Editor, Manteca Bulletin,

I think that Mayor Willie Weatherford and the Manteca City Council are doing a fine job.  There are a lot of small cities, some in much more affluent areas than ours, that are not run nearly as well as Manteca is.

The Mayor and the Council have, in my estimation, made the correct call on all of the important decisions that have come before them, and appear to be making good choices with the future of our fair city in mind.

BLD, Costco, Kohl’s, the Bass Pro Shop have all worked out better than expected.  The Orchard Valley mall is actually attractive as mall’s go.  I like the fact that all new construction has to meet landscaping requirements, which makes the City a more pleasant place to live for all of us. Manteca is fortunate to have the 120 Bypass, where these businesses can be located.  Not only do they draw people from miles around, but the businesses themselves can be located outside of the city proper, cutting down on traffic and congestion for those of us who live here.

The Great Wolf Resort sounds like an excellent venue for drawing more visitors, and their dollars, to the City, as well as creating new jobs locally.  If the main requirement for determining whether or not a new business may be undertaken is that it is affordable to all of the residents of the community, then nothing will ever be built again, anywhere.

If I could suggest anything to the Mayor and City Council, it would be to consider transportation enhancements toward bicycle-friendly improvements city-wide.  Safe routes to school, to make walking and bicycling to school safe and more appealing to children and their parents, and recreational trails like the Tidewater Bikepath.

Money is tight across the board these days, and many improvements will have to wait, but I applaud the Mayor and Council for all the federal dollars they have been able to scrape up over the last few years to make improvements to our city.

Last Thursday’s headline read “City: Tell us what we’re doing wrong.”  I’ve never attended a City Council meeting, but it sounds like there is no shortage of citizens ready to tell the Mayor and Council what they are doing wrong.  I, on the other hand, would like to thank them for what they are doing right, and encourage them to keep up the good work.

Stephen Breacain
Manteca
Sept. 18, 2011