The Manteca City Council on Nov. 4 approved a resolution to fund, design and procure an archway structure near the intersection of Main Street and Wetmore Street, authorizing a professional services agreement with Fusion Sign and Design LLC and a total project budget of $620,447.

The resolution, moved by Councilmember Breitenbucher and seconded by Councilmember Moriwick, passed on a 3–2 roll call vote: Breitenbucher yes, Councilmember Lackey no, Moriwick yes, Vice Mayor Halford no, and Mayor Gary Singh yes.

Council and staff framed the project as a downtown branding and placemaking investment, and opponents said the same dollars should be used for street repairs and other urgent maintenance. Deputy Director of Engineering Somborn said the city issued an open RFP and received three proposals, and that the evaluation ranked Fusion Sign and Design first. “We put it out to bid, open it up to everyone in the universe,” Somborn said, and added the engineer’s estimate was about $820,000.

Somborn presented the competing bids in council discussion: NMI at about $947,000, ExpressSign at about $723,000, and Fusion at about $608,000. The resolution before council included a $301,963 appropriation from the general fund to CIP 25,013, a professional services agreement not to exceed $550,000, and a $70,447 contingency, yielding a total project budget of $620,447.

Councilmember Halford said the project was a “nice-to-have” rather than a need and urged prioritizing street repairs. “This is a nice project. It would look good, but it falls into the category for me that it’s a nice to have project rather than a need to have,” Halford said. Councilmembers supporting the project pointed to downtown improvements and business recruitment, with Councilmember Moriwitt noting other comparable cities use arches and holiday lighting to create identity and attract visitors.

Several members of the public spoke during the agenda item. Charles Paz, president of the Downtown District, urged support and said the arch would help downtown businesses, calling the area “the heart of the community.” Brian Johnson, a representative of Fusion Science Design, described the design intent and the lighting plan, saying the lights were intended to “give recognition on Memorial Day … Veterans Day” and noting the lights are color-changing LEDs.

Staff also told council that part of the proposed funding includes American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars. When asked about timing, staff said there is an ultimate spending deadline discussed as “end of next year,” and that ARPA funds must be encumbered by the end of this year. Councilmembers pressed whether leftover ARPA or reserve funds could be reallocated to already-approved street projects instead of a new downtown arch.

After public comment and debate, the council approved the resolution and authorized the city manager or designee to take the actions necessary to carry out the project. The staff presentation indicated the local vendor and the bid pricing drove cost savings against the engineer’s estimate.

The contract and appropriation language adopted by council instructs staff to proceed with procurement and project delivery; the project timeline and final design details (including whether the lighting will be limited to white or use the proposed color-changing LEDs) will be determined in follow-up staff work and contract execution.

Votes at a glance: Adopted resolution to appropriate $301,963 from the general fund to CIP 25,013; approve a professional services agreement with Fusion Sign and Design LLC not to exceed $550,000; approve a project contingency of $70,447; total project budget $620,447. Vote: 3–2 (Breitenbucher, Moriwick, Mayor Gary Singh: yes; Councilmember Lackey, Vice Mayor Halford: no).