Sign the Petition Today!
The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center has been a cornerstone of North Central San Mateo for over 50 years. But today, the facility is outdated and neglected. Without urgent repairs, we risk losing this vital resource — this Summer 2025, our King Pool faces potential closure.
Nearly 1,000 children learn life-saving swimming skills at the King Pool every year and over 3,000 community members enroll in King Center programs at highly subsidized rates. A recent facility assessment revealed critical issues: the Center does not meet structural earthquake safety or ADA standards, the roof leaks, the kitchen requires upgrades to comply with health codes, and the pool's water filtration system and plumbing need immediate repair.
Our Center’s aging facilities no longer meet the demands of our rapidly growing population—now more than double what it was when the Center was built. The Center is unable to operate full-time, licensed childcare programs to serve working families. Without critical structural upgrades, the building could pose a significant safety risk in a natural disaster. Our community center should be a resiliency hub, a place where people seek refuge and support in a crisis.
Join Former Mayor Lee and Supervisor Corzo, proud North Central residents whose kids grew up swimming at the King Pool —stand with our community to rebuild and protect this essential community asset in the City of San Mateo. Decades of delayed investment have driven repair costs to record highs. The time to act is now, demand our City commit the resources to revitalize and rebuild the Center for future generations!
BACKGROUND
In 2017, Former Mayor Lee served on the Recreational Facilities Strategic Planning Community Advisory Committee. Multiple assessments and community surveys revealed concerning patterns of disinvestment in our King Center including: The 2005 Swimming Pool Physical Operations Comprehensive Assessment and Management Plan conducted by Commercial Pool Systems, the 1995 Americans with Disabilities Act- Assessment of Accessibility and Compliance conducted by Winges Architecture and Planning, and the 2015 the San Mateo Parks and Recreation Department community survey. As a North Central resident, Mayor Lee strongly advocated expanding citywide aquatics programs and for significant investment in the King Center, which was in the worst condition and serving our equity-priority community.
UPDATE: March 15, 2023
Former Mayor Lee and Supervisor Corzo mobilized hundreds of community members to support the City of San Mateo's request for federal funding from our Congressmember Kevin Mullin, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, and U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. The City applied for an estimated $1.5M congressional grant to help cover the cost of modernization of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center to ensure this essential recreational facility remains open in San Mateo. The congressional grant could cover an estimated 25% of the cost of renovation of the Center and the City of San Mateo would fund the remaining 75%. If approved, the project design could begin as soon as FY2023-24.
UPDATE: July 13, 2023
Thanks to Representative Mullin, Senators Feinstein and Padilla, and over 450 community members who signed our petition, the House Committee approved $850,000 in funding to renovate the Center. We asked for $1.5M, but the Republican-controlled House made sweeping cuts to all community projects.
UPDATE: November 18, 2024
North Central community members advocated for the approval of emergency repairs to the King Pool to ensure it will remain open this summer. Former Mayor Lee strongly urged the City Council to go beyond bandaid repairs and commit the full congressional grant of $850,000 to a comprehensive re-design and community-led visioning process to modernize the King Center.
Lisa Tealer, executive director of the Bay Area Community Health Advisory Council said, “I would strongly recommend that the council commit to a comprehensive design to look at the true needs of revitalizing the King Center and not just the pool and changing room and review the King Center as a community hub and resilience center … this is the kind of investment that is long overdue.”
TESTIMONIALS
“Please do what is right to save this pool and continue to support the community.” - Kimilou
“All kids should have a safe, well-maintained place to enjoy playing and being in water. The opportunity to learn how to swim is life-saving.” - Duncan
“Children and families in north central deserve to learn how to swim.” - Mie
“Our city must widen their vision for the future to include ALL of our residents and their recreational needs.” - Catherine
“We love this pool and have so many memories there! Please upgrade and keep King Pool!” - Amy
“A key community support for increasing equity in access to recreation and play for young people.” - Lauren
“I grew up going to King Center and taking swim lessons at the pool as well as going to swim with my friends. I made so many memories here and I wish the same for kids now and in the future in this community.”
- Angela
“This pool has been serving this community for decades! Please do not close it down!” - Itzel
“Save this pool!!! Its part of the community and save it for the kids!” - Bryan
“Por favor no la cierren, déjenle las oportunidades a nuestros niños, además es parte de nuestra comunidad.” - Amabilia
“Grew up swimming in this pool. This is where I learned to swim.” - Ella
“The King Pool is one of very few public pools in the region and does a tremendous job serving our economically diverse community. I hope to see it upgraded to continue serving the public for the next 50 years.” - Jonathan
“I took swimming lessons at King pool up until I was in 5th grade and once I was eligible to work I began working there. King pool has helped many communities including low-income and unprivileged communities.Getting rid of it would create hardships to these communities as they won’t have easy access to affordable swimming lessons/ recreational swim.” - Brittney
“Please keep this essential enrichment in our neighborhood. Slowly our community resources are going away with fewer and fewer safe activities for our community.” - Juniper