Dear Sean,
I hope that you will be dismayed to learn that Menlo Swim and Sports has, in fact, taken no steps to ensure meaningful access to the warm water pool this summer by the seniors and disabled members of the community as Titles II and III of the ADA require with respect to local government activities and public accommodations respectively. It is now impossible to reserve any lane in that pool at any daytime hour, notwithstanding, your disability or age.
Unquestionably, the balance that needs to be made has several interests that need to be recognized. Where the City Council and Tim Sheeper have apparently failed—I say apparently because there has been no open communication from either on the pool’s summer schedule—is in failing to provide meaningful access to the warm water pool during daytime hours to Menlo Park’s older community members, its community members with disabilities, and those whose medical conditions benefit from it.
The affected members of the community swim for their health because they learned to swim young and be safe in the pool. Young kids have been denied that opportunity to learn or even go into the pool with parents for over a year because of Covid protocols. And, while completely closing the pool to the elderly and disabled who depend on it during daytime hours could not be justified legally or morally, I am sure the summer is a time which Menlo Swim needs to balance its books for the year, like businesses making 25% of their profits in the few weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. There is nothing wrong with that unless it precludes equal enjoyment of the pool by people with disabilities and older members of the Menlo Park community who depend on it for their health, as is happening here.
Yours very truly,
Stephen Heymann
> On May 20, 2021, at 11:31 AM, Reinhart, Sean S wrote:
>
> Dear Mr. Heymann,
>
> Thank you for your message to Menlo Park City Council about Burgess Pool availability for senior/disability programs. Your inquiry was forwarded to me for response. I'm the director of the city's recreation programs, which include the city's contract with the Burgess Pool operator, Menlo Swim and Sport.
>
> I asked the owner of Menlo Swim and Sport, Tim Sheeper, if he planned to follow up with you directly, and he confirmed that he and his team have been in touch. He also confirmed that Menlo Swim and Sport intends to continue to serve this important and valued population while balancing multiple demands on limited pool hours and complying with the many COVID-19 safety restrictions set by the county and state. He also noted that he expects the Burgess Pool schedule will continue to evolve and expand as COVID-19 restrictions (hopefully) continue to loosen over the summer.
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> I hope this information is helpful. Thanks again for taking the time to share your concerns. Your feedback is important to us, it helps us to assess and improve our services to the community. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have additional questions or if I can be of assistance.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Sean
>
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> [cid:CMP_Email_Logo_100dpi_05d92d5b-e8e3-498f-93a6-d0da509bd602111111111.png]
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> Sean S. Reinhart
> Library and Community Services Director
> Main Library
> 800 Alma St.
> tel 650-330-2510
> https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fmenlopark.org&c=E,1,BTpej-zRy5GqhqpewmQStKpJyoc8BHrWbHmL3L4ojlrsVHi3KW10Bn6_A-B2FoHbStOoBewD7vp4d9Z6ka1UCBiX_Ng8NiY6AhggETW_jI0,&typo=1
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> ________________________________
> From: Stephen Heymann
> Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2021 9:12 AM
> To: _CCIN
> Cc: Tim Sheeper
> Subject: Equal Opportunity for Disabled Individuals and Seniors to Enjoy the City's Pools This Summer
>
> Dear Members of the Menlo Park City Council,
> I write to urge you to reject the plan being discussed by Menlo Swim and Sport to dedicate the whole public warm water pool at Burgess to their summer camps from the middle of June until the end of August. It would be a rare, but nonetheless very damaging misstep, by a group entrusted by you with balancing the diverse needs of the Menlo Park community.
> I have respected the challenge of operating the city's pools over the past year and the skill with which Menlo Swim and Sport has done so. I also recognize and appreciate the care the staff has almost universally shown the wide range of users of the warm water pool with physical challenges, all coming to the pool to maintain or improve their health.
> I have observed, as I am sure that Menlo Swim and Sport staff have observed, that the primary users of the warm pool are those whose physical challenges are a barrier to swimming laps in the colder, deeper, performance pool. The warm water pool provides a unique opportunity for senior citizens in the community and community members disabled at birth, by a serious accident, or by illness to exercise. Weakened muscles work poorly in cold temperatures. Many use the shallow end afforded by this pool to walk slowly against resistance, important therapeutic, low-impact exercise that cannot be otherwise replicated.
> If approved, Menlo Swim and Sport's proposal would deprive a significant portion of the community access to a highly valued community resource for a third of the months when temperatures are consistently room temperature or above. During that time, senior citizens and disabled community members for whom this pool is so important for maintaining their health will significantly decondition with the consequent negative health consequences.
> Menlo Swim and Sport proposes to make this pool available only before 9:00 a.m. and after 5:00 p.m. It would recognize immediately that it could not limit use of the warm water pool by a particular race, ethnic group or religious group to these fringe hours as "their share" of the time, no matter how proportional. Similarly, the Title III of the ADA requires that people with physical disabilities-be they age related or caused by an accident of birth or illness-have equal opportunity to enjoy places of public accommodation, such as the water pool.
> The City Council should require Menlo Swim and Sport to leave a meaningful portion of this pool available to those with disabilities and senior citizens throughout the day this summer. As with the past year's balancing, this would neither leave any group with all they would have appreciated nor wrongly or unlawfully deprived any of equal access as required by law.
> Thank you for your concern and consideration.
> Stephen P. Heymann
> cc: Tim Sheeper, Menlo Swim and Sport
>
