Manteca Recreation & Community Services have relocated into office space at the Manteca Senior Center at 290 Cherry Lane.

The move to the opposite side of the Civic Center campus is the latest aimed at addressing space issues at the city hall complex.

Development services several years ago relocated to leased office space on the second floor of the Hensley Building a block away at Center Street and Union Road.

The former recreation office space along Magnolia Avenue will be used by the engineering department that is in the process of filling needed engineering positions but lacked the space for them to work.

“The recreation office had space that was under-utilized,” noted City Manager Toni Lundgren.

There is adequate space currently for the size of the recreation staff at the senior complex that is part of its responsibilities.

Manteca has added portables over the years as needed staff has outgrown the campus built in 1976.

It was clear in 1998 that the campus that also currently houses the police department was at its capacity.

The police were especially crowded given their space was designed to serve a city half the size Manteca is at today with 93,000 residents.

The council has directed Lundgren to work toward building a new police station at the future extensions of Milo Candini Drive and Wawona Street just north of the Big League Dreams sports complex.

That will free up some 20,000 square feet that can be repurposed for other city offices.

Lundgren said an assessment of existing space, current needs, and future needs will be conducted.

That will help the council to determine how best to utilize the 1001 West Center Street complex.

What form that takes — whether all existing space will be kept, of all of it ultimately will be replaced with a new building, or another approach that includes new construction and retaining some of the existing structures — will be based on needs and available funding.

A large chunk of the new facilities needs can be legally be covered in part by government facilities fees.

The new police station has a $56 million price tag.

A city hall expansion has an estimated cost of $58.6 million.

The city had $29.8 million in government facilities growth fees as of June 30, 2022.

Other projects identified in the nexus justifying the government facility fee leveled on growth plus the cost of the facilities include:

*$27 million for a community multi-use facility in central Manteca.

*$6.4 million for expansion of the animal shelter at Wetmore and Main streets.

*$11.4 million for a park and public works corporation yard on West Yosemite Avenue in front of the wastewater treatment plant.

*$26.6 million for a performing arts center in the city’s Family Entertainment Zone anchored by Great Wolf and BLD.

*$65.7 million for a new library.

*$3.9 million for a police safety training facility adjacent to the future police station.

*$9.2 million for a police range adjacent to the future police station.

*$1.7 million for a satellite park maintenance road south of the 120 Bypass.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com