Hello Davis! welcomes Brett Lee, Davis Downtown Business Association, in conversation with Daryel Dunston, City of Davis' city manager. Daryel brings a unique path to public service, starting as a firefighter and EMT, and going on to lead major initiatives in cities like Oakland and Santa Rosa, tackling challenges from housing and homelessness to emergency response. Now, here in Davis, he’s at the center of how our city plans, grows, and responds to the needs of its community. Today, we talk about what it means to manage a town like Davis, the priorities ahead, and how local government connects with the people it serves. Listen up for Hello Davis! Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. Pacific on KDRT 95.7fm + KDRT.org. Stream anytime via the web. 

The new economic development strategic plan for Davis might be an obscure document, but its pages include interesting goals for Davis and observations about the city, such as insights into how college students shape the city’s economy.

Today on Davisville we talk about the plan with Katie Yancey, the city’s economic development director since 2024. Customer service is a core concern. She wonders if Davis has “gotten sort of stuck in a cultural narrative of slow growth [that] has awkwardly translated into bad customer service. And that’s really the question … I’ve posed in this plan, and my conclusion is yes.” That doesn’t mean Davis must change its character -- more like do a better job of managing it.

We also talk about the city’s strengths, vacant commercial space, downtown, the city's reputation at UC Davis, and how this new economic plan differs from prior city efforts. Those earlier proposals focused more on a real estate strategy, she says, while this plan assesses “what we currently do and how to do it better.”

The photo shows part of a 1991 promotional map of downtown Davis created by Town Graphics of Woodinville, Wash.

Ned fixes the turntable, apologizes to the KDRT volunteers, and rocks out to some Joe Craven.