_{Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz}

Crescent City Harbor commissioners rejected proposals from two Orange County developers eager to revitalize Bayside and Redwood Harbor Village RV parks, Chairman Rick Shepherd announced Wednesday.

The Board’s rejection of proposals from Sean McGraw and Scott Lawhon doesn’t mean that further negotiations couldn’t be had with either developer, according to Harbormaster Mike Rademaker. For now, a request for proposals commissioners approved in August is still active, he told Redwood Voice Community News on Thursday.

“Not much has been stated publicly after several closed session deliberations over several months,” Rademaker said, calling the move cautious. “This public statement reflects the Board’s conclusion that, after sufficient review, the proposals were not yet close to terms the district could accept.”

Though some commissioners said it was moot, the potential development of Bayside RV Park prompted them to discuss Rademaker’s continued residency in the apartment at the park. On Wednesday, anticipating that the Board would have approved McGraw and Lawhon’s proposal, the harbormaster said he had already found another place to live.

In his staff report, Rademaker pointed to his employment contract and asked the Board to reimburse him his housing expenses at 75% of the value of his health and medical benefits. 

“Because we were anticipating signing a lease, potentially this week, I had to make arrangements to get an apartment,” he said. “I don’t want to lose that opportunity. It’s a nice location, it’s agreeable and the ball is already in motion.”

Ultimately, Rademaker agreed to continue living on harbor district property until the Board of Commissioners signs a lease with an RV park developer. When the Board finds a proposal it can approve, Chairman Rick Shepherd said they would abide by the terms of Rademaker’s contract — which also included an annual $114,000 salary — and reimburse him his housing expenses at 75% the value of his medical benefits.

Shepherd asked CCHD’s financial officer Sandy Moreno to provide information as to what Rademaker’s health insurance would have cost and said he would bring the matter back to his colleagues for discussion on Jan. 28.

Vice Chair John Evans said the harbormaster’s presence “when things happen at 1 o’clock in the morning or 2 o’clock in the morning” is a huge benefit. 

But Commissioner Annie Nehmer questioned whether Rademaker even lived in the apartment at Bayside. Rademaker has been living in the vacant Coast Guard station and Abalone Building, she said, referring to the electric bill for the two buildings as proof.

Nehmer opposed Rademaker’s employment agreement in April 2025 and when it was renegotiated about six weeks later. At a May 28, 2025 meeting Nehmer said her colleagues had given the harbormaster a $24,000 raise without disclosing the financial implications amid rumors that the district would soon be insolvent.

On Wednesday, she reiterated her opposition to Rademaker’s contract and urged her colleagues to “cure and correct” it. She argued that the Board was being asked to abide by the terms of the contract it had entered into without “being able to show we can afford that.”

“There’s no actual need for the harbormaster to live on the grounds,” she said. “We have security in the evenings and on weekends.”

Rademaker didn’t deny Nehmer’s statement about where he’s living, but he argued that meeting the terms of his contract should be revenue neutral once CCHD leases the RV parks.

“We’re building into the minimum annual guarantee with the proposers the value of this housing,” he said. “The way that the motion is suggested, this would go into effect once I move out, which is going to be when we have somebody else coming in.”

One of the potential developers had wanted to move in as soon as Feb. 1, Rademaker said, though that’s still under negotiation.

“I need to know what the Board wants to do so that I can make plans and arrange my life,” he said. “It’s already negotiated, we’re just activating this one option that was in the contract.”

Saying that he’s growing tired of the “hate the Mike show,” Shepherd said that the Harbor District isn’t providing Rademaker with health insurance. Abiding by his contract and reimbursing him for 75% of the value of what it would have paid for Rademaker’s medical benefits is less than if he did receive insurance from the CCHD, Shepherd said.

Evans also reiterated that the harbor is saving by not providing the harbormaster with health insurance.

“That was the trade,” he said. “That we would provide him housing in lieu of paying his health insurance, so it was a trade off.”

On Friday, Rademaker told Redwood Voice that vacating the apartment at Bayside would provide “maximum flexibility for the building’s future use.”

“I have no issue with that,” he said.