Editor, Manteca Bulletin,

The Manteca City Council hired Rex Osborn (the city’s Neighborhood Action Planning effort) to reestablish lost credibility with the public. We the people have had no voice in city government since this council and mayor have been in office. I and others have asked this council for a new library for years and each time someone on the council tells us the city is broke. Recently the big spenders wanted to renovate a small portion of the crowded library area to make us think they were really spending on the library.

We were told the city didn’t have the funding for a new library while this council is directing a portion of $77 million on RDA funding to retail access roads for future businesses and renovating 12 neighborhoods. Many of these homes are owned by investors and banks that will benefit from this spending. So they say they want to listen to the public. The question is, why the sudden interest? They are making a bid for re-election.

I hurl this challenge to the council if they are opening their ears to the public: Would they cancel the access roads and renovating neighborhoods and redirect this funding to building us a library? Would they tell Great Wolf Resorts to hit the road if the public didn’t want this resort? Would the council give the public what they asked for in the beginning which was a water feature everyone could use without taking out a second mortgage to pay for a night’s stay, so they could access the water feature? What would they do to make amends with the neighborhood that protested the cost of their assessed landscape maintenance district and their issues were rudely turned down by Willie Weatherford and company? This council wants to smoke the peace pipe with the people, but I think it is a bit too late to make amends to people. The deaf ear policy this council has established won’t make anyone believe they could change. The offer is too little too late.

Fleener Richards
Manteca
Sept. 17, 2011