This fall ( and the last few weeks of August), Menlo Swim and Sport will be
closing the Burgess pool on weekdays from 10a-3p, while keeping the Belle
Haven pool open, despite Belle Haven being more inconvenient to 3/4 of our
community.
These new hours are a direct result of the City Council mandates given to
Menlo Swim and Sport.
I learned about the new hours when my one hour swim time was cut short this
morning, because I wasnt in the pool by 9am.
I hope everyone sees that we are doing a huge disservice to our swimming
community. Our residents pay huge taxes and we are considered a desirable
and wealthy community, yet our city cant maintain daytime pool hours at
the pool that is most convenient to the majority of our people.
Its incredibly disheartening. I hope our city council can see why
residents are frustrated.
Linda Itskovitz
litskovitz@gmail.com
On Mon, Jun 2, 2025, 4:21 PM Linda Itskovitz wrote:
> Dear City Council,
>
> After reading the recent *SF Gate* article
> ,
> I feel compelled to reach out once again with concerns about how our city
> is handling its relationship with Tim Sheeper and the management of our
> local pools.
>
> I don’t know Mr. Sheeper personally, but I swim at the Burgess pool one to
> two times per week.
>
> Here is what I have come to understand:
>
> -
>
> Tim Sheeper and his team currently manage both the Burgess and Belle
> Haven pools, in addition to operating pool programs in Palo Alto and a
> triathlon organization.
> -
>
> We are requiring Mr. Sheeper to keep the Belle Haven pool open for 63
> hours per week (nine hours a day), even though there appears to be
> insufficient demand to support that level of operation.
> -
>
> The Belle Haven pool is located on one edge of town and is less
> accessible for a large portion of residents, whereas the centrally located
> Burgess pool is equally accessible to both Sharon Heights and Belle Haven
> residents. In fact, the Burgess pool is12 minutes by car from both Sharon
> Heights and Belle Haven, and even quicker by bike from Belle Haven.
> -
>
> In my experience—and based on conversations with fellow
> swimmers—Burgess is a well-run and much-used facility.
>
> Here’s what I don’t understand:
>
> -
>
> Why is the City asking Mr. Sheeper to share financials from outside
> Menlo Park? If there’s concern we’re subsidizing other programs,
> transparency may be reasonable—but if not, the request seems unnecessary
> for a successful private contractor.
> -
>
> Why are we imposing hours at Belle Haven that exceed actual demand,
> from a practical standpoint? Expecting a business to provide far more
> supply than demand can support is neither sustainable nor wise, even if we
> want to do right by our residents.
> -
>
> Putting the hours debate aside, has Mr. Sheeper’s management of our
> pools not met expectations? Are there other concerns behind this standoff?
> If not, it’s unclear why the full City Council isn’t uniting behind the
> solutions proposed by some of its own members.
>
> Rather than requiring full-day hours at the Belle Haven pool regardless of
> usage, could we align the schedule with peak demand and encourage off-peak
> users to use the centrally located Burgess pool? I fully support access for
> the Belle Haven community, but have we asked what matters most to
> them—especially given the costs involved?
>
> Finally, I’m very concerned that this standoff with Mr. Sheeper could
> jeopardize the pool operations at Burgess—either through temporary closure
> or increased costs if the City takes over operations. That would not serve
> the community well.
>
> If there are additional facts not reflected in the article, I would
> welcome the opportunity to understand them. However, based on the
> information available, I find it difficult to understand why the City
> Council as a whole and Tim Sheeper cannot come to an agreement that both
> serves our community and preserves Mr. Sheeper’s viability.
>
> I appreciate your attention to these issues and your ongoing commitment to
> our community.
>
> Sincerely,
> Linda Itskovitz
>
> Sharon Heights
>
