Perhaps the entire City of Manteca staff didn’t get the memo about a drought being on and it being against the rules for anyone to water between noon and 6 p.m. on any day.
At 2:35 p.m. Tuesday the lawn sprinklers were on in front of the Powers Avenue fire station. And, yes, there was runoff in the gutter but not all that much. As a side note an on-duty firefighter was trimming the grass at the time.
The no watering between noon and 6 p.m. predates the current drought.
Given how high profile the fire station’s front lawn is the city might want to consider it for a demonstration project of how residents can replace water guzzling front yards that are just for looks with more miserly plantings.

CVB’s bold plan:
Flea market &
using Kelley Bros
as visitors center
The $460,000 Manteca Economic Revitalization and Sustainability Work Plan that the Manteca Convention & Visitors Bureau pitched as a “bold plan” apparently wasn’t bold enough. The Manteca City Council on Tuesday cut off municipal funding officially to the CVB for the first time in almost 15 years.
And while CVB President and CEO Virginia Camacho was not at Tuesday’s council meeting, she made it clear at the council’s budget workshop in May if they did  not receive city funding  that the CVB would probably close up shop.
The CVB office moved last month from its longtime location at The Promenade Shops at Orchard Valley to a small office space in the 300 block of East Yosemite in downtown Manteca.
The “bold plan” includes the CVB:
Working to resolve Manteca’s homeless situation.
Creating a detour to lure travelers off the 120 Bypass to Yosemite Avenue as “The Historic Route to Yosemite National Park.”
Setting up Wi-Fi service at participating downtown merchants.
Installing visitors’ kiosks as places such as Bass Pro Shops, Big League Dreams, and Delicato Vineyards.
Purchasing or leasing an empty lot on East Highway 120 for the creation of a swap/flea market similar to the one in Galt.
Purchase/lease the Kelley Brothers building as a visitors’ center along with a dinner theater operation and opening a “hip establishment” to showcase local craft beer, wine and local talent as well as rent out space.

Manteca project
still not finished
after 17 years
Speaking of kiosks, in dismissing the Manteca Convention & Visitors Bureau proposal Mayor Steve DeBrum noted Manteca already has a kiosk in downtown Manteca that it spent $20,000 on.
It is located at the Tidewater Plaza entrance on the south side of West Yosemite Avenue at Manteca Avenue/Pierce Avenue.
The kiosk was put in place in 1999 by the city as part of the Tidewater Bikeway but was never finished. It is basically a framework without informational boards. Originally the plan called for a map of the Tidewater along with rules and other city information. It was cut from the original budget to save $8,500. It was never funded in subsequent city budgets. In 2001 the city did publish a wish list if anyone was interested in donating money for additional benches and such for the Tidewater. Included was another kiosk for $28,500 with signs installed.
The incomplete project is now marking its 17th year. The city ironically used a photo of it for three consecutive years to grace the cover of the annual municipal budget.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com