LAFCO hears workshop on Mendocino Coast Recreation and Park District MSR; staff to schedule public hearing in July

MENDOCINO COUNTY — Mendocino Local Agency Formation Commission commissioners spent the bulk of their June 1 meeting in a workshop on the draft municipal service review (MSR) and sphere-of-influence update for the Mendocino Coast Recreation and Park District (MCRPD), receiving a staff presentation, questioning district leadership about finances and programs, and directing staff to schedule a public hearing for formal consideration in July.

Staff described the district as formed in 1972, serving roughly 77 miles of coastline from north of Westport to the southern Mendocino–Sonoma line, with about 30,000 residents within the district and modest county growth projected at approximately 1.6% through 2045. The district has shifted in recent years from a facility-based model (centered on the CV Star Aquatics Center) to a program-focused model that relies on partnerships, leases and contractors. Staff said the district now operates with three full-time staff and roughly 25–54 part-time and seasonal employees.

Kylie Felisich, who identified herself as MCRPD general manager, answered commissioners’ questions on several topics. She said the district’s gymnastics program grew from about $30,000 to $106,000 year over year and accounts for roughly half of the district’s programming revenue; she estimated South Coast programming represents about 25% of programming revenue and offered to provide exact breakdowns on request. Felisich described changes in financial management since 2023, including a reserve policy adopted in January 2024, transferring $100,000 to the City of Fort Bragg that had been earmarked for the aquatic center, moving reserves into a collateralized public-funds account (CaliforniaCLASS), and holding roughly $350,000 in reserve after a high-expense transition year.

Commissioners pressed on other fiscal and program questions: what the district’s approximately $2 million in fixed assets represents (Felisich said the bulk reflects land holdings, including 43 acres occupied by the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, which operates under a long-standing nonprofit agreement), prior grand-jury findings related to the Highway 20 property and related transactions, and options for better geographic representation across the large district.

The draft MSR recommends the district consider creating election divisions to improve geographic representation; staff advised that implementation would require working with legal counsel and the county elections office. Felisich also described preliminary grant work and potential acquisitions to expand open-space recreation (including efforts to conserve pygmy-forest parcels, pursue a foreclosed lot to provide parking and picnicking adjacent to Russian Gulch State Park, and fund improvements at Bower Park, including a community-requested dog park), noting many projects are contingent on Coastal Commission approvals and further community input.

Public comment drew several voices: Dennis Miller, a Fort Bragg resident, asked LAFCO to improve public notification on North Coast matters and expressed concern about Measure A and tax revenue allocations tied to CV Star; Monnique Wooden of the City of Fort Bragg clarified that an MSR documents a district’s condition and does not itself change tax-sharing agreements and asked that the report reference Measure A language where relevant; Jamie Jensen, executive director of the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, thanked staff for the updated MSR and highlighted the long-standing partnership between the gardens and MCRPD.

Why it matters: The MSR is LAFCO’s tool to evaluate agency governance, service delivery, fiscal capacity and long-term planning. The draft spotlights a district that has pivoted to programming-based services and is seeking ways to improve representation and expand services in outlying areas; it also surfaces unresolved questions about funding flows tied to past agreements and Measure A.

What’s next: Commissioners raised edits and clarifications for the draft (definitions for the Teeter plan, removing outdated references to potential Highway 20 uses, and clearer breakdowns of property tax shares) and, with no objection, directed staff to schedule a public hearing in July for formal consideration and adoption.