The Fillmore City Council voted 5-0 Tuesday night to send a letter urging an agency not to dissolve a district that operates the Fillmore-Piru Veterans Memorial building.

In the letter, Mayor Steve Conaway asks the Local Agency Formation Commission of Ventura County not to take "any action" that would break up the Fillmore-Piru Veterans Memorial District, which operates the building at 511 Second St.

The building is "critical to the community" and provides space for emergency shelter, pageants, town hall meetings and various community activities, Conaway states in the letter, adding that another local building cannot accommodate those events.

Fillmore would lose the building if the district is dissolved, the letter states.

Don Gunderson, a district board member, told the council Tuesday night that if the district is dissolved, the building could be given to the city. Maintaining the facility, however, would put an economic strain on the city, he said.

Council members on Wednesday said they would be willing to seek ways to keep the building in operation if the district were dissolved.

"It is the only building that will hold a large number of people and it is integral to this community," Councilwoman Patti Walker said.

Conaway and Walker said Wednesday that they do not think LAFCO would decide to ultimately dissolve the district in light of its importance.

The memorial building is the only facility in Fillmore that can seat about 500 people, according to Gunderson.

Everett Millais, executive officer of LAFCO, said Wednesday that if the district, Ventura County and the city agree to not dissolve the district, the agency would not take any action to dissolve it.

Millais said the issue would be discussed next week at a LAFCO meeting.

A draft review by LAFCO states that the district "heavily" depends on property tax revenue and "almost totally" depends on the city to function. It recommends that the city and other parties consider dissolving the district within the next five years.

The district's revenue sources include funds from an annual $5 parcel tax and fees charged to rent its facilities. Those revenue sources are limited, the review states.

The district board is not compensated, and the district's only function is to provide the building for the community, Gunderson said.

The review also states that the district board has not had a contested election since at least 1990, which it said shows a "substantial lack of candidate and voter participation in the District's governance."

Dissolving the district would allow for more governance and accountability of the memorial building, the review says.

On Wednesday, however, LAFCO and city officials said elections haven't been held to save money. The district would have to hold its elections in odd-numbered years, requiring a special election at a cost of up to $25,000, Millais said.

The district has been in existence since 1950.