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MRPS undergoing ADA upgrade
December completion for social hall remodeling
MRPS-Repairs-1-LT
The section of the MRPS Hall on Grant Street that is undergoing remodeling is enclosed by plywood sheets for safety. Standing in front of the hall is project manager Rob Leal. - photo by ROSE ALBANO RISSO

MRPS Hall on Grant Street is undergoing a facelift. The new and improved popular social facility owned by the Manteca-Ripon Pentecost Society will be unveiled in December.

The contract calls for the project to be completed on Dec. 20; however, project manager Rob Leal of DeGroot Construction said that at the rate work is progressing, the facility may be available by Thanksgiving.

The work is concentrated in the smaller hall. A ramp for wheelchair access is being built on one side of the stairs leading to the ballroom entryway. An MRPS officer said this handicapped-access project does not have anything to do with the lawsuits that have plagued many small businesses in Manteca in recent months, thanks to the Carmichael attorney who has made it his mission to sue what he claimed are legally non-conforming commercial establishments up and down the State of California because they don’t comply with the American Disabilities Act mandates. Plans for these repairs and remodel have been in committee discussion long before then. The Hall did not receive any of the lawsuit notices.

The cement ramp with rails is being installed for the convenience of the many people with physical difficulties, especially the elderly, who came to attend various functions at the hall such as weddings, anniversaries, and the popular annual quilt show.

There is a ramp inside the building connecting the two halls which made it possible for the physically handicapped to access the small hall via the big hall, but the organization decided to add this new ramp anyway, Leal explained.

The bathrooms in the “upper hall” are also being remodeled. Both women and men’s bathrooms are being expanded making them wheelchair accessible as well. The glass doors at the entryway will be upgraded as well.

The lighting system in the dining room is also being replaced “because it was always dark; now, it’s going to be a lot brighter,” Leal said.

The total cost of the remodel project was not divulged by MRPS or by the construction company who won the bidding from three other companies.

MRPS Hall is a busy facility with events held here year-round. Among the most popular and well-attended festivities here include the annual Manteca Quilt Show hosted by the Manteca Quilters Guild every first weekend of March, and the MRPS Portuguese Festa held every year during the summer after Pentecost. It is also a popular venue for weddings, fund-raising events, and community-wide celebrations such as the Manteca Hall of Fame.