Manteca municipal staff is floating a proposal to hire a consultant for between $500,000 and $800,000 to develop a specific plan for downtown.

The preliminary public pitch on Tuesday for the City Council to eventually authorize a six-figure contract to put in a working framework for staff’s vision to transform downtown comes at a time the city has — or is — investing more than $1.4 million on consultant studies yet to be completed or implemented.

Added to those studies the city could end up spending $2.2 million on studies going back four years that aren’t yet completed or else they have resulted in no actual physical work being conducted.

The other studies include:

*More than $200,000 for a community-wide truck route study launched more than three years ago.

*$1 million and counting on studies connected with the general plan update process started four years ago. That includes an additional $176,000 the council authorized last month to redo segments of work already done on the update and address additional issues.

*The creation of an integrated transportation system to address pedestrian and bicycling safety and access that was conducted as a precursor to repair sidewalks that significant funds were set aside three times in the last 12 years to do such work and then not spent.

*A $72,000 downtown study commissioned just before the pandemic that was aimed at low-hanging fruit to serve as a catalyst for changes. After the prerequisite outreach and public forums the study was done but never made public or presented to the City Council.

Manteca also will seek studies

for citywide traffic circulation

& affordable housing

The specific plan for downtown and the other studies are in addition to studies the city says it needs to conduct for affordable housing and a citywide traffic circulation plan.

Community Services Director Chris Elias whose department is juggling the bulk of the aforementioned studies noted the latest proposed downtown study would essentially stand the test of time by outlasting the tenure of staff and even elected officials.

That’s because it is a specific plan instead of an overall masterplan. As such it not only delineates what can and can’t be done downtown along with the regulatory framework but it will have the benefit of being under the umbrella of a downtown-wide environmental impact study.

As such once it is completed and adopted it would eliminate the need to do much — if not all — environmental review work that might be required when someone wants to significantly alter a building and its use. Having that in place could save a business time and money.

Erias in a bid to address council concerns about the $500,000 to $800,000 for the downtown study being taken from the general fund that covers the cost of day-to-day municipal services such as police, fire, parks, and streets said funding could come from other sources.

Erias suggested grants the city could pursue as well as the possibilities of the development services account and the municipal economic revitalization fund.

Contending the last two funding suggestions are not “general fund” sources is semantic hair-splitting. The economic revitalization fund was created by diverting general fund revenue that could have gone to police, fire, and streets into a set aside account.

As for the development services fund and the fact it was launched with a general fund loan that no one at city hall has made clear has ever been paid back given how they are still sorting out the mess in the municipal books, the council has not been informed whether it has paid back the general fund loan.

The sorting out of the uncertainty announced by city officials in late October of 2020 of whether $68 million was attributed to the right municipal accounts revealed there was around $20 million in inter-fund loans that still had to be legally-paid back.

Erias shared a timeline Tuesday that was hopeful the council would allow the issuance of requests for proposals for a specific downtown study before the end of the year.  Based on the time table the work could be completed by February 2023.

City of Manteca’s

downtown efforts

recapped at meeting

The push for a downtown specific plan by staff came during a presentation by the council downtown subcommittee of Jose Nuño and Gary Singh on city initiatives and progress to date in the central district.

The presentation included:

*The just completed successful run of the Market on Maple launched by the city. The six-month farmers’ market event on Thursday nights was the longest running so far in Manteca.

*Inner City Action harnessing the manpower of the homeless they are assisting at the city’s emergency shelter to help clean up trash and beautify downtown.

*The Inner City cleanup crews along with ongoing efforts of parks maintenance workers and Manteca Police have helped further reduce issues at Library Park and Wilson Park behind the Post Office.

*Pressure code enforcement has applied to owners of four problematic buildings that could result in being slapped with costly fines exceeding $100,000 if they end up being cited for not following basic property upkeep rules has resulted in all four locations being listed for sale.

*Plans to have town hall meetings to interact with the downtown business community in the former public health department building on Sycamore Avenue the city bought from San Joaquin County.

*Discussions have started on what to do with the parking lot and the adjoining parcel where a wall of a building still stand that the city acquired on the northeast corner of Sycamore and Yosemite avenues.

*Exploring the creation of taxing mechanism for downtown properties to fund things such as enhanced cleanup efforts of public spaces, marketing, beautification, and enhancing public access.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com