When the Dell’Osso Farms Pumpkin Maze opens to the public this weekend, it’ll be with the new Lathrop Police Department providing law enforcement services.

Earlier this month the Lathrop City Council signed a professional services agreement with the popular fall destination that will allow officers to work overtime for approximately 250 hours – the full cost of which will be paid for by Dell’Osso Farms at the conclusion of the assignment.

The estimated cost of $27,196.70 will be billed to the facility with the caveat that Dell’Osso Farms would be responsible for any costs that exceed the estimated amount – including the cost of law enforcement services from neighboring jurisdictions should the need for mutual aid intended to help secure or restore order arise.

Patrol officers are slated to work a total of 18 8-hour shifts for a total of 192 hours, and sergeants are slated to work five 8-hour shifts and three 6-hour shifts for total of 58 hours – assignments that will be handed out on a voluntary and rotating basis. All the officers that will be working at the event will be doing so outside of their regularly scheduled work hours.

Approximately 250,000 people are expected to filter through the popular fall destination during the month of October. While the event has grown over the years from the pumpkin maze to a holiday destination complete with permanent fixtures, the facility remains a family affair with all the members of the Dell’Osso Family participating in the planning and daily operations at the site.

After Halloween passes, the site will retool itself for the “Holidays on the Farm” event that celebrates the Christmas season and all that comes with it – complete with ice-skating and a sledding hill that is served with manmade snow.

Law enforcement services were previously provided by the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office – which operated as the law enforcement agency in the community for more than three decades before the council opted to create its own in-house police department which launched earlier this year.

To contact Bulletin reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.