Get Morton's Geothermal Pools Back Open!

:: Get Morton's Warm Springs Back Open by helping them to REPAIR & RESTORE these historic hot springs pools! ::

As many know, in the fall of 2021, a fraudulent contractor masquerading as a legitimate commercial pool company significantly damaged the historic pools at Morton's Warm Springs during an attempted replastering & retiling repair job (read the full story HERE).

The Morton's Stewards attempted to recoup their deposit from the contractor and hired a construction lawyer, but they were sadly unable to get back any of the $17,500 they had paid to start the job, nor the additional expenses from cleaning up the damage and debris left behind. Additionally, Morton’s discovered their insurance policy didn't cover damage to the historic pools, only to the property’s buildings. They also found out that a new permit would need to be obtained from Sonoma County in order to complete the repair with a legitimate contractor and reopen the pools again, adding extra complexity and expense to what was originally a straightforward repair.

The Stewards then began what became a 10+ month ordeal to locate a legitimate, reliable and reasonably priced commercial pool contractor to repair the damage and get them back open, initially imagined by May of 2022. However, as they searched through all of Sonoma, Napa, Marin, Alameda, Sacramento, and Solano counties, every new bid they received has been between $210,000-$263,000 –an insane 5x cost increase– and a price jump they’re unable to financially cover while still restricted by an austere county limitation to operate only a few short months each year. These might be the kinds of pool restoration prices quoted to year-round commercial hotels and fancy racquet clubs but Morton’s Warm Springs isn’t that kind of a place and never will be.

This whole ordeal has been a huge and sobering shock to the Morton's stewards, and a loss for the wider community of families, members, and guests who know and love this beloved local hot springs. It has been a significant loss to our wider community that Morton’s was unable to open their 2022 season due to suffering this botched pool repair by an unscrupulous and fraudulent contractor, and that they’ve been unable to recover any of the losses needed for them to move on, get the repair done right, and reopen again.

Morton's Warm Springs is the last accessible, naturally spring-fed, outdoor geothermal springs anywhere within our tri-county region, and within the entire greater SF Bay Area. Since 2016, the new stewards have been slowly restoring this historic gem of a place, bringing it back from the brink of being closed forever and forgotten. They are committed to ensuring that it will always remain accessible to families, young people, those on fixed incomes, and all the diverse communities Sonoma County is so culturally enriched by and upon which it utterly depends. And they need our help.

This GoFundMe is looking to raise $50,000 in support of this effort.

Morton’s has over 25,000 people come through the gates each year. If a mere 10% of all these folks give at least $20 each to this cause, this would get them to $50,000. If we’re able to reach our goal of $50K, we’ll go for a stretch goal of an additional $25,000 to reach a total of $75K raised.

AND! If we can raise $50K or more in community contributions, Morton's has lined up a small but mighty circle of Matching Fund Investors who will MATCH THE FULL AMOUNT WE RAISE for a grand total of up to $150,000 raised for Morton’s! The rest they’re hoping to raise through a combination of both pre-sale season passes for next year along with a spring fundraising event and silent auction (please get in touch if you’re interested in either or both!)

Help us bring this beloved community treasure back to life. Let’s get Morton’s Warm Springs repaired, renewed and REOPENED for 2023!

The Community Support Team for Reopen Morton's

Heather & JulieAnne and the Deerheart Steinberger family

Mimi & Brandon and the Maio family

Michelle & Ari and the Dench/Moshe family

Alania & Scott and the Lindquist family

…along with the Morton’s Stewards

Laurie Hobbs, Larry Mathews, Sean, Hank and Carole Wadsworth

(and little Aura & Theo)