Manteca means business.
And Mayor Gary Singh intends to keep hammering that message.
“We’re definitely open for business,” Singh said Wednesday in opening remarks for the council’s budget workshop with department heads and key staff that was conducted at the Manteca Transit Center. “We’ve got to live and breathe that.”
If it sounds familiar that’s because it is.
Singh centered his address to those gathered for his swearing in as mayor in December around that exact theme.
“Our motto is going to be ‘Manteca is open for business’,’” Singh said at the time.
On Wednesday he doubled down on that theme. He is also likely to do the same for the 2023 State of the City address dubbed “Manteca’s on the Move” that’s taking place Thursday, April 13, at the Great Wolf lodge.
The fourth annual event is a joint effort of the City of Manteca and the Manteca Chamber of Commerce.
It features brunch at 9:30 a.m. followed by the program at 10:30 a.m.
“It’s going to be a common theme that you’re going to keep hearing from me,” Singh said Thursday.
It’s a message he wants businesses looking to invest to growing their companies, residents, and city staff to hear.
During Wednesday’s workshop he said staff will be at the forefront of delivering that message by further strengthening effective customer service that is key to how the city is perceived by residents as well as for snagging private sector investments critical for job growth and municipal revenue growth.
Interim City Manager Toni Lundgren echoed Singh’s remarks regarding Manteca moving forward and aiming to be business friendly.
Lundgren noted the city is focusing on improving financial stability, addressing homeless issues, actively pushing for ways to increase economic development, updating fees to reflect current costs, embracing diversity, as well as working on ways to improve the workplace for city employees.
“Slow and steady wins the race,” Lundgren said.
Among the new businesses that the city helped to get established in Manteca during 2022 included:
*Machado Sports Complex
*Planet Fitness
*Curry Pizza House
*Rice and Roll
* Tru by Hilton
*Luxury Apartments
The city also approved plans for the following commercial ventures so they can move toward breaking ground in the coming months:
*Loma Brewery
*Crossroads Plaza Commercial Center
*Pinnacle Commerce Industrial Park
*Pinkberry use permit for drive-thru yogurt
*Deaf Puppy Comedy Club Use Permit
*Kunba Retail Project
*Marriott Courtyard Hotel
*Prose Apartments
*Spreckels Park Commercial Building
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
