[May 19]
Saturday will be your only chance to vote on the future of the 586 acre Highway 20 property owned by the Mendocino Coast Recreation and Park District (MCRPD). Right now, the MCRPD board is pursuing Off Highway Vehicle Recreation grants and looking to develop an off-road vehicle park on the property. This meeting provides an opportunity to present alternative options.
The MCRPD 10-year planning meeting for Fort Bragg is from 10:00-12:00 on Saturday, May 19th, at the CV Starr Center. The MCPRD goals for the meeting are: a. Identify public recreational needs for the next 10 years. b. Identify ideas for potential partners and funding sources. c. Identify champions associated with goals. The question posed at the meeting is: What recreational activities would you like to see in Fort Bragg? A list of suggestions is created and attendees vote by placing colored dots next to their preferences.
The Highway 20 property is home to pygmy forest, wetlands, rare plants, and many animal species. Part of Newman Gulch, which is a water source for Fort Bragg, is within its borders. In 2006 the MCRPD purchased the property with an eye to developing it as a golf course. That project failed and MCRPD was placed in considerable debt. See the Grand Jury Report on the MCRPD: mendocinocounty.org/home/showdocument?id=9389
For years the property has been neglected, violated by off-highway vehicles, and used as a dumping ground. The MCRPD needs our help finding ways to develop and manage the property profitably. For instance: thoughts on best use, ideas for grants to restore and improve the property, volunteers from local groups that can take on creating and maintaining specific areas such as wildflower fields or horse trails, examples of operational models such as the Botanical Gardens where locals buy yearly memberships and visitors buy daily passes.
The May 19th meeting is about what WE WANT for Fort Bragg and for this resource. Email to Mary Heinrich for a flyer created by Highway 20 neighbors: APPROPRIATE RECREATIONAL USE AND DEVELOPMENT FOR THE MCRPD 586-ACRE PROPERTY — SUMMERS LANE AND HIGHWAY 20, FORT BRAGG.
Come to the May 19th meeting. Add your ideas and your voice. Vote.
Mary Heinrich
Fort Bragg
Is this just NIMBY? Without the added revenue this OHV park is projected to bring in, the MCRPD remains in bankruptcy, subject eventually to facilities closures (SUCH as the MCRPD pool in Fort Bragg). What are YOUR ideas for MCRPD to amass enough revenue to keep the pool and other facilities open and emerge from the depths of Bankruptcy with a sustainable economic funding plan? BTW, I hear MCRPD can’t even get a line of credit, and the whole thiNG IS a cash operation ON A DAY-to-day basis.