Lodi to dip into public benefit fund after mishap

Funds will be to used to make up for solar rebate mistake

The Lodi City Council voted 3-1 to use $75,000 from public benefit funds for a solar rebate project after a recent mishap with the selection process.

Councilman Bob Johnson voted no during Tuesday’s special meeting and Mayor Doug Kuehne was absent.

According to City Business Development Manager Adam Brucker, the city accepted applications for the annual solar rebate program from Jan. 3-31 and received 52 residential and four commercial applications. The program has a $280,000 balance with $185,000 allocated to residential projects and the remaining $95,000 allocated to commercial projects. Brucker said the city received more applications for projects than there are funds available so the city proceeded with a lottery. The $185,000 allocated could only fund 37 projects.

The lottery was Feb. 8 in council chambers and six or seven people from the public, mostly contractors, were in attendance, according to Brucker.

The commercial portion of the selection process went through without a hitch, but during the residential selections more than 75 percent of the tickets had been pulled when someone realized that some of the tickets had fallen out underneath the lottery barrel.

With the integrity of the process in question, city staff was forced to redo the lottery, and some people who were initially selected were not chosen the second time around.

Brucker said there were at least 11 applicants that were selected the first time that weren’t picked the second time around. Brucker recommended using the public benefit funds to allow those selected from both drawings to take part in the program. Brucker said the public funds were sufficient enough to cover the difference.

Following Tuesday’s special meeting, council held a shirtsleeve session to discuss the library’s plans for a teen center.

According to Library Director Dean Gualco, the vision for the center is to create a more interactive, technology-laden area that provides teens the skills they need in the future. The center is expected to be 2,600 square feet, with half of that being existing space.

The project will also include a 800-square-foot patio. Plans also include a media room with a TV, games and consoles.

“This is probably the most exciting part of the whole project. This is a fully contained studio,” Gualco said.

The media room will be used by the city and will be used for public service announcements. Classes will be offered on how to use computers and upload videos to the cable channel.

There will be two group study rooms that can hold up to 10 people and two group computer stations that can seat four. The teen center will also have two large tables and a comprehensive homework center equipped with printers, scanners, paper and pens.

The council is set to vote on the approval of the plans and put the project up for bid during tonight’s meeting.