Ask Dave Breitenbucher how Manteca is doing and he’ll zero in on two areas he’s devoted more than 30 years of his life to — public safety plus parks and recreation.

“I had my dream job in Manteca,” the councilman told those gathered for last week’s State of the City event at the Manteca Transit Center.

Breitenbucher served with the Manteca Fire Department for more than 30 years, including four as captain prior to his retirement. He also has been involved with recreation during much of that time as a swim coach and serving on the Manteca Parks & Recreation Commission.

During the past year he noted Manteca:

*made major renovations to the Manteca Senior Center.

*replaced exterior stairs and other improvements at the Manteca Golf Course clubhouse.

*improved greens on the golf course that has led to increased play while most public golf courses in the region are experiencing a decline in rounds played.

*continued to enjoy success at the city-owned sports complex leased to Big League Dreams that had tournaments booked every weekend of the year just as it had during its first 11 years of operation.

*booked 20 major tournaments at the Northgate Softball Complex.

*hosted 12 major Northern California competitive youth soccer tournaments primarily at Woodward Park.

*had 200 plus volunteers assist with Parks & Recreation programs.

Breitenbucher noted Manteca has increased public safety staffing to an all-time high for both police and fire.

Public safety endeavors during the past year include:

*hiring a fourth traffic officer in July and a fifth traffic officer in January allowing for more targeted enforcement as well as weekend coverage by the Manteca Police Department traffic unit.

*hired an additional police officer as well as an additional dispatcher were hired.

*work started on the fifth fire station at Atherton Drive and Woodward Avenue that is targeted for completion this spring.

*the fire department being at full staffing including the fire engine company that will be shifted to the new fire station when it opens.

Breitenbucher noted when he started as a fulltime firefighter in 1986 the city had two-man fire engines that responded to 1,500 calls a year. Now the Union Road station alone handles more than 1,500 calls annually while overall the department responded to 8,600 plus calls in 2019.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com