Dear Mr. Scheuer, Thank you and your colleagues at Alpine Little League for your thoughtful letter to the Menlo Park City Council outlining your hopes and expectations for youth league play during the Covid-19 pandemic. As the director of recreation programs for the City of Menlo Park, I agree 100% with your views on the many physical and social benefits of organized youth athletics, and I eagerly look forward to the day when we all can safely return to the thrill and enjoyment of youth league play. Unfortunately, that day is not today, and it remains uncertain when exactly that day will come. As you are likely aware, the State of California Resilience Roadmap https://covid19.ca.gov/roadmap/#stage-4 > places live audience sports in the highest risk category and the last stage of reopening, Stage 4: End of Stay at Home Order. This is due in part to the high probability of viral transmission occurring during contact sports, and the inherent health risks this poses to players and spectators alike-and their families, friends and coworkers. Protecting the health and safety of community members who are most vulnerable to the deadly effects of Covid-19 is our top priority during this unprecedented public health emergency. While youth may themselves be less vulnerable to the worst effects of Covid-19, the swift and indiscriminate manner by which the virus is transmitted, combined with the fact that many carriers of the virus are completely asymptomatic, greatly increases the risk of uncontrolled spread from those carriers to others who are vulnerable to severe illness and even death. The potential for the virus to jump from one family group or social bubble to another with great speed is why congregate activities like organized league play are considered high-risk during a pandemic. These considerations are foremost in our minds as we evaluate and assess the risks of reopening various recreational activities in Menlo Park, in accordance with and at times possibly with greater caution than the health orders set forth by the State of California and County of San Mateo. In recent days, Covid-19 cases have been increasing in California, casting uncertainty on when California may be able to move to Stage 4 and lift the stay-at-home order, and thus allow live audience sports again. I'm cautiously optimistic that the Governor's requirement for all Californians to wear face coverings and practice social distancing in most public situations will help us all reduce the severity of the anticipated second wave of infections, so we can move closer to Stage 4 and safely allow youth league play again, hopefully by the end of this calendar year. I hope this information is helpful. Please feel free to contact me directly should you have any questions or need additional information. Best regards, Sean [cid:CMP_Email_Logo_100dpi_05d92d5b-e8e3-498f-93a6-d0da509bd602111111111.png] Sean S. Reinhart Library and Community Services Director Main Library 800 Alma St. tel 650-330-2510 menlopark.org http://www.menlopark.org/ > From: Todd Scheuer Date: Friday, June 19, 2020 at 9:18 AM To: _CCIN Subject: Letter on behalf of Alpine Little League regarding Menlo Park fields Menlo Park City Council: Please find our attached letter, respectfully submitted, on behalf of the entire Alpine Little League (Alpine West Menlo Little League) Board of Directors. Feel free to reach out to me directly if you have any additional questions or concerns. Best, Todd Scheuer, Commissioner Alpine Little League (image/png attachment: CMP_Email_Logo_100dpi_05d92d5b-e8e3-498f-93a6-d0da509bd602111111111.png ) application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document attachment: MP_Council_Letter.docx
