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Lodi District Chamber of Commerce releases plan to boost city's economy [Lodi News-Sentinel, Calif.]
[September 20, 2014]

Lodi District Chamber of Commerce releases plan to boost city's economy [Lodi News-Sentinel, Calif.]


(Lodi News-Sentinel (CA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sept. 20--The Lodi District Chamber of Commerce has come up with several strategies to improve the local economy by 2020, and is asking for the public's help.

The Chamber this week released its 36-page Vision 2020 plan, a report created by its board of directors with the help of more than 70 member businesses.

The Vision 2020 plan is a combined conception of what Chamber directors and members would like Lodi to "be like, look like and work like" in 2020.

"This truly came organically from the community," Chamber president and CEO Pat Patrick said. "We had people from just about all corners (of Lodi's workforce), including wineries, transportation, health care, police, churches, schools and nonprofits, among others. It's these people that help make the city go round." The project came about after city leadership said in 2012 it wasn't interested in attracting new business to Lodi, Patrick said.



In addition, he said, Lodi's population has grown at only one-half of one percent over the last 25 years. The San Joaquin Council of Governments has predicted the population to continue to grow at that rate through 2040.

The city has a 2 percent growth cap, Patrick said, and the Chamber would love to see Lodi's growth rate reach 1 percent.


According to the Chamber's research, Lodi's population was 51,874 in 1990. The city's population in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, was 62,124. The Bureau estimates Lodi's current population is 63,338.

According to the Vision 2020 document, the current growth rate will not yield positive economic growth, as it will not attract new employers. It will also not keep pace with economic competition in neighboring communities.

It's one of the factors that makes Lodi less appealing to tourists, prospective employers and the up-and-coming workforce, according to the report.

"When you're running an economic entity, as a community it's always great to add to the job contingent, because as a community, you can lose jobs at any time," Patrick said.

That proved true this week, when General Mills announced it plans to close its Lodi plant, laying off more than 400 employees.

Frank Gayaldo, president of Gayaldo International, was one of many business owners who provided input for Vision 2020's creation, particularly for Lodi's economic competitiveness.

He said the General Mills announcement was not on the table when the Chamber began creating the document, and said the timing was disheartening.

"This is a prime example of what drives the need to have the community come together and plan for the future," Gayaldo said.

The loss of some 430 jobs once the plant closes will also affect the truck drivers who come and go, as well as local merchants, as plant employees patronize many businesses and restaurants here in town, he said. He doesn't know that city has other projects on tap to replace those lost jobs, he added.

"It's admirable that the Chamber put (Vision 2020) together," he said. "I hope this serves as a mandate to local politicians that as we move forward, we think with a 'more business' acumen. We need to come together as a community and cherish any jobs we create." Not only will Vision 2020 examine how Lodi can attract new businesses, it will look at what can be done to help existing businesses attract up-and-coming workers.

The Vision 2020 plan lays out 16 major strategies and 55 action plans to improve Lodi's workforce development, economic competitiveness, livability, tourism, and business and community health.

Workforce development Strategies to improve the workforce include creating a positive awareness about jobs in Lodi among youths, as well researching and identifying job opportunities for future entry level job seekers.

To accomplish this, the Chamber suggests creating job programs through Lodi Unified School District and San Joaquin Delta College.

In addition, the Chamber suggests creating a trade school academy to prepare youths for the workforce, teaching them reading, writing and communication skills. The academy would teach job skills for manufacturing and similar local industries.

The Chamber would partner with local business stakeholders, Lodi Unified and Delta College to get the academy started.

Economic competitiveness The Chamber has suggested attracting new businesses to town and helping existing businesses create new jobs to improve Lodi's economic competitiveness.

To accomplish this, the Chamber suggests forming task forces to monitor growth data and create funding for marketing programs, as well as promoting a "shop local" program that encourages residents to spend their purchasing dollars in Lodi.

The Chamber would partner with local business owners, the city of Lodi and the Lodi News-Sentinel to promote these strategies.

Lodi livability Developing major family-oriented attractions and bringing a post-secondary school to town would be some of the ways to improve Lodi's livability, according to the Chamber, as well as preserving existing attractions like Micke Grove Zoo, ZinFest, the Lodi Street Faire and the Lodi Grape Festival.

In addition, the Chamber wants the city to continue fighting for a San Joaquin Delta College campus in Lodi, or begin efforts to attract a four-year college here.

The city for years has been working with Delta College to bring a satellite campus to Lodi, and at one time property along Victor Road was considered as a possible site, but the plan to build a campus in Lodi never came to fruition.

The community college has land near Liberty Road in Galt that was once identified as a site for a north county campus. However, school officials are still exploring options and have yet to reach a decision.

The Chamber would partner with Visit Lodi!, the Lodi Wine Grape Commission, the city of Lodi and local developers to promote many of these strategies.

Lodi tourism Improving Lodi's tourism could include enhancing Downtown for visitors, as well as using existing locations to host events to promote Lodi.

To accomplish Downtown enhancement strategies, the Chamber has a number of suggestions, including developing a Downtown hotel with a meeting place for special events, developing a rail task force that would bring Bay Area residents to Lodi by train, or even building a second parking garage somewhere Downtown and redefining the neighborhood's parking district.

To make better use of existing Lodi amenities, the Chamber suggests upgrading city parks, creating bike paths throughout the city and developing a wine or agricultural attraction. The city could also create anchor attraction Downtown in addition to the Lodi Stadium 12 Cinemas or World of Wonders to promote Lodi.

Real estate representatives, Visit Lodi!, the Chamber and business owners would partner together on many of these strategies.

Business and community health Promoting wellness, nutrition, exercise and safety are strategies to improve Lodi's overall health, and Patrick said a healthy community is one that will attract more people.

Educating the public on access to health care providers, fitness opportunities, bicycle safety and the negative effects of drugs and alcohol are some of the ways to help improve Lodi's health.

In addition, improving the city's infrastructure to provide more walking and bicycle paths, as well as parks and streets with better lighting, are also ideas proposed by Vision 2020 to promote Lodi as a safe and healthy community.

Lodi Health, the Chamber, Lodi Unified and Delta College would partner with local businesses, fitness organizations and civic groups to promote these strategies.

The Chamber hopes to begin implementing a majority of these suggestions and ideas in 2015.

Patrick said while the document lays out what the Chamber hopes Lodi will look like by 2020, realistically not all of the goals would be accomplished in five years.

"Many of these things won't be done by then, but we can hope to accomplish some and get started on most of them," he said. "But we have to work together as a community and design our future now, rather than let things just happen by happenstance." Gregg Lewis, owner of The Dancing Fox Winery and Bakery, provided a large amount of input on the plan, particularly in the area of tourism. He said helping put the Vision 2020 together was a great experience.

"Sometimes we just get too busy with our day-to-day lives (and) we forget to look ahead and plan for our future," he said. "I think we need to (plan ahead), and creating a vision is very important." Lewis likened the plan's creation to the formation of the Lodi Winegrape Commission in 1991. Since that time, he said, the commission has helped growers promote their crop and wines.

Vision 2020 will hopefully do the same for Lodi as a whole, Lewis said.

"The purpose is to look at how we can continue to help (grape growers) as well as many other wonderful things we have to offer here," he said. "There is a lot of work o do, and it's going to take a lot of work to implement (the vision)." Patrick said the Chamber sees itself as a bellringer to rally the community together and help get the action plans and strategies in Vision 2020 off the ground.

"We want to make Lodi better, but we can't do it by ourselves," he said. "This is a whole community effort, and (the Chamber is) going to try our best to mobilize the entire community." Copies of Vision 2020 are available for $5 at the Chamber offices, 35 S. School St. The Vision 2020 plan will also be posted online at www.lodichamber.com.

Contact reporter Wes Bowers at [email protected].

___ (c)2014 the Lodi News-Sentinel (Lodi, Calif.) Visit the Lodi News-Sentinel (Lodi, Calif.) at www.lodinews.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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