The Lathrop City Council hopes that the nearly $120,000 security fence and surveillance system that was installed around the Lathrop Generations Center skate park will pay for itself in just the prevention of vandalism alone.

Earlier this month the council accepted the work completed by Benton Fence and Drilling that completely envelops the popular and highly rated skate park in fencing. With several instances of vandalism occurring at the site as well as an abundance of complaints from nearby neighbors about excessive afterhours use, the council agreed to act back in June of 2021 when they approved spending up to $121,308 to bolster the site security.

Benton Fencing was awarded a $110,280 contract for 625 linear feet of steel security fencing with four auto-locking gates and concrete around the base of the fence. The company used $8,925 worth of the $11,028 worth of contingency funds that were approved by the council to bring the total cost of the project up to $119,205.

The cost of the work does not include the security camera that will allow for after-hours monitoring of the site.

According to a rendering of the project site, the fence will extend all the way down to Spartan Way and encircle all of the sections of the skate park – crossing two existing concrete walkways which will two of the gates that can be automatically set to lock at a specific time.

While Lathrop historically had a skatepark along 7th Street near the building that housed Lathrop Police Services, the treated plywood park was costly to maintain and routinely required work to keep operational. After securing a multimillion-dollar grant from the State of California, the city completed the Lathrop Generations Center with a state-of-the-art skate park that draws people from throughout the area to tackle it’s technical and challenging lines.

Rather than abandon the previous skate park, the council opted to clear the site and install prefabricated sections that can withstand the wear-and-tear that comes from excessive use – giving both sides of town their own respective skate parks.

The decision to invest money at the 7th Street location represented the council’s dedication towards providing recreational opportunities and amenities to all residents – even those living east of I-5 in the section of town referred to as “Historic Lathrop.”

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.