Manteca has started the negotiation process to secure a site for the city’s second community park.

The subject of price for two options — 50 acres or 80 acres — was discussed in closed session Tuesday by the Manteca City Council.

The location is now covered primarily with almond orchards.

The 50-acre parcel borders Union Road on the west and what is envisioned as the eastern extension of Roth Road on the north.

The additional 30 acres is to the east.

The need for a second community park as Manteca grows was noted in the city’s park master plan adopted in 2017.

What exactly would be developed as part of the park has yet to be determined.

That said, the city is currently collecting government facilities  fees on the assumption one of the amenities that will eventually be built is a community center.

Many cities locate community centers in community parks where they do double duty as space for recreation dance classes and other offerings as well as for community gatherings such as dinners.

Some cities also combine community centers with adjoining amphitheaters to create a cultural hub for concerts and even theatrical productions.

The park master plan also indicated the need for more playing fields such as at Woodward Community Park for sports as soccer and baseball/softball.

Given changing desires, the city could be looking for space that will do double duty accommodating other field sports such as hockey, lacrosse, and cricket.

The 2017 master plan also indicated the desirability of having an aquatics center.

Before those decisions can be made, the city needs to acquire a site.

The city has ample money to buy the park site and still do improvements at that location and even the 52-acre Woodard Community Park.

At the start of the fiscal year, Manteca had collected $14.9 million in park acquisition and improvement fees from the issuance of building permits for new housing.

The adopted budget projects the city will have $16.3 million in the account at the end of the current fiscal year on June 30, 2025.

 The City Council unidentified the park site in the recent general plan update.

It was locked in during a settlement agreement with Delicato Vineyards as a non-residential for the winery.

Manteca was in a position to secure its existing community park site along Woodward Avenue when a development group headed by Mike Atherton sold the 52 acres — which was also an almond orchard — to the city for $1.

The same group then advocated for the city to develop a community park fee on growth, that they were the first to pay, to help develop the site.

And, when the first fee was proposed, the developers insisted that it wasn’t high enough and successfully lobbied for it to be higher.

This time around the city has the money to buy a community park site as well as get development of it started.

The two community parks will eventually be connected by a separated bicycle path via extensions the 3.4-mile long Tidewater Bikeway.

To  contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com