1 Alby Calles
From: Noelia Corzo <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, April 20, 2026 4:12 PM
To: Clerk; City Council (San Mateo)
Subject: Support for King Center Pool
Attachments: 2026.04.20 Item 2 Letter of Support--Corzo.pdf Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Flagged
Dear Councilmembers,
Please see attached letter of support for Item 2 on the April 20 City Council Meeting Agenda.
Sincerely,
Noelia Corzo
Supervisor Noelia Corzo, District Two
400 County Center, 1st Floor
Redwood City, CA 94063
650 363 4568 (Main)
County Government Center
500 County Center, 5th Floor
Redwood City, CA 94063
650 363 4569
[email protected]
San Mateo City Council
330 West 20th Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94403
April 20, 2026
RE: SUPPORT for Agenda Item 2
Dear Mayor Loraine and San Mateo City Council,
As President of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and Supervisor of District 2 representing San Mateo, I am writing in strong support of Item 2 on the April 20 Council Meeting Agenda. I write to express my strong support for the allocation of $4.5 million in City Capital Reserves for Phase 1 of the King Center Pool and Resiliency Center Project, in addition to the $1.4 million already committed.
For more than 50 years, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center and King Pool have served as a cornerstone of North Central San Mateo. The Center provides essential services, affordable recreation, and youth programming in one of the City’s most historically underserved neighborhoods. Each year, nearly 1,000 children gain life-saving swimming skills at the King Pool, and more than 3,000 residents rely on the Center’s programs, many offered at highly subsidized rates.
Like for many community members, the pool holds special significance for me as the place I learned to swim as a child. I want to ensure this experience is available for young people today and for generations to come. However, without timely intervention, the pool at the King Center is at risk of closure, jeopardizing access to a critical public health and safety resource for the community. The King Center also holds significant potential as a Resiliency Center, providing a safe, accessible space for residents during extreme heat events, storms, power outages, and other emergencies. I was proud to work alongside Congressmember Kevin Mullin and local leaders to help secure $850,000 in federal funding to support early rehabilitation, design, and resilience planning. However, advancing this project will require strong local partnership and investment.
North Central San Mateo is home to a vibrant network of community-based organizations, including partnerships supported by the Koshland Civic Leader Fellows, that are expanding access to cultural programming, wellness services, and educational opportunities. Continued disinvestment in the King Center would undermine this important progress.
I respectfully urge the City Council to approve the staff-recommended $4 million allocation along with an additional $500,000 contingency for Phase 1. Thank you for your leadership and your commitment to the health and well-being of San Mateo residents.
Sincerely,
Noelia Corzo
1 Alby Calles
From: Elizabeth Yeager
Sent: Monday, April 20, 2026 5:27 PM
To: City Council (San Mateo)
Cc: Jim Yeager; Abraham Yeager; Drew Yeager; Ben Yeager; Lucy Yeager Subject: King Center Pool
Greetings Council Members,
As longtime North Central residents (18 years) and now San Mateo Park residents (2 years), my family and I have always been enormous fans of the King Center Pool. We lived on a shoestring for many years and purchased a very affordable family swim pass each summer. When our kids were little, we'd pack a picnic and spend Saturday or Sunday afternoons at the pool. We would marvel about how delightful it was to sit on the pool deck surrounded by the green hedges that created privacy and blocked the wind. The
King Center Pool was our secret gem and we were saddened that most people didn't know about it or assumed negative stereotypes about it.
Over the years, all four of my children learned to swim at the King Center Pool (sometimes at Joinville as well) alongside an amazing cross-section of young San Mateans. The staff and instructors were always so mature and well-trained. (My kids were sometimes upset by the strict swim test, but I was grateful!)
As my kids got older, they could independently walk the few blocks between our house and the pool to enjoy summertime fun in their own neighborhood. Two of them even became San Mateo City lifeguards for a summer and far preferred guarding and teaching lessons at King rather than at windy Joinville!
As noted, we now live in San Mateo Park and we have our own pool. We no longer rely upon the King Center and recognize our privilege. However, the residents of the densely populated North Central neighborhood deserve a swimming pool to be a place of refreshment and community gathering.
As noted, it was our consistent impression that many people avoided the King Center due to unfair assumptions. The facility is certainly run down, and I don't recall the showers being worth using, but the locker rooms were clean and secure. We had nothing but positive experiences with the staff and the swimming experience. A major overhaul accompanied by effective marketing could bring the King Center Pool back to life and could become a much-needed summertime neighborhood hub.
Please, please, please, SAVE THE KING CENTER POOL!!!
Most Sincerely,
Jim & Liz Yeager
2 Cc'd: Abe Yeager (22), Drew Yeager (20), Ben Yeager (18), Lucy Yeager (16)
1 Alby Calles
From: Allison MacQueen Felder
Sent: Monday, April 20, 2026 6:36 PM
To: City Council (San Mateo)
Subject: Support for King Center Investment
Please allocate the staff-recommended $4 million in Capital Reserves plus an additional contingency of $500,000 for Phase 1 of the King Center Pool and Resiliency Center Project.
My family has used both the indoor and outdoor facilities at King Center over the years - for folklorico dance class, summer camps, and the baseball field. The MLK center offers some strong programs for both young and old and everyone in between, but it could be so much more. It lacks the safety attributes and the features needed to support modern community programs. We are lagging behind other cities and this investment is well overdue.
Thank you,
Allison MacQueen
District 2 Resident