LAKE ELSINORE -- City officials and attorneys representing the family of a man who drowned at a city-run campground in July 2001 said Tuesday that a tentative settlement has been reached in a wrongful death lawsuit against the city.

An attorney representing the three children of the man who died said Tuesday that the tentative terms call for the city to pay $635,000 to settle the lawsuit, which was filed against the city in June 2002.

Attorney John Montevideo said Tuesday that his firm is already working with an outside company -- approved by the city -- on a tentative payout plan, calling for the money to be invested for the children and for them to receive annuity payments in the coming years.

City Manager Dick Watenpaugh confirmed that a tentative settlement had been reached. However, he said that he could not confirm the amount of the settlement with certainty.

On July 4, 2001, Everardo Arzola was wading and swimming at a city-owned and -operated campground at the north end of Lake Elsinore. The spot where he drowned is next to a boat-launching ramp. On either side of the ramp is a ledge with a sudden drop-off. Depending on the lake level, the ledge is not visible. Montevideo said it is not clear whether Arzola, who was a swimmer, died while swimming or when he stepped off the ledge.

Arzola's death followed four other drownings in the same location during the previous year. On July 2, 2000, two Compton boys drowned while wading there. On Aug. 5, 2000, a Los Angeles man drowned while swimming in front of the campground. Twelve days later, San Diego teenager Minh Phuong Thi Tran, 18, drowned while wading near the ramp.

The girl's family later filed a $30 million wrongful death lawsuit against the city in the case. In September 2003, the city settled the lawsuit with the girl's family for $800,000.

This year, a legal scholar speculated that any settlement of the Arzola lawsuit stood to cost the city much more than $800,000 because the 26-year-old man left behind three children, whereas Tran did not have any dependents.

Arzola attorney Montevideo said Tuesday that Arzola was a Mexican citizen and therefore his expected earnings were lower, which explains the $635,000 settlement amount.

"Had the (projected earnings) amount been based on U.S. wages, the jury would have considered a higher damage reward," Montevideo said.

At a hearing that should occur within the next 30 days, a judge will determine whether to approve the terms of the settlement, including how the money will be handled for the children until they are adults, Montevideo said.

Since the drownings, some people have blasted the city for not moving to permanently fix the lake bottom where the concrete surface on either side of the boat ramp suddenly drops off into deeper water.

Mayor Thomas Buckley said Tuesday that a permanent solution for repairing the lake bottom and eliminating the hazard is in the works. In November, the city received state approval for the first $800,000 installment of a $3 million grant from the Department of Boating and Waterways to make major improvements and expand the boat ramps at the Lake Elsinore Campgrounds and Recreation area.

The design of those improvements has already been approved by the city, Buckley said. The project plans call for the boat ramp to be completely redone, "and smooth out any underwater drop-off area," he said, adding that the project should begin within the next year.

After the drownings, local online magazine publisher Bill Reimbold published a series of scathing articles on his Web site, www.elsinoremagazine.com, blasting the city for its failure to erect a fence or a concrete barrier to make it impossible for other drownings to occur on either side of the boat ramp.

He said he worries that if the city doesn't immediately eliminate the hazard, others may end up drowning before the city is able to complete the project.

On Tuesday, the lake level stood at 1,236.88 feet above sea level, compared with 1,242.15 feet at the time of the Tran drowning and 1,239.19 feet at the time of the Arzola drowning.

The ledges of the ramp are now out of the water and clearly visible, because of the lower lake level. But Reimbold said that if the lake level rises because of the recycled water and well water the water district is now pumping into the lake, the ledge could be covered again, hiding the danger to lake users.

On a Tuesday visit to the campground, Reimbold said he was amazed to see that just yards from the ledge on the east side of the boat ramp, a sign has been erected touting the location as a family fishing spot.

"That's real good, make sure to bring all your children to the death trap," he said. He added that another nearby sign warning users that wading is prohibited in the area does little good, since it is 10 feet off the ground and out of the range of sight of most people.

"Shaquille O'Neal wouldn't be able to read it," he said. "It would cost them $500 to put up a fence down there and they haven't done it."

Contact staff writer William Finn Bennett at (909) 676-4315, Ext. 2624, or wbennett@californian.com.