City Council - Regular Meeting

All right. I record off of this one. Do I do cloud or computer?

The one on the top? Do I record to cloud or computer? What was it? Do I record to cloud or computer? Record here. Oh, record there? Yeah, don't use that one. Use this one. Good evening, let me introduce Robert T. Schlipp, lead pastor of Radiant Life Church.

Good evening, Mayor Yepes, distinguished council members, residents of Lodi, and guests.

I would invite you to bow your heads with me in prayer.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for this amazing opportunity that we have to come together in a public forum. We thank you for the many blessings we enjoy and take for granted every day. The weather, the fertile soil, the opportunities, the freedom that we have that has been paved for us by the sacrifices of many. I pray tonight that you would give wisdom to those who lead, safety for our first responders, discernment for those who educate our children, hope for our students May we be welcoming to those who visit Lodi, hospitable to our neighbors, respectful of our differences, and filled with joy at the possibilities before us. We pray these things in Christ Jesus' name. Amen.

Now we will do the flag salute.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America,

Okay. This is the regular meeting for August 5th, 2026, convening at 7 or 5 p.m. Mr. City Clerk, can you please do roll call?

Councilmember Bregman? Not here yet. Councilmember Nakanishi?

Here.

Councilmember Craig Hensley?

Here.

Councilmember Hothi?

Here.

And Mayor Guepes? Here. So now we have presentations. The first presentation we have tonight is certificates of recognition to Annabel Ebbs, Andrew Kanas, Landon Shaw, Austin Bates, Emily Melton, La Chrissa Black, and Camille Gillespie for a life-saving effort from the fire department.

so good evening mayor members of city council honored guests and members of our community tonight we have the privilege to recognize a remarkable group of individuals whose quick thinking courage and teamwork made a life-saving difference on july 9th of 2026 what began as a typical summer day at lodi lake quickly turned into a medical emergency A resident suffered a fall at the beach which went into sudden cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest is one of the most time critical emergencies we respond to. When the heart suddenly stops beating effectively, blood flow to the brain and vital organs immediately stops. Within seconds a person loses consciousness. Within just a few minutes brain cells begin to die from a lack of oxygen. Every minute without CPR and early defibrillation dramatically reduces a person's chance of survival. Fortunately, on this day, the right people were at the right place, and they took immediate action. Lodi Parks and Recreation staff responded without hesitation. Head Guard Annabel Ebbs, Life Guard Andrews Kanis, Landon Shaw, and Austin Bates immediately initiated life-saving care, and at the same time, Emily Melton helped coordinate the scene and ensured the safety of other visitors at both the lake and at the pools. While this emergency unfolded, members of our community stepped forward to assist. Chris and Camille Gillespie quickly activated the 911 system and retrieved a first aid kit for assistance. Rather than standing by, they became an important part of this emergency response. LaCresa Black, a nursing assistant from San Joaquin General Hospital, also immediately stepped into use and gave her medical training to provide critical life-saving care alongside our lifeguards. Within minutes, a SenCal ambulance arrived on scene and assumed patient care, and shortly thereafter, Lodi Fire Engine 2031 arrived with our firefighter paramedics and initiated advanced life support, continuing that treatment and transporting that patient to Lodi Memorial Hospital. One of our firefighters remained with the patient throughout transport, providing continuous advanced medical care. While each of these actions may seem simple when described individually, together they represent what emergency medicine calls the chain of survival. A successful outcome in sudden cardiac arrest rarely depends on one person, it depends on many people doing the right thing at the right time. It begins with someone recognizing that there's an emergency and activates the 911 system. It continues with courageous citizens who are willing to step forward and help. It relies on trained first responders like our lifeguards who immediately began CPR and other life-saving measures. It depends on highly trained emergency medical personnel who provide advanced life support and rapid transport to the hospital. And finally, it continues with our physicians and our nurses and the hospital staff who provide definitive critical care. Every link in that chain matters. Medical research tells us that immediate CPR can double or even triple a person's chance of survival. Every minute that passes without CPR and defibrillation decreases the chance of survivability by approximately seven to 10%. Those first few minutes are often the difference between life and death. So on July 9th, there was no weak link in that chain. Everyone worked together with professionalism, compassion, and determination. They demonstrated that emergency response is truly a team effort, one that extends far beyond firefighters and paramedics. It includes our lifeguards, our healthcare professionals, our dispatchers, our ambulance personnel, and ordinary citizens who choose to act when someone else is in need. Their actions exemplify the very best in our community. And tonight, on behalf of the Lodi Fire Department and the Lodi Parks and Recreation Department, it is our honor to recognize these outstanding individuals for their extraordinary actions, professionalism and commitment to helping other persons in their greatest need. so please join me in recognizing parks and rec staff annabelle ebbs andrew canis landon shaw austin bates and emily melton and our community members chris galepsi camille galepsi and lacryssa black your willingness to act without hesitation reflects the very best of the city of lodi because of your courage compassion and teamwork someone has given another chance at life And on behalf of the Little Lake Fire Department and our entire community, we thank you for your extraordinary service. So thank you with that. And with that, I'd like to turn that over to Laura for a few comments about the training that was involved.

Thank you. Mayors and members of Council, good evening. Tonight we recognize a group of young people who demonstrated incredible professionalism, courage, and composure during emergency at Lodi Lake. On behalf of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services Department, I want to thank our lifeguards and aquatic staff for representing our city so well. As outlined in the Chief's remarks and tonight's Council communication, their quick actions and teamwork gave a member of our community the best possible chance at recovery. What many people don't see is the amount of preparation that goes into moments like these. This summer, 39 lifeguards served at up to four aquatics facilities across our city. Before ever sitting in a lifeguard chair, each completed 24 hours of intensive certification training in water rescues, first aid, and CPR. Those assigned to Lodi Lake also completed an additional six hours of waterfront-specific training, and every one of our guards continues to train every week throughout the season. While most days end with nothing more exciting than sunscreens and smiles, our guards have already performed approximately 24 water rescues this summer, an average of three saves a week. Their dedication reminds us that lifeguarding is about far more than just watching the water. It's about being prepared to make life-saving decisions in an instant. To our lifeguards and staff, and to the community members who stepped forward that day to help, thank you.

So I think you guys did such an amazing job and your remarks, Chief. So I'm just going to say a few words there. On behalf of the city council, thank you for showing up at the right time and willing to step up because that's what makes any city, and especially here in Lodi, that people are willing to step out at any time when they see an emergency. So thank you. So we have some certificates for you guys. Thank you. And anybody would like to speak? OK. Take a picture next.

Let's go. Thank you.

Thank you. One, two, three.

All right thank you very much. Next we have a presentation of recognition to the Fire Department, Police Department and Electric Utility for response to firing the 400 block of Harold Street.

Good evening. Mayor and members of the City Council, thank you for honoring us with this proclamation, recognizing the response to the Central Avenue fire. Although I am honored to accept this recognition as the battalion chief who commanded the incident, the credit truly belongs to the members of the Lodi Fire Department, Lodi Police Department, and Lodi Electric. The response to a complex fire involving two structures requires an extraordinary amount of teamwork, professionalism and coordination. I had the witness or I had the privilege of witnessing firsthand the dedication, commitment of the firefighters on scene as well as a seamless partnership between all three agencies as they work together to provide and protect the community. On behalf of the Lodi Fire Department, thank you. to the city council for the continued support. We are proud to serve the citizens of Lodi and grateful for the opportunity to protect our community we call home. Thank you.

So often we see a fires happening in the city, but this one was in my district and it was so close, so I got to see how different agencies, not just the fire, just not Lodi, but Good Bridge, Waterloo, Morada, They all came together, the police department, EU, all those departments working together, even firefighters that were just passing by, they went to the fire and contributed. That stopped the fire from being bigger than it was because it was already expanding through three properties. It was soon extending to four or five properties, so that collaboration is when I take I have a great appreciation for the fire department and all the agencies when they cooperate that well. So thank you. Thank you so much.

Good evening, Council. I would just like to echo that, you know, that day I couldn't have been more impressed with the members of Lodi Fire Department under the command of Chief Roger Varwig. Seamless operation, complex operation, fast-moving fire, wind was a factor for a period of time, and that just reassuring the general public that the Lodi Fire Department stands committed to providing the highest level of fire protection that we can, and we hope that on that day we prove that. So thank you for this recognition. We appreciate that.

One, two, three.

Next, we have presentation of certificate of recognition to visit Lodi Conference and Visitors Bureau on Lodi's designation as America's favorite small town 2026.

Good evening, Mayor and Council, and thank you for recognizing this moment, supporting the work that helps tell Lodi's story. First off, the recognition of America's favorite small town belongs to this community. It belongs to the residents who voted every single day, the businesses who posted signs and reminded customers, the hospitality partners who shared it with guests, and the people who texted friends, families, coworkers. I talked to people who said, ah, my family back east is voting. I share it every day. And really, the recognition belongs to the community. And what makes it special is not that we won. Of course, that was fantastic. But it's how we won, because the community showed up for Lodi week after week. It was a long time. It was a lot of voting. And it really paid off. This award wasn't bought. We paid the same $300 application fee that other 300 communities did across this country. It was the community who stepped up, that cared about Lodi enough to engage in the voting and do this daily. So what's this mean for Lodi? So being named America's favorite small town gives Lodi a national platform. It puts our community in front of new audiences and gives us another reason to invite people to visit, invest, work, and spend time here. Tourism is economic development. You'll hear me say that a lot. When people come to Lodi, they spend money in our restaurants, in our shops, in our hotels, in our wineries, taste rooms, and breweries, and cafes, at our events and local attractions. And all that visitor spending supports local jobs, local families, small businesses, and all that tax revenue benefits the quality of life our residents enjoy. The recognition reinforces what makes Lodi compelling. Our approachable wine region, our walkable downtown, family-friendly experiences, our outdoor recreation opportunities, and the people who make this place feel so welcoming. The goal is not to become something that we're not. The goal is to use the spotlight to invite more people to experience the real Lodi. So how can we all help continue this celebration? So of course we were at the 4th of July. We didn't have a whole lot of lead time, but so thank you to the Parks Department for getting this into the 4th of July event where Stella and parade gave away hundreds of T shirts and hats and all kinds of 4th of July celebratory. items and we are also exploring how we're going to continue celebrating with parade and stellar possibly around the holiday season. But in the meantime, businesses can display the America's favorite small town window sticker. We have these window stickers here that businesses can get for free to put in their windows. If you walk down school street in downtown, you'll see them all over the place. We also have larger ones like this for high traffic areas, and we'll leave this one with the city, but we have more if the city wants to put them anywhere. We have more of these also. But you can also, a business can just simply say, you know, they're proudly located in Lodi, America's favorite small town. We encourage places like restaurants and wineries and breweries, shops to create small packages, tasting flights, displays, packages, anything that ties in to the America's favorite small town win. And residents can keep sharing the story, bringing their friends and relatives to Lodi, exploring downtown, supporting local businesses, attending community events, and continuing to welcome our visitors. We hope that everyone treats this in more than a one-week celebration. This is something Lodi can carry forward in tourism, business recruitment, civic pride, and community storytelling. This recognition belongs to Lodi, and now it's up to all of us to make the most of it. So thank you to everyone who showed up for Lodi. The community proved that when we rally around something positive, we can do big things. So again, thank you to everybody in this community for stepping up and voting. Obviously when I talked to Parade, when they let us know that we had received the recognition, obviously we were the vote getter, but it also, there was a, you know, we were a Western finalist with another community. but it really had to do with what they witnessed in the community and how the community stood behind this and got behind it consistently for what seemed like a long time but at least it was it was darn near three months so so thank you again to everyone here that voted uh and i know all the council so thank you appreciate it

On behalf of the city council, I want to thank Visit Lodi because you, Wes, Visit Lodi, you guys rally the whole community on this goal to vote to make Lodi, to win this award for Lodi. And I know their co-workers will tell other co-workers, people will... text the link to vote and it was a citywide rally to put a spotlight in Lodi because we all that live here, we know what Lodi makes, why it's so special and we heard that word that we gave earlier of people, individuals just stepping up when there's a need and that's what makes Lodi so special, our people. And for that, thank you Wes.

We'll put it on the pencil.

We'll put it on the pencil. I can get you more. Get these shirts at our office.

Thank you.

Now we will move to our consent calendar. Mr. City Clerk, can you please introduce the consent calendar?

Okay. Item C1, approve the minutes of September 17, 2025, January 7, 2026, February 4, 2026, February 11, 2026, February 18, 2026, regular meeting, February 18, 2026, special meeting, March 4, 2026, April 1, 2026, June 17, 2026, May 7, 2024, shirt sleeve session, May 14, 2024, May 21, 2024, May 28, 2024, June 4, 2024, June 11, 2024, June 18, 2024, June 25, 2024, July 2, 2024. Item C2, adopt the resolution authorizing City Manager to execute Change Order 1 to City of Lodi Cyber Maturity Support Agreement with SEL Engineering Services Inc. of New York. for $49,535. Item C3, adopt a resolution granting signature authority to certain city staff for investment of monies in the local agency investment fund. IS is the department. Item C4, adopt a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute amendment number two to SAAS service agreement with Fifth Asset Inc. of Charlotte, North Carolina to provide Application of support services for the debt book software to renew the software subscription and add funds of $46,500 for a total agreement not to exceed $92,250. Item C5, adopt a resolution authorizing the Lodi Police Department to participate in the cannabis tax fund grant program funded by the California Highway Patrol. approving the execution of the grant documents by the Chief of Police on behalf of the City of Loray and appropriating funds in the amount of $67,896. Thank you so much.

Will any member of the council like to pull an item from consent? Councilwoman Craig.

Mayor, just for comment, I'd like to pull item C1, just for comment.

Okay, any items pulled? Okay, we'll go to C1.

I just want to make a note and I will follow up with the city manager when she returns. There are a number of action items that were indicated in the minutes the council members had asked for follow up. So I'll just want that noted that I'll be working with her to make sure that we've met all of those follow up requests. So thank you. Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you so much. Any member of the public would like to pull an item from consent? Seeing none, I will entertain a motion.

So moved. Second. Try again. Clear it.

No, no.

Yeah, Mikey, what were you thinking? There you go. First test passed.

right any passes city clerk do we have any public comments yes we do we have one uh one we have one public comment we have elaine dashner she's with lisa myers hill

Lisa and I have a thank you, an invitation, and two rhetorical questions. Thank you, in June, for voting to make every August 17th Laura DeForest Gordon Day. That proclamation makes us so proud as we recover the history of this important woman who lived right here in Lodi. Yesterday, the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors followed your lead, and so it's now countywide, Laura DeForest Gordon Day on August 17th. So we would like to invite the city council members and everyone here to please join us to celebrate on August 15th. That's two Saturdays from now, 3 to 5 p.m. at the Woman's Club. We're going to have a big, big party for Laura DeForest Gordon. My questions are to the gentlemen of the city council. Can you keep up with council member Craigs Hensley? She's already bought a ticket. She's already practiced throwing bras. She is ready to go. She knows what fun is. Do you?

I have a very strange idea of fun, apparently.

Thank you so much for the comment.

Sorry, we have no further public comment.

OK. I would like to invite anyone in the audience if they would like to make a public comment on non-agenda items. Seeing none, then we will move to council comments.

Mayor.

Yes. Councilwoman Greg.

Thank you. Just a few items since it's been a while since we had council meeting some of the highlights. Appreciate the fact that we are having the ongoing economic development meetings with our stakeholder team and we are accomplishing a lot. So appreciate our economic development directors leadership on that effort. Also, I think we all had heard about the county developing a resource center. adjacent to our complex here and so with the city manager and supervisor ding I was able to tour that facility that's going to be a great opportunity for us particularly for individuals that are looking to get married here in the city there's a chapel there and you will be able to get married in the city of Lodi so instead of having to go to Stockton also had a virtual meeting with UP's community liaison discussing our downtown plan options for Quiet Zone addressing issues of encampment cleanup so we've started that discussion chamber members and our economic development director participated I appreciate the city clerk former city clerk who is not here any longer but pulling together a training for Lodi nonprofit organizations so they know better how to apply for the grants that council is awarding so they're much more informed. And last couple of items, San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission and the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority i did a ribbon cutting with visit lodi thank you wes and the chamber of commerce hosted that and we were able to mayor and i participate just as the 1142 train came in the amtrak train and celebrate the fact that we do have midday rail service now in lodi lastly last night was national night out i know a number of council members and others community civic leaders attended the events last night, very well attended. People enjoyed them, notwithstanding the heat. And I want to thank our police department, our fire department personnel, all of our emergency services, and some of the city staff, including Wolfrid as two days into his job, showing up and learning a little bit more about the community. So thank you all for being part of National Night Out.

Thank you so much. Yesterday I participated in National Night Owl and what I like the most is just the way their neighbors were interacting with each other and I feel we have lost this in this country that people don't know their neighbors anymore so events like Those events give the opportunity to neighbors to just talk about what is going on in their lives, have friendships, and I think it's just great. And we have more than 30 parties happening yesterday. We only went to five because we cannot be everywhere. But yeah, it was great. Any more comments from Ken? None, we're gonna move to the first item in a regular calendar.

Sorry, item G1 is an informational report on approved library hours of operation. And we have Jennifer Fontanilla, the library director, making a presentation.

Thank you. Good evening, Mayor Yepez, Mayor Pro Tem Hothi, and members of the council. My name is Jenny Fontanella, library director for the Lodi Public Library. I'm here this evening to provide council an overview of the library board of trustees' approved changes to the library's operating hours. When I became library director last year, one of the first things I started hearing from patrons was, when are you going to reopen on Fridays? That prompted me to take a closer look at our operating hours and determine whether the schedule we had in place was still the best fit for our community. As I worked through that review, there were four factors that really drove my recommendation to the library board. First, the library is closed every Friday, even though staff are already working in the building every other Friday due to the city's 980 schedule. Second, I found that there was no librarian or manager routinely scheduled on weekends. If there was a staffing call-out or a patron situation that required supervisory assistance, part-time staff had to reach out to someone who wasn't scheduled to work. That wasn't the best operational model for supporting either staff or patrons. Third, staff consistently heard from patrons about reopening on Fridays. And finally, our circulation and door count data confirmed that Sunday is the lowest use day of operation for the library. Taken together, these factors showed that there was an opportunity to better align our operating hours with community demand while making better use of our existing staffing resources. As I evaluated our operating hours, I asked myself, if we're going to redesign the schedule, what do I want to accomplish? My goals were to redistribute hours of operation, preserve the city's 980 work schedule for full-time employees, create a dedicated time for staff development, operational planning, and staff meetings, ensure a member of the library management team is on site whenever the library is open to the public, and of course, to try and find a way to restore Friday service. This slide shows the current operating schedule compared to the board approved schedule. The approved schedule restores Friday service while extending evening hours Monday through Wednesday to 7 p.m., providing greater flexibility for working adults and families. I intentionally kept the later Thursday opening to provide the needed dedicated time for staff meetings, staff development, and operational planning before opening to the public. Friday will operate with the same hours as Saturday, creating a consistent schedule that is easy for the community to remember. Sunday becomes our closed day, allowing us to better align staffing with community demand while ensuring a librarian or manager is available whenever the library is open. Overall, the approved schedule increases public service from 43 hours to 47 hours each week. The Library Board of Trustees asked how neighboring library systems handle Sunday service, so I conducted a regional comparison. What I found is that being closed on Sundays is actually a very common operating model among public library systems in our region. Every library system has to balance community demand with available staffing and resources. While no two communities are exactly alike, this comparison showed that Sunday closure is a common and well-established service model. The city's 980 schedule presented my biggest challenge and proved to be the puzzle to solve. By creating a four-week rotation, I was able to maintain the city's existing 980 schedule while also meeting my goal of having a member of the library management team on duty whenever the library is open. Under this rotation, our three librarians and I each work one Saturday every four weeks, ensuring one of us is available on Saturdays to support staff and address issues that require supervisory decision making. Most importantly, the approved schedule preserves the city's 980 schedule for all full-time employees. One of the strengths of the board approved schedule is that it can be implemented within the library's existing budget. It does not require additional funding or new staff positions. By reorganizing our existing schedule, we can make better use of our current full-time and part-time staff while continuing to provide quality library service to our community. Ultimately, I believe this revised schedule provides the best benefits to the community. While the Library Board of Trustees has approved the revised schedule, there is still another step before implementation. The city must complete a required meet and confer process with the employee bargaining units. Once that process is complete, the library will move forward with implementation. I appreciate your time this evening, and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you for the presentation. Does any members of the council have any questions? So, Mr. Nakanishi.

Jennifer, I'm very impressed. You've increased the time and I've had reports from the library for years Right? Good, thank you. Jennifer, I'm very impressed. Good report.

Thank you.

I've heard yearly reports from the library, but when you say you can increase your time, that's really something, so I commend you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Ms. Montanella, can you go back to the hours? Yes. That was interesting to see. Can you flip back to the slide? I'm just primarily curious because I know that we have opportunities for organizations to meet in the community room. Is that still the case?

Yes, the community room is open during our our open public hours.

Okay, which I think is great that we're moving from 10 to seven on some evenings because they may be able to get an hour meeting and that they couldn't get in otherwise. So I think a lot of, you know, opportunity exists there and informing hopefully those organizations and others in the city, I really do like to see our library or community room active and use for some of those organizations, so I think that. It makes a lot of sense that we're and now having Friday open that gives even more opportunity for those that may be able to use it during the day when you know, perhaps it's not being used for other programming so i'm glad to see that. responding to our patrons, and they'll be very happy to see this, I'm sure. So thank you very much.

No, thank you.

Any other comments?

Is there a plan for how to educate the public on new hours?

Yes, we'll be doing a social media campaign and we'll be working with the city PIO to get that information out. We can't move forward with any of that until we have confirmation from the meet and confer. But I have worked with HR on that. So hopefully that'll be happening sooner rather than later. But we will make sure it is widely publicized.

Thank you so much for that, Jennifer. I think the first day that you started, I said, let's open the library on Fridays. And all the trustees that I appointed this year, I told them the same thing. So thank you for listening. Because on Fridays, I have show up to the library and it's closed. And I'm like, oh, why is it closed?

We have a lot of people that come to the doors on Fridays when they are working and we get kind of sad. Sad panda, we're not open. So we're going to change that.

So I'm excited to start coming to the library on Friday. So thank you for that.

Yay, we'll be happy to see you. Thank you.

Thank you. Do we have any comments from the public? No public comment.

Hi, I'm Eve Melton, member of board of trustees. I just wanted to thank Jenny for her very thoughtful process as she put this together, represented it to the trustees, over more than once, gave us data to look at for check-ins, check-outs, how many people were coming through the door so that we could make a really logical decision before we approved it. So she did a really great job over the last couple of months making sure we had the information we needed in order to be sure she could move forward. So thank you, Jenny.

what she said as also a trustee. And I'm really, really impressed because a lot of time and thought and consideration went into this and a lot of discussion. It was one of the first things that everybody asked me to take a look at when I became a trustee. So I really want to honor all of the hard work that you and your staff have put in. So appreciate you so much. Thank you.

Okay, thank you so much. This is informational item, so thank you. And when do we expect those new hours to become in effect?

Hopefully within the next six to eight weeks.

Okay, that's awesome.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay. Item G2 is adopt a resolution authorizing the city manager to waive the formal bid process and execute a professional services agreement with Citywide Strategies LLC for the development services operational initiative in an amount not to exceed $115,000. And we have Jamie Bandy, Administrative Services Director, making a presentation.

Thank you. Good evening, Mayor and members of the Council. I'm Jamie Bandy, Director of Administrative Services. Tonight, I'd just like to provide a brief overview of the Development Services Operational Initiative, explain why staff believes this work is important, and then present our recommendation to enter into a Professional Services Agreement with CityWise Strategies, LLC. The initiative is intended to evaluate our current development review process and identify processes to improve efficiency coordination transparency and customer service, while supporting implementation. Of the city's economic development strategic plan and preparing for organized preparing the organization for future growth. This evening, staff is recommending that the city council waive the formal competitive bid process and authorize the city manager to execute a professional services agreement with City Wise Strategies LLC in an amount not to exceed $115,000. It's important to note that the city is entering an important period of opportunity. Continued development activity, implementation of the economic development strategic plan, and planning for future growth and annexation make this an appropriate time to evaluate how we deliver development services. This initiative is not focused on changing development policy rather it focuses on how we deliver services how departments coordinate with one another. How efficiently projects move through the review process, how we communicate with applicants and where operational improvements can be made. Staff is recommending City Wise Strategies LLC, specifically Aaron Bush, because of his extensive experience leading organizational improvement initiatives for California cities. Mr. Bush brings more than 37 years of executive leadership experience, having served as a city manager, community development director, planning director, and permit center manager. That combination of executive leadership and hands on development services experiences experience is relatively unique through city wise strategies. He has helped local agencies improve organizational performance, streamline development review processes and enhance customer service. And because these services require specialized municipal expertise and executive level operational experience, staff believes it is in the city's best interest to waive the formal competitive bidding process and contract directly for these professional services. The scope of work is comprehensive. It will include a review of the city's development process from the initial customer inquiry all the way through final project completion. The Mr Bush will also engage with key stakeholders, including city leadership, develop department staff, developers and consultants. And then finally, city wise strategies will. develop practical recommendations together with an implementation roadmap that prioritizes improvements and identifies anticipated resource needs. The project is anticipated to take approximately six to eight months and will be completed in six phases. At the completion of the project, the City will receive a comprehensive assessment of the development review process, organizational recommendations, and a prioritized implementation roadmap. In closing, the initiative represents an investment in improving how the City delivers development services. By taking a comprehensive look at our current processes and organizational practices, the city will be better positioned to improve efficiency, strengthen collaboration across departments, and enhance customer service and support future growth. For those reasons, staff recommends that the City Council waive the formal competitive bid process and authorize the City Manager to execute the Professional Services Agreement with CityWise Strategies LLC in an amount not to exceed $115,000. That includes my presentation. Aaron Bush is here this evening and is available to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you so much for your presentation. Does Council have any clarifying questions?

He's the right man for this job. You can save a lot of time because he knows the city. He knows the goals of the city manager, of the city council, the staff. So we're going to be about six months ahead doing this. It'll cost less. So that's my comment anyway.

Thank you for your comment. Councilwoman Craig.

I'm just going to say ditto. and uh i think what's important is uh when i got on this council in 2022 this was a high priority sometimes it takes uh the right person identifying the specific needs and i think to council members nakanishi point uh mr bush is the right person so uh appreciate the fact you're willing to give up some family life again aaron and come back and join us for a while and we'll be glad to have you back so thank you sir

Any other comments? So yeah, like I will repeat the same thing that my colleague said, but yeah, so when I got here to the city council, that's what I've been hearing for residents, business owners, that our planning process needs to improve. So it takes longer than we expected, but Aaron is the right person to do this kind of work. And I would like actually to invite him to come to the podium and reintroduce himself to the community.

Thank you and good evening Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of the City Council. Thank you for your consideration to invite me back and to participate in this very important project. It's very exciting for me to be a part of this. This is something that I'm very passionate about and I can tell that the people that I will be working with in this organization and on your team are also share that enthusiasm because it is very important. Clearly, I'm biased with my background, but I can tell you that in my years as an administration, that this effort that you're embarking on right now is very important to your overall success. And knowing what I know about your vision for the community and all the great plans and goals and objectives that you have, and hearing from the residents in my short time here earlier this year, there's a lot to be done and that requires partnership and it requires public and private investment into your community. This is one way to go about encouraging that and promoting that by fine tuning your development process. And so I commend you all for making this tough decision, but I think hopefully at the end of this you'll find that it was worth it and that we've added value to the organization and to this community. So I appreciate your consideration and I'm happy to answer any questions if you have any more.

Thank you so much for those comments. Do we have any public comments, Mr. City Clerk? Seeing none, no public comments. okay so i will entertain a motion so move second okay and it passes so we will see you soon aaron next item

The next item is G3, adopt a resolution rejecting protest and awarding contract for 2026 through 2028 tree maintenance project to Elite Maintenance and Tree Service of Ceres, $616,700 and execute change orders of $100,000. We have Sean Nathan, Interim Public Works Director and City Engineer to make a presentation.

You got it up there? All right, good evening. We've got a quick presentation. We're gonna cover the contract procurement overviews, our tree maintenance contract specific requirements, the bid results, the protests that we received. We're gonna go over our staff's verification process, potential options, staff recommendations, and questions. So just kind of going through a little bit of background. So our project go out to bid on the basis of the public contract code, in addition to the municipal code. This is the fourth time this specific contract has gone out to bid since I've been here in the last 13 years. Overall, our department's done a little over 300 contracts that we put out to bids in that time. The public contract code objectives, just for a little more background, is to clarify the legal bidding requirements, to protect the public from misuse of public funds, to provide fair bidding opportunity, and to eliminate favoritism, fraud, and corruption in public contracts. The primary way they do that is by awarding to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. A responsive is a term they use for something that's a complete bid submittal, it's on time, it includes all the stuff it needs to include. Responsible is a term they use for the bidder is capable to perform the work as specified in the documents. So for this procurement process, we put the contract out to formally bid. It was approved by council, the specs and authorizing bids back in April, April 15th. We advertised in the Lodi News Sentinel on April 18th and April 23rd, as well as our online bid notifications. We publicly opened the bids on May 6th, and we received six bids. Out of those six bids, two were deemed non-responsive. One of them did not include their bid security or their bid bond, and another was missing the required addendum number one. After that, we verify the licenses, and then any additional requirements that we had in there, we verify that. In this specific contract, we had additional out of the norm requirements of GIS mapping tree inventory, and that's the contractor have experience creating and maintaining, and specifically two years experience with cities and public agencies and two California cities. Here's the bid results for the four responsive bidders, just for kind of reference. We received a protest from West Coast Arborist. In the protest, they identified four components that they feel that Elite Maintenance and Tree Services lacks. Those four are the required minimum two years experience performing public agency tree inventories, experience developing urban forest inventory databases, experience maintaining GIS compatible tree inventory systems, completion of tree inventory database for two California cities. So as part of staff's verification of the qualifications, we reached out to a number of agencies in order to verify that they met those requirements. Here's a list of the different agencies that we confirmed. The first five were through actually talking to someone from those agencies, asking, do they do this work for you? These include contracts that have tree work, so some of them are landscape that they also did tree work, and some of them are tree maintenance work. The bottom two were verified through different council board resolutions and that type of thing. Following up with those phone calls, staff had a demonstration of their GIS software, inventory software, that was on May 21st. In that demonstration, staff observed their database for the city of Shafter as well as the Fresno Unified School District, which they've been maintaining since 2021. The lead also provided additional list of GIS agencies that they do for including City of Clovis Parks Department since 2023, Sanger Unified School District 2024, San Joaquin Irrigation District 2025, Stanislaus Transit Authority 2025 and Kern County. As far as going through potential options based on the feedback we got on the 17th. staff or council has the option to reject all bids and re-advertise, you do not need a reason. You always have that option on any bid we put out. The cons to that might be additional staff time and costs in order to revise the specs and re-bid them. And then also we would go extended time without a tree maintenance contract, which would likely take us into the winter months, which is our most critical time for tree maintenance emergencies. Another option would be to deem Elite non-responsible and reject their bid. I put a little note here that that would take postponing this action to a different meeting because there are specific noticing requirements in that hearing for that item to happen properly per the public contract code. And then you can reject the West Coast Harbors protest and award the contract to Elite, which is the staff recommendation as identified in the title. Going through that, open to questions.

Thank you for your presentation. Council comments? Councilwoman Craig.

Mr. Nathan, I think I'd gotten some information on this. How much? Go back to the options for a minute, if you might. OK. if we were to reject excuse me if we were to reject all bids and re-advertise how much more time would this extend and do we have any other options relative to that that gap of time for not having any kind of maintenance

Uh, so I, I estimated between, I estimated that the delay will be three to four months just by the time we revise the documents, put it back out to bid for three or four weeks. Um, we get back on a council to award and then actually get that contract and all the documents routed, signed. And, and so the, that was kind of the concern I mentioned about getting into the winter months. Right. And you run the risk of like an October 21 event where all of a sudden we don't have a contractor. Uh,

Fairly minimal cost for re-advertising.

Yeah, it's usually $1,000-ish.

But we are talking a significant amount of staff time to go through this once again.

Not too significant. Not too bad? No, I mean, you just go through, update some dates, maybe make some clarifications just in case there was something that we decided wasn't clear enough in there. But most of it's the time lag on the contract.

My concern is now everybody knows what everybody bid. I mean, I've been through bid processes dozens of times. And so it becomes an issue of, you know, and this is, I would point to our city attorney's office. I mean, we did this the correct way. We analyzed it. We took the extra step of staff. You actually did something to address the protest item specifically by checking with all of those other entities that have handled this particular company before. And I want to be clear, you feel comfortable that all of those protest items are sufficiently addressed in either their response of elite or that you verified it yourself, correct?

Yes, we do.

OK, so I guess I would ask city attorney, are you comfortable that the city has followed the process correctly and that met the protest comments that were made? Yes. OK. I just needed that to be on the record because council has made a point of saying we don't want evergreen contracts we want the opportunity and you've clearly stated that we've done this before west coast has come in they've won that bid this time it wasn't something that staff is deemed that elite this time staff is deemed that elite was most responsive to this so i stick with that because i just really don't want to second guess staff all the time because of a protest protests happen all the time. Um, not all the time with us, but we've had a number of protests in the past and I feel like the due diligence has been conducted. Um, at a point in our city right now where we don't have a lot of extra funds, this amount of money makes a difference. This amount of money place pays for playground equipment, you know, the difference between these bids. So As far as the criteria that was developed in the RFP, that is what was responded to and that's what staff is making a determination based on and I am comfortable with that. So thank you for the presentation and the extra work.

Any other questions for the staff from the Council? Councilman Nakanishi?

Last time when it came through, I said, I like the old company because they did a good job. So I said, let Sean work on it. Give us a report. You worked on it. You spent a lot of time. And you're telling me that the better position is for us to continue with the elite. They went through the process. And you spent a lot of time investigating. How much time did you spend? investigating all this thing you did it's it's hours hours hours of staff time yeah you did it to safeguard the city so i agree with councilman lisa that uh we should follow your advice

Any other council comments? We will go to public comments first, and then I will say what I think about this issue. Mr. City Clerk, do we have any public comments?

Yes, we have public comments. First person we have is Luis Hernandez.

This is local 73 out of Stockton, one of the oldest locals in California. We've been established since 1903. One of the importance we see here, and just hearing a lot of the earlier speeches, is that we're local, right? We're Lodi. I live in this area. I've raised my family. My wife and I have a little one here. And one of the important things we're forgetting, and the reason you guys are there, is for the local work, the local contractors. You know, LIUNA, the Labor's International Union, are able to provide a pension, an annuity, a health and welfare for our members. West Coast Arborist has a collective bargaining with the laborers. They're able to provide their members, their employees, an opportunity to work locally by this contractor going out to rebid. I strongly advise you guys to throw out this contract, let it go out to bid, and hopefully you guys consider and put an item on there that there's some local... A language on there because a lot of our guys are having to go across different county lines to provide for their family and coming home and got hours of the evening. We just had two members come in right now. To try to make this and show how important it is that this project go out to bid and use a local contractor that uses local residents here of Lodi. With that, I complete my thank you.

We have Steve Dutze.

Evening council and city staff. My name is Steve Dutra. I'm the current president of Tree Lodi. From Tree Lodi's perspective, West Coast Arborist has consistently demonstrated a sincere commitment to the enhancement, stewardship, and long-term health of Lodi's urban forest. Their contributions extend well beyond the expectation of a contracted tree service provider. Through their ongoing participation in community projects and educational events, West Coast Arbors has been a trusted and indispensable partner in advancing Treeload I's mission of expanding and sustaining a healthy urban forest for current and future generations. With that said, Treeload I will support your decision on item G3 tonight. Moving forward, Treeload, I encourage your selected tree contractor, whoever you decide that may be, I encourage them to work diligently on all fronts of our mission. Finally, Tree Lodi encourages your city staff to consider involving the talents and expertise of Tree Lodi members in future bid document development regarding Lodi's urban forest management. Thank you.

Next we have Tim Patterson.

Good evening, Mayor, members of city council and city staff. As you said, my name is Tim Patterson. I'm the area manager for West Coast Arborists. We appreciate your willingness to take a look and review the concerns that have been raised about this particular item. WCA has proudly served the city of Lodi. You know, it's funny how you say evergreen. Well, that's kind of half your trees here are evergreen. Why do you want to get rid of them? Evergreen isn't always bad. I've been with the company 20 years and actually this was the first contract that I worked on when I got hired. So I was here at the beginning and I've been here through the entire process. That process is included maintaining your city canopy, maintaining your city forest for 20 years. That's a huge responsibility that we've taken to heart. And if you look around the city, one of the reasons why your city is the most loved small city is your canopy, is your trees, right? That's part of the essence of your city. And that's a big part of us helping you maintain that. So I would say, you know, we've also helped you develop an inventory system. You know, they're talking about the GIS. We were the first ones to come up with the GIS inventory system in the history of forestry management. We were the first ones to do that. We've been here and developing your inventory system with you for over 20 years. So it represents, you know, inspections, maintenance history, everything that has been collected over the past 20 years as part of the GIS system that you guys have access to, that your city staff has access to, that your community can have access to. So it's a huge part. And it's funny that, you know, they throw up things like they have like a unified school district. That's great. We maintain the city of Sacramento. We maintain the city of Elk Grove. I maintain the city of Livermore, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Ceres. Modesto. These are all that we maintain, so it's not a unified school district here and there. It's all of the cities around you that my company helps maintain and take care of their city forest. So. I should stop because I shouldn't be here to compare who's better because basically that's us. Really what we're here to say is I think this bid process got a little bit messed up and I really think you should consider putting it back out to bid. The discrepancies between the low bidder and the high bidder, when you see that big of a difference, it generally points to something that might not be correct in the bid process because when your low bidder is 600 000 and your high bidder is 1.5 million it's a big discrepancy so we're really here just to say you know please consider you know maybe going rebidding this process so that uh it could be open and a little bit better done thank you for your time

Next, we have Jose Flores.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. My name is Jose Flores. I am the regional manager for Elite Maintenance and Tree Service. There's a couple things I was going to say up here. One thing is we are capable of delivering service for the city of Lodi. We do have locations, actually we're ready to execute a lease here in Lodi. We're actually gonna be down the street, so it's about 15 minutes from here, from this location. We are not, a huge company. I mean, we're not privately equity, nothing like that. It's all a family-owned company. You know, my team's here today. I'm not here to bash on anybody else. I'm just asking for the council to listen to the recommendations made for this contract and continue with awarding the lead. Any questions? I'm not good at public speaking. Thank you.

We have no more public speakers.

I would like to invite anyone in the audience who would like to speak on this item. Seeing none, OK. So I feel that this process has bring a little bit of controversy. And I want to repeat it again. And I know that it's going to take longer to repeat it and all of that. And I can see both sides there. For example, we need to be competitive in our bidding. Also too, many of this contract are people that actually live here in Lodi. So by getting rid of this contract, some people that are actually Lodi residents are gonna lose like a job. And we're about giving people jobs, right? Like helping economic development. For me, I want to repeat it. That's kind of where my position is right now. I feel that some people will say that maybe this opens like a precedent that now people can come here to City Council and protest every other decisions. But I don't think that's true. There is some specific cases where this happens, and this council role is to decide on those special circumstances to say, no, we need to go a different direction or we need to go in that direction. And I feel this situation is one of those situations that to make that just the whole process clear, just revere it and whoever wins, wins. So that's my comment. So Councilwoman Craig.

Mr. Nathan, on the past contracts that West Coast Arborist has been on, what is the duration of those contracts been? Were they two year, five year, what were they?

So they usually start out as a two or three year base contract with options to extend. The one that just expired at the end of June was at the end of five years.

Okay.

So we kind of work our way into this when we... Yeah, we usually start with a couple years and depending on how it goes, depending on how the prices are, how the market is, decide whether it's mutually beneficial to extend it.

Okay. And then in terms of... meeting the requirements of the contract, how do you evaluate that? So for example, if elite did not meet the requirements of the contract in a specified amount of time, I mean, we don't necessarily go through two years to find that out. We would understand, are they meeting? And if they're not, you're going to have a sit down with them, discuss it. Track them and then keep moving forward correct.

Yeah, that's the standard process We do you know obviously like our street superintendent works with them pretty regularly if Something's not happy early on there will be kind of meetings between them if it continues then it's usually like an office meeting with Managers that type of thing and then if it still doesn't increase we have liquidated damages and ultimately we could terminate the contract I

Okay. And then lastly, in terms of the one-year extensions, the first one-year extension, is that at the option of the city or is that at?

It's both. They have to agree to it. We have to agree to it. Okay.

And so we have how many one-year extensions built into the contract?

I would need to double check. Usually it goes up to five. One second.

Sure.

The base the base contract is for two two years and then we have two additional one-year extensions So as it's proposed is up to four years Okay

So I mean, I'm trying to come to some middle ground because I do support the fact of rebidding contracts. And I do believe that on the second year, that would again be a dual option, or would that be?

so this contract would take us through the end of fiscal year 2728 that'd be the second year if if everyone wanted to extend it we would extend it and they would actually come back to council for increased change order authority after the that fiscal year's budget was approved to add that money to the contract okay so we budgeted for this for two years for sure We plan on having it for two years. It's subject to the fiscal year budget each year. So if next fiscal year council drops the budget for tree and landscape maintenance down to zero, then we won't spend any money on the contract.

Well, zero is a little desperate, but you know. So in essence, council does have the option at the end of the two-year contract if council chose to rebid it.

Council would have the choice to not authorize the change order or increase in change order authority, which would effectively render the extensions useless.

nodding yeah you would have the option to not extend the contract if that was your choice at that time all right um all right those those are my questions thank you mr mayor i have a quick question now that you touch on the change orders so they're very close like the amount of the two contracts so if the other company realized that they need more money that comes as a change order will that come to the cancer that comes to public's work and you can approve at your level

So this item is recommended to authorize the city manager's change order authority up to $100,000. This contract is not like a typical project one where they didn't have the money to complete what they said they would do, because this one is kind of like a menu of options of trimming this size tree costs this much. So if we're getting to the extent of we don't have enough funds for the fiscal year, we dial back on maybe planned tree trimming and keep a budget available for emergencies going through the winter. and then pick it back up to ensure we don't overspend our budget on that.

Okay, so there's not a possibility that we can overspend and that can come as a chain order then under this contract, this kind of format?

No, typically on this type of contract, the change order is used by other departments. If all of a sudden Parks has a need to do additional tree trimming in Parks, they may ask if they can use this contract, add $30,000 to trim Lodi Lake Nature Area, and then that would be added by change order. That's how the change order authority is used on this contract.

kind of items. Okay. And does that happen often? Those kind of?

Yes. This one in our concrete one, a lot of other departments. Once we have a contract, that means we have insurance. That means we have that relationship. Invoices can be processed easily. So we do utilize that for other departments. Transit uses it within public works and water, wastewater. If they have something that's impacting a well site or a pump station site, that's how that's used just above and beyond the normal streets, streets trimming.

Okay. Thank you. Any other comments?

I'll say I have some public works gripes at the moment, but West Coast Arborist isn't on that list. I've been up here for six years. I've not heard complaints about you guys. I've gone to the tree Lodi stuff and seen all the extracurricular activities you do to try to benefit this community. And then also just the fact that there's so many Lodi residents that are your employees. Kudos to you for that. And so I intend to vote to reject these bids today.

I'm sorry. You can start all over again.

One thing I do want to comment is Mr. Dutra's comment. I actually thought that was well stated that Tree Lodi does work very closely with our landscaping firm and does have expertise. And I do think that because they are an important partner that we do provide funding for to help us with our tree plantings, whether it's in parks or whether it's on other properties, that it would be useful in a criteria process for selection that we might engage with them. They're a strong partner with us. So I just wanted to recognize Mr. Dutertree Lodi and the expertise that you guys have on your team. So thank you.

Councilman Anacalesi? Yeah.

My preference is Dutra. I work with Dutra and all the other people, right? But I can't, when an issue comes in, I gotta be fair, right? And the city went through the bidding process, and Elite won. And we said, hey, bring it back and see if you can do anything we can. But you come back and said, they did everything they're supposed to? Then I'm looking at my fiduciary responsibility, all right? If you go through a process and you don't change it, what's the legal repercussion of such a thing? You don't have to answer that, right? But I look at all these things. So my preference is, you're like you're saying start over but you know to be fair i've got to go with the recommendations of the uh city right that's what it is you you did everything you you spent we've spent more time looking at this so uh sean i'm going to take your recommendation you did a good work and i wish that it was otherwise is it if this is a private company i choose that i go the other way but this is a city

business and we got to treat each person fairly within the rules of the laws so i'm gonna go that route okay any comments so any more comments on council do we do a motion to reject i guess um i'm gonna make a motion to approve the item um as submitted

Does it die, Alan? Pardon? Do you make a second to the motion? Oh, second, sure.

Thank you. I wasn't paying attention.

Sorry. OK, the same passes. So now I'll see the attorney what happens now.

I think we have option to bring it back once we have full body or we have the option for their motions I suspect it'll play out similarly so let's just save ourselves some time and bring this to the next council meeting perhaps

Can I continue the item?

Can we have a little more dialogue, Council?

I do have a question, if I might, Mayor. Okay, yeah, go ahead. So this is, we voted, it's off the topic. I need to know where we are right now with any maintenance agreement. So, Again, if we bring it back to Council, that's yet another delay in however many weeks. Do we have any contract in place? How is maintenance being handled if we have a storm? You know, where are we in terms of all vulnerability now that we've not made this this decision?

So Public Works doesn't have a tree contract. We do have a landscape contractor that's on contract that has the ability to provide assistance if needed. Also, Lodi Electric Utility does have a contract with West Coast Harbors right now.

Okay. So we could use that contract if necessary as an interim between now and when a final decision gets made.

I don't know the terms of their contract, so I'd have to defer how that's written.

Okay. It sounds like City Attorney, we need to get an answer, but nonetheless, it doesn't, it seems to me that we're just gonna take that risk to have it come back at the next council meeting. I would ask this. What are we coming back with? Just waiting for another vote?

That's what I was gonna ask.

I mean, I don't really see what the direction is to staff at this point.

I think at this point, if you may, I think to not make this process longer, because maybe the decision is gonna be kind of the same or it's gonna be rejected or approved. Why don't we just do the process, again, reject the bids instead of the whole process? I think that would be kind of compromised for all the parties involved. That would be, you know, and whoever wins, wins. I don't know, you know, just don't have any press from the companies. I just think the process should be rejected.

uncomfortable because the bids are all out there I mean everybody knows what everybody bid so unless you're changing the criteria completely adding other additional criteria to it that we wouldn't know what the response would be for those everybody knows what everybody bid and you know that's the challenge now so it's part of Part of this is the criteria that you meet, and part of it is the fee you're charging, because that is part. I don't know, Sean, for example, are we talking, is that 10% of the decision making? Is it all within the, you know, it's not a capital, it's a maintenance, but, you know, are we required to take the lowest bid in these situations? Give me some feedback.

Yeah, the way we bid it out, that is the case. The lowest responsive and responsible bidder.

Okay. So that's what makes me uncomfortable. We no longer have an even playing field.

Yes, we will.

So if it comes back.

Would you like to add a criteria to like a different criteria right now? And then that way, you know, it's different the process for one element.

I think we leave it as it is and we bring it back to the next council meeting and we have five council members here and, you know, we have time to think about it and we got a council member that's got to make a decision. Oh, and he's traveling.

Yes, so that's the problem.

So there's got to be an element to some, obviously we did the financial thing recently for preference for local bidders, but there's one that has clear local employees. These are dollars that come back into our coffers here.

That, I don't know if that, I don't believe that criteria, I don't believe that change was in place when this RFP went out. Is that correct?

Yeah, that was not in place with the RFP. Also, it's only a 5% credit, and it also only applies to businesses that have a facility within the city limits.

Yes, it does.

So it wouldn't apply in this case, even if it was in place at the time.

I very much appreciate local. I appreciate the fact that West Coast Arborists has... Local employees here, and that is important to us as well elite apparently is making a commitment to localize their business and. I think that's important as well and that's one of the reasons that we put that language in is to give an opportunity for local businesses to have that 5% additional. competitive benefit which is really just part of the price tag on the whole thing so it's it's not a point system it's really comes down to the dollar amount they're given credit for so I I think the only real solution I mean this is this is very difficult if If we have to take another action to rebid it, I am worried about the vulnerability of the city because we did everything correctly.

But I think, if I may interrupt a little bit, because things like legals and all the options and the law, there was no risk to the city because this council has the authority to reject any bids for any item. So there's no risk to us because we can...

yeah between those two options that you're considering they're the lower of the risk that we identified so and you don't have to state a reason necessarily to reject all the bids and start over i don't know what do you guys think i'm really uncomfortable with it but otherwise it sounds like it's not going to come back until a first meeting in september are you back then

I can connect for that item, if that's important for, I can connect for just that item.

If there are four of you present, then he can vote. And I can vote on that item.

I do have a question. A question, right? We look at bids, lowest bid and so forth, You're not saying that the city councilman can choose any way they want. You're not saying that, are you? Don't we have to comply with the process with lowest bid and so forth? We can't just say, well, we like this guy. So that's not my understanding. And I'm asking the attorney now. We have a process.

Yes.

We had the Lord's bid. We agreed that's what it is. We said, hey, go back. And then I'm hearing here that we can make any decision we want? No.

I don't think so. You still have a limited set of options. One would be to accept the staff recommendation and the process that is clearly supported in the record. Or you can reject all bids and basically start again.

Thank you. Thank you.

Yeah, that's what I was saying there. Now that we can select any contract, but we can reject any contract. So that's what I was trying to say.

May I ask a question, Mayor? We're going to go through all this again, right? Hearing both sides. How about... Coming back when Cameron's here, let's see what he, that would be the more efficient way, not waste time of the staff. They've spent already a lot of time, not only staff, I'm talking about the people who come here.

So that's my thoughts. So if council doesn't mind, I don't know if there's any more, I would make a motion to move this item yet again to the first meeting in September, because you'll be available.

Or we can do it the next meeting.

Can you be available then?

For that item only.

Okay.

Only for that item. Okay.

So if that works out and we have five members of the council, then... I I would say we move forward are you I'm I sound that sounds good oh and that way we can move the process yeah we could keep the process moving a lot of work to do in the city so there so I would make that motion that we move this item to the next agenda um in August and uh vote again at that point I I'm not looking for staff to do this is kind of where I'm coming back to we need we need five to make a decision, okay? So that's the basis for the motion, not directing staff to do any additional work, okay? So that's the motion, so.

I'll second that. Okay.

So just back to each?

Just, yeah.

There you go.

All right, and it passes. Next item.

Nick. We have G for adopt a resolution ratifying the city managers employment of David hanum as Community development director and approving the employment agreement effective September 7 2026 and we have James p human resources manager to make a presentation.

Good evening on February 24th, 2026, the community development director position became vacant. The city of layout gauge the services of an executive recruitment firm to conduct recruitment to fill this position. The city manager elected Dave Hannah to fill the position. David is here tonight. The fiscal impact is his annual salary will be $201,619. And there is funding available in the fiscal year 2026-27 budget. And staff recommends you adopt a resolution ratifying the city manager's employment at David Hannum as community development director and approving the employment agreement effective September 7th, 2026. Thank you.

Okay, thank you so much. Do we have any comments from council? Okay, so if David could come to the podium and introduce yourself so the community gets to know you.

Good evening, Mr Mayor, fellow council members. I'm Dave Hannum. I am the new Community Development Director for the City of Lodi. I'd like to thank the city for giving me this opportunity and just kind of give you some background. I've been in the planning field for over 30 years. I've worked for a number of different cities, including Livingston, Pinole, Angels Camp. So I've also worked for private home builders as forward planning management staff. I've also worked for a school district as being a facilities planner. So I've had a lot of experience on both sides of the dais regarding community development. I was born and raised in the valley, so born and raised in Stockton. And so this is like coming home. And I actually, for point of context, I actually worked in Lodi about seven years ago. I worked for a private consultant at Interwest for about four months. uh during that time and when i saw this position come open i was just really excited that that it was there and there's a lot of good things happening i was watching the process for the specific plan that got adopted i thought that was a great plan for the city and i look forward to working with staff and working with the council and everybody to make lodi a better place so to live work and play so if you have any questions i'd be happy to answer any questions and oh thank you so much uh councilwoman craig thank you um obviously you've heard uh we we love our

former interim city manager, Mr. Bush, and it sounds like you guys would work very well together. Between the two of you and Ms. Reddick, it sounds like we have a very good team. So appreciate you stepping forward and embracing the opportunity to work with our city community development department. We have some good staff there. They're solid, and we look for the opportunity to work with them and with us to move forward that needle on getting our economic development plan, on getting our downtown-specific plan moving forward with some new opportunities for our existing businesses and bringing some new industry here. So thank you.

Thank you, yes. Excited to get started. Thank you. So I just want to say welcome. We're excited to have you, as I will repeat what my colleague said. I know that you're going to work very well with Mr. Bush and our city manager, too, and all the city staff in the community. And over the next few weeks, probably, well, not just until September, right?

Yeah, I'll be starting in September. Yeah. So I'll probably be popping in and out over the over the next month just to meet everybody and to try to, you know, get myself orientated with everything. So, yeah. So I'll be popping in here and there.

Thank you. So yeah, it was that I mean, I think the community here is amazing. So they will introduce themselves to them, the business community. So they're very excited to meet you. And so yeah, thank you for coming to Lodi and welcome. Thank you very much. I really appreciate the opportunity. Any other comments from council? Seeing none. Do we have any public comments on this item? No public comments. Okay, so I will entertain a motion.

Move to approve the employment contract for David Hanna.

Second.

Thank you very much.

All right. And it passes. So we will see you in September. Yes, you will. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Okay. Our next item is G5. Adopt a resolution of intention to approve the amendment to the contract between the Board of Administration of the California Public Employees Retirement System and the City Council of the City of Lodi. And waive the first reading and introduce an ordinance amending the contract between the Board of Administration of the California Public Employees Retirement System and the City Council of the City of Lodi. And again, we have James Beebe, Human Resource Manager, with a presentation.

Good evening. Employee cost sharing provides the City an opportunity to save money and help offset pension costs. At its February 18th, 2026 City Council meeting, Council authorized reducing the unrepresented employee's cost share. At its July 1st, 2026 meeting, Council specifically approved the following unrepresented groups reduce their cost share from 6% to 0%. Confidential General Services, Confidential Mid-Management, Council Appointees, and Executive Management, and approved the Police Executive Management Group to reduce this cost share from 9% to 3%. to comply with CalPERS contract amendment procedures. Council must take certain administrative steps at this meeting and future council meetings to finalize the contract amendment. Specifically at tonight's meeting, council must adopt a resolution of intention to amend its contract with CalPERS and waive the first reading and introduce an ordinance amending the contract between CalPERS and the City of Lodi. At its September 2nd, 2026 meeting, Council will be asked to waive the second reading and adopt the ordinance to finalize this contract amendment with CalPERS. The fiscal impact is a reduction in employee cost share was previously approved by the City Council and sufficient funding is available within the adopted budget. Therefore, staff recommends that you adopt a resolution of intention to approve an amendment with this contract with CalPERS and with the first reading to introduce an ordinance amending the contract between CalPERS and the City of Lodi. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Any clarifying questions for the staff? Seeing none, we will move to public comments. Do we have any public comments?

No public comments.

OK. Then I will entertain a motion.

So moved.

Second. And it passes. So next item.

Item G6, waive the first reading and introduce an ordinance amending chapter 2.13 of the municipal code to transfer the appointment authority for the city clerk to the city manager. And we have James Peavey, human resources manager.

So under the Lodi Municipal Code, the city manager serves as the city's chief executive officer and is responsible for the administration of all city affairs placed under the city manager's control. The city manager has authority to appoint and remove department heads, with the exception of the city attorney and the city clerk, whose appointments are currently made by city council. Therefore, the city attorney and city clerk serve at the pleasure of the council through an employment agreement made between the appointee and city council. The proposed amendment would transfer the appointment authority for the City of Clerk from City Council to the City Manager. Therefore, aligning the Clerk's appointment and reporting structure with the City's administrative organization will promote greater operational efficiency, strengthen day-to-day coordination with executive management, and provide greater consistency in the administration of City operations while preserving the City Clerk's statutory duties and responsibilities. Implementation of this organizational change requires an amendment to Chapter 2.13 of the Lodi Municipal Code. There is no fiscal impact and therefore staff recommends council approve the uh waving the first reading and introduce an ordinance amending chapter 2.1 three of the municipal code to transfer the appointment authority for the city clerk to the city manager thank you thank you so much any clarifying question from council councilwoman greg thank you mayor um maybe for um our assistant city attorney so pass the ordinance

it's 30 days past the ordinance. And if that's the case, because I know we need to advertise for this position, do we have to wait the full 30 days before we can advertise for the position then?

Yeah, because then it would be, it would change the legal description, the job description. Right. So we have to wait until it's fully operational.

Okay. So tonight we're waiving the first reading and introducing the ordinance. But the reality is we won't be Passing the ordinance until the next council meeting, correct? Yeah. OK. And then it's 30 days past that. That's correct. You like your job, Wilfred? Apparently you're going to be here a while.

I've been saying I'm here for a good time, not a long time. And just for transparency, I don't know if I will be here past those 30 days after the ordinance passes. Okay. So there might be a need for another interim city clerk.

Okay. So... I mean, either way, how that's going to work, we're still not going to have a search completed within that amount of time. I mean, Mr. Peavy, honestly, we're probably looking at how many months from today's date before we would get that position filled.

What are the dates again from the city attorney's office?

So after the second reading, it would be 30 days after an affirmative vote.

So 45 days from now, in essence.

But we could still, I mean, it can still be posted and recruited for because we're just recruiting and we're just internally amending who will be appointed for it. But we can recruit and start the process.

But it also changes how the appointment is made, who's conducting. the job search, so that would need the ordinance change. Because as of right now, it's still a council

So how about, because I heard something else from John and the city manager that we could go through the process. Okay. Even though we don't have to wait for that because I asked a question a few weeks ago about that specific question. And they said that we cannot just do the appointment until that happens. But I don't know, maybe I could read incorrectly.

So likely we can recruit with an understanding that we're moving forward with, Changing it from a Council appointment to a city manager appointment that would just be shared with the applicants and then, by the time we get around to interviewing this will have been. taken care of because that's 45 days from now, in essence, if you look at putting it at the next agenda, so I mean I would be comfortable with that. As long as we're being clear to the applicants so. And I get your concerns now, but.

Yeah, I mean, and it just raises the question if the job description will describe the appointment method or who they report to.

Yeah, we can always put in the job description saying that, you know, that currently it's appointing a direct appointment from the council, but, you know, council action has been taken so that Effective date XYZ the appointment will change from council to The city manager and we can put that can put that on the the job flyer that will go out because we're also using a professional recruiter who will do that and just make sure that

An asterisk to the giant.

Yeah, and that's pretty common, too. Oftentimes, in human resources, when we know that they're most likely will be like, for instance, like a pay raise may be coming or something, we'll put that on there and saying, You know, if we're getting near the end of the fiscal year, saying, you know, effective July 1st, a pay raise may happen. And also, we also may put other things in there saying that individuals knowing that, you know, there may be some special circumstances regarding it. So it's pretty typical within human resources, especially with administrative higher-up positions.

Sure. I guess the concern in addition to having the proper authority to do the search prior to the ordinance going into effect would be making sure that there's at least that clarity for candidates so that we don't have folks who think that they're coming in as an appointee versus under the city managers.

Yeah, absolutely.

Okay. Yeah.

Okay. Any other questions? So we'll open it for public comments. Seeing none. OK. Then I want to turn the motion.

So moved.

Second. Second. OK. And it passes. Seeing no more actions on the agenda, I will adjourn the meeting at 8.48 PM.

Yeah, yeah. Let me know. Otherwise, I'll see you there.

OK.