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Nov. 8 – STOCKTON – Plans for a fitness clinic on East Pine Street in Lodi may not move forward after San Joaquin County said they don’t meet state requirements.
“We’ve decided on the site, there’s a letter of intent negotiated between the developer and the former CEO of San Joaquin Health that was never signed,” San Joaquin Health interim CEO Greg Diederich told the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
“But (the project) was not tendered,” he added. I think the CEO’s previous idea (the property) would be purchased through San Joaquin Health and not the county. I think (the buyer) has to be the county, because there’s an acquisition procedure that we have to go through. “
Diederich responded to manager Steve Ding, who provided an update on the possibility of building a new clinic at 700 E. Pine St. et and suggested county staff move forward.
“Everyone supports this project, everyone understands the desire to set up a clinic — anything you can touch, anything you can feel — on the east side of Lodi,” Ding said. “East Lodi is an underserved community that has been underserved by the county for decades. “
This is the former location of the Lodi Department of Motor Vehicles branch, which has been vacant for more than a decade.
Ding said he met with the Lodi Chamber of Commerce and local partners to find a suitable clinic for Lodi earlier this year.
Once the site was determined, Ding said he suggested to Steve Diede, a board member of the Lodi Memorial Hospital Foundation, which owns Diede Construction, to buy the site and make the mandatory improvements. According to Diederich, the project’s budget assumptions were that San Joaquin Health would lease the land to Diede, with the goal of eventually acquiring the property.
But Diederich argued that the county bought the property, not San Joaquin Health, which is a nonprofit that spun off from San Joaquin General Hospital.
Ding said the deposit in it would expire on Nov. 11 and that if the allocation did not move, the assets would be forfeited.
“Everyone who wants this done,” Ding said. “I know I don’t do this like I usually do in the county, but I need it done officially and I need it now. “
In addition to the fact that the order was not tendered, Diederich said he had similar expense problems as opening any other clinic.
He said San Joaquin Health’s existing Manteca clinic has 17 exam rooms, but only one doctor on-site. In the first 4 months of 2023, he said the clinic lost 6,000 visits due to the shortage, equating to an average overall profit loss of $5. 2 million.
The estimated cost for a Lodi clinic would be $6. 2 million, he said.
“The clinics are financially viable,” Diederich said. I would love to move to Lodi. But right now I have compliance issues. Can we get the money?Can we staff it, can we physically exploit it?”
Currently, there are no specific plans for the clinic, but the Lodi Planning Commission approved the rezoning of the site last month, neighbors have expressed concerns about increased traffic and limited parking in the neighborhood.
John Della Monica, Lodi’s director of network development, told planning commissioners that San Joaquin Health will reach out to neighbors and offer quick plans once the rezoning is approved.
Supervisors ordered Diederich to contact Diede and attempt to increase sequestration at the site so the county could move forward with the project.
Diederich will return to supervisors at a future meeting with an update.
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