From Rejection Comes Connection: Dana Point Harbor Advisory Board in Candidate Selection Process

DANA POINT — Anyone who is familiar with the saga that has been the formation of the Dana Point Harbor Advisory Council knows it has not been an easy road. Back in September, the council was disassembled before it even came to fruition as Orange County officials decided to terminate the formal body.

However, as 2018 creeps ever nearer, it seems the Dana Point Harbor Advisory Board (DPHAB) could finally see the light of day.

“After a few logistical delays, mostly due to scheduling challenges, we are underway again with our harbor partners on establishing the Dana Point Harbor Advisory Board,” a recent Dana Point Boaters Association eNewsletter stated.

The newsletter went on to state the advisory board is currently building a committee of nine members to represent the community. Two ex-officio members would also be selected and a meeting introducing the new members and bylaws of the board will be scheduled in the first few weeks of 2018.

Currently, the advisory board is in the process of receiving and reviewing applications from a pool of qualified candidates. James Lenthall, president of Dana Point Boaters Association, and a larger selection committee will select the candidates. They are putting an emphasis on appointing members who are thoughtful, knowledgeable participants in the community and, of course, deeply love the harbor.

“While I will be one among a larger selection committee and the choice of membership won’t be mine alone, I can predict what I imagine will be the primary qualities that we will seek from our candidates,” Lenthall told The Log. “First, they must demonstrate that they sufficiently represent the stakeholder category that they are aligning with. Beyond that, we will be looking for harbor community representatives with a deep knowledge of their harbor, a love and passion for our harbor community, the ability to collaborate respectfully and thoughtfully with their DPHAB peers, and open-mindedness to consider the needs and objectives of their harbor partners.”

As Lenthall elaborates on the selection process, he is hopeful this will successfully lead to meetings open to the public.

“The selection committee will be comprised of knowledgeable and objective members of our harbor community, essentially including some members who are not vying for a place on the DPHAB. We don’t have a final date yet, but the selection committee will convene in the first half of January,” Lenthall said. “Hopefully the committee will successfully select the nine representative members and two ex-officio (government) members in short order. We will then schedule an introductory meeting among the selected members to ratify membership and bylaws and schedule future meetings.

“Once that’s completed, we will post the meeting schedule and agendas online,” Lenthall continued. “These will be open meetings.”

For more information about the Dana Point Boaters Association and the formation of the DPHAB, visit the website at danapointboaters.org or email James Lenthall at jameslenthall@danapointboaters.org.