complete their project they put off when the economy tanked. Some of these projects aren’t that big, but are needed to keep Winters solvent. The school board has already adjusted school impact fees, I still think some commercial fees are too high, but that is a different column. The city has also reduced some of their fees to encourage development, and we’ll see if they can hold their ground when push comes to shove.
There is a Taco Bell in our future and I’m hoping city staff and planners can look the developers in the eye and ask them what city staff can do to help Taco Bell come to Winters. I’m not saying we should accept lousy construction or ugly buildings, but the nit picking that goes on drives me crazy. I really don’t care what color their front door is going to be, I want a quality building, good design and something that fits in with what Winters should look like in the future.
I don’t want a new development to match what we already have — some of it is pretty ugly. I also don’t want new developments to all look alike. Main Street has very few buildings that look alike and that seems to work pretty well. It is like a housing tract where there are only four designs. You can orient them different directions and paint them different colors, but they will still look similar and unattractive.
When the developers walk into City Hall, I would hope there is someone there to help them understand what we are looking for and not just look at their plans and say, sorry, that isn’t what we want. Help them come up with plans we’ll like rather than slamming the door when they walk out in frustration.
I’ve written in the past that there are developers that should be shown the door, but most are willing to work with us, if we are willing to work with them. We have a General Plan, a process for development and an administration in place to keep Winters financially sound. Look around town, John Donlevy and his staff have accomplished a lot over the past 10 years. Let’s see what they can accomplish in the next decade.
Go Taco Bell, and have a good week