The Ripon Police Department will continue to share its shooting range with the Manteca Police Department and will soon help out with the dispatching duties for the upstart Lathrop Police Department.

The amended and restated agreement with the City of Manteca on use of the shooting range along with the dispatch services agreement with the City of Lathrop were both approved at the Oct. 12 Ripon City Council meeting.

No discussion was necessary.

Manteca police have been using the Ripon shooting range since 2006 – their old shooting range was once near the current Big League Dream ballpark.

Under the amended and restated agreement, Manteca will provide a range master during times when its own police officers are using the facility.

The annual fee, based on the Consumer Price Index, also increased, going from $7,500 to $12,500, in order to fund future capital replacement and the necessary maintenance at the shooting range.

According to the report by Ripon Police Chief Ed Ormonde, revenue generated from the shooting range under the new agreement will be deposited into the General Fund Department Capital Fund.

The agreement with Lathrop is set to kick off on June 30, 2022.

That’s the Start-Up Phase, said City Administrator Kevin Werner in his staff report. The Operating Phase is scheduled to begin on July 1, 2022.

“The City of Lathrop is currently transitioning to its own police department. As part of this transition, they have requested the City of Ripon consider providing dispatch services for the City of Lathrop, very similar how those services are currently provided for Escalon,” Werner noted.

According to the agreement, the City of Ripon would hire and train the dispatchers necessary to provide such services to Lathrop.

The City of Lathrop would be responsible for the plan, design, and installation of the communication equipment necessary to convey the radio signals from Lathrop police vehicles, portable radios and 911 calls to the Ripon Dispatch Center.

Lathrop, in addition would prepare a Dispatch Center Expansion Study in an effort to determine the long-term capital improvements needed at the Ripon Dispatch Center.

During the start-up phase, the City of Ripon’s General Fund would be reimbursed $132,000 annually, per full-time equivalent, and during the operations phase, $161,000 annually per full-time equivalent allocated to Lathrop, Werner reported.

Cost also include all salary, benefits, burden, capital maintenance / replacement, training and uniforms.