Lodi improvement committee plans July council presentation, proposes town halls to boost outreach

The Lodi City Improvement Committee voted to accept the meeting minutes and spent much of its May 12 meeting planning the committee's annual presentation to Lodi City Council, aiming to finalize presentation materials in June for a July council slot.

Chair Davis said the committee — largely new this year — should present its work and role to council and highlighted the group's desire to serve as a conduit between residents and council. Staff told members they need four to six weeks' lead time for presentation materials; staff (Jennifer and Carrie) offered to format and circulate draft slides for committee review.

Members discussed logistics for who will present. Several volunteered to lead slide development and requested that absent members be emailed so their inputs can be included. The committee discussed possible July 15 as the council presentation date, with August 5 or 19 as backups if materials or scheduling require delays.

A related strand of the discussion focused on holding town halls to increase public engagement. Chair Davis said she invited Janet Vargas of the Community Partnership for Families to present in July and noted Vargas already hosts town‑hall events that draw residents, which the committee could leverage. Staff clarified town halls must be agendaized because a quorum is likely, but said there is no set limit on how many town halls the committee may hold; they can run a regular meeting and a town hall in the same month if properly noticed.

Members proposed several formats and target audiences — senior centers, youth venues and coaching meetings — and discussed varying times to reach different demographics. Staff also recommended defining core messages in advance if members plan to 'piggyback' on existing meetings to avoid forming an unintentional quorum. The committee agreed to collect presentation content by email and vote on a final presentation in June.