John Wayne Airport Terminal C- The Board awarded a contract for the construction of Terminal C at John Wayne Airport to McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. in the amount of $102,309,46 compared to the original engineer’s estimate of $172 million. John Wayne Airport is currently implementing its Airport Capital Improvement Program (CIP) which includes upgrades to Terminals A and B and construction of a new Terminal C. Terminal C is a multi-level building comprising a total area of approximately 282,000 square feet and will include six new bridged passenger gates for commercial aircraft, new security checkpoints, baggage screening capacity enhancements, and new commuter aircraft facilities. Construction and improvements are expected to begin in August. The Terminal is scheduled for completion in November 2011.

John Wayne Airport Terminal C Parking Structure- The Board awarded Parking Structure C construction contract to Swinerton Builders, Inc. in the amount of $34,170,818 compared to the original engineer’s estimate of $50.9 million. Construction of a parking structure for Terminal C is one of the major elements of the CIP. Parking Structure C is a five-level, post-tensioned concrete structure comprising a total area of approximately 725,000 square feet. The project will provide approximately 2,000 parking spaces to replace the 1,250 spaces that have been eliminated by the deconstruction of the former B1 Parking Structure, and it will provide an additional 750 spaces to meet a portion of the increased parking needs associated with the addition of Terminal C. Construction is expected to begin in August. The parking structure is scheduled to be complete in the fall of 2010, but is slated to open concurrently with Terminal C.

2009-2012 Orange County Employees Association Contract- The Board approved the 2009-2012 Orange County Employees Association (OCEA) contract with the County. The new three-year contract with the County’s largest employee group includes no general salary increases, reform of employee overtime hours, and the option of a lower pension formula with a defined contribution program for all new employees. The County with allow current employees to opt into the lower pension formula if pending legislation is approved in by the State Legislature. The County and OCEA were congratulated by the Orange County Taxpayers Association for “having made significant progress toward making pensions and other post-employment benefits sustainable and less of a burden on taxpayers.” To read the press release, please click here.

Status of County Budget and State Budget Impacts- The Board received a status report on the reductions taken by various County departments as a result of the Board’s adoption of the FY 2009-2010 Budget in June. Click here to see the reductions by department. The Board also received an update on the anticipated impacts of the proposed State budget on the County. Staff reported a potential loss of between $89 million and $93 million not including reductions in health and welfare services under the State’s proposed budget. Click here to read a summary of the anticipated State budget impacts on the County.

Renewed Measure M Environmental Mitigation and Resource Protection Program- On Monday, the OCTA Transportation 2020 Committee provided comment and feedback to staff and the Environmental Oversight Committee on the Renewed Measure M Environmental Mitigation and Resource Protection Program. Specifically, the Committee discussed the prioritization process and criteria proposed for evaluating property under consideration for acquisition and habitat restoration. The Committee also authorized the pre-funding of $55 million to fund the program.

The Renewed Measure M Environmental Mitigation and Resource Protection Program was authorized by the voters when they approved Renewed Measure M. The program dedicates five percent of the Measure M2 revenues to environmental mitigation for the impacts of the Measure M2 freeway projects. The program calls for OCTA to enter into a master agreement with state and federal resource agencies to provide higher-value environmental benefits such as habitat protection, wildlife corridors and resource preservation in exchange for streamlined project approvals for the freeway program as a whole.

Irvine Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center- Orange County Waste and Recycling is temporally closing the Irvine Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center for rehabilitation and repaving of the facility from August 2 to August 14, 2009. Due to permit restrictions, the center cannot remain open during construction. The County’s four other regional Household Hazardous Waste Collection Centers will be open to receive waste. For the location of the County’s other collection centers, please click here.

Bowerman Landfill Gas Vents Update- I received an update from Orange County Waste and Recycling staff at the Frank R. Bowerman Landfill on the recently discovered heat vents on the perimeter of the property. The latest studies by Geosyntec, the County’s geology consultant, have ruled out landfill gas or deep hydrocarbons as a source of the gas. Currently, staff and the consultant believe that the source of the vent gas is carbonaceous shale, a type of Sedimentary rock rich in carbon. Scientist from the United States Geologic Survey and the University of California at Santa Barbara are expected to study the vents next week. Staff will continue to study the phenomena and will make recommendations if any mitigation is necessary. For a recent picture of the vents, please click here.

Wildland Fire Engine- The Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) Board of Directors approved the donation of a retired 1990 Wildland Fire Engine to the Holy Jim Volunteer Fire Department. The donation will replace the 1948 engine currently in use. For more information about the Volunteer Fire Department, please click here to read the Orange County Register article.

Salary Adjustments- The OCFA Board approved the voluntary efforts of OCFA executive management and administrative management to forgo their cost of living salary adjustments. This is scheduled to save the agency $332,041 over the next two fiscal years.

Mary and I toured the Ford Motor Company design studios in Irvine. This facility is one of Ford’s two concept design centers in the United States. The tour included an overview of the design process and an up-close view of several working prototypes, such as the Lincoln C Concept, which is scheduled for release for sale in 2011. In addition, the facility has a collection of many classic cars produced by Ford over the years, including some exceptional examples of Lincoln Continental Mark II’s. For pictures, please click here.

I toured Trabuco Creek Road, a rough-graded dirt road which runs along Trabuco Creek through the Cleveland National Forest and eventually terminates at Holy Jim Camp Grounds. For pictures, click here.

I attended a meeting of the Orange County American Council of Engineering Companies, featuring special guest speaker Colonel Thomas Magness. Colonel Magness is the Los Angeles District Commandeer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. For pictures, click here.

I toured the County’s newly constructed cogeneration central utility facility which will use natural gas powered turbine generators to produce electricity, heat and cooling for County buildings located in the Santa Ana Civic Center. For pictures, click here.

I visited the El Modena Community Center and met with the Director, Mirabel Reyes, to observe the usage and condition of the facility. The Community Center serves the residents of the El Modena area and provides programs such as after school tutoring for ESL students. For pictures of my visit, please click here.

I met with consultants from Applied Survey Research to discuss their findings from the 2009 Point in Time Count of the Homeless in Orange County.

I met with David Cortez, Mai Ho, and Lily Rodriquez residents of El Modena to discuss community concerns in the area. For a picture, please click here.

I met with Orange County Treasurer Tax-Collector, Chriss Street and received an update on County tax revenues and the County Investment Pool.

I met with Steve Connolly, Director of the Office of Independent Review (OIR) to discuss upcoming issues.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Tustin Movies in the Park- On Thursdays, from July 30, to August 27, the City of Tustin is hosting Movies in the Park. The kick-off event will be held at Heritage Park on Thursday, July 30, starting at dusk. The Tustin Library will be storytelling before each movie. To view the schedule of movies with the different park locations, please click here.

Orange Annual Night Out- The City of Orange and the Orange Police Department will host the 26th annual National Night Out on August 4, 2009 from 6 pm to 9 pm. The National Night Out seeks to strengthen communities, support local anti-crime programs, and raise drug awareness prevention. 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.