The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program squeaked by another
budget year, much worse for the wear this year. The City Council
decided Monday, not to kill the program but cut it in half.
A modified version of the program that sends police officers into
schools to talk to students about the dangers of drugs will continue,
but the 18-week program will now run for only 9 weeks.
The police department currently has enough money in its budget to
run the program for another semester as modified, said Police Chief
Ron Lowenberg.
"We've eliminated all overtime in the DARE program," he said.
While several council members were upset by the decision to halve
the program they were happy with the compromise.
"The DARE program, to me, is very important," Councilwoman Grace
Winchell said.
But it was not all bad news for the police force. The council
decided in a 5-2 vote to take $79,000 from the general fund reserve
to fund the police crime lab.
By appropriating $79,000 for the police crime lab the police
department will not have to rely on the County to test evidence
obtained during investigations. Relying on the county could cause
delays in investigations, Lowenberg said.
The police department is also exploring the possibility of
contracting out crime lab services to other cities in an effort to
generate revenue. Lowenberg estimated that as much as $40,000 could
possibly be raised.
Even residents took a beating Monday night, as the council voted
4-3 to increase the hourly fee in the parking structure Downtown. It
will now cost an hourly rate of $3 to park in the structure on days
when there are a high number of visitors to the city. The daily
maximum for the structure will be $12.
-- Jose Paul Corona
Residents voice concern over Parkside Estates
More than a dozen Huntington Beach residents crowded into the
council chambers at City Hall Tuesday night to oppose a 171-home
housing project before the Planning Commission.
The project, Parkside Estates, would build 171 new homes on Graham
Avenue, south of Kenilworth Drive.
Residents cited traffic congestion as one of their main concerns
with the project that has been in development for several years and
been the subject of two traffic studies, one in 1994 and another 1996, said resident Julie Bixby said. Those studies ignore the fact
that parents will drop off their children at nearby Marine View
Middle School, she said.
Plans to install a traffic signal on Graham Avenue for the
project, would not allow the fire department to respond to a medical
