Dear City Council Members,
Since the council is currently discussing budget options, Team Sheeper
would like to put a proposal on the table that will help to support the
Menlo Park aquatics community as a whole.
The two main points that have emerged as the City Council’s concerns
related to serving the entire Menlo Park aquatic community are:
1. Affordability
2. Hours of Operation
The City of Menlo Park has built a beautiful new facility to serve a
historically underserved community. However, building a facility is not
enough to serve the population. There has to be financial support behind
such a facility in order to make it a successful, accessible and affordable
pool for the neighborhood community. Continued financial subsidy by the
pool operator is unrealistic and unsustainable.
We offer the following 3 options for City Council to consider to address
the main points of affordability and accessibility:
1. Belle Haven operates at 63 hours per week. Team Sheeper financially
supports 23 of those hours, 44 weeks of the year and the full 63 hours for
8 weeks of the year (summer).
This option requires a $235,000 subsidy from the City to support the Belle
Haven community pool.
2. Belle Haven operates at 54 hours per week (63 in the summer) - this
represents 8 hours per weekday and 14 hours on the weekends - we feel this
is a more reasonable allocation of hours and still offers sufficient
community access at this point in time. Team Sheeper financially supports
23 of those hours, 44 weeks of the year and 63 hours for 8 weeks of the
year.
This option requires a $182,000 subsidy from the City to support the Belle
Haven Community pool.
3. Free recreational and lap swimming year round for the Belle Haven
Community Pool, hyperlocal residents, combined with one of the above
operational hours options.
This option requires a $70,000 subsidy from the City and can be combined
with either of the two options above so that either a $305,000 subsidy w/63
operating hours per week, or a $252,000 subsidy, 54 hours per week that now
includes free recreational and lap swim for hyperlocal residents.
Team Sheeper will continue to offer swim lessons to the community
accompanied by scholarships supported by BBAF, camps when we are able to
achieve participation minimums to cover direct staffing costs, aquafit and
pool rentals for youth teams.
These subsidies are estimates that will cover costs of operation, to allow
Team Sheeper to potentially break even when both pools are combined for the
fiscal year 2025, but will not allow recovery of 2024 losses. Our cost
estimates include only direct costs for lifeguards and lifeguard oversight.
It does not include any allocations for management level staff members.
Without any intervention, Team Sheeper will be forced into reducing hours
at Burgess pool by 30 hours per week in the fall, so that both operations
are sustained at the 63 required hours per week. This will significantly
affect many of the current pool users but is the only financial operational
option that we have remaining.
Thank you for your consideration.
Carole Hayworth
CFO, Team Sheeper, Inc.
