A police station north of the Big League Dreams sports complex.
A community center on Moffat Boulevard.
A new library on Center Street.
Those are just three of the items on Manteca’s list of municipal projects targeted for partial funding using the government facilities fees.
Partial funding because state law prohibits growth from paying more for such facilities than can be justified by the demand it creates.
Freely translated, if the city today were to add “Facility X” to the list to accommodate the needs of a city of 120,000 residents at a projected cost of $10 million only 25 percent of the cost can be assessed against yet-to-be-built housing for 30,000 people.
That means the city — under state law and court decisions — can only mandate that growth cover $2.5 million of the $10 million tab.
The rest would have to come from another source such as property taxes, sales taxes, limited grant opportunities, and even deals made with developers by the city to secure their blessings in order to use the Statewide Community Infrastructure Program to fund expensive development improvements.
The $266.4 million list includes:
*$56 million for a police station at the future extensions of Milo Candini Drive and Wawona Street.
*$27 million for a community multi-use facility just south of the existing Manteca Veterans Center on Moffat Boulevard.
*$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.
*$58.6 million for city hall expansion on Center Street.
*$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 on Center Street.
*$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.
The city, based on the current municipal budget, had $29.8 million in the government facilities growth fee account at the end of June 2022.
That included funds borrowed to build the No. 5 fire station at Atherton Drive and Woodward Avenue that opened in 2020. Fire facility growth fees paid the money back plus interest.
The city projects $32.3 million will be in the government facilities account by June 30, 2025.
If untouched based on conservative development growth, the account is projected to reach $40.1 million.
The city’s plan is to leverage the growth fees using receipts from the proposed three-quarter of a cent sales tax on the Nov. 5 ballot, if it passes, to secure bonds to address projects on the list.
The first project to be tackled will be the police department.
Based on the nexus used to justify what the city can legally charge growth for facilities; the next two projects will be the animal shelter expansion and the community center on Moffat Boulevard.
Both would start design work in 2025-2026.
The city hall project, expected to be tackled in phases, is targeted to start construction in 2030 immediately after completion of the police station.
The other projects are targeted to start moving forward in 20232 and beyond assuming the sales tax, that has a 20-year limit, passes.
Growth funds for community parks and fire facilities are collected via other fees that are in addition to the government facilities fee.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwytt@mantecabulletin.com
