CITY OF SAN MATEO
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CITY OF SAN MATEO
Agenda Report
City Hall
330 W. 20th Avenue
San Mateo CA 94403
www.cityofsanmateo.org
Agenda Number: 1 Section Name: STUDY SESSION Account Number: 82-4681 File ID: 26-11527 TO: City Council
FROM: Alex Khojikian, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Public Works Department
MEETING DATE: September 22, 2026
SUBJECT:
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center Modernization and Resiliency Center Program – Update RECOMMENDATION:
Receive an update on progress of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center Modernization and Resiliency Center Improvements project and provide feedback to guide continued project development, including:
1. The preferred pool and facility design concept developed through the project’s community engagement process;
2. Community priorities and programming needs identified through the extensive outreach and engagement conducted to date; and
3. Project scope and priorities as the project team advances schematic design, cost estimating, funding evaluation, and planning for future project phases.
BACKGROUND:
The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center (King Center) was originally constructed in 1968 and partially renovated in 1987. The facility includes a full-court gymnasium, swimming pool, offices, childcare spaces, multi-purpose rooms, and has served as one of the City's primary recreational and community gathering spaces for nearly six decades. In Fiscal Year 2024-25, the City completed a comprehensive Facilities Assessment to evaluate existing building conditions, identify priority capital improvements, and develop preliminary cost estimates for modernization. The assessment concluded that the aging facility requires significant reinvestment to address deferred maintenance, improve accessibility, modernize building systems, and enhance community programming opportunities.
On October 20, 2025, the City Council received the Facilities Assessment and directed staff to proceed with planning for a phased modernization of the King Center, with the initial phase focused on a new pool, updated locker rooms, and improvements to allow the facility to function as a resilience center. As part of that direction, Council approved $4 million from the City's Capital Reserve in the current Five-Year Capital Improvement Program to support these improvements.
Additionally, the City has allocated $450,000 from the General Fund, $100,000 from the Parks and Recreation Impact Fee/Tax and secured an $850,000 federal earmark to support development of the King Center as a future Resilience Center. The total City project funding to date is $5.4 million. These funding sources establish the foundation for a modernization program that will be implemented as additional funding becomes available.
Project Delivery
The King Center modernization project will be implemented through a coordinated approach that aligns with grant funding opportunities and eligibility requirements while allowing the project to evolve as community priorities, technical analysis, and funding become more defined. The project began with organizational and planning activities, including environmental review coordination, technical investigations, existing conditions verification, and development of a comprehensive work plan to guide the design and construction effort.
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Building on this foundation, the project will evaluate and address priorities identified through technical analysis and community engagement. Areas anticipated for evaluation include:
•Aquatic facilities, including pools and locker rooms
•Scoped accessibility improvements and site circulation •Building systems (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) modernization and code compliance •Addressing the City’s Climate Action Plan
•Kitchen capacity and food service improvements
•Drainage and roofing deficiencies
•Building connectivity to adjacent parks, streets, and community space modifications •Opportunities to enhance emergency preparedness by developing the facility into a Resilience Center Programming decisions and design solutions, including the reconfiguration of interior spaces, expanded hygiene facilities, commercial kitchen upgrades, and resilience-related improvements will be informed by community engagement, technical feasibility, and funding requirements. This approach enables the City to pursue available funding opportunities while maintaining flexibility to refine project priorities, scope, and implementation.
Climate Action and Sustainability
The King Center modernization supports the City's climate action and sustainability goals by incorporating opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve energy efficiency, and strengthen the facility's resilience to extreme weather events. Modernization of the aging building’s systems will evaluate high-efficiency mechanical equipment, energy-efficient lighting, water-conserving fixtures, improved building insulation, and other sustainable design strategies that reduce long- term operating costs and environmental impacts. Opportunities for all-electric building systems, solar energy systems, and battery storage will also be evaluated as funding and project feasibility allow. As part of the Resilience Center initiative, the facility is being planned to serve as a community warming and cooling center during extreme heat, severe winters, poor air quality, and other emergency events. Upgraded building systems and resilient infrastructure will improve occupant comfort, indoor air quality, and the facility's ability to remain operational during power outages and other disruptions.
Sustainable design strategies will continue to be refined throughout the planning and design process to balance environmental benefits, operational performance, community needs, and available funding.
Project Progress
Since receiving Council direction in October 2025, staff has completed the following key milestones:
Grant Funding: Before the City can receive the $850,000 federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) earmark for development of the King Center as a Resilience Center, completion of an Environmental Review Record was required in accordance with HUD regulations.
The City retained an environmental consultant, David J. Powers and Associates (DJP) to prepare the required documentation. The Environmental Review Record was completed during Spring 2026 and is currently being processed through HUD for final approval. The City continues to proactively seek additional grant opportunities as they become available.
Design Team Selection: In early 2026, the City retained a Program Manager, ELS Architecture and Urban Design (ELS) to oversee planning, design coordination, public engagement, and project implementation. Beginning with procurement of the design team, the Program Manager is responsible for engaging consultant services, facilitating communication among City departments, and serving as the primary liaison between the design team, City staff, City Council, and the community.
Because the King Center is a highly visible civic facility serving diverse community interests, the Program Manager will continue leading outreach efforts and balancing design objectives, budget considerations, technical requirements, and community expectations throughout the life of the project.
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Community Engagement
The City undertook an extensive, multi-faceted community engagement effort to ensure residents and King Center users had multiple opportunities to learn about the project and help shape the modernization priorities and design. Three community workshops were planned to solicit community feedback on priorities improving the King Center, supplemented by virtual meetings and an online survey to provide additional ways for the community to participate. Each workshop offered interpretation in Spanish, Mandarin or Cantonese and provided free food and childcare, which was advertised in promotions.
Engagement at a Glance
3 Community Workshops
2 Virtual Meetings
314
Surveys Completed
6,000+
Direct Mail
12,800+ eNews subscribers | 4,800 Parks & Recreation users | 47,500 Library users The City supported these engagement opportunities with a broad notification campaign using multiple communication channels, including the placement of large-format project banners throughout the downtown and at the King Center, display boards at City Hall and other community facilities, and direct mail notifications in English, Spanish and Simplified Chinese to more than 6,000 nearby residents. Multilingual flyers promoting the workshops, project web page and surveys were also distributed at City facilities.
Digital outreach included the City’s website, social media, eNews, and direct email. Workshops and surveys were regularly promoted through the City’s eNews, reaching more than 12,800 subscribers, and through direct emails to approximately 4,800 unique Parks and Recreation users pulled from the last two years of enrollment and nearly 47,500 library users. Two targeted Facebook and Instagram advertising campaigns generated additional awareness, reaching nearly 3,400 and more than 5,800 users, respectively.
City staff and ELS architects also conducted targeted community outreach beyond the City’s traditional communication channels. Project information and surveys were shared at the August 15 OG Picnic at the King Center, and staff conducted direct outreach to local churches and community organizations. Previous workshop participants also received email reminders about upcoming workshops and opportunities to complete the survey. A survey was also made available online and in print in English, Spanish and Chinese to increase accessibility.
Community Workshop #1 – Identifying Priorities
The first community workshop was held July 14, 2026, as an open-house gallery walk. Participants provided input on current use of the King Center, facility needs, aquatics programming, resiliency center functions and modernization priorities. Feedback showed strong interest in swim lessons, recreational swimming, fitness programs, youth programs and senior programs. This input informed the preliminary concepts presented during the next phase of engagement.
Community Workshop #2 – Selecting a Preferred Option
The second workshop was held August 3, followed by a virtual meeting on August 10 and a multilingual online survey.
Participants reviewed alternative concepts for the pool, locker rooms, facility entrances, circulation and overall site organization.
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Feedback from the workshop and virtual meeting showed a preference for a flexible pool design that could accommodate lap swimming, swim lessons and family recreation, as well as support for separating aquatics access from the main community center entrance. Participants also emphasized the importance of resiliency features that would allow the King Center to serve as a safe and functional community resource during emergencies and extreme weather.
Survey Results
A total of 314 surveys were completed in English, Spanish and Chinese through online and printed formats. Survey results were generally aligned with feedback received through the first two community workshops and demonstrated clear preferences for the pool design, aquatics programming, facility access and resiliency features. •68% preferred Pool Option C, citing its flexibility for multiple activities, lap swimming, pool water play features, and family recreation.
•Flexibility for multiple activities (46%) and lap swimming (45%) were the leading reasons respondents selected their preferred pool concept, followed by family recreation (38%) and accommodating young children (34%). •88% rated space for swim lessons as important or very important, making it one of the strongest pool-feature priorities.
•69% preferred a dedicated aquatics entrance from Monte Diablo Avenue, with separation of activities and ease of wayfinding among the leading reasons for respondents’ entrance-style preferences. •72% preferred keeping the community center’s main entrance in its current location, citing ease of wayfinding and connection to parking as the leading reasons for their preference. •Resiliency priorities centered on providing a safe, functional place during emergencies, including a safe place to gather (72%), Wi-Fi/internet access (69%), heating and cooling during extreme weather (68%), and drinking water and basic emergency supplies (66%).
Community Workshop #3 – Refining the Preferred Concept
The third workshop was held August 27, followed by a virtual meeting on September 1, to present the preferred concept developed from earlier community feedback. Participants responded favorably to the pool design and orientation, relocated trellis, expanded swim lesson area and spray features.
Feedback also identified areas for continued refinement, including building access and circulation, aquatics operations, accessibility, safety and security, kitchen capabilities, flexible multipurpose space, drop-off access and affordability.
Through this iterative process, feedback from each phase of engagement directly informed the next, progressing from community priorities to design alternatives to a preferred concept.
Parks and Recreation Commission
On September 2, 2026, the project was presented to the Parks and Recreation Commission and was well received. The commissioners expressed support for the preferred pool and space design. Commissioners also raised questions regarding the feasibility of staffing year-round pool programs, the ongoing budget required to maintain the new pool and facility, the anticipated daily use of the kitchen compared with its potential use during an emergency event, the costs associated with implementing various kitchen configurations, and the initial expenditures required to meet the HUD grant requirements.
Project Schedule
Key milestones on the project schedule include:
•Completion of organizational efforts and existing conditions assessments •Community Workshops conducted July through September 2026 •Preparation and refinement of concept designs following each workshop •Delivery of the preferred conceptual design
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•Completion of schematic design and cost estimate
•Preparation of construction documents
•Permit review, bidding, and contract award
•Approximately eleven months of construction for improvements The current project schedule (Attachment 1) identifies completion of concept planning and schematic design during 2026, followed by preparation of construction documents, permitting, bidding, and construction beginning thereafter.
Next Steps
With the public workshop process complete, staff will continue to advance the project by refining the preferred conceptual design, completing schematic design and cost estimating, and keeping the community informed through regular updates to the City’s project website. Staff will return to the City Council with future recommendations regarding project scope, funding limitations and opportunities, and implementation of the improvements.
BUDGET IMPACT:
There is no direct budget impact for this informational session; however, the City has secured an $850,000 federal earmark to support development of the King Center as a future Resilience Center. In addition, $450,000 from the General Fund and $100,000 from the Parks and Recreation impact fee/tax have been incorporated to support the project. A total of $4 million from the City's Capital Reserve has also been incorporated in the current Five-Year Capital Improvement Program, consistent with City Council direction provided in October 2025. Future project phases will be implemented as additional funding becomes available, including future grant opportunities and Council appropriations.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
This council action in receiving an informational update on the status of City facilities and providing feedback is exempt from CEQA, because it involves only planning or feasibility studies for possible future actions which the City has not approved, adopted, or funded. (CEQA Guidelines Section 15262.)
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT
This staff report supports the Infrastructure and Climate Resiliency initiatives.
NOTICE PROVIDED
All meeting noticing requirements were met.
ATTACHMENTS
Att 1 – Project Schedule
STAFF CONTACT
Steve Wu, Facilities & Fleet Services Manager
[email protected]
(650) 522-7345
James O’Connell, Deputy Public Works Director
[email protected]
(650) 522-7304
Matt Fabry, Public Works Director
[email protected]
(650) 522-7309