North County parks district eyes parcel tax to upgrade rec center and maintain facilities.

Jacqueline C. Simon remembers spending late hours at the North County Recreation Center during the Moss Landing battery fire in 2025. The center, in the heart of Castroville, served as an evacuation shelter for those who lived in the vicinity of Vistra’s battery storage facility.

Dozens of people took shelter at the center’s gymnasium, with Simon and other volunteers interacting with the evacuees and trying to make them as comfortable as possible.

It was a difficult task, especially during the chilly January weather and even more so that the center’s 1960s-era HVAC system is in need of replacement.

“The rec center wasn’t prepared on the level it should have been,” Simon says. “You never know when we’re going to need that facility to be up to scale.”

Simon, who is involved in many community efforts in Monterey County, is advocating for Measure V as a private citizen.

The North County Recreation and Park District placed Measure V on the Nov. 3 ballot. The measure, which adds an $82 parcel tax annually per property within the district’s boundaries, is expected to raise $300,000 per year for the district.

It requires two-thirds approval from voters within the district, which covers 46 square miles of Castroville, Elkhorn, Moss Landing, Oak Hills and other North County communities.

In the argument filed in support of Measure V with the Monterey County Elections Office, supporters say the HVAC replacement is estimated to cost more than $800,000. Funds from the measure would also go toward a new modular building on site for senior activities, as well as ADA-compliant infrastructure at various parks and other spaces, along with facility maintenance.

No opposition to the measure was filed with the elections office. But a similar effort by the district, Measure EE in 2024, failed with nearly 59 percent of voters in favor, below the two-thirds threshold.

With relatively few voters within the district—6,847 were registered in 2024, and 4,084 cast votes for or against Measure EE, according to election data—the 2024 measure failed by only a few hundred votes, Simon notes.

Volunteers are doubling down this election cycle to speak on the need for the funding and how important the rec center is to the North County community, especially in light of the 2025 fire and the possible severe storms this winter.

“We all need to have a place to go if something of that nature happens,” she says. “People need to be sheltered from a potential disaster that may occur again.”