It is without a doubt the biggest invoice the City of Manteca Finance Department has ever issued.

It reads as follows:

*QUANTITY: 1

*DESCRIPTION: For a Homeless Navigation Center

*TOTAL: $16,000,000

On Tuesday, the City of Manteca will formally accept a $16 million grant from the State of California General Fund to build a homeless navigation center off of Carnegie Court.

The invoice, submitted Sept. 13, has been accepted by the state with the funds expected to arrive in mid-January after the council approves a resolution to accept them.

The $16 million is independent of the $1 billion in homeless shelter funds Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this month stopped the distribution of until the state’s largest cities that were targeted to receive money come up with adequate plans on how to spend the money.

Councilman Gary Singh set in motion the actions that led to Manteca securing the funds by working  with State Senator Susan Talamates Eggman.

Eggman — impressed with the fact the city had a plan and a site — had her staff work closely with the city. Eggman and her staff then worked with Newsom’s office as well as the legislature to get money included in the state’s general fund budget for the Manteca project.

It is believed to be the largest homeless grant ever awarded to a city under 100,000 residents. It is also the largest homeless-related grant awarded by the state within the Northern San Joaquin  Valley.

It is also the largest grant from either federal and state sources that Manteca has ever received.

The city’s goal is to have work underway on the navigation center on the back portion of the 8 acres they purchased on South Main Street north of BR Funsten & Tom Duffy Co. Flooring.

The navigation center will provide resources and services aimed at getting the homeless off the streets and into jobs that will allow they to secure their own housing. It will have dorms and such but it will not operate like a drop in-center. Those homeless accessing the center’s services will need to commit to programs.

The City Council will also consider a conditional use permit to allow the emergency homeless center to continue to operate in the parking lot at 555 Industrial Park Drive.

The current permit has expired.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com