Manteca Mayor Ben Cantu uses two words to sum up the state of the city — “status quo.”

It’s a nod to the reality of accounting snafus, inter-fund borrowing yet to be paid back, failure in the past to raise service fees when needed, and Cantu’s assertion growth is not paying its fair share.

And while Manteca is unlikely to break physical ground on major initiatives until its financial house is more in order, Cantu said he expects a number of smaller “quality of life” endeavors to get launched this year.

“I don’t expect that major projects will occur this year,” Cantu said. “The state of the city is status quo. The priority is setting up the city for success.”

Regardless of how the financial issues came up, the fact they were discovered and are being addressed aligns with concerns Cantu raised during numerous campaigns including his successful election as mayor in 2018 that Manteca should be able to do more than it has especially given its constant robust annual growth rate.

Cantu made his observations Tuesday after the annual state of the city program didn’t materialize last month due to the ongoing pandemic.

Mayor expects store

front pot sales to be

legalized this year

 The mayor does see three major initiatives moving forward and being implemented this year. They include allowing storefront cannabis sales, a working plan to create more affordable housing, and putting systems and better oversight in place to keep the finance department on track.

Cantu also noted the city is now in a position to move forward on projects put on hold while making sure there was adequate funding — the Main Street widening to four lanes through downtown as well as street reconstruction in the Springtime Estates and Mayors Park neighborhood.

The council put the brakes on funding the three projects several months ago when it wasn’t clear if there were adequate funds in the city accounts that would be tapped to pay for the projects due to the disarray with the city’s financials.

While the city had $100 million in cash at hand near the end of last year, it had made substantial interfund loans that have not been paid back to avoid imposing rate increases for sewer and water services setting up a $20.9 million deficit in those accounts when June 30 rolls around.

Cantu noted that while getting a better handle on the finances than the city has had in the past might seem like a mundane undertaking, it is absolutely critical for Manteca to have the solid foundation needed to maintain services as well as to expand them and add amenities as the city grows.

That said he doesn’t want planning on working toward new amenities to stop in the meantime.

“The city needs to plan for the future,” Cantu said. “We needed to determine what we want, (determine) how we are going to accomplish it, and put a workable plan in motion.”

Cantu wants to see

work started to secure

200-acre regional park

Among those on the projects he’d like to see planning start for now is a 200-acre regional community park somewhere to the northeast of Manteca in an area that will ultimately be annexed to the city. It could be similar to Micke Grove Park midway between Lodi and Stockton.

Cantu said securing the money to make such a purchase — fees on new growth is one avenue — is something the city can start doing now with buying the land being the next step.

He also wants to see an endeavor to create riverside access for RVs and such on the city’s extreme southwestern flank along the San Joaquin River. Cantu believes by adding to the Turtle Beach Resort model already in place, Manteca could make itself a destination for quick getaway trips for people from the Bay Area which in turn can help the local economy.

Among the “quality of life” things that Cantu expects to move forward this year are two in the downtown area.

The city is working on a plan to make the building they bought from the county — the remodeled public health clinic that had been gutted in a fire — into a city hall annex and/or a community center of sorts.  One idea is to provide an annex where people can pay municipal utility bills and access other services while combining it with trips to the post office and/or downtown restaurants and stores. Another is to use the adjoining parking lot to return the farmers market downtown as well as to schedule other community-related events.

The widening of Main Street from Yosemite Avenue to Alameda to four lanes will include the use of colored pavers for much of the distance. The pavers, while being used to address drainage and avoid costly grinding of concrete from the original Highway 99 route that passed through Manteca, also will serve to beautify the street.

Cantu noted those may be fairly small touches but they could have a strong impact on the central district’s vitality and ambience.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyattt@mantecabulletin.com