County of San Joaquin v. Stockton Swim Club

Under statutes authorizing joint exercise of powers by public agencies (Gov. Code, §§ 6500-6514), the City of Stockton (City) Stockton Unified School District (School District) and County of San Joaquin (County) entered into a contract for the coordinated operation of public recreational facilities in the Stockton Metropolitan area. The contract provided for the establishment of an agency designated as Stockton Metropolitan Park and Recreation Commission (Commission) as the program’s operating agent. Commission consists of seven persons designated according to a procedure described in the contract.

The Commission operates direct recreational programs and also permits the publicly owned recreational facilities under its control to be operated by sponsoring organizations. The Stockton Swim Club (Swim Club), a nonprofit corporation, was established as such a sponsoring organization by a group of parents who wanted their children to receive a higher level of training in swimming and diving than that supplied by the Commission’s direct programs. In 1966, as in previous years, Swim Club signed an application and contract for the use of certain swimming pools, including Stagg…