Built from tragedy, San Bruno Aquatic Center to open

“It’s a beautiful, state-of-the art, 21st century recreation and aquatic center that will impressively address the recreation needs of our community,” Leslie Hatamiya, executive director of the San Bruno Community Foundation, said. “It’s really a combination of the community coming together after the gas pipeline explosion, and finding something good to come out of that horrific experience.”

After the explosion, which killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes, PG&E agreed to pay the $70 million in restitution without litigation. The utility was ultimately convicted of six felonies, fined $1.6 billion by the Public Utilities Commission and agreed to pay $565 million to settle victim’s lawsuits. 

The explosion was determined to be the fault of a defective seam weld in a pipeline that had been described as seamless by PG&E reports.

The facility was supposed to be open in 2023, then March of this year, delayed by ongoing gas and electric line construction issues from PG&E.

An initial listening campaign identified residents’ desire for new and improved community facilities, Hatamiya said. The city chose to move forward with a new Recreation and Aquatic Center in 2017, an initiative the foundation supported through a series of eight grants.

The indoor pool, fitness center, walking track and gymnasium are open to residents and fitness enthusiasts from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays as construction crews finalize details and work on the outdoor pools for the long-awaited building.

During the monthlong soft opening, recreation staff are still being hired and programming is being built, Community Services Director Travis Karlen said, including summer camps and classic fitness classes. The construction team is also making last-minute finishes to the facility’s interior and the outdoor wading and lap pools.

Water aerobics and swimming instructors are encouraged to apply for open positions to facilitate long-awaited usage of the three new pool facilities, Karlen said.

“An indoor pool offers more opportunities for keeping it open,” he said of the open space. “Now, they're going to work on balancing the chemicals and getting [the outdoor pools] ready and getting the full features … we've been told that both those pools will be ready to roll by our grand opening.”

The gymnasium is set up for basketball, pickleball, volleyball and badminton, Karlen said, with plans for future drop-in play, hosting tournaments and partnering with local school sports programs.

Upstairs, a fitness center and indoor walking track is meant to cater to a wide variety of fitness ranges and athletic ability for those 14 and older.

“I know somebody that comes specifically to go on the walking track or the running track, because they're recovering from an injury. Just having that flat, even space is very good for that person,” Karlen said.

The building also features a variety of multipurpose rooms — including a studio that could be used for yoga, Pilates or dance classes — and a large community gathering hall that will be used for City Council meetings in the future but can also be rented out by community members.

“This will be used for smaller weddings, bar mitzvahs, quinceaneras are probably going to be very popular here,” Karlen said. “All those different celebrations are welcome here.”

Although recreation staff are still working toward full functioning of the facility — including a potential for future child care programming — and working around challenges like access and entry, the community response has been positive.

“Even though we weren't totally ready for it, it was good to be able to get the public … to start using the facility, with the intentions that we're going to ramp things up,” Karlen said.

In its first week of operation, the facility has seen around 2,000 visitors and 150 membership signups, Karlen said.

Introductory monthly fees for the facility are as follows, and are subject to change past the initial phase of operations: $30 for residents 14-plus and $36 for non-residents, with $25 for an additional residential household member fourteen-plus and $30 for non-residents.

Daily fees for residential teens and adults ages 14-49 are $8 for residents and $10 for non-residents. Resident adults age 50 and up will pay $6 and non-residents will pay $8. Residential teens and adults can also pay $104 for a 15-visit bundle, which will cost non-residents $130. Residential adults 50 and up will pay $78 for that same bundle, which will cost non-residential adults 50 and up $104.

Youth daily fees for the aquatics center and gymnasium are as follows: $4 for residents and $6 for non-residents. A bundle of 15 visits will cost residential youths $52 and non-residential youths $78.

There’s no entry charge for children less than 2 years old.

holly@smdailyjournal.com

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