Construction has been so hot in Lathrop that last year the council authorized five task orders for the contracted building consulting firm that the city uses to tackle everything from plan checks to inspection services.
And last month the council authorized an additional task order to meet the growing demand – approving up to an additional $300,000 worth of work for staff augmentation services.
With development in River Islands – which will eventually have approximately 15,000 homes – booming and other residential developments picking up steam, Lathrop has had its hands full with processing the sheer volume of applications that are coming into City Hall.
And that doesn’t take into account the list of the city’s own capital improvement projects that are currently underway or the industrial and commercial projects that are either under construction or working through the development pipeline.
By using outside consulting services, the city is able to not only meet the demand that the market is placing on the city, but also keep up with the city’s own long list of capital improvement projects that need to undergo the same planning and oversight process. The utilization of services like the ones provided by 4Leaf allow Lathrop to continue meeting the demand that the construction boom is generating without having to go through the process of identifying and hiring qualified staff that are in short supply as a result of the booming sector.
Lathrop has had a relationship with 4Leaf since 2015, and the scope of the work that the company handles for the city has grown in the seven years that they have been worked together. In 2019 the council authorized five task orders to help with staff augmentation, plan check and inspection services, professional services, and the employment of an interim chief building officer. The interim chief building officer was first included in a task order in 2018 and has been included in each subsequent year.
According to the city’s website, the building department – of which 4Leaf is currently helping operate – is responsible for the enforcement of all building standards, providing responsive service to the building public, reviewing construction plans, providing competent investigations for complaints, and providing education to builders and the general public about new regulations and methods.
Funding for the task order was included in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 fiscal year budgets.
To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.