If you’d like a sneak preview of what Manteca’s sixth fire station will look like, take a drive past the existing station at Atherton Drive and Woodward Avenue.
The architectural and engineering firm the Manteca City Council is expected to hire to design the city’s next fire station will be using the same foundational design as the last station that was completed in June 2020.
By doing so, city staff expects to reduce both the cost and time needed to design the new station that will be built at the intersection of Joshua Street and Oak Trail Drive in southwest Manteca.
What the city won’t be able to copy is the cost.
The 6,711 square-foot Woodward/Atherton station cost $4.5 million to build in 2020.
The new station that will have an official ground breaking in the coming months will cost an estimated $12 million.
The city’s fourth fire station at Lathrop Road and Madison Grove Drive next to Del Webb at Woodbridge was completed in 2013 at a cost of $3.5 million.
RRM Design Group was responsible for designing the Woodward/Atherton station.
The sixth station is intended to mirror the proven operational layout and functionality of the Woodward/Atherton station while incorporating modifications necessary for its new location, including site-specific design, expanded apparatus bays, and updated exterior architectural elevations.
All other major design elements and operational features will remain consistent with Woodward/Atherton design.
The city is preparing to bond for both the sixth fire station and the new $92 million police station breaking ground this fall in the 600 block of South Main Street.
The bond — expected to be underwritten for 18 years — will be paid off in part with receipts from the 20-year temporary three-quarter of a cent sales tax voters approved in November 2024.
Fees collected on growth will “pay down” the cost of construction upfront as well as help retire the bonds.
Nine firefighters that will staff the next station 24/7 have already been hired.
That personnel is now assigned to the ladder company that is the second front-line engine crew at the Union Road station.
The next challenge for the city when it comes to fire services is to try and keep a dedicated ladder company that doesn’t operate as a first run engine for medical calls.
That would require hiring another nine firefighters.
The city also expects to start initial planning on a seven fire station in the northeast area as well as a replacement station for the Louise Avenue location.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
