PRESS RELEASE
City of Woodland
300 First Street
COVID-19 - Updates and Response Information
March 27, 2020 - The City cares about the health of residents, city employees, visitors and those who work in Woodland.
All critical services that Woodland provides – police and fire protection, traffic control, water and wastewater and solid waste pickup – will continue to be fully available as normal. Woodland is prepared to continue providing these services uninterrupted, should the virus spread within the community.
Residents are reminded to stay at home, and only go out for essential work and essential activities. Despite the rain this week, spring temperatures and sunny days are coming. "Woodland residents have really stepped up and are doing their part to slow the spread of COVID-19. We urge the community to continue to spend time at home and outside with their immediate families and practice safe social distancing until such time the shelter-in place orders are lifted. Let’s keep our spirits up and do our part." Mayor Rich Lansburgh. Residents are advised that group sports, picnics, barbeques, and other outdoor group gatherings in City parks or other locations are not allowed under the Yolo County Public Health Official’s shelter in place order. Also, people should refrain from the use of playgrounds at parks as COVID-19 can last for 72 hours on surfaces.
City Facility Closures Update
The Woodland Police Department public counter is now closed to walk-ins. However, police services remain available:
- For time sensitive matters and general inquiries: please call Records at 530-661-7800 (7 am – 7 pm Mon to Fri) or send an email to WPDRecords@cityofwoodland.org for an appointment.
- Property pick up: call 530-661-7823 for an appointment.
- Report a crime: Call 9-1-1 for all emergencies.
Non-emergency assistance, please call 530-666-2411.
For certain crimes not in progress, please report online via www.woodlandpolice.org, under the Crime tab. - Copies of traffic collision reports are available online at https://policereports.lexisnexis.com.
For other report copies, please email your request to WPDRecords@cityofwoodland.org.
City Hall, the Library, Community & Senior Center, Woodland Sports Park, and the Charles Brooks Community Pool (and associated programs) remain closed. Those needing building permit and inspection services may contact (530) 661-5820. Reference questions and virtual library cards can be issued by emailing library@cityofwoodland.org.
City Council Update
Meetings - City Council meetings will be conducted pursuant to the provisions of California Executive Order 29-20, which suspends certain requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act. In the interest of public health and safety, all of the City Councilmembers will be participating in City Council meetings by teleconference. In accordance with the Executive Order, there will be no members of the public in attendance at the Council Meetings.
City Council will be holding teleconferenced meetings, each Tuesday at 6 pm with the next in-person meeting scheduled for April 21. The public is encouraged to listen to the City Council meeting live on Woodland TV Channel 20 and also by visiting www.cityofwoodland.org. If you wish to make a comment during general public comment or on a specific agenda item, there are two ways to do that. You may leave a voice mail message at (530) 661-5900. All voice mail messages received by 6:00 p.m. will be played during the City Council meeting and read into the record at the appropriate time. Any member of the public watching the live stream who wishes to make a comment on an item as it is being heard may submit an email to the City Clerk at CouncilMeetings@cityofwoodland.org prior to Public Comment on that item. Email comments submitted to be read into the record shall be no more than three (3) minutes when read aloud. Please include the agenda item in the subject line.
- March 24 City Council Meeting - At the City Council Special Meeting held on March 24, the Council received an update from Interim City Manager Ken Hiatt on the efforts the City has taken to minimize spread of COVID-19 and mitigate the economic impacts that are beginning to be felt by residents and businesses. The City Council also received an update from Dana Carey, Emergency Preparedness Program Supervisor for Yolo County, on the County’s efforts to minimize and plan for potential health impacts related to COVID-19. The City Council adopted an urgency ordinance to temporarily defer transient occupancy taxes that are collected by hotels and remitted to the City on a monthly basis. Deferring those payments will help hotels retain employees and remain open during this time. Council also adopted a limited duration administrative leave policy related to city staff that were unable to work from home, that were sick with COVID-19, or caring for a family member that was sick with COVID-19.
- Upcoming March 31 City Council Meeting - On March 31, in addition to the City Council receiving a City COVID-19 update, the City Council will also consider adopting an Urgency Ordinance imposing a moratorium on evictions of commercial tenants for failure to pay rent during the current state of emergency. The impact that social distancing and shelter in place orders have on our local businesses cannot be understated. Many businesses have had to close, lay off employees or substantially reduce operations. Despite these drastic measures to scale back operations, many are concerned that they will be unable to pay rent due to reduced revenue. The Governor’s executive Order N-28-20 signed on March 4, 2020 gives local jurisdictions authority to impose limitations on evictions during this emergency. During this time period, the moratorium would provide qualifying commercial tenants relief from concern of eviction in the event they are unable to pay rent due to financial impacts related to COVID-19. City Council passed a similar ordinance for residential tenants on March 17.
Coronavirus Rumors
Go to trusted sources for the facts on COVID-19. The City is in continuous communication with Yolo County Public Health about COVID-19 and will share any important updates on our website as well as our social media channels.
Yolo County is the lead agency for the COVID-19 response, for more information on the County response, please visit: www.yolocounty.org/coronavirus.
Additional information can also be found at www.cityofwoodland.org. To receive email alerts from the City of Woodland visit www.cityofwoodland/notifyme. To receive email alerts from the County visit www.yolocounty.org.