Dear Menlo Park City Council members,
My husband and I are long-time Menlo Park residents and have been enjoying lap swimming in the Burgess pool since 1985, starting when the pool was managed by the Menlo Park city staff and subsequently in 2006 when Tim Sheeper took over. We therefore have many years of observation of the managing of Burgess pool under the two systems. I have always compared the pool management under Tim Sheeper to a Swiss watch. Everything always worked, was beautifully handled, things were clearly labeled, and there was great attention to detail. Sheeper’s swimming instructors and employees returned year after year and were excellent communicators with children and adults.
My husband and I are in our mid 70s, and I am disabled (double arm amputee). We have never had any problems finding a time when we could swim in either or both the instructional and the performance pools. Because of my disability, I prefer a shallower lane in the performance pool in the warm months of the year; the extremely accommodating swimming instructors would always allow me to share the shallow lane if a lesson were in progress. In the colder months of the year, both my husband and I have been enjoying the warm water of the instructional pool. As in the performance pool, staff has always been very accommodating to allow me to share a lane with a lesson if there are no other available lanes with 2 or fewer people. We have nothing but praise for Sheeper’s management of the pool and think it would be a travesty to not award him the contract to manage it. In our experience, Sheeper has maximized use of the pools by many constituencies without seriously limiting access by any one group.
The wide availability of lap lanes, dependability of knowledgeable and helpful staff, and the condition of the pool have been excellent since Tim Sheeper has managed the pool. Please allow Tim Sheeper to continue his outstanding management of the Burgess pool and award him the upcoming contract.
Sincerely,
Cynthia Dusel-Bacon and Charlie Bacon
139 Princeton Rd., Menlo Park CA
