There was no regular Board meeting this week. The next Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 28th at 9:30 am.

FY 2008-09 Budget Amendment- On Monday, the OCTA Board of Directors amended its Fiscal Year 2008-09 budget to address the decline in sales tax receipts and state transit funding. The Board reduced its budget by $130 million to bring budgeted expenditures inline with its actual revenues. The amendment includes a $6.1 million reduction to the bus system, a delay of $101 million in Measure M1 projects and a delay of $6.6 million in Measure M2 projects. The amendment also includes a $12.2 million use of reserves to lessen the impact of the economic downturn on the bus system. OCTA continues to monitor its financial situation, and reduce expenses.

Economic Stimulus Update- The OCTA Board also committed to use its share of the federal economic stimulus in a manner that is transparent and creates jobs in Orange County. On Monday, the Authority launched a website to keep taxpayers informed on the use of stimulus funds and the jobs which have been created as a result. To view the Orange County Ready to Work website, click here.

Fare Evasion Report- The Board received a presentation on fare evasion in Orange County. Fare evasion is commonly perceived as the failure to pay the required fare. Fare evasion also includes the misuse of daily, weekly, or monthly trip passes, and under California law, is punishable by a fine of $250. Since 2003, the number of reported incidents of fare evasion on OCTA’s bus system has increased from 65 reported instances to 201. The increase is due to the reporting of fare evaders by coach operators, increased education efforts about the penalty for evaded fares, and stronger enforcement by Transit Police Services. To view the presentation, click here.

Bus Stop Maintenance Program- The Board received a presentation on the Bus Stop Maintenance Program. Following the presentation, the Board authorized staff to negotiation a contract with Shelter Clean, Inc. to provide maintenance services, signing and service change information, and occasional "hot spot" trash removal. To view the presentation given to the Board, click here.

Go Local Agreement- The OCTA Board of Directors approved cooperative agreements with the cities of Aliso Viejo and Irvine for Step Two of the Go Local program. Since cities are most familiar with the travel patterns within their communities, the Go Local program allows for transit connections to match those patterns. Step One of the Go Local program provided cities a $100,000 grant to identify and plan for increased transit access to Metrolink. Step Two of the program provides funding for the design and service plans for the proposed transit connections in Step One. In Aliso Viejo, the agreement allows for the planning of bus/shuttle service between the Aliso Viejo Town Center and the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Metrolink Stations. In Irvine, the agreement allows for the planning of service between the Irvine Spectrum and the Irvine Transportation Center. OCTA will work with each city to assess the feasibility of their transit proposal, cost, hours, and ridership projects.

Cooperative Agreements with Caltrans- The Board approved three cooperative agreements with Caltrans. The first agreement allows for construction of an eastbound lane on the SR-91 freeway. OCTA will fund the construction of a fifth eastbound mixed-flow lane between the SR-241 toll road and the SR-71. The second agreement allows for project approval and environmental documentation necessary to proceed with the addition of a High-Occupancy Vehicle lane along the I-5 between San Juan Creek Road and Avenida Pico. The third agreement allows OCTA to fund additional soundwalls along the SR-22 freeway to address noise impact on the community. The soundwalls will be placed in four locations; the eastbound Beach Blvd. on ramp, on a portion of The City Drive eastbound off-ramp, on a portion of the westbound SR-22 between Tustin Ave. and Cambridge Street, and along the westbound SR-22 at Devon Road.

Property Tax Collections - Orange County Treasurer Tax-Collector Chriss Street released the preliminary figures for the second installment payments of the 2008-2009 secured property tax receipts. The second installment receipts totaled $1,934,873,353 which was an increase of $48,896,371 from the previous year. Compared to this time last year, the percentage of tax roll paid is slightly down by 1.26%. To date, the year’s secured property tax collections total $4,226,441,384, which is $141,172,680 more than the previous year. The percentage of the total tax roll paid is down -0.61% from the previous year.

Airport Statistics- John Wayne Airport posted its March 2009 Statistics. The report includes statistics on total passengers, air cargo, general aviation, military operations, and the percentage change from the prior year. To view the March 2009 statistics, please click here.

Mary and I attended a prayer breakfast on Good Friday at the Anaheim Hills Country Club. The special guest was author Immacculee Ilibagiza, who shared her harrowing experience of surviving Rwandan Genocide. Click here to read the program. For pictures, click here.

I attended the Good Friday Way of the Cross service on the Dulac family property in Baker Canyon. For pictures from the event, please click here.

I met with Chay Peterson, Debbie Johnson, and Laura Bennett of Silverado Canyon to discuss the proposed closure of Silverado Elementary School.

I met with Irvine Mayor Sukhee Kang to discuss issues affecting the City and the County.

I attended a special reception prior to Irvine Valley College Foundation’s 21st Annual Awards Dinner. Congratulations to IVC Medal Award recipients Howard Klein, Fawn Tanriverdi, Raymond A. Lee and Jeffrey C. Joy. For pictures, please click here.

County CEO Tom Mauk joined me in a meeting with Tustin Mayor Doug Davert, Mayor Pro Tem Jerry Amante and city manager Bill Huston to discuss a variety of issues of interest between the City and County. I also had the opportunity to tour the new Tustin branch library which is in the final stages of completion. For pictures, click here.

County Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Public Finance, Tom Beckett, has retired after 32 years of services with the County. I want to thank Tom for his years of dedication and service to the County and wish him an enjoyable retirement. The County has begun the recruitment process to select a new County Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Public Finance. For information on the position, click here.

I met with Bud Henry to discuss issues of interest related to North Tustin.

Orange County Treasurer Tax-Collector Chriss Street and I thanked nursing students from Biola University for their weekly nursing clinic at the Orange County Civic Plaza and for their selfless service in helping provide basic health exams to the County’s homeless residents. For pictures, please click here.

I met with Beatriz Fernandez, Nhi Ho and Arnold Landau, of the United States Census Bureau to discuss the upcoming 2010 census and their outreach efforts within the business and local communities. For more information about the 2010 census, please click here.

I met with Judy Bowden, executive director of 2-1-1 Orange County, and 2-1-1 board members Mahboob Akhter and Scott Reitan to discuss future areas service and outreach. For information on 2-1-1, click here.

met with Michael Davis, consultant for The Davis Group, and the County Librarian to discuss the Library Advisory Board’s allocation study.

Mary and I took our grandson, Diego, to "Bubblefest" at the Discovery Science Center. To learn more about Bubblefest, please click here.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Essentials for Young Lives Campaign- On Saturday, April 25, from 1 to 4 pm, the Children and Families Commission and HomeAid Orange County will host a kick-off event at Irvine Spectrum to collect "essential" baby items for homeless families. This year’s baby supply drive will be held from April 27 to April 30, 2009. Items needed include diapers for newborn to toddlers, baby wipes, baby food, formula and baby products. For more information about the campaign, please click here, or call (949) 553-9510.

Tustin Tennis Festival- On Saturday, April 18, from 9 am to 12 pm, the City of Tustin Parks and Recreation Department is hosting a free tennis festival at the Tustin Sports Park Tennis Center. The event will feature lessons, tennis tips and fun games. For more information, click here.

"Past Tents, the Way We Camped" Exhibit- The Old Courthouse Museum is hosting an exhibit titled "Past Tents, The Way We Camped" from April 13th to June 5th. The display chronicles camping from the middle of the 19th Century to the 1950’s. For more information, please click here

It is a pleasure to serve the constituents of the Third District.

Please pray for our armed forces and our foreign services personnel.