14 • May 20 - June 2, 2016 • The Log


Dana Point Harbor director retires, coinciding with Orange County audit report


County auditor claims discount program was abused; more reports could be in store.


By Parimal M. Rohit


DANA POINT — The general feel-good of boating season, which informally starts Memorial Day Weekend, is being dampened in Dana Point by the informally announced retirement of the harbor’s director one day after a county audit report revealed govern- ment employees took advantage of a discount program at a waterfront hotel. Dana Point Harbor Director Brad


Gross retired from his post at the close of business on May 12. Gross’s retirement coincides with


a county report stating a Friends and Family Discount Program for county employees to use at Dana Point Marina Inn, a county-owned 136-room hotel operated by Great Western Hotels Corp., was unauthorized. The Log found out about his stated


retirement via an automatic reply to an email sent to him on May 10. “Effective 12 May 2016 I will be


retired from the County of Orange,” Gross’s automatic reply email stated. “For forwarding information please contact Maria Nofal.” Nofal’s email address and direct line was listed in the reply. The Log reached out to her on May 12 and requested to be put in touch with Gross. However she was out of the offi ce and did not state when she would return. Several questions come to mind with these two events. Was Gross’s retirement directly connected to the fi ndings of Orange County Auditor- Controller Eric Woolery’s report? If a county’s contractual relationship with the hotel was abused, as Woolery’s report states, then what other con- tractual relationships surrounding the Dana Point Harbor revitalization might have also been abused to benefi t ven- dors or the county? Although Gross was not directly implicated in Woolery’s report some raised questions whether the harbor director was implicit in allowing the room discount program to continue during his tenure. The Dana Point Boaters Association (DPBA), in a newsletter published on May 13, implied Gross had institutional control over policies such as the room discount program. “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,” the DPBA newsletter stated. News reports quoted county offi - cials stating there is no connection


between Gross’s “retirement” and the release of the audit report 24 hours earlier. Gross served as harbor director for nine years. Chief Operating Offi cer for the


County of Orange Mark Denny will serve as acting director of the harbor, according to Jean Pasco, public infor- mation offi cer for Orange County. Pasco added, “The CEO [Frank Kim]


will recommend to the board as part of the budget process that OC Dana Point Harbor be transferred into OC Parks. The precursor to what is now the county’s parks department built the harbor 50 years ago.” The Log’s attempts to reach the


offi ce of Supervisor Lisa Bartlett, whose district includes Dana Point, and other county staff with questions about whether any connections exist between the audit report and Gross’s departure were not successful as of press time. (Bartlett also served as Dana Point mayor during Gross’s tenure). Questions still loom, however, of the timing and reason of Gross’s retire- ment, which, so far, has only been explained as voluntary. There are also questions of how harbor operations will move forward. James Lenthall, who serves as DPBA’s vice president, echoed some of these questions. “We want to know how this change in harbor leadership will affect day-to- day operations of our harbor,” Lenthall said. “Does it change in anyway the vision and scope of the revitalization plan? Can we still rely on the protec- tion of the small-town culture of our beloved harbor?” A revitalization of Dana Point


Harbor has been in discussion at the city, county and state level since 1997. An Orange County Grand Jury report published in 2014 revealed nearly $20 million has been spent on the harbor revitalization between 2003 and 2013, none of which was spent on actual construction or redevelopment. “Of that fi gure, $9,427,703 has been paid to the project management company within that time span,” the Grand Jury Report stated. “The remain- ing costs are attributed to capital and operational expenses to maintain the harbor which averages $16.5 million per year since the inception of the revi- talization project.” Jurors added, however, they did not


fi nd any budgetary funding inappro- priately allocated between 2003 and 2013. Nonetheless the Dana Point Harbor


Revitalization project has been in a holding pattern since plans were fi rst conceived in 1997, despite the millions of dollars spent (and future dollars committed). The report released by Woolery’s


offi ce earlier this month similarly stated Dana Point Harbor Inn’s fi nan- cial reports appeared to be in order at fi rst but further review revealed the


thelog.com


Dana Point Harbor Director Brad Gross announced his retirement via email one day after a county audit report described how government employees took advantage of a discount program at the county-owned Dana Point Marina Inn. Gross was named harbor director on Sept. 28, 2007, serving nine years in the position.


unauthorized discount program. “While the fi nancial reports appear


to be in order, the audit uncovered an unauthorized discount program for county harbor employees and their ‘friends and families,’” Woolery said in conjunction with the report his offi ce released on May 11. “County employ- ees who oversee contracts at Dana Point Harbor have enjoyed a discount program for an indeterminate number of years. However, this program has never been authorized by the Board of Supervisors,” Woolery’s statement continued. Woolery briefl y explained the discount program as a “verbal under- standing” between county employees at Dana Point Harbor and the hotel. The employees would be able to rent a room at Dana Point Marina Inn for $35 per night for a standard room. A source speaking to The Log on the condition of anonymity said the discounted rate was $7 more than the standard room’s at-cost price.


One- and two-bedroom suites were


available to county employees for $50 per night, according to Woolery’s report.


This writer looked into making an online reservation at Dana Point Marina Inn for May 26-27. The going


rate for a standard room was $162 per night; a “deluxe harbor view king room” was offered at $200 per night, while honeymoon suites ran $249.95 per night. The one bedroom suite was listed at $350 per night. These rates were offered on the


hotel’s online reservation system on May 12. The Auditor-Controller report found


several areas of weakness with Dana Point Harbor’s operation of the room discount program. Orange County’s Board of


Supervisors, attorneys and chief executive team did not approve of the discount program, according to the report. The report revealed at least two managers at Dana Point Harbor used the discount program, approved the county’s operating agreement with the hotel, and monitored the hotel man- agement’s performance. The managers were not named in the report. A county employee allegedly rented


a room at the hotel at the discounted rate for 176 nights within one calendar year, the report added. And a Dana Point employee rented a suite with the unauthorized discount for 147 nights, according to the report. “The employee under contract to the city stayed in a suite for 147 nights


Dana Point Harbor – Rough Waters


Orange County’s Auditor-Controller issued a report on May 11 identifying an unauthorized discount program for a county-owned hotel at Dana Point Harbor. This is not the fi rst time Dana Point Harbor has been subject to scrutiny.


1997 2003 2006


Harbor revitalization concept introduced Board of Supervisors approve revitalization plan Dana Point City Council approves revitalization plan


Brian Cleveland Dunn


2013-14 Orange County Grand Jury questions 15 years of delays 2014


2015


2016 2016


Boating groups fi le multiple appeals of coastal permits for revitalization


County contractor, Brian Cleveland Dunn, convicted of misappropriat- ing public funds at harbor


Auditor-Controller reveals unauthorized hotel discount program


Auditor-Controller to release multiple reports on Dana Point Harbor operations


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