Pool battle ramping up over money: San Mateo Union High School District claims Burlingame owes thousands

“The district could subsidize a local business (the Burlingame Aquatic Center that operates the pool) in the excess of a $1 million (over the remaining life of the agreement),” said Liz McManus, district deputy superintendent of business services. “People don’t realize the sheer expense of maintaining a pool. These are funds that need to be used for instructional programs.”

For the 2013-14 year, the annual operating expenses were $442,992, according to the district. The district sent the city a demand letter to modify the payment model back on July 15, but the City Council has refused to respond to the letter, McManus said. The district had asked for a resolution on the matter by Aug. 19, she said.

The city has been considering various options for the pool that was built in 1999 through $1.2 million from an anonymous donor, $1.6 million from the city and $300,000 from the district. The city has accused the district of poor upkeep of the pool for the last 10 years and “nickel-and-diming” the city.

“The city continues to want to work with the district to meet the needs of the citizens we both serve,” City Manager Lisa Goldman said in an email. “The district has attempted to unilaterally change the percentage calculation for pool expenses and the city does not agree with that approach. However, we remain optimistic that a reasonable dialogue and a solution that works for all parties are possible.”

City frustration

Mayor Michael Brownrigg said the city has been trying for two and half years to engage in meaningful talks with the district on this subject and expressed frustration about seeing the district’s negative portrayal of the city. He is further frustrated the district wants to work through lawyers rather than on a more personal level.

“The city has always been willing to talk about a fair allocation of all of the costs,” he said. “What concerns the city is a poorly maintained facility where heaters break far too often because of poor maintenance. ... We do appreciate recently the maintenance has improved, but the entire agreement needs to be reviewed, not just the maintenance.”

As part of the initial funding agreement of the pool, the district accepted it would be a community asset, he said.

“This is a huge pool and there is plenty of room for everybody if we use goodwill and common sense,” he said. “The high school teams come first, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need to be the only ones using the pool. This has the opportunity to be a really strong partnership for the good of kids and community and I hope that it will stay that way.”

Issues over costs

The district, on the other hand, said previously that the city is overusing the pool and that the BAC had not been maintaining the pool to district standards as of July. The maintenance issues have since been rectified, district officials say. The crux of the issue most recently, and $32,000 cost to the city, was heaters that had gone out on the pool. The city should have paid $99,709 more for the heaters, the district said. The heater was replaced in February 2013, with the district installing state-of-the-art, energy-efficient Lochinvar heaters, according to the district.

“At some point you have to be fair and reasonable,” McManus said. “We just want moving forward to have the expenditures adequately distributed.”

One of the major issues is that while the high school’s swim team was granted more hours of pool use, the water polo team — which plays between August and November — has not been given adequate pool time and space, said Linda Carlton, facilities use supervisor for the district. The school also uses the pool for physical education units, while the BAC uses the pool for lap swimming, swim lessons, recreational swimming, adult fitness, youth camps and classes, competitive youth swim teams, masters swimming, masters water polo, youth water polo and birthday parties.

The district is now focused on getting the water polo teams more pool times, said Tara Pratt, a Burlingame Aquatic Center, or BAC, member and facilities use coordinator for the district.

“The high school deserves priority,” Pratt said. “They’ve been making due with one practice slot for all four teams using the pool at one time. … Nobody wants to see this drag on any longer.”

This means about 60 players are using two thirds of the pool at one time, while BAC operates the remaining one third of the pool. The team needs two two-hour practice slots in two thirds of the pool. According to the original agreement, the pool would operate between 6 a.m.-10 p.m., but is closed on holidays. The district’s attorney sent this demand letter to City Attorney Kathleen Kane Oct. 7.

“I think the city of Burlingame needs to live up to the terms of the contract and the district should have priority for classes and school athletic programs,” said school board President Linda Lees Dwyer. “It’s a shame we don’t have a better working relationship with the city; this isn’t new. … I would really like to see it all work out, so the Burlingame community could have access during the times the high school is not using it.”

The current contract expires in November 2022 and the city is trying in good faith to find a good agreement, Kane said.

angela@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 105

Note to readers: This story has been changed to reflect additional information about the pool's maintenance in the past few months.