Hello again Drew, and Fellow Council Members, 8/24/2025
It’s Frances Reneau from down the block, writing again about the pool problem. I appreciate your writing me back last time, Drew, thank you!
Unfortunately, the situation has not changed for the better. At this point, I’m really worried that we are going to lose Tim Sheeper. No!! Menlo Swim and Sport and the City Council seem to be at complete loggerheads, with everyone entrenched in their positions. Sigh.
I was talking to the many other women in the locker room a few days ago and, as usual, could find no one who didn’t support keeping on Tim Sheeper as our pool operator. This actually made me a little frustrated because I realized that I had never spoken face-to-face with anyone, ever, who didn’t favor keeping Tim. I realized that I am operating inside an echo chamber! I have no idea what “the other side” is thinking, other than that information found in some rather negative articles in the Almanac.
These articles say that Betsy Nash and Cecilia Taylor blame Tim, one hundred percent, for the struggle Menlo Swim and Sport is experiencing trying to keep the pools open. According to the Almanac, these counsel members claim that Tim hasn’t tried hard enough to attract business to the new Bell Haven pool. They say he broke his contract with the city when he reduced hours at the under-used Bell Haven Pool in an effort to cut expenses. The Almanac article suggests that Nash and Taylor are suspicious of Tim, suspecting him of secretly enriching himself, because, per the contract, he doesn’t have to report executive salaries.
Menlo Swim and Sport lost thousands of dollars last year trying the meet the contract obligations. Why would Tim run his own business into the ground? That makes no sense.
Ms. Nash implies that other, much more capable and experienced pool operators are waiting in the wings. I find this very hard to believe.
Last week, I was chatting with a friend who mentioned that they had joined The University Club about ten years ago and since then they have gone through four pool managers! He said we were so lucky to have found someone to stick with the program, someone who wants to make it work. I agree.
Pools and other municipal recreational facilities do not make money. They cost money. Other cities pay to keep their pools, gyms, and ball fields open. It’s only through Tim’s wise management that Burgess Pool has been financially viable all these years. Trying to include Bell Haven in this mix is not working, and expecting Burgess to subsidize Bell Haven is not realistic or fair. The city needs to help pay for the pools, like it or not.
If I were Tim, I’d have thrown in the towel a long time ago. I feel like he’s been really misunderstood, maligned and mistreated by the City and by the local papers. Even though Tim is quite a bit younger than I am, I look up to him like a father figure in terms of his character. Behind that quiet, modest facade is an eminently honest, decent, trustworthy, and upright man.
Thank you, Drew, for reading all this. And thank you for your support for Tim Sheeper.
Sincerely,
Frances Reneau
229 McKendry Drive
Menlo Park, CA 94025
francesreneau@gamil.com
(650)804-9163
