Dear Mayor and Members of the City Council,
I am writing as a Belle Haven resident and taxpayer to comment on Agenda Item K5: the 2025 Aquatics Program Annual Report, the independent financial analysis of the aquatics program, and the results of the City-conducted aquatics community survey, Staff Report #26-027-CC.
As you review these materials, I ask that you also reflect on how much community time, staff time, and public funding has been spent addressing issues that stronger upfront planning could have prevented.
Over the past year, residents participated in numerous aquatics working meetings to help resolve challenges with the contractor. Staff documented community ideas and solutions at each meeting. There was a significant investment of good faith effort on all sides.
Yet despite that effort, the City entered into an arrangement with Team Shepperd without meaningful competition or backup options. When additional funding was requested, the City had limited leverage. This situation was foreseeable and could have been mitigated through stronger procurement structure and contingency planning. Concerns about preparedness and leverage were reflected in prior discussions between Mayor Nash and Director Reinhart, as previously cited.
A similar pattern occurred with the pool heat pump and nighttime noise issue. Rather than ensuring compliance at the design stage, the City spent months exploring ways to work within or around the 50 dBA limit. Multiple meetings were held before returning to engineering adjustments that could have been addressed earlier.
On April 24, 2023, Commissioner Riggs summarized the concern:
“Volunteers to the City of Menlo Park first asked to review the noise situation from these pumps back in October of last year asked if equipment could not be designed that would provide less noise. It is concerning that three meetings later it appears that after a brief effort prior to January 12th there has been no effort by the design team which is indeed led by this City of Menlo Park in order to try to respond to the concerns of the public.”
That statement reflects a broader issue. Community members raise concerns early. Months pass. Staff and residents dedicate time to resolving them. Corrections eventually occur, but only after prolonged advocacy.
We are now seeing similar corrective work at the Belle Haven Community Campus involving floors and doors. Residents filed two petitions and attended multiple meetings over nearly two years to advocate for seniors and people with disabilities before action was taken. The building has been open for two years, and work is only now being completed.
In each instance, the pattern is not lack of effort. It is lack of proactive systems.
When preventable design and procurement gaps require reactive fixes, public trust and public resources are strained.
If the City continues the Belle Haven Pool Task Force or implements changes to the aquatics program, structural improvements should include:
• Competitive procurement processes with real alternatives
• Clear contingency planning before agreements are finalized
• Design review that prioritizes compliance and accessibility from the beginning
• Transparent reporting that shows how public input influences final decisions
Belle Haven residents consistently participate in good faith. Planning should reflect that same level of care and foresight.
If this project is meant to be a community benefit, then the community must come first.
Respectfully,
Eduardo L. Hernandez
26 plus years Belle Haven Resident
