June 1, 2023

City Attorney Magdich Announces Resignation

City Attorney Janice Magdich announced her resignation from the City of Lodi effective June 16, 2023. Janice will be leaving the City of Lodi to serve as in-house legal counsel to the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission, operator of the ACE train, and managing authority of the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority, the administrator of the Amtrack San Joaquin’s intercity passenger rail service.

City Attorney Magdich joined the City of Lodi as the Deputy City Attorney in November 2004 and was appointed City Attorney in June of 2014. During her time with the City Ms. Magdich skillfully handled a number of complex business and litigation matters to successful conclusions including a multi-million dollar settlement of NCPA’s efforts to appropriately apportion costs to the Central Valley Project to water users to Lodi ratepayers benefit, a $32 million settlement with pesticide manufacturers to protect Lodi’s water supply without cost to ratepayers, and drafting ordinances including Measure L which brought nearly $10 million in revenue to the City. She also drafted a novel agreement with the State of California to bring a 50-megawatt power plant to Lodi that will ensure Lodi does not black out again on the hottest days of the year and created the template for the Harmony Homes supportive housing project.  

Mayor Mikey Hothi stated, “Janice accomplished much for the City of Lodi and she will be greatly missed, but we are gratified to know her skill will continue to be used in service of our County.” 

The City Council is expected to consider appointing Assistant City Attorney Katie Lucchesi as Interim City Attorney at its June 7th regular meeting.

June Energy Cost Adjustment

Due to the global demand and winter storms in many states, California also experienced strong gas prices and wholesale electricity prices all winter. As the energy prices gradually trend down in the spring, hydro continues to play a meaningful role in the California power market this year. We are expecting to see some pricing relief this spring once hydro generation materializes. As a result, the June 2023 ECA is 2.94 cents/kWh which is approximately 50% lower than last year’s June ECA (5.87 cents/kWh). In comparison, the average June ECA over the past three years has exceeded 3 cents/kWh. Hopefully, hydro conditions will help continue to stabilize power costs in the coming months. Summer is approaching, customers are encouraged to continue to save energy to help keep utility costs low:

• Weather-strip your doors and windows
• Turn off unnecessary lights
• Switch to a smart thermostat
• Give your A/C system a yearly checkup
• Don't block your air vents
• Change air filters regularly

Customers can take advantage of a number of payment assistance programs to reduce the financial impact associated with monthly utility bills. For eligibility and information on these programs, please visit www.lodielectric.com. If you are having trouble paying your electric bill, there are options available to you. For more information on paying your bill and payment plan options, please call 333-6717 or email:  customerservice@lodi.gov. 

2022 Firefighter of the Year

Please join me in congratulating Engineer Joseph Collins as the Lodi Fire Department’s 2022 Firefighter of the Year.

Engineer Collins’s dedication to the Lodi Fire Department and his relentless efforts to construct the single-family training prop at Fire Station 2 solidified his nomination for Firefighter of the Year. Engineer Collins has spent countless hours of his downtime at the Station building this prop, which will serve the Department for decades to come. We recently hosted Div-C Multi-Agency Training in it, and it is already proving its tremendous value to the organization. 

Please join us in presenting him with this prestigious award at the July 19th City Council meeting at 7pm. 

Once again congratulations to Joe, outstanding work!

Free Friday at the Beach

Enjoy Lodi Lake Beach on Friday, June 9 for FREE (funded by the Brian M. Stocker Fund).

The beach will be open from 12-2:45pm and 3:15-6pm with lifeguards on duty. Pack your beach chairs and snacks and enjoy the water with your family and friends.

The beach is now open weekly for the summer (Wednesday - Sunday) from 12-2:45pm and 3:15-6pm for patrons of all ages to enjoy the beach and wading pool. Fees on regular operating days are $3 per person.

LPD Humane Society Training

Wednesday, the Lodi Police Department received training from the Humane Society on police/dog encounters. Topics covered included:

• How animal encounters impact an agency
• Contributing factors to negative interactions
• Reading body language and how to appropriately approach dogs
• Preparedness and relationship building

LPD is thankful for the opportunity to work with The Humane Society. We look forward to a partnership that will include regularly scheduled training for all of our personnel.

Lodi Environmental Justice Element Outreach Events

The City of Lodi is preparing its first-ever Environmental Justice Element as part of the General Plan Update project and we need your input! You're invited to attend one of our upcoming events and give us your opinion on housing, equity, health, and environmental issues in Lodi. 

Upcoming Community Outreach Events:

• Community Workshop: Monday, June 5 at 6pm at the LOEL Senior Center (105 South Washington Street)

• Community Pop-Up: Thursday, June 8 at 5pm at the Lodi Farmer’s Market (South School Street)

• Community Pop-Up: Thursday, June 29 at 5pm at the Lodi Farmer’s Market (South School Street)

Click here for more information about this project, or contact Cynthia Marsh at cmarsh@lodi.gov or (209) 269-4412.

The 2023 Mokelumne Current

View the 2023 Mokelumne Current newspaper here.

Thanks to funding from the GOT Kids Foundation, and multiple watershed education program grant funders, 11,000 copies of the 2023 Mokelumne Current newspaper were printed by the Lodi News Sentinel and distributed to all Lodi-LUSD classrooms, grades 2-12. 

This newspaper reflects work done by Lodi schools, focused on the Mokelumne River watershed. Programs that teachers and students participated in include the Lodi Sandhill Crane Student Art Exhibition, Salmon in the Classroom, Storm Drain Detective monitoring program, Marine Science Institute study trip to the SF Bay and Inland school program, etc. 

Please take the time to enjoy the students’ and teachers’ hard work. The City of Lodi’s Watershed Education Program helps meet the required outreach and public participation in its NPDES-MS4 stormwater permit.

Microloan Program

The City of Lodi is launching its own Hometown Microloan Program for startups and micro businesses with 10 or fewer employees. An informational meeting open to the public will be held on Tuesday, June 6 from 9-11am in City Council Chambers (305 W Pine Street). 

The Hometown Microloan Program will offer business loans to eligible business startups, sole proprietors and very small businesses who have not been able to receive or afford a loan from a traditional lender. 

The business must be owned by Lodi city residents and the business must be located within the city limits of Lodi. Eligibility requirements will apply.