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Council approves department head appointments, DDAs with housing developers and $100,000 Lodging Alliance support for ZooLights
Summary
Council appointed Jesse Wheeler as director of engineering and Kelly Allen as public works director and authorized the city manager to negotiate DDAs with WIAT and Rural Communities Housing Development Corporation; the Lodging Alliance committed $100,000 toward expanded ZooLights.
The City Council on Dec. 3 approved several administrative and policy measures in a set of interrelated votes.
City Manager Miles Slattery described an internal reorganization that separates engineering from public works. He recommended Jesse Wheeler be appointed department head for engineering and Kelly Allen for public works. The council voted to authorize the city manager to execute employment agreements and appointments for both positions (vote recorded as 4 yes; Council member Fernandez absent). Kelly Allen and Jesse Wheeler then took the oath of office.
Public commenter Deborah Dukes, who served with Allen on the city's Energy Committee, praised Allen's patience and leadership. "You could not have made a better choice," she said.
Council also authorized the city manager to negotiate Disposition and Development Agreements (DDAs) with WIAT (as listed in staff materials) and Rural Communities Housing Development Corporation for city-owned lots at Fifth & D and Sixth & L. Staff explained the DDAs are intended to help developers be more competitive for state tax credits and multifamily funding rounds scheduled in 2025.
In a separate report, Slattery announced a partnership with the Eureka Lodging Alliance that provided $100,000 toward an expanded ZooLights program at the Redwood Zoo; staff said the funding will help expand lighting features and weekend programming and that event dates and reduced-price tickets for EBT/WIC holders will be publicized on redwoodzoo.org.
Votes and next steps: appointments and authorization motions carried with four votes in favor and one absence noted; DDAs authorizations will enable staff to finalize agreements and return to council as needed for execution.
