Dear Council Members,
Thank you for taking the time to read my email. I was at the city council meeting yesterday and heard many comments from the public about SOLO aquatics to be included in the current contract. I would like to echo these sentiments, yes SOLO has built a very strong and vibrant community at Menlo Park and we saw a small sample of it yesterday. Coach Tom and Robert have taught both my kids and are wonderful coaches and members of our community.
The point of my email is to bring forth some concerns I have about the operator and what I heard yesterday.
* The operator talked about integrity and building community but also mentioned wanting to build "premier" pool facilities. Please note the community does not need "premier" the community needs equity and access to pool for all members of the community. This is what SOLO does.
* In the 8 plus years of being associated with SOLO ,we have had many issues with fewer lanes, moving lanes, practice getting cancelled because of pool closures and operator prioritizing to bring a Palo Alto team PASA to subcontract in Burgess vs giving the Menlo Park swim team (SOLO) more time in the pool. The problem is that the operator chooses to focus on profits.
* Based on the contract details and errors and questions that were bought up by the sub committee, and points that council member Drew brought about not engaging with subcontractor and having a dialogue, it feels like the operator is taking advantage of the contract and taking for granted the big sum of tax dollars that the city is paying them to manage the pool. Their actions dont show integrity and honesty and nothing they said gave me confidence that they were looking out for the community and its residents. I am not sure if they are being held accountable for how they subcontract and how they share profits with the city.
* I also want to point out that we the citizens of Menlo Park trust the city council members and their integrity and intentions for this city and respect the questions and the details you all requested and we rely on your decisions for our community. You have our trust and we know you will make the right calls for our community.
* Lastly I would like to request that Solo Aquatics be added back on the contract, given the respect as a subcontracor and be given a fair chance to run their swim program at the burgess facility along with more pool time for their swimmers. Also after listening to the parents that spoke yesterday, I wish SOLO offered adult lessons which they are prohibited to do based on the current contract.
Thank You!
Ruchi Murlidhar
www.iyruchi.com
"The Light that yoga sheds to Life is something special. It is transformative. It does not change the way we see things; it transforms the person who sees. It brings knowledge and elevates it to wisdom." - BKS Iyengar
