Manteca — in order to serve a growing community — will need more parks, community recreational amenities, as well as staffing.

The importance of preserving and maintaining parks, green spaces, and natural areas in the community is paramount,” noted Manteca City Manager Toni Lundgren.  “We need to protect these resources so that residents have access to recreational areas that promote health, well-being, economic growth, and environmental sustainability.”

The RJM Design Group that developed the city’s master plan in 2017 indicated what facilities were needed to meet existing demand back then were:

*Three additional soccer fields to enable decreasing the usage at park sites that are currently over-programmed, and seek funding and installation of synthetic turf at selected new facilities.

*Two indoor youth basketball courts.

*One additional swimming pool.

Among the recommended facilities for future demand based on projected growth through 2035 were:

*Additional youth baseball fields.

*Additional youth softball fields.

*Additional multi-sports long fields for soccer, football, rugby, and lacrosse with emphasis on synthetic turf opportunities at future facilities.

*Additional multi-use jogging/walking/bicycling trails, and for equestrian use when practical and connecting with other equestrian trails.

*Two additional indoor basketball courts.

*One additional swimming pool.

*Four additional tennis courts.

The future needs are based on projections Manteca would have 97,410 residents in 2025, 107,766 in 2030, and 117,010 in 2035.  

“With the population growth we’ve seen in recent years, we are going to need more (park facilities,” pointed out Brandy Clark, Manteca’s Recreation and Community Services Manager.

According to Clark, Manteca needs open space for families to connect to nature and exercise, as well as relax.  During COVID-19, the use of public parks increased as Manteca residents discovered how much they need them; parks and open spaces are key to maintaining physical and emotional health.

 Open spaces are not just empty areas.

“Open spaces provide critical green infrastructure benefits, such as helping to mitigate climate change, alleviate floods, and maintain ecosystem services,” Clark explained. “Public spaces can help catalyze equitable economic opportunity in cities and neighborhoods while reducing costs due to issues from health care to climate change.”

The master plan as of 2017 noted Manteca has 483.13 acres dedicated to park and recreation uses:

 *212.973 acres of neighborhood parks

*90.94 acres for special uses such as Big League Dreams as well as the BMX track and skate park among others.

*78.46 acres  of community parks.

*101 acres at the golf course.

“Manteca’s parks and open spaces are gathering places where people come together for birthdays and cultural events and to experience peace,” Clark noted. “We need to reserve places for new parks; we need more large spaces for community parks.  Our growing population means we need more land for parks and recreation.  We need large community parks in different areas of town; not just neighborhood parks. We have to plan for the future to deliver what the community wants and needs.”

While the city often refers to the Tidewater Bikeway as a linear park the consultant opted to list those four acres as not being part of the overall park site total.

The consultants  concluded Manteca in 2017 needed an additional 21.26 acres of parks to serve its current residents based on City Council adopted standards of service.

By 2035 that deficit will increase to 241.91 acres if no additional parks were put in place. Of that, all but 88 acres are neighborhood parks that the developer puts in place. The rest is 44 acres for another community park and 44 acres for a special use park such as a community center-aquatics center.

The consultant concluded in 2017  that current recreation facilities such as softball and baseball fields, soccer fields, tennis courts, swimming pool, indoor basketball facilities, senior center and library are either exactly where they should be in terms of the number of each particular facility or there is slightly more or less.

If no additional facilities are added by 2035, Manteca will be short 3.9 softball fields, 11.2 baseball fields, 4.1 football fields, 15.8 soccer fields, 1.3 swimming pools, 4.2 tennis courts, 1.3 indoor basketball facilities, 0.4 community centers, and 0.4 libraries.

The report makes no reference to the adequacy of existing facilities. Instead it simply inventoried them. That’s why a number of people  at workshops leading up to the master plan’s adoption argued the senior center and library, for example, are inadequate for even current needs.

 Clark acknowledges that the construction of new facilities will require a significant amount of funding.  Further, to meet the increased demands of a growing population and evolving community expectations additional staff will be required.

There only seven staff members in the Recreation and Commuhity Services Department.

Clark said the current staff has reached their limit in their ability to meet the city’s needs.

At a minimum, Clark said the city needs another supervisor, a senior center customer service representative, and two more coordinators.  

“Recreation and Community Services is looking for volunteers to coach and help children have fun and improve. If you can volunteer, call (209) 456-8600.”

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com