Parks across Lathrop are about to get some much-needed upgrades.

On Monday, the Lathrop City Council approved the creation of a capital improvement project that will purchase amenities like picnic tables, benches, trash receptacles, and more for parks that don’t already have those items and bring inline with parks across the rest of the community.

And the $160,000 price tag in order to make those improvements will come from Measure C – the one-cent sales tax increase that voters overwhelmingly approved over a decade ago to fund essential city services.

According to the staff report prepared for the council, the city uses one contractor – Ross Recreation – for the purchase of all metal park benches, picnic tables, and trash receptacles. A separate contractor, Outdoor Creations, is the sole contractor that provides concrete picnic tables, barbecues, and park signs.

Based on the pricing at the time that the city submitted its request to the companies, the council’s approval meant the purchase of eight metal trash receptacles, four six-foot metal benches, fourteen standard metal picnic tables, and three ADA-compliant metal picnic tables at a cost of $92,550. Outdoor Creations was awarded a contract for $65,300 that includes five concrete park name signs and plaque holders, four concrete ADA-compliant picnic tables, 19 concrete standard picnic tables, and one concrete group barbecue.

The creation of the CIP reflects the council’s longstanding goal of ensuring that all sections of Lathrop are provided state-of-the-art amenities – as reflected the multi-million dollar investment into Sangalang Park recently. Parks in and around Historic Lathrop, Woodfield Estates, and Stonebridge will now have the same amenities at the new parks in Central Lathrop, Mossdale, and River Islands.

In addition to the aesthetical appeal of the uniformity across the city’s parks, the $160,000 investment will also ensure that city staff can create a standard practice replacement schedule for the entire park system to ensure that the city’s amenities are replaced in a timely manner.

To contact Bulletin reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.