Legislators Allocate Funds for Dam Work, Park Projects

SACRAMENTO — A package of at least $5 million for San Fernando Valley-area projects, ranging from repairs for Hansen Dam to parkland acquisition in the Santa Monica Mountains, was included in a tentative agreement Wednesday night by leaders of the state Legislature to divide about $48 million for a variety of public works.

Many of the projects--including the Hansen Dam repairs--were cut from the state budget in July by Gov. George Deukmejian.

But Sen. Dan McCorquodale (D-San Jose), chairman of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, said Wednesday that the governor had indicated that he would consider approving the new allocation.

McCorquodale said he hoped to insert the proposal, which was still being worked out Wednesday night, into legislation on the Senate floor either late Wednesday or today.

Late Wednesday, Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) said he believed that legislative leaders had agreed upon how the money would be divided.

McCorquodale cautioned that he is uncertain whether Deukmejian will sign the proposal. But in recent years, Deukmejian has agreed to similar proposals cobbled together in the closing days of the legislative session, which this year ends Friday.

Moreover, Kevin Brett, the governor’s press secretary, confirmed that there had been a basic agreement on how to divide the money. He said that when the governor vetoed some of the projects, he was concerned that many of them had been slipped into the budget at the last minute without proper review.

Now, Brett said, the projects are being reviewed by the state Department of Parks and Recreation. “We don’t anticipate any objections,” he said.

The $48 million comes from a variety of sources, including park bonds, highway funds, the Proposition 70 park bond fund of 1988 and the new Proposition 99 tobacco tax revenue.

McCorquodale said the funds were split among the governor and the Democratic and Republican caucuses of the Assembly and the Senate, with the goal of agreeing “to do something reasonable.”

Katz said the tentative accord set aside at least $475,000 for rehabilitating Hansen Dam.

Funds for other Valley-area projects in the proposal included $1.7 million for two Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy land acquisition plans--$500,000 for the Santa Clarita Woodlands and $1.2 million for Santa Susana Mountains property. The amount of land in each proposal was not spelled out.

Other projects included $1.7 million for Malibu Creek State Park land acquisition; $1 million for the Ventura Beach Pier and $350,000 to develop facilities at the off-highway vehicle park at Hungry Valley near Gorman.