Dear City Council Members,
We read the latest proposal regarding changes in fees with some dismay. While it is certainly possible to find a pool with higher rental fees, the vast majority of pools have verifiable, published fees that are significantly lower. We have provided this data to Staff before but it seems to have been ignored and, once again, Staff has provided information on pool rates that is at best misleading.
For instance:
* The Sunnyvale Washington pool is a recreational facility with a 4-lane 25-yard pool, a second recreational 25-yard pool without lanes, a community room, a splash pad and picnic facilities that can be rented in its entirety for $150 per hour. Dividing that figure by the 4 lanes of one of the pools yields a $37.50 per-lane-hour number that is misleading at best.
* The Columbia and Sunnyvale Middle School pools can be rented for $11 per lane-hour and the Sunnyvale Swim Complex for $9. [1]
* Similarly, the Prospect High School facility, which can be rented for $222 per hour, includes not just an 6-lane 25-yard pool but also a separate water polo pool, a diving well and locker rooms. Again, dividing that figure by 6 lanes to arrive at a $37 per-lane-hour figure is misleading at best. [2]
* The City of Dublin example refers to the Dublin Wave Water Park with an indoor, 12-lane (not 11-lane) experience pool and thus not a comparable facility. In addition, the fee quoted is for one-time rentals, not long-term rentals by swim teams.
* The City of Pacifica pool is an indoor facility quoted as costing $180 per hour for 10 lanes. We are intimately familiar with this facility as we are running our own swim meets there. The actual cost is $125 per hour for 11 lanes, resulting in a per-lane-hour fee of $11.36, not the quoted $18.
* The City of Mountain View example refers to the Eagle Park pool but the $142 per hour rental fee that is quoted applies to one-time rentals, not to long-term rentals by swim teams. The figure for the swim teams is $44 per hour or $5.50 per lane-hour. [3]
We respectfully request that you reject the Staff recommendation to increase aquatic user fees.
Tobias Kunze
Board of Directors, SOLO Aquatics
References:
1. City of Sunnyvale Pool Rental Rates: https://www.sunnyvale.ca.gov/recreation-and-community/classes-and-activities/aquatics/pools.
2. Prospect High School Rental Rates: https://facilities.facilitron.com/5866f657ddb7d600384c3514 (login required).
3. City of Mountain view Master Fee Schedule: https://www.mountainview.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/9670/638610689425170000.
