Dear City Council,
You may recall that I have been in touch for several years concerning Team Sheeper's contract administering the Menlo Park City Pool. Of grave concern has been the way the city's vendor has squeezed out community pool access in favor of private programming and profit. These programs benefit the most wealthy and privileged in our community.
Although I've raised these concerns with Tim Sheeper himself over the years and the City's Parks & Rec department, little has been done to fix the problem. I have been asking for the following actions to be taken for the good of EVERYONE in our community:
* Open swim time for families on weekends
* Group swim lessons vs. private lessons ($76 per 30 minutes - who can even afford this and how are we teaching our community's children to swim?)
* Open access to lap swimming in the Performance pool (early morning and evening) so that people who work during the day and can't afford Masters can continue to swim
* Limiting rental to other organizations at least until 2023 when the new MPCC opens
* Reasonable pricing so all Menlo Park residents can swim
* Menlo Park should take back ownership of the pool and end the arrangement it has with its for-profit contractor that has been crowding out public access in favor of private programming.
Therefore, I was alarmed to read the Staff Report - Item G2 - Direction of the Burgess Pool Aquatics Operator Agreement Negotiation that is on the agenda for discussion at tonight's meeting.
The City is being strong-armed by its current vendor. Not only does Team Sheeper represent a single point of failure in the city's plan to manage the pool, but it appears our community pool – the one we all collectively own and pay for with our tax dollars – is being threatened by a hostile negotiator.
Is this an entity that has the best interests for the City of Menlo Park?
* A vendor who refuses to take part in a request for proposal - a routine process that anyone who does business with the City should be willing to partake in.
* A vendor who is unwilling to share profits from community programming with the city
The City should be setting the terms with our pool vendor! It is past time that the City make arrangements to take over the pool or find a vendor that aligns with the City's values and vision for the pool.
* We should insist on having one vendor run both Burgess and Belle Haven pools to ensure that access, affordability, and service are consistent in the entirety of our community.
* We should make arrangements now to run the pool independently so that community access doesn't continue to be muddied by private companies that seek to maximize profit and have no interest in equal community access to the facility for all.
Cordially,
Jessica Taylor
1415 Mills Ct.
Menlo Park, CA 94025
