🏊‍♀️ Save Barnes Park Pool – Restore Monterey Park’s Heart of Community, History, and Youth! 💙 💙 💙

For 75 years, Barnes Park Pool has been the heartbeat of Monterey Park — a place where children learned to swim, seniors stayed active, and generations gathered in the spirit of community.
Today, that heartbeat is silent. The pool has been closed since 2021.

We, the residents and supporters of Monterey Park and the greater San Gabriel Valley, call on our City, County, State, and Federal leaders to make the restoration of the Barnes Park Pool (Barnes Aquatics Center) a top funding and design priority.

 
🌟 Why This Pool Matters

For Our Youth:
Barnes Park Pool was home to the Mark Keppel High School Swim, Water Polo, and Dive teams and the Monterey Park Manta Rays Swim Team — two programs that have shaped generations of student-athletes.

The Manta Rays, a non-profit, parent-run volunteer team with over 30 years of continuous service, provide year-round competitive and pre-competitive swim training for more than 170 local athletes, ages 5 and up. Operating entirely through community support and volunteerism, they have produced nationally ranked Top-16 swimmers, sent athletes to Southern California Junior Olympic Finals, and helped over a dozen swimmers earn college scholarships — all without City funding.

Meanwhile, Mark Keppel High School’s program (swim, water polo, & dive) has earned 81 Almont League Championships and 9 CIF titles, totaling 90 championships and helping students reach top universities, including Ivy League and other elite programs.

Together, these achievements show what Monterey Park youth can accomplish when they have access to a regulation-size pool, quality coaching, and a safe, reliable home facility — all of which disappeared when Barnes Park Pool closed in 2021.

For Our Seniors:
Accessible aquatic programs prevent falls, improve circulation, and reduce isolation. A local warm-water therapy pool means independence and dignity for seniors — without needing to travel to other cities.

💙 For Our Community:
The pool sits within walking distance of the Boys & Girls Club of West San Gabriel Valley, which serves over 1,600 youth each year, many from single-parent households and Title I schools. The Club provides a safe, nurturing space for students whose families rely on affordable after-school programs. Restoring Barnes Park Pool will expand access to swim lessons, water safety, and youth programs for the city’s most vulnerable children.

Its proximity to the Monterey Park Library, Langley Senior Center, and affordable housing makes it a safe, inclusive, and affordable recreation space for all residents.

For Our Legacy:
This was not just a pool — it was the warm-up site for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. As LA prepares for 2028, Monterey Park deserves to honor its Olympic heritage and invest in the next generation of champions.

 
💧 What We’re Asking For

We urge our City and County leaders to:

Restore and rebuild Barnes Park Pool as a modern, sustainable Aquatics Center.
Adopt the Barnes Pool User Requirement Specification (URS) to ensure the design meets both community and competition needs.
The City of Monterey Park to make the Barnes Park Aquatics Center a top capital priority in the 2026 Budget.
Los Angeles County and State representatives (including Supervisor Hilda Solis and Senator Susan Rubio) to support funding partnerships through Measure A, LWCF, and CDBG.
Partner with community organizations like SGV Power Up Beacon, Boys & Girls Club, and local schools to ensure long-term program success.
Commit 2026 City budget and Measure A / LWCF funding toward design and construction.
 
A Community Effort Already Underway

The City of Monterey Park’s Parks System Master Plan (2025) identifies Barnes Park as the city’s top reinvestment site.
A local nonprofit, SGV Power Up Beacon, has already submitted a $4.5 million Measure A grant application to jump-start design and planning — without outside consultants and under one week’s notice.

In October 2025, the Save Barnes Park Pool Swim Campaign brought together residents, students, coaches, and community partners at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center — with support from all five Monterey Park City Council members, and media coverage by ABC7 News and the World Journal.
This campaign showed the region’s overwhelming support and reminded everyone how vital the Barnes Park Pool has been — and can be again — to the heart of Monterey Park.

This is a community-built movement — seniors, parents, coaches, and students coming together to reclaim a vital piece of Monterey Park’s identity.

 
❤️ Join the Movement

Sign this petition to show your support for rebuilding Barnes Park Pool — as a modern, inclusive, and community-driven Aquatics Center that honors our past and serves our future.

Together, we can bring back the sound of splashing water, laughter, and Olympic pride to Monterey Park.