DANA POINT : Lease Extension Key to New Fueling Dock

A new boat-fueling dock at Dana Point could be under construction by next fall if the County Board of Supervisors approves a lease extension to the current operator of the dock.

The new five-year lease, approved last week by the Harbor, Beaches and Parks Commission, calls for rebuilding the 20-year-old fueling dock at an estimated cost of $1 million.

The county ordinarily solicits competitive bids whenever a lease is up, but if county residents will benefit from an extension of a lease, the Board of Supervisors can renew it, according to Barry Permenter, a spokesman for the Harbors, Beaches and Parks department.

“If this is approved, we’ll have to get with the lender to see what requirements they want for a 20- or 30-year loan,” Permenter said. “I’m sure they will want some sort of assurance that if the current operator loses the lease at the end of five years, the loan will still be paid.”

Ralph Davidson, who has held the lease for the fueling dock for 6 1/2 years, says he is willing to take on the loan to improve the fueling facility in the hopes that the county will extend his lease through the life of the loan.

If the supervisors approve the extended lease, and if Davidson is able to get the environmental permits necessary to rebuild the fueling dock, construction could begin in November, 1993, he said.

The new fueling dock is planned to be built at a 90-degree angle from the existing dock.

The new configuration will keep the length of the facility, which is currently at the opening of the harbor, from being battered by the sea.

It will also enable more boats to be refueled at one time.

Currently, only four boats can be simultaneously refueled, often resulting in long lines on the weekends, Davidson said.

The new dock will accommodate eight boats, he said.

The new configuration will also open up more space for commercial fisherman to moor their boats using an underwater buoy system, Davidson said.

The extended lease is expected to come before the supervisors for approval sometime in September.