Community Update

Menlo Park Aquatics: What’s Happening with Our Pools?

– Menlo Park pools are operated by Menlo Swim & Sport: A 20-year community partnership

Background

Menlo Swim and Sport (MSS), operated by Team Sheeper, has served the Menlo Park community since 2006 managing Burgess Pool, and beginning in 2011, Belle Haven Pool. In 2023, anticipating the reopening of the new aquatic facility at Belle Haven, MSS entered a new five-year agreement with the City to run both pools year-round.

The Challenge

  1. Empty Facility: Opened May 2024 after major renovations, Belle Haven Pool averages fewer than 4 swimmers per hour of operation, yet MSS is must staff 63 open hours per week year-round.
  2. High Costs: Staffing, safety compliance, and utilities are fixed costs—whether there are 60 swimmers per hour or 4.
  3. Mounting Losses: MSS lost $65K in 2024 and has a 2025 loss of $210K (through May 31).
  4. Burgess Pool Can’t Fully Offset Costs of Belle Haven: Reduced 2025 revenue for historically popular programs at Burgess—likely connected to economic uncertainty—has compromised the ability to subsidize Belle Haven operations for the minimum 63 hours per week year-round.

What We’ve Previously Proposed to the City

To stabilize our company and continue serving the community, in collaboration with City staff and the Parks & Rec Commission, MSS has already proposed the following to City Council:

✅ Raise non-resident user fees (approved)

❌ Raise resident fees & group lane rental fees (denied)

❌ Extend the suspension of the City’s revenue share through the end of 2025 (denied)

❌ Seasonally adjust open hours at Belle Haven Pool to match demand (denied)

The City’s Suggestions

  • Hang banners with pool hours
  • Increase local neighborhood outreach
  • Raise non-resident fees further

These suggestions, while well-intentioned and can certainly be acted upon, will neither materially reduce costs, nor quickly raise revenue, leaving the core financial issue of sustainability unresolved.

Our Next Proposal to the City

We’re committed to serving the Menlo Park aquatics community—that’s at the heart of what we do. We’re working on a new proposal for the City that we hope will address concerns about access and affordability, while also helping Menlo Swim and Sport keep both pool facilities running smoothly.

We’re asking the City to subsidize two specific programs at Belle Haven Pool:

  1. Allow us to adjust pool hours to better match current community demand—63+ hours per week during the summer, and 54 hours per week the rest of the year.
  2. Provide free open swim and free lap swim year-round for hyperlocal residents at the Belle Haven pool.

We’re excited about these ideas and believe they reflect what matters most to the Belle Haven community and the City Council.  We look forward to the opportunity to discuss them with the City and community.

What’s at Risk if No Action is Taken?

  • Service Cuts: To help stem losses, MSS briefly reduced Burgess Pool hours from late May until the start of the summer session. Without concessions from the City, after the 2025 summer session ends, MSS will need to return to reduced hours at Burgess to manage costs – dropping from 93 hours/week to the contractual minimum of 63 hours/week at both pools.
  • Staff Impact: Over 300 employees, many local—including more than 100 seasonal hires from Menlo-Atherton High—could be affected.
  • Long-Term Partnership: Continued losses may force MSS to exit before the 2028 contract end date.

For further data and details about Menlo Park’ current aquatics operations, we invite you to review our 2024 annual report to the City. (See the summary on pages 3-7.)

What We’re Asking From You

🔹 Advocate: Contact Council members Taylor, Nash, Wise and voice support for sustainable pool operations.

🔹 Support:   Share feedback with the City in public comment at City meetings – Parks and Recreation Commission meetings (June 25) and City Council meetings (June 10 & 24, July 8).

🔹 Engage:     Join fellow aquatics community members to create solutions and take action to help resolve the current aquatics challenges.

Let’s protect Menlo Park’s aquatics legacy—together.

Community Update – Burgess Pool Schedule Changes

To help improve efficiency, Menlo Swim and Sport will be making a few small changes to the Burgess Pool schedule starting Wednesday, May 21 through Thursday, June 5, 2025.

What’s Changing:

  • The pool will close at 7:00 PM Monday through Friday.
  • The pool will open at 7:00 AM on Sundays.
  • There will be a full facility closure from 1:00–3:00 PM, Monday through Friday.

Summer Schedule:
From Friday, June 6 to Friday, August 15, Burgess Pool will remain open from 1:00–3:00 PM. The other schedule changes will stay in effect.

Daily Breakdown of Summer Schedule: June 9 – August 1
Daily Breakdown of Summer Schedule: August 2 – August 10
Daily Breakdown of Summer Schedule: August 11 – August 17

Community Message: A Movement Begins

Thank you for taking a step toward staying informed and engaging with your Menlo Park Aquatic Community.

A Quick History

Menlo Park is home to two wonderful aquatic facilities:

  • Burgess Pool, with a long legacy of high community use.
  • Belle Haven Pool, magnificently renovated and full of promise, working to grow from a committed yet small following.

This year marks 20 years of Menlo Swim and Sport operating aquatics for the City of Menlo Park. As a private company partnering with the City, we’ve worked hard to provide high-quality, diverse, and accessible aquatic programs for everyone—while also helping City taxpayers save significantly on operational costs.

The City’s Goal

With the opening in May 2024 of the Belle Haven facility, the City’s aspiration is simple: Keep Belle Haven Pool open as much as possible so community members can benefit from it at their convenience.

The Core Challenge

Opening any city pool requires a minimum number of trained staff to comply with local and national safety standards. These standards help avoid mishaps with grave consequences. The staffing levels are the same whether there are 60 swimmers or just 4.

During its first year of operation, Belle Haven Pool has averaged fewer than 4 swimmers per hour for much of the day. That low usage, combined with high operating costs, has made sustaining 60+ open hours at Belle Haven a challenge.

What We’ve Been Doing

For the past 8 months, Menlo Swim and Sport has been in active talks with the City to:

  • Revisit the City’s expectations for Belle Haven.
  • Work out interim adaptions to help us regain stability after our major investment in startup operations.
  • Continue serving the whole Menlo Park community long-term.

Where Things Stand

The City values our pool operations to-date yet believes no changes to their goals nor other involvement from them are needed to help weather the current challenge. That puts us in a tough spot to look for more ways to remain a viable operation.

What We Need

  1. Patience
    We ask for patience from our loyal pool patrons as we navigate the rough waters ahead.

Since May 2024, we’ve been operating two pools with revenue mostly from one. And it has not been quite enough to cover expenses. This year, we are also seeing a decrease in demand for our core programs from past years, likely a result of more judicious family spending due to the economic uncertainty affecting everyone.

To stabilize, we must first stem the losses by reducing costs—starting with adjustments like shortened hours at Burgess Pool and other changes so we can operate more efficiently. These changes are difficult but necessary, and we hope they will be temporary.

  1. People Coming Together
    We need your help! As a resident of Menlo Park, these premier aquatics facilities belong to you, the community. You have entrusted the stewardship of these facilities to the City and to us. If you believe we’re collectively serving Menlo Park fairly and effectively, we invite you to get involved. We need good, old-fashioned community engagement to help guide what is happening at the community pools.

One way to begin is to attend the Aquatics Working Group meeting, Tuesday, May 20th at 6 PM, Belle Haven Community Center – Register Now!

We want all pools in Menlo Park to be welcoming and rewarding. Let’s build a stronger, more connected aquatic community—together.

  1. Voices
    We need a range of voices—people of all ages, backgrounds, and aquatic interests—to speak honestly and meaningfully about what matters to them at our pools.

We need these voices to advocate to City leaders and help shape a future that reflects our aquatic community’s diverse needs and values.

If you are an incorporated Menlo Park resident, and would like to lend your voice to caring for the legacy of Menlo Park aquatics, please email mpaquatics2025@gmail.com, with your name and contact info.

A Personal Note

My goal is to ensure that Menlo Park’s aquatics legacy continues for generations, whether Menlo Swim and Sport is part of it or not. I know the importance of swimming/aquatics in people’s lives. It has saved mine.

With the support of our diverse and passionate aquatics community, I am confident that we will find our way to a sustainable and vibrant future for Menlo Park aquatics.

-Tim Sheeper, CEO of Team Sheeper & Menlo Swim & Sport

Stay Informed!

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