Dear Menlo Park City Council Members and Mayor,
Thank you again for all of your hard-work and time on the Menlo Park pool issues.
I am writing to reiterate my satisfaction with the services at the Burgess pool. The cross section of activities and ages and people at the pool at all hours of the day is wonderful.
I also am writing to say that public pools and parks are community supported wherever they are. None can run without some financial support from the community. That is why they are public. We can decide to impose user fees in some cases, but generally public parks and pools are paid for by the community and the goal is to give everyone access. This is no different for the parks and pools in Menlo Park.
My husband and I have been supporters - and users - of public pools and parks our entire lives. We used them in Menlo Park and Redwood City to raise our children. Our children attended the public schools at Las Lomitas, La Entrada, and Menlo Atherton, and had friends from all parts of Menlo Park. Mike and I were involved in the non-profit youth water polo club and worked with Brenda Villa and Beyond Barriers to encourage youth who live near the Belle Haven pool to swim and play water polo.
I can only encourage you to view positively the work that Menlo Swim and Sport has done, and to work with them on the proposal they have made. I believe we can all work together to make the Menlo Park pools successful.
Thank you again for your consideration of my comments.
Warm regards,
Katy
Katherine Basile-Fero
She/Her
650.387.5933 (mobile)
> On Jun 9, 2025, at 8:52 PM, Katy Basile wrote:
>
> Dear Menlo Park City Council Members,
>
> I am writing to encourage the Menlo Park City Council to adopt a budget and approach to the Belle Haven pool the reflects the City’s leadership, commitment, and responsibility for creating an aquatics community where the pool is located. Menlo Swim and Sport has done and is doing all that they can, and they have and are proposing an approach that will build that aquatics community. It will take time - maybe a long time - and it is possible that since the pool is not centrally located, it may never be fully self-sustaining from an income/expense perspective. I believe that Menlo Swim and Sport (Team Sheeper) is the organization best equipped to help make the Belle Haven pool a vibrant, active place in partnership with the Menlo Park City Council. I encourage you to adopt the proposal by Menlo Swim and Sport (Team Sheeper) in the upcoming annual budget.
>
> Menlo Swim and Sport, Team Sheeper, and Tim Sheeper have done a remarkable job with the Burgess pool over the past 20 years. There is a lot of wonderful history here, and it really cannot be ignored. I have not seen anyone build a community; utilize the water; or create a local business like we have at the Burgess pool right nowl.
>
> I see this community all the time. I swim regularly at the Burgess pool - when I exit the pool, I see lap swimmers coming in; I see adults doing water aerobics; I see young children having swimming lessons. Indeed, I will be bringing my granddaughter to the Burgess pool in a few weeks for swim lessons (where her mother, aunts and uncle had swim lessons in the old 33.3 yard pool). I not only participate in the masters program (which I have done for over 25 years) but I also participate in the Menlo Mavens women’s masters water polo program. These communities mean so much to me.
>
> Saying hello to the high school students, staff, coaches and instructors is also part of my joy at the pool. Menlo Swim and Sport employs around 300 people - hiring around 150 high school students, many from Menlo-Atherton high school (where my four kids went). This is very important and should not be taken lightly. Menlo Swim and Sport and Team Sheeper have an outstanding, successful record running the pool(s) for the past 20 years. I truly believe that this success is unique to Menlo Swim and Sport and Team Sheeper and their leaderships ability to build community.
>
> It is a wonderful thing for Menlo Park. It would be terrible to see it disrupted or lost.
>
> I believe that in the long run, the beautiful facility at Belle Haven will also be a bustling pool. It will just take time, patience, dedication, and leadership. This needs to come from the City of Menlo Park and the City Council. So please, demonstrate that leadership by supporting the proposal from our current, outstanding pool operator Menlo Swim and Sport (Team Sheeper) Our community will continue to support those efforts too as we have over the years such as with Beyond Barriers, local mentoring programs, local youth water polo programs, etc. We are here to help you be successful too in your efforts to develop an aquatics community in and around the Belle Haven pool.
>
> My husband and I live in Ladera, but much of our daily life is spent in Menlo Park. We have many friends who live in Menlo Park; all four of our children attended Menlo-Atherton high school; we have volunteered at MA and in other programs in Menlo Park; we have been part of the Beyond Barriers program; we shop in Menlo Park all the time, eat dinner out in Menlo Park, etc. We are part of the Menlo Park community.
>
> Thank you very much for considering my comments.
>
> Warm regards,
>
> Katherine (Katy) Basile-Fero
> 171 Lucero Way
> Menlo Park, CA 94025
> 650-387-5933
