Dana Point Ca Finances

The City Council approved a $315,980 budget increase this week to fight development plans for the 122-acre Headlands area. The city filed an appeal last week after a judge ordered the city to continue processing Headlands co-owner Sanford Edward's development plans. Edward's plan calls for three commercial centers, which the city says would cause too much traffic.

A children-oriented marine institute in Dana Point that has scraped for money and donations to keep its popular programs afloat received a financial boost Wednesday that will help transform the facility into a research campus for youngsters. The benefactors of the Ocean Institute are high-tech executive Henry Samueli and an anonymous donor who put up $9.5 million to help reshape the marine science facility as an education center for the youngest students. The Samueli Foundation gave $5.

The accumulated history of Dana Point will be stuffed into boxes when the city's historical society reluctantly vacates its home in an office building next week. The Dana Point/Capistrano Beach Historical Society has been staying rent-free for about five years, but now the owner of the building on Street of the Golden Lantern wants them out. The landlord? Dana Point City Hall.

The City Council has agreed to pay half the cost of repaving and re-striping the tennis courts at Dana Hills High School. The action came at the request of the Capistrano Unified School District, which is contributing the other half of the funds. The courts are used by the city for both youth and adult classes, and are open for public use after 5 p.m. weekdays and all day on weekends. The project is estimated to cost $12,000.

The City Council has an enviable task: It has to spend $110,000 from a federal grant by Dec. 31 to fix up its old senior center. But to Mayor Bill Ossenmacher, it's not that simple. Ossenmacher said at Tuesday's council meeting that the funds for a senior center could be better spent elsewhere, as he has seen only a couple dozen people taking advantage of the facility on Del Obispo Street.

In an abbreviated budget workshop this week, the City Council reviewed Dana Point's proposed $24.7-million financial plan for the next two years. To improve long-range planning, the city is approving a budget for 1997 through 1999, instead of just next year. The $12.5-million budget for 1997-1998 is up about 1.6% from this year's, but revenue is also up about 7%, to $16 million. No new initiatives or programs are planned, but the city plans to cut two staff positions, finance director Susan M.

The city's Fourth of July fireworks will be even more bright and colorful this year. The City Council voted this week to spend $27,300 on the annual pyrotechnics show at Dana Point Harbor. The fireworks display, launched from a barge in the harbor, typically draws about 10,000 spectators and is one of the city's largest events. Last year, the city spent about $26,600 for the fireworks and barge rental.

The Dana Point Sanitary District has lowered sewer connection fees for new restaurants. The change, approved earlier this month, has been welcomed by the city officials who said that previous charges were frightening away some prospective restaurateurs. City officials say the new fee structure will have the effect of reducing sewer connection charges for large restaurants by up to 80%.

Thanks to extra funding from the county, the Dana Niguel Library will soon be getting new books and an extra employee. The City Council this week unanimously approved hiring a part-time library assistant and buying books and other materials with $28,733 in new county funds. The additional county money is part of $1.6 million the Board of Supervisors recently set aside for the county's 26 libraries.

Five South County cultural organizations were granted a total of $28,425 by the City Council. The Capistrano Valley Symphony was awarded $15,000, the largest amount of any group. The Arrowhead Institute, a nonprofit organization that promotes 13 summer concerts throughout the city, won the second-largest total at $4,200.

The Dana Point Planning Commission paved the way last week for paid parking at Dana Point Harbor, with fees as much as $18 a day for a space. The commission voted 3 to 1 for the parking plan, which was supported by harbor area restaurant owners but opposed by many small businesses. Commissioner James Hyde cast the dissenting vote.