By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
COPS GOING BY SEWER PLANT, HOMELESS NEAR DOWNTOWN
Manteca leaders make land use decisions that some argue should be switched to better serve community
MPD
A rendering of the proposed Manteca Police station.

Manteca is gearing up to build a $56 million police station.

At the same time they are moving forward with a homeless navigation center that could cost upwards of $16 million.

The police station is being built near the western edge of the city next to the wastewater treatment plant.

The homeless navigation center is near the heart of the city, three or so blocks south of downtown, and a block off the city’s main north-south arterial — Main Street — but with no direct access to it.

Both parcels are 8 acres.

The city is moving closer to signing contracts with architects that will lock in the respective sites.

It has prompted some to wonder whether the city has the right projects but at the wrong sites.

The police station would be more central — and certainly more high profile — on South Main Street.

The police station, as now planned, would be on city property yet to be developed that is adjacent to — but not part of — the city owned family entertainment zone. 

The specific location is north of the Big League Dreams sports complex and part of an overall city parcel of 26 acres abutting the wastewater treatment plant.

The city twice looked at locations where and near the site for the proposed navigation center is going including 682 South Main Street (where it is proposed to be built on the eastern end of the parcel)  and 555 Industrial Park Drive (where the temporary emergency shelter is now located in a parking lot).

During the extensive two-year hunt to pick a location for a homeless shelter per se, the city made it clear they needed a location close to where homeless gathered, that was accessible to public transit, and was near services the homeless would need to access to work toward  getting off the streets.

It is why the city zeroed in on 682 South Main.

However, near the end of the two years of community engagement over where a shelter should go, the city opted to pursue a homeless navigation center model.

Why that matters in context of whether the proposed site for the police station and the proposed site for the homeless facility should be switched is simple.

The community has been told repeatedly that the navigation center is not a drop-in shelter.

That means those individuals simply can’t come and go at will once they are in the program.

Manteca leaders noted the Fresno navigation center that city officials toured was populated by homeless who agreed to be there and were taken there by police or social workers.

As such, its proximity to transit and such is either a non-issue or less than one.

It should be noted the U.S. Supreme Court ruling regarding homeless also reduces the need for a drop-in shelter solution.

In the two previous attempts to develop a new police station, the police chiefs at the time noted the South Main Street property’s  central location and relatively quick access to the 120 Bypass was a positive factor.

That said, response times to priority calls aren’t typically impacted one way or another in Manteca due to patrol districts as well as technology and operational protocols that keep frontline police officers on the streets as much as possible.

Response time to a major incident where all sworn personnel are needed including command staff and detectives, might be critical based on where the station is located and such a significant incident occur.

The location on South Main may be more critical in terms of being high profile in the community as well as conducive to strengthening community ties.

The Main Street site is practically downtown.

It would be on a four-lane arterial that would serve as a major plus for exposure if the department uses the parking lot for events promoting public safety.

And, much like the animal shelter that the city built on South Main Street at the edge of downtown, it would not be an out of sight out of mind location.

Ironically, most cities place animal shelters near wastewater treatment plants  and police stations downtown.

Ripon and Lathrop are prime examples.

Lathrop’s police station was built in a high profile location in what will be a town center in River Islands.

Ripon’s is just outside of downtown on a high traffic area off of that city’s Main Street.

The Main Street site in Manteca was not one of six city properties vetted for a new police station because the homeless navigation center was committed to that location by the council.

As far as a walled off navigation center taking away from the development of the nearby family entertainment zone designed to primarily snag out-of-community patrons should it go near the extensions of Milo Candini Drive and Wawona Street instead, the city in promoting the idea of the navigation center has essentially pointed out it wouldn’t be noticed.

That’s because they marveled at various community interactions how the Fresno navigation center based on how it was sited and operated was devoid of any tell-tale signs — pitched tents, cars as mobile shelter on the streets, or homeless loitering, walking or pushing shopping carts — for  blocks from where it was located.


To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com


GREEN CROSSES COMING DOWN AT POT DISPENSARY
Manteca officials say it is keeping with low key presence following receipt of citizen complaints
cannabis signs
The green crosses on A frame signs along West Yosemite Avenue in front of Off the Charts marijuana dispensary.
The green crosses on Manteca’s first storefront marijuana dispensary are coming down.
Would you like to keep reading?
You have 1 free view remaining. Use your last view to read more.