Dear Menlo Park City Council,
We are long time Menlo Park residents, having lived in the city for almost 30 years. We have been using the Burgess pool facility for as long as the renovated complex has been available and managed by Tim Sheeper. We never used the previous pool at Burgess as we didnt find it clean or well maintained. Prior to this, we used the Rinconada pool, which at that time was managed by the city of Palo Alto and unfortunately frequently closed for repairs.
We are life-long swimmers and have used many public pools over the years. We have never had such a great experience as we have had with Burgess under the capable management of Tim Sheeper. The facility is clean, well maintained and staffed by attentive, courteous and friendly personnel - from the front desk to the lifeguards on the deck. The operations are the smoothest weve ever encountered, with rarely a disruption affecting access to the pool. As a recent example, we had a rare issue with the pool heater arise this past Saturday and instead of having to wait days or weeks for a resolution, we received a message on Sunday that it had been fixed. Tim and his team also navigated the COVID shutdown (Burgess was one of the first pools in the area to re-open), demonstrating flexibility and resilience in a time of great uncertainty, to provide safe pool access to the public. During this time, Tims programs lost a lot of members - however, based on what I see at the pool now, are approaching if not exceeding pre-pandemic numbers. People have been returning because of the high-quality pool operations and programs.
We have used many of the programs that Tim Sheeper has offered, from swim lessons, to open family swims, to summer camps, to lap swims as well as masters. Our son started with lessons at Burgess and then participated in many summer camps as well as the junior lifeguard program. He then went on to be a camp counselor serving the summer camps. I have enjoyed being a member of the Menlo Masters program for as long as Tim has been coaching at Burgess. Dont let the term "Masters" fool you, it has very little to do with ability and everything to do with age and a desire to enjoy a structured workout with others. The Masters program includes adults ranging in age from their 20s up to their 80s, and most arent doing it to compete but rather for fitness and for the camaraderie. While some Masters members competed as youths or in college, many did not, with quite a few learning to swim as adults. It is also great to see the age range participating in the other programs. When I am leaving the pool after a Masters workout, I see strong attendance in the water aerobics class and, in summer, the kids arriving for their summer camps.
Tim has done more than just provide a great pool environment and set of programs, hes also helped to build a strong community based on healthy lifestyles and fitness in a welcoming, accessible, safe and supportive environment. We have made many close friends over the years participating in Tims programs. As a testament to this, we had a Masters team social recently and one of our new members gave a shout out to Tim and his program saying it was the friendliest group they had ever been a part of and that they felt so lucky to be a part of now.
We hope that we will be able to continue to enjoy Burgess under Tim Sheepers management. We really are lucky to have Tim and he has been a great asset for the Menlo Park community. We urge you to renew his contract.
Regards,
Bob Hubbell
Dana Shields
Charlie Hubbell
1231 Woodland Avenue
Menlo Park, CA 94025
