The homeless apparently are breaking into the trash enclosure at the Manteca Transit Center on Moffat Avenue to look for everything from food to recyclables.
On Tuesday the City Council is being asked to authorize spending $39,000 to place a roof covering over the existing brick walled trash enclosure. The council meets at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center, 1001 W. Center St.
It is one of several safety/security projects the city plans to undertake using $272,585 awarded through Proposition 1B Public Transportation Modernization Improvement and Service Enhancement funds.
Pleasanton Engineering Contractors was the lowest of three bidders at $39,000. The highest was Barham Construction of Ceres at $49,238.35.
The low bid includes $30,000 for the trash enclosure canopy. Also included in the bid are the following required items: mobilization and decolonization, $3,500; construction signs and traffic control, $1,500; staging area, $1,500; water pollution control, $1,000; Manteca Water Reduction Act Coordination, $750; and Manteca Water Reduction Act Training, $750.
Veterans of Foreign War Post 6311 have had similar problems at their enclosure at the Moffat Community Center down the road where vandals and/or the homeless have climbed over a fenced enclosure with plastic slats protecting air conditioning units. At one point screws were discovered removed from the air condoning unit’s panels.
Since the VFW will have to replace the air conditioning unit if vandals strip it of copper wiring, the post had asked the city to allow them to place concertina wire atop the fence to protect the unit from vandalism.
Initially they were told by city staff that they could not use the concertina wire.
Several council members have indicated it is their understanding that staff will work with the VFW to allow the concertina wire to be put in place on the VFW post’s dime to protect the air conditioning unit at a considerably lower cost than the transit center canopy project.
Both the VFW air conditioning enclosure and the transit center trash enclosure back up to the Tidewater Bikeway and Union Pacific Railroad tracks with minimum visibility from Moffat Avenue.
