DANA POINT : Park District to Consider Its Fate
The fate of the 28-year-old independent Capistrano Bay Park and Recreation District will be the topic of a special public meeting Wednesday night.
The five-member elected district board will listen to public comment and then make a historic vote on whether the district should merge with the city. Because of recent budget cuts imposed on the district by the state, a county official has recommended the merger.
Park district board member Bob Wilberg urged residents of Dana Point to attend the meeting and express their opinions.
“This is the most important meeting we have ever held at the park district,†Wilberg said. “We need to hear what the public thinks.â€
A majority vote of the directors would allow the district, whose boundaries are exactly the same as the city of Dana Point, to merge with the city. Without a majority of support from the district directors, such a merger would be the focus of a citywide vote.
Board member Lynn Muir, who was also one of the original board members when the district was formed in 1965, said he would like to see a local vote.
“The people formed the district. The only ones who should change it are the people,†Muir said. There is “no way I will support rolling over and playing dead. The only way I will let this happen is by a vote.â€
James Colangelo, executive director of the county’s Local Agency Formation Commission, which acts on annexations and consolidations, recommended the merger Oct. 15 after a four-month study of the district.
Colangelo said a merger would save the city money and bring greater accountability and public access to the park and recreation system throughout the city.
Earlier this year, the state slashed the district’s budget by $1.4 million, or 59% of its annual $2.4 million. Of the remaining $1 million, about $500,000 must be used for pay debts, according to district figures.
The Local Agency Formation Commission--made up of two county supervisors, two members of city councils in the county, and one member chosen from the public--will discuss the merger at its regular meeting Nov. 3.
The district’s special meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at its community center, 34052 Del Obispo St. For more information, call (714) 496-4251.
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