The dust is going to fly – eventually. At their meeting Wednesday, the Lodi City Council approved drafting an agreement with Oak Creek BMX to construct and operate a track at the Century Boulevard extension. The proposal and use permit must still be approved by the Planning Commission. “This is just one step of several […]
The dust is going to fly – eventually.
At their meeting Wednesday, the Lodi City Council approved
drafting an agreement with Oak Creek BMX to construct and operate a
track at the Century Boulevard extension.
The proposal and use permit must still be approved by the
Planning Commission.
“This is just one step of several steps to move forward with
this project,” said City Manager Dixon Flynn.
The council’s unanimous decision came 20 months after a group of
Lodi citizens approached the Parks and Recreation Commission
seeking a safe alternative sport for teen-agers and recreation for
entire families.
At the meeting, council members also accepted a $5,250 grant
from the National Recreation and Parks Association which will go
toward building dirt tracks and starting gates.
The commission originally approved the track in June 1999 before
forwarding their recommendation to the City Council which reviewed
the proposal the following August. It took more than a year for the
Parks and Recreation Department to receive one of only 20 national
BMX Facility Development grants.
Oak Creek BMX representatives did not attend the meeting and
were unavailable for comment.
BMX racing, also known as bicycle motocross, originated in 1969
in Southern California. Today it has grown into a competitive sport
which involves both female and male riders, ages 4 to 50-plus.
The company authorized to construct the facility in Lodi has
built and is now operating six BMX tracks throughout California,
the most popular one being in Roseville. There, they have hosted 11
state final races and four nationals.
Upon completion, the Lodi BMX bicycle track will be completely
fenced, eliminating any illegal entrance across the railroad
tracks.
It is scheduled to be open for practice on Tuesday and Thursday
afternoons and on Saturday and Sunday afternoons for racing.
The track will be formed from high clay-content dirt and watered
down to control dust during use. A sound system will be used to
announce race winners, and concession stands will be available for
spectators. Bleachers will also be installed.
But Jack Harrison, interim parks and recreation director,
reaffirmed at the City Council meeting that the project operator
must still obtain a use permit and undergo a formal environmental
study.
“At that time people can come forward about lights and other
things,” he added.
Neighbors of the site, which is located on the north side of
Salas Park, were last notified of the proposal by certified mail in
October 1999.
About the same time, nearly 200 petition signatures – many from
Lodi teen-agers – were submitted in favor of the track.
. In other action Wednesday, the City Council reaffirmed
benefits provided to each member as a city employee.
Although unsuccessful, Councilwoman Susan Hitchcock proposed
that the wording “employee development” compensation be changed to
reflect reimbursement for seminars as to not confuse future
compensation issues.
She cast the only dissenting vote on the approving the benefits
as written.
. On a similar subject, Flynn publicly said he took offense to
Hitchcock’s claim in the Lodi News-Sentinel that he did not provide
all of the required information to the San Joaquin County Grand
Jury. The board responded earlier this month to the issue of Mayor
Steve Mann’s tuition reimbursement.
But both documents Hitchcock claimed the city manager did not
provide to the grand jury for it to adequately make its decision,
Flynn shot down. He said he didn’t include the administrative
policies and procedures manual in the council’s copies of what he
provided to the grand jury based on the book’s size.
Mann even went as far to publicly tell Hitchcock to apologize,
but she refused.
. The City Council also approved adding a third full-time animal
services officer – a first since 1967. The current city animal
shelter staffing has been ruled inadequate by the Police Department
due to an increase in animal population.
The $37,350 cost will come from the police department’s regular
operating budget.
Comments about this story? Send mail to the News-Sentinel newsroom.
