For years, the City of Lathrop has partnered with the City of Manteca to house stray animals that were picked up by its animal control officers.

That practice will soon be coming to an end.

Earlier this month the Lathrop City Council ratified a decision by City Manager Steve Salvatore to execute a contract with Nor-Cal Concrete to construct concrete slabs that will be used for the city’s temporary animal shelter at the corporation yard on Louise Avenue.

It is for a council-approved series of pre-fabricated, modular buildings that will be used until a permanent shelter is constructed.

The contract with Nor-Cal Concrete also calls for work modifying the concrete curb and gutters at the Lathrop Police Department so that kennels for K9 housing can be installed.

Nor-Cal Concrete beat out the next-closest bid by almost 25 percent – requesting $76,590 to complete the job as opposed to the $103,846 bid submitted by MG and JC Concrete Inc. With the 20 percent contingency the cost not-to-exceed the company’s scope of work is $91,908.

In comparison, Nor-Cal Concrete’s bid was less than half of that of the highest bidder – Diede Construction, the Lodi-based outfit that constructed the Lathrop Generations Center as well as the Manteca Transit Center and Animal Shelter – by more than half. Diede’s bid for the work came in at $173,526.

While the council usually awards contracts during the course of its normal monthly business meetings, Salvatore made the decision to execute on the contract immediately so that work could begin during a dry-weather window – which have been few and far between in California this winter thanks to a series of atmospheric rivers that have inundated the state with more water than it has seen with years.

Getting the work done immediately after the bid was awarded will prevent delays in making the temporary site operational.

As part of the request by staff the council also allocated an additional $100,000 – bringing the total cost approved in the motion to $191,908 – to provide further improvements for the temporary animal shelter.

According to the staff report prepared for the council, the city has budgeted $693,908 to complete the work, and after the most recent expenditures has already spent $525,488.15. The additional $100,000 that was authorized by the council, according to the staff report, will go towards providing parking, concrete flatwork, and landscaping for the temporary site – housed in the city’s corporation yard near the city’s eastern city limits.

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