Piedmont Swim Club Pools Open but Lease Still in Limbo
Piedmont Swim Club pools re-open. Lease negotiations with City continue.
Piedmont Swim Club Pools Open but Lease Still in Limbo. By Susan Southworth.
The Swim Club’s lease expires on June 30, 2011. At that time, unless a new lease has been signed, the facility will revert to the City. It would then be up to the City to either shutter it or find the funds to operate it. Without a lease, the Swim Club would be forced to dissolve. The Swim Club Board is actively negotiating with the City for a new long-term lease. According to Tim Rood, Swim Club President:
“In 2008, we successfully negotiated a 3-year extension that removed the requirement for the Swim Club to pay a minimum cash rent, saving the members $114,000 over the three years. Following a meeting to discuss lease terms with the City Manager and City Attorney, on March 30, 2010, we sent the City a proposal for a 15-year lease, offering to continue to maintain the facility and provide the same, mostly unpaid use by the Piedmont Swim Team, the schools and the Recreation Department – estimated at over $70,000 at prevailing facility rental rates.”
After working on it in closed session, the City returned a mark-up of the lease proposal on May 7. Rood reports the City indicated that it wants to require the Swim Club:
– to pay rent, but not how much;
– to contribute to a capital improvement fund, but not in what amount;
– to turn over any funds remaining upon expiration of the lease to the City (which conflicts with Club by-laws);
– to submit to periodic review and arbitration of the longstanding use arrangements during the term of the lease;
– to purchase additional liability coverage and earthquake insurance at considerable expense and questionable benefit.
The City Council further stated that “there are some other items that the Council may want to propose changes on, but they want to think them over further.”
The Council also asked the Recreation Commission to review the use arrangements that have been in effect since 1998. The Commission recommended to keep school use more or less at current levels and not to add the additional school aquatic programs that the School District had requested. The Piedmont Swim Team has previously submitted a letter of support for a new Swim Club lease.
In response, the Swim Club Board began preparing long-term financial projections and estimates of the value of the community use provided, obtaining quotes on the additional insurance coverage the City requested, and researching facility rental costs and recreational/lap swimming costs at competing facilities.
In 2006, a consultant studied the option of converting to a City operated pool and determined it would have required annual subsidies from the City’s general fund of $127,000 to $327,000 in excess of revenues from pool operation. Considering the City’s recent budget deficit situation, the Swim Club Board expects to resolve the contract, avoiding this new expense to the City. Source: October 3, 2006 City Minutes, Consultant’s Report, and Staff Report)
A significant change from previous leases is found in 9(c) of the Swim Club’s proposed lease, which opens the Swim Club to 130 non-Piedmont residents, expanding possible membership total to 650 from the current approximate 500.
The recent closure required by Alameda County Department of Environmental Health for non-compliance with California State Law AB1020 at the height of summer added to the ongoing stress on the Swim Club membership and the City. Read more about closures.
For additional information on this issue, Mr. Rood recommends a recent article by Linda Davis of the Piedmonter summarizing the complexities of the pool closure and lease negotiations. Read here.
To clarify – 650 (resident) members are allowed under the current lease, but we only have about 500. Section 9(c) would allow up to 130 of the 650 members to be nonresidents, but there would be no change in the maximum number of members.
My family has held a PSC membership for the last few years. We primarily use the pool with our kids and for lessons. It’s not a particularly good deal for us given the amount we use the pool but it’s worth it nonetheless given available alternatives.
It seems to me like the PSC has done a pretty good job of making swimming available to the schools and the community as a whole at a reasonable cost. It doesn’t really seem like the City is in any kind of a position to make demands from the PSC unless it is ready to take over the pool and all associated costs.