The path forward is clear for Mayor-elect Gary Singh.

Manteca needs to go through with its plans to build a homeless navigation center on the eastern part of 8 acres the city has acquired in the Manteca Industrial Park.

And that’s not just because the state is processing a $16 million check the city is expected to receive next month for the purpose of doing just that.

“Seventy-five percent of the voters basically agreed with it,” Singh said earlier this week.

That is a reference to the 75.47 percent of the vote that both Singh and current Mayor Ben Cantu received Nov. 8 among the 21,804 ballots cost.

Singh is comfortable saying that based on the fact the third candidate in the race — Lei Ann Larson — was able to make the mayoral race vote a referendum on the city’s plans to locate the homeless navigation center on the back side of property directly across from her South Main Street home.

Never in the 40-year history of directly elected mayors in Manteca has one issue dominated a race as much as the homeless navigation center and homeless issues in general.

Larson’s campaign stressed heavily that there was no difference between Singh and Cantu — they both voted for the navigation center location — to the point that they were being referenced as “Gary Cantu” and “Ben Singh”.

Singh said it means the city needs to build the navigation center in a timely manner and  make sure it is operated right.

The site will be accessed via Carnegie Court.

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, interim City Manager Tony Lundgren updated the council on a $2 million pass through grant they received from the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors to purchase the property.

Lundgren said the land cost $1,760,000. The city has $240,000 left over to go toward site development and construction of the actual facility.

That is in addition to $341,645 that the county gave back to the city for the homeless facility after the distribution of funds from the sale of the former redevelopment agency property was completed.

Coupled with the state funding, the city has $16,581,645 left to build the navigation center.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com