Lodi Improvement Committee - May 12, 2026
Lodi Improvement Committee — Regular Meeting Agenda Summary
Tuesday, May 12, 2026 — 6:00 PM
Carnegie Forum, 305 West Pine Street, Lodi, CA 95240
LodiEye Summary
The Lodi Improvement Committee (LIC) meets May 12, 2026 at the Carnegie Forum for a focused working session centered on three priorities: shaping the LIC's upcoming semi-annual update to the City Council, reviewing Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) activity including the new 2026–27 Annual Action Plan public review window, and advancing the 2026 annual activities task roster. Public participation is available in person, via Zoom (Meeting ID 880 2451 7154, passcode 191272), by email to LICcomments@lodi.gov, or by mail/hand delivery to the Community Development Department.
This meeting follows an eventful April session where the Committee voted unanimously to recommend the City Council halt ticketing of on-duty downtown employees and build an employee permit system — a recommendation now in the staff pipeline to Council. Staff's memo confirms HUD's 2026–27 CDBG allocation has increased to $665,236 (up from $655,037 in 2025–26), with the draft Action Plan posted for public review May 2 through June 3, 2026.
Meeting Logistics & Public Participation
Zoom Webinar: Meeting ID 880 2451 7154 | Passcode 191272 | Phone:
1-669-444-9171 or 1-253-215-8782
Join Zoom Meeting
Email comments: LICcomments@lodi.gov (submit no later than three hours prior to the meeting)
Mail: Community Development Department, P.O. Box 3006, Lodi, CA 95241
Hand delivery: Community Development Department, 221 W. Pine Street, Lodi, CA 95240
Livestream: City of Lodi Public Meetings (YouTube)
Staff contact: Kari Chadwick, Community Development Program Specialist — (209) 333-6711
Agenda at a Glance
| # | Item | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roll Call | Procedural |
| 2 | Minutes — April 14, 2026 Regular Meeting | Action |
| 3 | Public Comment (Non-Agenda Items) | Public |
| 4 | City Council Update Presentation Discussion | Discussion |
| 5 | Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) | Update |
| 6 | LIC 2026 Annual Activities Updates & Task Assignments | Discussion |
| 7 | Regular Business — June topic (Bailey Caswell); July TBD | Action |
| 8 | Committee/Staff Comments on Non-Agenda Items | Discussion |
| 9 | Adjournment | Procedural |
Agenda Item Detail
Item 4 — City Council Update Presentation Discussion
The Committee will outline the content of its semi-annual report to the City Council. In April, members agreed to deliver the first presentation in July and a second in December or January, with May used to build the outline and June used for a final cleanup pass. Member Sharma is the current lead for the 1st and 2nd presentations, with additional member support TBD.
Item 5 — Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
Neighborhood Services Manager Jennifer Rhyne's staff memo covers three program years:
- 2026–27 Annual Action Plan (new): HUD allocation letter received April 8, 2026 sets Lodi's award at $665,236. The draft plan is posted for a 30-day public review from May 2 – June 3, 2026. Public Services applications are on a rolling 2-year cycle and will not be solicited this year.
- 2025–26 Program Year (current): HUD allocation of $655,037. Distribution: Capital $405,000; CBO services $98,000 (15% cap); Administration $130,000 (20% cap); total $633,000, with $22,037 carried forward to 2026–27 capital projects.
- 2024–25 Program Year (closing): Staff and subrecipients are closing out projects and preparing the Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report (CAPER).
HUD CDBG Allocations to City of Lodi (Recent Program Years)
Source: City of Lodi Community Development Department staff memo, May 12, 2026; HUD allocation letters.
2025–26 Approved Allocations
| Category | Recipient / Project | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Administration | Planning & Administration | $95,000 |
| Administration | San Joaquin Fair Housing — Fair Housing Services | $20,000 |
| Administration | Graffiti Abatement | $15,000 |
| City Service | Graffiti Abatement Program (Public Services) | $15,000 |
| CBO Service | Community Partnership for Families — Family Resource Center | $29,500 |
| CBO Service | PREVAIL — Propel Program | $16,000 |
| CBO Service | Second Harvest Food Bank — Food Assistance | $10,000 |
| CBO Service | LOEL Senior Center — Meals on Wheels | $10,000 |
| CBO Service | The Salvation Army — Hope Harbor Operations | $17,500 |
| City Capital | Public Works Project | $235,000 |
| CBO Capital | Lodi House — Walnut Street Project | $23,000 |
| CBO Capital | DCDC/HACSJ — Salas Park | $130,000 |
| CBO Capital | The Salvation Army — Security Project | $17,000 |
Item 6 — 2026 Annual Activities Updates
The Committee will continue work on the activities matrix adopted April 14, 2026. Ownership and task assignments by pillar:
| Pillar | Activity | Owner / Lead |
|---|---|---|
| Information Updates | Downtown Specific Plan & Community Improvement Division | Sharma |
| Information Updates | CDBG Funding Awareness & Outreach | Sharma |
| Community Well-Being | Advanced Youth Programs / GRIP / Enhanced Youth Programs | Hayre & Davis |
| Community Well-Being | Animal Services Liaison | Davis |
| Community Well-Being | Earth Day Community Collaboration | Tran |
| Community Improvement | Neighborhood Quality & Livability / Report a Concern | Geralis |
| Community Improvement | Community Resources Liaison | Geralis |
| Community Improvement | City Beautification (incl. S. Central Corridor Pilot) | Geralis / Davis |
| Administration & Transparency | City Council Engagement (July & Dec/Jan presentations) | Sharma + All |
| Administration & Transparency | Public Awareness / Town Hall | Tran & Soto |
Spotlight: S. Central Avenue Corridor Beautification Pilot (Attachment)
Chair Lyndsy Davis has proposed a Phase 1 pilot installation on S. Central Avenue between Poplar Street and Vine Street — approximately 1,050 feet featuring 10 evenly spaced (~115 ft apart) powder-coated 3/16" steel human silhouettes (5'6"–6'2" tall, 18"–30" wide) in a tropical palette (sherbet orange, teal, lime green, crème yellow, fuchsia). Estimated cost is $950–$1,650 per unit ($9,500–$16,500 total), with design refinement of 2–3 weeks, fabrication of 4–6 weeks, and installation in 1–2 days. The project is scalable southward toward Kettleman Lane and is intended to both signal community identity and encourage traffic calming through increased driver awareness of pedestrian presence.
Spotlight: Once Upon a Vine (Attachment)
Also advanced by Chair Davis, "Once Upon a Vine" is a monthly public event series hosted at rotating local businesses, featuring vetted owners and professionals sharing career paths with youth audiences. Goals include career exposure beyond traditional pathways, mentorship, internships and job shadowing, and increased small-business visibility. An annual 12-story publication will compile presenter stories. Contact: Lyndsy Davis, (408) 707-5823.
Item 7 — Regular Business: Upcoming Meeting Topics
- June 2026: Bailey Caswell
- July 2026: TBD (first semi-annual City Council presentation anticipated)
Context from Prior Meetings & External Teams
April 14, 2026 Recap
Chair Davis presided with Members Geralis, Hayre, and Soto present; Sharma and Tran were absent. Key outcomes:
- Love Lodi presentation by Tim Stewart: 11th Annual Love Lodi Day (April 25), citywide backpack giveaway on July 20 at Hutchins Street Square (~2,000 backpacks), fall Love Our Schools event, new ADOPT-a-school program, and October Gala.
- Downtown Parking vote: The Committee unanimously (4–0) recommended the City Council cease ticketing on-duty downtown employees and build an employee parking permit system verified by paystub/employer and linked to license plate, citing Lodi City Code §10.48. Presenter Olivia Miller submitted 186 employee signatures.
- Downtown Specific Plan update by Interim CDD Director Cynthia Marsh: plan advances to the Planning Commission on May 13, 2026, and City Council in June; public-private partnership structure.
- Welcome to new Member Hector Soto.
Connections to External Teams
- Planning Commission (May 13, 2026): Reviews the Downtown Specific Plan the day after this LIC meeting — potentially intersecting with the downtown parking recommendation still advancing through staff to Council.
- Lodi City Council: Semi-annual LIC updates planned for July and December/January; also the venue for the pending downtown-parking recommendation and the 2026–27 Annual Action Plan adoption.
- Arts Commission: Reviewing three painted utility box locations, seeking indoor homes for painted pianos, and will receive Davis's S. Central Corridor proposal.
- Lodi Committee on Homelessness (LCOH) & ABCD Committee: Historical LIC liaison relationships (per the 2024–25 Goals document) remain active touchpoints for unsheltered services and neighborhood empowerment grants.
- Love Lodi: Project/Partner/Promote collaboration model, with near-term opportunity at the July 20 backpack giveaway.
Linked Documents & Resources
- Zoom Webinar (ID 880 2451 7154 / Passcode 191272)
- City of Lodi Public Meetings Livestream (YouTube)
- CDBG Program & 2026–27 Annual Action Plan Public Review
- PlanLodi.com (Downtown Specific Plan portal)
- LCOH Agenda Center
This LodiEye agenda summary was produced using artificial intelligence tools under the direction and editorial review of Lodi411's human editor. Lodi411 uses multiple AI platforms in its research and publication workflow, including Anthropic's Claude (primarily Opus and Sonnet models) and Perplexity AI across a variety of large language models offered by each. These tools were used in the following capacities:
Source Discovery: AI-assisted retrieval parsed the May 12, 2026 Lodi Improvement Committee Regular Agenda Packet (including the April 14, 2026 draft minutes, CDBG staff memo, S. Central Corridor proposal, Once Upon a Vine proposal, and the LIC 2024–2025 Goals document) and cross-referenced the City of Lodi CDBG program page and Planning Commission calendar for contextual linkage.
Credibility Validation: AI cross-referenced agenda packet content against the staff memo's cited HUD allocation figures ($655,037 for 2025–26 and $665,236 for 2026–27), prior meeting minutes, and published City of Lodi web resources, prioritizing primary government documents as the source of truth.
Analysis and Synthesis: Claude Opus and Sonnet assisted in organizing agenda items by priority, mapping task assignments across the four LIC pillars, and surfacing cross-team intersections (Planning Commission, Arts Commission, LCOH, Love Lodi).
Presentation: Claude assisted in structuring the summary as a Lodi411-compliant HTML document, including the CDBG allocation trend chart, tabular allocation breakdowns, and inline attachment spotlights for the S. Central Corridor Pilot and Once Upon a Vine.
Final Review: Multiple AI models reviewed the completed draft for factual consistency with the source packet, source attribution accuracy, and balanced presentation. All editorial judgments, analytical conclusions, and publication decisions were made by Lodi411's human editor.
Lodi411/LodiEye believes transparency about AI use in journalism serves both readers and the profession. We use multiple AI platforms — including Anthropic's Claude (Opus and Sonnet) and Perplexity AI — as research, analysis, and presentation tools, not as autonomous authors. All editorial judgments, analytical conclusions, and publication decisions are made by Lodi411's human editor, who directs and reviews all AI-assisted work.
References
- City of Lodi. Lodi Improvement Committee Regular Agenda Packet, May 12, 2026. Including staff memo by Jennifer Rhyne, Neighborhood Services Manager.
- City of Lodi. Lodi Improvement Committee Regular Meeting Minutes, April 14, 2026.
- City of Lodi — Community Development Block Grant Program (2026–27 Annual Action Plan review window: May 2 – June 3, 2026)
- City of Lodi Public Meetings — YouTube Livestream
- LIC 2024–2025 Goals document (included in agenda packet).
- Staff contact: Kari Chadwick, Community Development Program Specialist — (209) 333-6711 — LICcomments@lodi.gov