Breaking News: Dana Point Harbor Director Retires, Dana Point Harbor to Merge with OC Parks
Brad Gross, Director of OC Dana Point Harbor since 2007, retired his position effective yesterday at 5:00pm. Mark Denny, Chief Operating Officer for the County of Orange, will temporarily assume management of our harbor as acting director, in addition to his duties as COO. We've also learned that OC Dana Point Harbor will be folded into OC Parks.
While we've been assured Mr. Gross's retirement was entirely voluntary, it's timing and sudden nature coincides with the release of a county audit revealing improprieties at the county-owned Marina Inn hotel. Specifically, the audit uncovered an unauthorized "friends & family" program at the hotel that allowed county employees to use the hotel at steeply discounted rates. You can read details of this audit, so we won't rehash them here. The harbor director effectively serves as landlord to the hotel, so even though this discount program was implemented long before Mr. Gross was hired, and he wasn't implicated in using the discount program, it was his responsibility to intervene to put a stop to it. At least that's the writing on the wall.
However, more important than unearthing the true motivation behind the director's sudden departure is understanding what it means to our harbor's future. How will this change in leadership affect the day-to-day management or our harbor, and vitally, what does it mean to the Revitalization Plan, which is so rapidly gaining steam with the County's search for a private developer to take over the Revitalization project? Will this alter the vision and scope of the Revitalization Plan? How will OC Parks taking over our harbor affect day-to-day operations? What does this mean to slip rates, maintenance and upkeep, and our relationships with harbor management? Will we continue to have a local harbor director available to us to hear our gripes, complaints, questions and suggestions, and who can respond to them with a deep understanding of our harbor and years of experience in marina management? We will be working to ensure we have qualified, effective and available leadership for our harbor as we move into the next hugely transformative phase of our harbor's future.
This is breaking news and a rapidly developing story, so more to come. We intend to seek answers to these and many other questions. Stay tuned. Stay involved. And please support your Dana Point Boaters Association.
For the Board of Directors, the Dana Point Boaters Association,
James Lenthall
Vice-President
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Remember, to keep Dana Point Boaters voice strong, we need your support.
As Revitalization decisions are now being made on the future of your harbor, do you want your comments and opinions heard? Do you want a voice in the room to represent YOU? If so, please help by making a donation to your Dana Point Boaters Association by clicking here!  . |
THANK YOU!
At the Dana Point Boaters Association, our mission is to advocate for the preservation, enhancement, and expansion of affordable recreational boating. We strive to improve the family-friendly atmosphere and breadth of water-oriented activities we all enjoy in our harbor. As Dana Point boater advocates, our strength comes from your support and participation. We are proud of the achievements we've made together on behalf of our boating community, and we won't give up. But we can't do it without you.
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Questions should be directed by email to (Officers). Or call us at (949) 485-5656 and leave a voice mail and we'll get back to you soon.
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The Dana Point Boaters Association advocates the preservation, enhancement, and expansion of affordable recreational boating resources. We work to improve the family friendly atmosphere and breadth of water-oriented actives we all enjoy in the harbor. We serve as the watchdog by ethically protecting the rights of all boaters and representing them when collective action is most effective. We actively gather information and communicate our views to educate boaters, external interests, and public officials. We build and maintain constructive, working relationships to achieve common goals with other harbor stakeholders. We will pass on our harbor to the next generation of recreational boaters in better condition than it is today.
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