Manteca is stuck in the early 1960s when it comes to its library and municipal swimming pool.

The current library was built in 1962.

The current swimming pool was built the following year.

Both were built when Manteca had just over 8,000 residents.

The swimming pool footprint has never been expanded.

The library’s was increased to its current configuration in 1977 to serve a population of 32,000 people.

In the past 25 years, there has been no less than two attempts to build a new library and just as many to provide large facilities for water recreation.

Today, with Manteca on the cusp of 90,000 residents nothing has happened.

And except for talking to do so, nothing is now being done to start the city down the road to eventually have either an aquatics center or a new library.

To want either is not delusional as far as Councilman Dave Breitenbucher is concerned.

And given his passion for swimming he believes and aquatics center is feasible.

Yes, he concedes, it costs money that Manteca doesn’t currently have.

And there are a lot of big ticket items that have a higher priority that need to be in place first such as a new police station.

But, as Breitenbucher points, out Manteca could easily reach 110,000 residents in 2035 — if not sooner — and be no closer to an aquatics center or a new library for that matter.

Breitenbucher believes the key lies in a serious commitment to the parks and recreation master plan adopted in 2018 and then basically left alone.

Granted, the city is still building smaller parks in neighborhoods, but that was happening before the city ever adopted a parks and recreation plan.

That commitment means working toward implementing goals like an aquatics center.

The first step may be to elevate the parks and recreation commission to be take the point of being the ears of the City Council and serve as the go-to place for the community to become involved in the process.

It also means having adequate staff to go after funding sources and to keep the city on track as it has done with efforts dealing with the homeless.

Breitenbucher’s sentiments reflect those of at least Mayor Gary Singh and Councilman Mike Morowit if not the rest of the council.

It also mirrors how other cities such as Roseville secured an aquatics center despite not having the money upfront.

It requires strong community will and commitment way beyond simply standing up at a council meeting and saying Manteca needs an aquatics center.

And it requires more than just drawing up preliminary plans  and forming ad-hoc citizen committees the council appointed twice when pushing a new library twice in the first decade of this century.

The library effort, just like a similar one for a performing arts center, died when the city didn’t make the cut for state bond funds.

Breitenbucher notes things like an aquatics center won’t happen overnight but then it will never happen is a serious commitment isn’t made and someone or a council-appointed body isn’t tasked to keep working toward the goal.

The councilman doesn’t believe another full-blown master plan is needed.

Instead, the city needs to take a look at the plan they already have, determine if it still makes sense, and move forward.

Breitenbucher points to the Woodward Park master plan the Parks & Recreation Commission — back before the city reduced it to being not much more than a rubber stamping body for recreation program charges — played a role in shaping and advancing to the City Council.

The council, at the time, “accepted it” and then proclaimed there was no money and that was that.

No effort was made to work toward securing money.

The Woodward Park master plan included tennis courts, a 500-seat amphitheater with seating built on the slope of the massive storm basin, baseball fields within the basin, and a land bridge into the basin for additional restrooms and a concession stand.

Whether any, or all of those, are still desired today could be determined through community input and exploring new weighing options at the commission level with recommendations and an action plan for consideration forward to the City Council.

As for an aquatics center, Breitenbucher said the city needs to run a year round program .

The use of high school pools can be problematic for recreation swim teams such as the Dolphins which he said have almost outgrown available high school pool options.

He noted an Olympic-sized swimming pool could host high school, competitive, and recreation swim meets as well as water polo competition.

Aquatic centers typically have a second pool dedicated to more casual use, swim lessons, and recreation programming such as water aerobics.

They also tend to have water splash pad play areas and wading pools.

“It can be done,” Breitenbucher asserted.

That said, the city has yet to take the first step to reconfiguring the Parks & Recreation Commission to set things in motion.

To contact Dennis Wyatt at emaildwyatt@mantecabulletin.com