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Belle Haven Pool in Menlo Park will temporarily move to a 32-hour-per-week schedule through April 14, nearly halving their previous schedule. The modified schedule was implemented due to persistently low attendance and financial losses.
Menlo Park owns two public swim centers: Belle Haven Pool, which opened on May 20, 2024, and Burgess Pool. Aquatics partner Menlo Swim and Sport operates both swim centers under a city contract.
A report prepared by Menlo Park’s Library and Community Services team noted that Menlo Swim and Sport reported a net loss of approximately $67,000 from the two swim centers. Belle Haven Pool, which previously held a 63-hour-per-week schedule, accounted for approximately $174,000 in revenue and $346,000 in expenses from May to December last year. The operator estimates that financial losses at Belle Haven pool will continue at an average of $37,000 monthly.
After city staff conferred with the operator on Feb. 3, staff authorized the temporary reduction in hours based on recommendations from the Parks and Recreation Commission and “the urgency of the Operator’s request for immediate relief from significant unsustainable financial losses at Belle Haven Pool,” according to the report. The financial challenges are attributed to low attendance during early morning and mid-day hours, despite efforts to boost participation.
The City Council is expected to review the annual aquatics report on Feb. 25, which will provide further insights into the pool’s performance and inform future decisions regarding its operations.
To sustain operations at Belle Haven Pool, the PRC recommends that the City Council consider increasing user fees by 5-7%, raising lane rental fees to align with the rates in neighboring areas, and waiving the operator’s revenue share payment to the city.
A report for a joint Library Commission and Parks and Recreation Commission presented at their Dec. 2024 meeting noted that Burgess Pool received 137,921 total visits in 2024, a 10% increase from 125,346 total visits in 2023. Belle Haven Pool received 17,247 total visits from May 20 through Dec. 31, 2024.
Residents are encouraged to visit the Menlo Swim and Sport website for the most current information on pool schedules and programs.
If less than 50% of the people using the Burgess pool are non-Menlo Park residents, why did we build a second pool rather than limiting the use of Burgess to non-residents?
Also, when we made the decision to build the Belle Haven pools, what was projected usage and how does that compare to the actual usage? I didn’t see any projections provided so I am left assuming that someone in the City made what appears to be a very, very costly mistake. This sort of feels like the Model Y police car debacle but at a much grander scale. I hope I am wrong.