Longtime parks manager Leah Kolic previews Community Services District history and is honored ahead of retirement

Leah Kolic, Murrieta’s Parks & Community Services manager, presented a detailed history of the city’s Community Services District (CSD) and its funding at the March 5, 2026 Parks and Recreation Commission meeting and was recognized by commissioners and City Manager Justin Clifton ahead of her April 3 retirement.

Kolic traced the CSD’s origins to the city’s incorporation path: Murrieta voters approved city incorporation on Nov. 6, 1990, the city formed July 1, 1991 and, after adjustments to County Service Area 143, the CSD was officially formed July 1, 1993. She told commissioners the district originally included a range of municipal services—parks, trash collection, street lighting and, for a time, police services—and cited early staffing and acreage figures as context for how programs evolved.

Kolic emphasized how state law changed local assessment authority after Proposition 218 (1996). She outlined three revenue categories now used by the CSD—general services (funded by Measure WW at $45 per equivalent benefit unit), exempt services (flood control and street sweeping) and local direct-benefit zones (lettered zones A–F, H and I). "Measure WW...passed with 67.4% of the vote. That $45 has never been increased since its inception," she said.

City Manager Justin Clifton praised Kolic’s institutional knowledge and service. "You gave all of us the absolute most precious thing anybody can give, and that's your time," Clifton said, thanking her for decades of work and for mentoring staff.

The meeting also included program updates: Jasmine, president of the Youth Advisory Committee, described YAC’s plans to support spring and summer events and a youth sport day; Michelle Hamilton outlined recreation offerings and said the Alternative Recreation Program for adults with special needs — launched in 2008 — now draws roughly 50–57 participants per event and is supported by community sponsors including the Murrieta Rotary Club.

Kolic closed by thanking commissioners and staff for their support over 32 years of service. The commission offered brief tributes and presented a small recognition; the city manager and several commissioners commented on Kolic’s depth of institutional memory and the impact of her work on parks, programming and special events.