Highlights from "The Week in Review"

You can access the entire "The Week in Review" from a link on the right side of this web page.

Police Department
Crime Continues to Decline: The Police Department is happy to report that major crime had dropped for the eighth consecutive month. The department’s statistics show that felony crimes are down 12.23% for the month of June, resulting in a year-to-date reduction of 15.5%. Burglaries dropped by 23.88%, auto theft by 5.88%, grand theft by 32.52%, and aggravated assault by 45.24%. Only robbery and arson cases showed increases. Misdemeanor thefts also dropped by 20.63%. The Police Department attributes the reduction in crime to hard work and dedication of our officers, staff and volunteers, and the involvement of the citizens of Manteca. Programs like Neighborhood Watch and observant members of the community who are quick to recognize suspicious activity and notify the Police have helped us to locate and arrest criminals. So far this year the Police Department has responded to 17,721 calls for service, handled 3,089 criminal investigations and 351 traffic collisions, arrested 1,863 suspects, served 803 warrants, issued 5,821 traffic citations, and recovered $682,968 in stolen property.

Community Development
The following is a summary of some of the activities under way in the Community Development
Department:
· Staff has completed the plan check for the new B.R. Funsten Industrial Warehouse Building and is awaiting minor corrections to be made by the contractor in advance of issuing a Building Permit for construction to begin. The project is currently several weeks ahead of schedule and staff hopes to have construction completed in late November.

· The first set of plans for construction of the new luxury outlets at the Promenade shopping center were received last week, and staff has already initiated the review process. Additional plans are expected over the next two weeks. The project will include a total buildout of 250,000 square feet of newly constructed, luxury outlet use, with a projected opening date in February 2010.

· Red Robin Restaurant was awarded a building permit for construction at the Promenade center, with a projected opening date of February 2010.

· Staff will be presenting the Housing Element to the City Council for adoption on September 1, and subsequently submit to the State Department of Housing and Community Development for its review and approval.

· Work on the new One-Stop Permit Center is substantially complete, and staff is scheduling an open house on August 27 at 10 a.m.

Parks and Recreation
BLD Second Quarter Revenues: A copy of the second quarter revenues received at Big League Dreams (BLD) has been submitted to the City and is attached for review. According to the report, revenues were up 22.1% over the first quarter of 2009, and attendance was up 15.7%.

Parks/Golf/Park Planning:
Volunteers from the Crossroads Grace Community Church recently donated several hours of work cleaning and pruning a section of the Tidewater Bikeway. This is an ongoing volunteer program of the church’s, where the members volunteer their time to help out in their community – and we are grateful for their time.

The Northgate Park restrooms have been a recent target of vandalism. Maintenance crews had to remove graffiti three times in less than a week. Labor and materials to remove the graffiti were approximately $175.

Bianchi Ranch LMD – A few areas with juniper groundcover plants along Atherton Drive had to be removed, due to a heavy infestation of Bermuda and Nutsedge Grass. The area will be re-planted once the infestation has been thoroughly treated. This was a more cost-effective approach than having to remove the weeds by hand each week.

City Manager
BMX Park: Staff is continuing to work with the Anderson 209 group and the City’s Municipal Pooling Authority to complete the BMX Park. Staff has prepared a staff report for the August 18 City Council agenda. Supplemental information, including options to completing the park in a timely manner, may be presented at that meeting.

UCP Work Crews: Staff met with representatives of United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) of San Joaquin County to discuss its Work Crew program. UCP has contracted with the City of Lodi since 2000, paying its members to help beautify downtown Lodi. Through this program, UCP members are paid minimum wage to perform whatever tasks are deemed necessary by the City. UCP covers all workers’ compensation costs, so the program costs less than the City’s own part-time program. As Manteca staff finalizes the 2009-10 budget, we will be evaluating options to reduce costs to provide City services, and this program may be one the City may want to utilize.

Reopening of Labor Contracts: Staff is officially notifying the various labor groups of the City’s desire to reopen contract negotiations to help address the City’s budget deficit. All employees have already taken a 3.8% salary reduction, effective July 1, though additional cuts are needed in order to reduce or avoid layoffs.