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Pool design to get another look
Facing a Jan. 29 deadline to decide on the exact design for a pool area to accompany the new community center planned in Belle Haven, the Menlo Park City Council was almost set to vote on a final design nearing midnight on Jan. 26.
Then, Jennifer Johnson, a parks and recreation commissioner, said in a public comment that the proposed designs hadn’t included recommendations from earlier plans for a feature that’s intended to make the teaching pool accessible to everyone: a beach entry.
A beach entry, also known as a walk-in pool, has a very gradual slope of about 1 foot of decline every 10 feet of horizontal space, explained Chris Lamm, assistant public works director.
Johnson said that the feature would make the pool truly accessible for everyone, while other features aimed at accommodating those with disabilities, such as chair lifts, are not able to be used by everyone. About 1 in 10 people in the community have disabilities, she said, adding that anybody can become disabled at any time, and most people eventually will be.
“One problem I have, as you might be able to tell, is that projects in Menlo Park rarely consider accessibility for people with differences,” Johnson said. “It is frustrating to not have that lens being looked through regularly. We are talking about equity in a number of different ways but I have yet to hear a discussion initiated by staff or council that places the need of people with all abilities as a priority.
“I understand that I don’t get to decide if there’s a beach entry or not,” she continued. “That’s not the big issue here. The big issue is that staff weren’t considering ways to make these the most accessible to the most people.”
Staff members said the new pool site is constrained due to the boundaries set by the new plans for the community center, set to be funded by Facebook. Beach entries take up a lot of space due to their very shallow slope, Lamm said.
In advance of the deadline, council members Cecilia Taylor, Ray Mueller and Vice Mayor Betsy Nash agreed to meet with Johnson to try to come up with a more accessible solution, and all council members agreed to hold another meeting later in the week to approve the current or revised pool proposal.
But it wasn’t clear how feasible it would be for the city to redesign the pool within only a couple of days.
“When I say we need a decision … it’s a go (or) no-go to have a decision by Friday if we’re going to be able to include a pool with Facebook’s construction,” City Manager Starla Jerome-Robinson told the council.
As of The Almanac’s Wednesday press deadline, the follow-up meeting had not yet been scheduled. See the latest council meeting schedule here.
Santa Cruz Avenue closures to continue
The current street closures on Santa Cruz Avenue in downtown Menlo Park to allow outdoor dining space for Left Bank, Bistro Vida and Galata Bistro will remain in place until at least Feb. 23, despite some pressure from other downtown businesses to reopen the street.
Presented with the option to reopen the street in advance of the planned end of the program at the end of February, the City Council deliberated over what to do, given the surprise announcement earlier this week that San Mateo County was reverting to the purple tier under the state’s coronavirus restrictions, allowing outdoor dining once again.
When restaurants were only open for takeout, it made more sense to open up the road for vehicles, but when struggling restaurants reopen for outdoor dining, the question becomes more complicated, council members argued.
Councilwoman Jen Wolosin said she was ready to vote to reopen the street, given the input the city had received from business owners eager to see the street reopened, while Councilman Ray Mueller said he wasn’t comfortable with doing so yet because some restaurants may not have weighed in yet, likely because they have been closed or worrying about other things.
“We are at such a juncture in this pandemic,” Mueller said. Allowing people to stay distanced while dining outdoors will remain important as the pandemic continues, he said.
The council tentatively rescheduled its discussion of reopening the street to Feb. 23, just before the closure is set to expire.
San Mateo County to award $1.5 million in grants to ‘learning hubs’ for underserved students
The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors approved $1.5 million to fund local “learning hubs” for students facing difficulties with distance learning during a Tuesday meeting.
The aim of the Learning Hub Expansion Fund is to increase the number of students from socioeconomically disadvantaged families who can participate in learning hubs programs that provide safe, supportive places for K-12 students to engage in distance learning.
“The education gap in San Mateo County between socioeconomically disadvantaged students and their peers has widened dramatically due to COVID-19,” said Supervisor Dave Pine in a statement. “With the ongoing requirement for distance learning, students who are already facing hardships are encountering additional challenges and risk falling behind. By expanding the capacity of learning hubs, we can provide connected and supportive learning environments so that all students have the opportunity to succeed and thrive.”
Lower income students may be struggling due to living in crowded homes, have parents who work outside of the home, have inconsistent internet access and lack of appropriate digital devices, the Board of Supervisors said.
Key aspects of learning hub programs include a partnership between a school district or city, and an existing afterschool or other youth-serving program, as well as tuition assistance and subsidies for participating students. For example, the Lewis and Joan Platt East Palo Alto Family YMCA and East Palo Alto Tennis Club operate learning hubs to support students from the Ravenswood City School District.
The board hopes the programs can help address a spike in failing grades and absenteeism among low-income students and other vulnerable groups in local school districts, according to the board. For example, in fall 2020, 29% of Sequoia Union High School District students earned more than two Ds or Fs, up from 20% last year. Some 55% of these students were socioeconomically disadvantaged students, even though they represent only 36% of the district’s student body. Absences among Pacific Islander and Latino San Mateo Union High School District students increased by almost 16% and 7%, respectively, during the same time.
“Learning hubs represent a unique opportunity for students to access technology and support during the remainder of this school year,” said Supervisor Carole Groom, co-sponsor of the measure, in a statement. “The pandemic is taking a toll on many students in San Mateo County and we must make every effort to level the playing field and support academic success.”
Eligibility for grants from the Learning Hubs Expansion Fund will be limited to nonprofit providers and public entities (such as cities and school districts) that commit to using grant funds to expand the number of learning hub slots for socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Grants will also only be awarded to youth-serving organizations that already run these programs.
The grant fund will be administered by a partnership between the Community Equity Collaborative and the San Mateo Credit Union Community Fund.
The application opened on Wednesday, Jan. 27. All applications must be received by Feb. 10 at 5 p.m. For more information and to apply, go here or contact Heather Hopkins at heather@communityequitycollaborative.org.
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