It’s almost a certainty that the new Lathrop Police Department is going to be built west of the I-5 corridor.
But exactly where is still something that the Lathrop City Council will have to decide in the coming months as they plan for massive growth that will more double the size of the current population once its completed.
And they are asking for the public’s help in determining what their next move should be.
On Monday, the council voted to allow city staff to begin negotiating with River Islands over the possible placement of the city’s police station just on the other side of the recently-opened Bradshaw’s Crossing bridge – which connects River Islands to the Mossdale Crossing neighborhood and the arterial streets that run through the city’s older, eastern sections.
The move is in no way definitive – the council will be holding a study session with the public before the end of the year to gauge public perception and gather input into what would work best for the resident of the community – but advised staff to begin negotiations after presented with three options Monday during the continuation of a lengthy agenda item from a previous meeting.
Those options included the River Islands location, the Central Lathrop area near Lathrop High School and the Lathrop Generations Center, and an available parcel of land across the street from Lathrop City Hall in the Mossdale Crossing neighborhood.
River Islands – which will singlehandedly more than double the city’s current population on its own once it’s fully built-out – has offered to shoulder the cost of the police station land and construction in exchange for reduced permitting fees as the development builds out. Construction in Central Lathrop isn’t expected to begin in the near future. The City Hall option would require the city to purchase a 2.6-acre parcel of land for $1.85 million and issue bonds backed by the general fund as collateral in order to do so.
“We’re not necessarily thinking about where development is going, but there is development going,” Mayor Sonny Dhaliwal said about the future location of the police department building. “There’s a saying that if you start planning for 10 years from now you’re already behind – we want to be proactive and make sure that we’re meeting the needs of the community and our police for when we reach that point.
“I think having a fully state-of-the-art facility for our first responders that’s constructed without any risk to the city is a good thing, but we need to gather input from the community and hear what they want and explain fully to the residents what the pros and cons are of each of these options.”
According to City Manager Steve Salvatore, information will be mailed to residents to let them know when and where the study session will be held to allow for the public to voice their input before staff makes a formal recommendation to council for their approval.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.