Wheatland's new city manager speaks on growth, infrastructure improvements

Oct. 31—Following former Wheatland City Manager Jim Goodwin's resignation on June 30, Bill Zenoni was appointed to fill the role as the city faces new infrastructure and residential developments.

Zenoni has contributed to a number of city governments across Northern California for over 45 years. While he has mostly fulfilled financial roles for each municipality, Zenoni said he also served as interim city manager for Lincoln.

As a resident of Granite Bay, Zenoni frequently visited Wheatland in the past and felt drawn to its small town atmosphere and the city council that has worked to initiate a number of developments for its residents.

"It's a small town with a lot going on, and I think that's a good combination," Zenoni said. "One thing I've found since I've been here is that we are a full service city with very limited staff. Right now, we have about 31 employees and that's in police, public works, utilities. What I have seen is that we have a good city council who are very connected to the citizens of Wheatland, and they are very good at working with staff to get done what we need to do. From my many years of doing this in other cities, we have a really hard working dedicated staff who do a lot with very limited resources."

As Yuba County's second largest municipality, city officials are preparing for a number of projects to further Wheatland's overall growth. According to Zenoni, Wheatland is laying the groundwork to update its current general plan, which has been instituted since 2006.

The city issued a request for proposals to assist with the update in May. Moving forward, city officials aim to "refresh" existing plans for the city to accommodate projected growth and address community concerns.

The 2006 general plan projected Wheatland's population to grow from 3,000 in 2004 to over 30,000 by 2025. However, the city has seen almost none of this projected population growth and remains at just over 3,800 people.

Zenoni believes that establishing more residential projects will attract more potential homeowners from surrounding areas while still maintaining the city's small town characteristics. Over the next 10 years, he anticipates positive population growth as Wheatland moves forward with creating new homes and businesses.

"If you look at Sacramento County and even Placer County, there's no ability to grow like there is here. What I've seen is there is a real small town atmosphere — a lot of people born and raised in Wheatland — who take real pride in ownership of being part of this community. I think going forward we want to keep that and still let the city grow. It's a cool combination," Zenoni said. "As new development comes in, hopefully there will be new business opportunities that will attract people to this area."

Officials said that a major theme with an updated general plan is to provide the framework for more residential and economic development while still maintaining its small-town qualities.

In 2014, Wheatland annexed approximately 4,500 acres of land in preparation for possible development in the Johnson Rancho and Hobb Farm areas. Between both annexation areas, a total of 14,396 dwelling units were proposed for the entire project area, consisting of 13,330 single-family dwelling units, 556 multi-family dwelling units, and an additional 500 dwelling units within non-residential land uses. Over 3,200 acres were approved for residential development and 131 acres were approved for commercial use, according to city officials.

Though Johnson Rancho and Hobb Farm have yet to be finalized, Wheatland has seen substantial progress in its Caliterra Ranch subdivision. Sitting on 190 acres, the residential project will bring over 550 single family homes to Wheatland, several of which have already been constructed.

"Going forward, there's quite a few (subdivisions). The Caliterra development is in phases and there are more phases coming. There is quite a bit of undeveloped land in Wheatland that is several years out, but there will be more development coming in," Zenoni said.

Both residents and city officials have identified traffic as a prominent issue impacting the community, but Zenoni hopes that the city will be able to alleviate the problem with the Wheatland Expressway, the first section of the long-awaited Wheatland Bypass.

If approved, this project will effectively funnel traffic away from Highway 65 south of Wheatland and direct it toward Beale Air Force Base, Zenoni said. The project is still in its planning stages, but city officials estimate construction to be completed within five to 10 years with a full bypass constructed in 20 years.

The Wheatland Bypass would also serve as a four-lane freeway around the city with new local access ramps along Highway 65. Future construction of the Wheatland Expressway and the Wheatland Bypass would be a regional effort in coordination with the South Yuba Transportation Improvement Authority, officials said.

Another issue officials anticipate is the aging status of Wheatland's water treatment plant, which was last updated in 1990, Zenoni said. According to city officials, the existing plant is designed to treat wastewater at a secondary level which is not consistent with current state standards. The city recently approved the Wheatland Regional Sewer Project, which will consist of constructing a sewer pipeline alignment extending from an existing pump station near the existing water treatment plant to a point of connection with Olivehurst Public Utility District's (OPUD) water system.

"We have our own water sewage treatment plant, which is becoming outdated and at some point in the not too distant future will be reaching its capacity to serve. This will be an improved long-term solution and a joint venture between the city of Wheatland and OPUD," Zenoni said.

The Regional Sewer Project will also include three sewer pump stations along the pipeline alignment to convey all flows in current and future developments from the existing plant to the OPUD system, the city said. Officials anticipate that the Wheatland water treatment plant will be decommissioned upon the project's completion.

As Zenoni continues to work alongside city staff, he hopes to ensure transparency and connection with Wheatland residents.

"My personal goal is to improve transparency for what goes on here at the city, and for those citizens who have an interest — a lot of people don't but there are some that do — that they have access to government information that they might be interested in. There's nothing we do here that should be secret," Zenoni said. "I've only been here for a few months, but it's a great community. I work with a great group of people. From where I sit, it's a perfect opportunity for me."