Tim Sheeper will have to apply for a use permit in order to operate Menlo Park’s Burgess Aquatics Center, says City Attorney Bill McClure.
Initially, Mr. McClure decided that a use permit wasn’t warranted because the operator, not the actual use of the facility, is changing, he said in a memo to the City Council.
But because the new aquatics center is a public facility, and Tim Sheeper is not a “governmental entity,” Mr. McClure has now ruled a use permit is required.
Mr. Sheeper and the city of Menlo Park will have to jointly file for the application. Mr. McClure said the application could go before the Planning Commission for approval at its April 10 meeting.
First of its kind?
So how many other cities have privatized their pools to cover hefty maintenance and operation costs?None in the Bay Area, according to acting Community Services Director Michael Taylor.
“To my knowledge, no one else has gone this route of outsourcing an aquatics facility to someone else,” said Mr. Taylor.
He acknowledged that because of the city’s goal to have a contract before the council at its February 28 meeting, he had only two weeks to research how other cities finance and operate their pools.
