'We have not officially abandoned Lodi, but we have officially abandoned Highway 12'

Has Lodi been 'sold down the river?' Is there still hope for Delta College classrooms?

By Andrew Adams
News-Sentinel Staff Writer
Updated: Thursday, September 11, 2008 6:26 AM PDT

San Joaquin Delta College has abandoned plans for a campus on Victor Road — but there may still be hope for classrooms in Lodi if trustees reduce the funding for the Mountain House project near Tracy.

That may not be enough, however, to satisfy the people who supported the school's original plans for a large campus east of Lodi on Victor Road.

"I don't think they lived up to their commitment, I don't think they lived up to the bond and I don't think they lived up to the voters," said Lodi City Councilman Larry Hansen. "I'm extremely disappointed about how this turned out."

At the Delta board meeting Tuesday night, trustees voted 5-0 to abandon the school's plans for a campus in Lodi off Victor Road.

After spending $4 million on the project, the school had not even purchased property and it had become apparent that earlier plans would just be too expensive. The school spent the money on consultants, lawyers, planning work and property options.

Hansen said Delta's failure to live up to its promises to Lodi can be blamed on the school's administration and its board, which suffered from lack of direction and "paralysis by analysis."

In the 2004 election campaign to pass Measure L — and in subsequent years — Hansen had been a staunch supporter of Delta's plans for Lodi.

"Delta College came to us and told us what they were looking for, and we worked hard to assist them and they encouraged with their vision," he said. "I feel like they have really sold us down the river."

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Options in Lodi
The leaders of San Joaquin Delta College's bond team presented three options to the school's board of trustees at its meeting Tuesday. College spokesman Greg Greenwood described the options and said the board is expected to discuss them during a public workshop in early October.

The options, and their costs, include:

1. Do nothing and close out remaining contracts, $200,000.

2. Continue with Victor Road project and finish in 2013, $28.4 million. (The board rejected this option with its vote Tuesday.)

3a. Purchase 15 acres with a long-term option for buying 15 more in a "master planned community" in Lodi, $4.5 million.

3b. Buy the land for $4.5 million, build needed infrastructure for $10 million and build a campus. Total cost $26.1 million to be completed in 2012.

4. Purchase an existing building in Lodi with two additional buildings for a total of 70,000 square feet, $54.7 million to be completed in 2012.

— News-Sentinel staff

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With the $250 million Measure L bond reduced to around $66 million, the San Joaquin Delta College board of trustees will have to make tough decisions soon about its remaining plans for Mountain House, Manteca and Lodi.

Trustee Ted Simas said it will probably comes down to either a fully funded Mountain House campus at the sacrifice of Lodi and Manteca, or scaled down versions of all the projects.

"We have not officially abandoned Lodi, but we have officially abandoned Highway 12," he said, referring to the Victor Road site.

Trustees are expected to make a decision on the future of the satellite campuses at a meeting in October.

Simas, who represents Manteca, said based on past decisions, he wouldn't be surprised if the board opts to fund Mountain House with the remainder of the bond.

"For years, the board majority's 'yes' votes for Mountain House pretty much rammed Mountain House down our throats," he said. "I would probably imagine the board majority would go with the higher cost scenario for Mountain House."

Simas also said the demand for a campus in Lodi may not exist, pointing to a significant drop in enrollment at Lodi Unified School District this year. Instead, a smaller building serving about 100 students could really be all that Lodi needs for the time being.

Lodi Trustee Maria Elena Serna did not attend Tuesday's meeting because she is recovering from spinal surgery.

Contacted by phone at her home in Lodi, Serna said the residents in Lodi deserve a campus because of their strong support for Measure L.

"We have to stay with it and find a way," she said. "I have a couple of ideas that I think may be feasible."

The trustee did not describe her ideas, saying she wanted to discuss them with college staff first.

Serna also stressed that it's important for people to remember that Delta College is a community "cornerstone," which offers an education that is even more valuable at a time of a slow economy.

It was the vision of this higher education coming to Lodi that had so excited local leaders.

Lodi City Manager Blair King said he doesn't understand how Delta's clearly defined vision for the city has fallen to the wayside.

"I thought that it was well thought out, well vetted and supported by the board and the administration. We were certainly led to believe that was the direction of the board," he said.

King said in his experience if a public entity sinks $4 million of taxpayer money into a project, it usually means the organization is going to go through with the project.

If the college is too far along on its Mountain House plans, King said he would have expected that the same reasoning would have applied to Lodi, especially after several million dollars.

King didn't have an opinion on any possible plans for Delta's future in Lodi, but Councilman Hansen said he's not expecting much.

"I don't have any confidence in them accomplishing anything at this point," he said.

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