2009-10 Goals and Accomplishments- At the beginning of Tuesday’s Board meeting, each Supervisor reviewed their list of accomplishments from 2009 and talked about some of their goals for 2010. For a copy of my list of 2009 accomplishments and goals for 2010, please click here.

Highland Greenspot Property- The Board voted to select Lewis Planned Communities to assist the County with the Greenspot Property entitlement. The Orange County Flood Control District along with San Bernardino County Flood Control District and Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (collectively the Local Sponsors) hold title to a 1,658-acre landholding located within the City of Highland, California. The property, commonly referred to as the Greenspot Property, was originally acquired as a site for excavation of soil needed for construction of the Seven Oaks Dam as part of the Santa Ana River Project. During the dam construction, 5.7 million cubic yards of impervious clay material were removed from the property and mixed with other earthen materials. Seven Oaks Dam was constructed pursuant to an agreement between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Local Sponsors. The property is no longer needed for the Seven Oaks Dam Project, and will provide a much needed revenue source to fund a portion of the remaining Local Sponsor's obligation toward the Santa Ana River Project. Upon successful completion of negotiations and approval by the Board, Lewis Planned Communities will assist the County in obtaining the entitlements for a master planned community including, but not limited to, the approval of a specific plan; preliminary engineering and various technical reports; and related environmental studies for the property. It is estimated that the initial entitlement process will take approximately 36 months to complete.

Senior Non-Emergency Medical Transportation- The Board approved an agreement with the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) for receipt of $1 in million New Freedom Program funds to augment funding to the existing FY 2009-10 County Senior Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (SNMET) program providers. This additional funding will increase the availability of transportation services to older adults in Orange County who lack other reasonable means of medical-related transportation. It is estimated that 13,645 non-emergency medical trips will be provided in FY 2009-10 as a result of the New Freedom Program funds.

Orange County’s Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness- The Board approved the draft Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness and directed OC Community Resources to finalize community input before returning for final plan approval. OC Community Services had secured over $120 million in Federal Homeless Assistance funding since 1996, and these funds have been used to develop the majority of Orange County’s transitional shelter and permanent supportive housing system. Input for the plan was developed by a collaborative working group which represented various stakeholders including, the business community, non-profit homeless shelter and service providers; technical consultants; cities; philanthropic foundations; and education, mental health, housing, and County agencies. To read Orange County’s draft Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness, click here. To provide comments, or ask questions, please click here.

Harbor Patrol- The Board received presentations related to Harbor Patrol governance and finance issues and directed the Performance Auditor to conduct a detailed study evaluating these and other related issues. To view Supervisor Norby’s presentation on this matter, please click here. To view Supervisor Moorlach’s presentation, please click here.

John Wayne Airport Air Canada Operations- The Board approved a request by Air Canada for three Regular Class A Average Daily Departure spots operating out of John Wayne Airport for the 2010-2011 Plan Year beginning, April 1, 2010 through March 31, 2011.

MOU for Improved Rail Service- The OCTA Board of Directors voted to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Joint Powers Authority, the California High-Speed Rail Authority, the National Rail Passenger Corporation, the Southern California Association of Governments, and the Southern California Regional Rail Authority for the improvement of passenger rail service between San Luis Obispo and San Diego (the LOSSAN corridor). Currently there are three different rail systems that provide passenger service within the LOSSAN corridor. Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner provides passenger rail service between San Diego and San Luis Obispo. Metrolink provides passenger rail service between Oceanside and Oxnard, and the Coaster provides passenger rail service between Oceanside and San Diego. Transferring between these systems is difficult and the lack of integration between the three systems prevents easy rail travel along California’s coastal communities. The MOU approved by the OCTA Board is the first step towards integrating passenger service along the LOSSAN corridor and provides for cooperation among the six counties through which the LOSSAN line runs.

State Budget Update- On Monday, the OCTA Board of Directors received an update on the State budget and the Governor’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2010-11. It is estimated that the State will have a General Fund shortfall of $19.9 billion. The Governor has proposed to fill this gap through $8.5 billion in cuts, $6.9 billion in increased federal assistance, and $4.5 billion in fund shifts. The Governor’s budget proposal did not include restoration of the State Transit Assistance Program which has historically funded bus service in California. Restoration of this program was assumed by OCTA after the State was found to have spent the Sate Transit Assistance Program funds on unconstitutional expenditures. If transit funding is not restored, OCTA will be forced to reduce bus service further as stated during the last round of service cuts.

Text4Next Program- The OCTA Board of Directors received a presentation on OCTA’s Text4Next Program. The Text4Next Program is a Short Message Service (SMS) that allows bus users to receive information regarding the next bus scheduled to arrive on a particular route from OCTA through receipt of a text message on their cell phone. Bus users can now text OCTA at 628246 (OCTAGO) with the keyword "bus", their bus stop number and the bus route number. OCTA will then text the bus user back with the next three scheduled bus arrival times. For more information on the Text4Next Program, click here. To watch a short video on the program, click here.

Election of Officers- The OCTA Board of Directors held its annual election for Chairman and Vice-Chairman this past Monday. Tustin Mayor Jerry Amante was elected Chairman and Supervisor Pat Bates was elected Vice-Chairman. Congratulations to both Director Amante and Director Bates. I look forward to working with the two of them over the next year to improve Orange County’s transportation system.

Traffic and Revenue Update- The Foothill Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency (F/ETCA) reported toll revenues of $8,178,161 and transactions of 4,683,008 for the month of December. Revenues were up 4.7% and transactions were down 6.7% over the December 2008 figures. The San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency (SJHTCA) reported toll revenues of $7,120,305 a 1.4% decrease from December 2008. The SJHTCA transactions were 2,075,074 for the month of December which represented a 7.3% decrease over December 2008.

Permit Application Holiday- South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Chairman Dr. William A. Burke proposed a permit application holiday which will temporarily suspend late filing fees for businesses to obtain the necessary air quality permits. Many businesses in the basin are unaware of their requirement to obtain air quality permits until after the fact. This temporary suspension of the late filing fees will allow businesses to obtain the proper permits without penalties. This proposal will be followed-up by SCAQMD staff who will develop a framework and schedule for implementation of the program for final consideration and approval by the SCAQMD Board in February.

Release of Air Permits- At last Friday’s SCAQMD’s Governing Board meeting, SCAQMD Executive Director Dr. Barry Wallerstein announced that on January 2, 2010 over 1,300 air permits which had previously been delayed for more than a year due to litigation, were issued by SCAQMD. The permits represent an investment in the local economy, the purchasing of cleaner emission producing equipment, and the saving of jobs in the District during these difficult economic times. Director Wallerstein and the Governing Board recognized all of the SCAQMD staff and their hard work through the holidays which made this possible.

State of the Air- SCAQMD Chairman presented this year’s State of the Air at the SCAQMD Governing Board meeting. This year’s State of the Air was presented in short video with an overview of the accomplishments in the efforts to improve the region’s air and emphasized the importance of further reductions in pollution from all sources. To watch the State of the Air presentation, please click here.

I adjourned this week’s Board meeting in memory of Abbot Ladislas Parker, O.Praem of St. Michael’s Abbey who passed away on January 3, 2010 at the age of 94. To read my adjournment in the memory of Abbot Parker, please click here.

Orange County Fairgrounds State Auction - I attended the California Department of General Services (DGS) auction of the Orange County Fairgrounds which was held at the OC Fairgrounds. As part of the State’s Request for Proposal process, seven sealed bids for the Fairgrounds property were initially submitted to the Department of General Services on Monday, January 11. On Thursday morning, DGS opened each bid and announced the name of the bidder and the bid amount. The County and City of Costa Mesa submitted an initial joint-bid of $6.5 million. The high sealed bid submitted was by Facilities Management West in the amount of $55 million. Once all of the sealed bids were announced, DGS then went to a live auction for those interested in bidding at a higher amount. The final high bidder was Craig Realty Group with a final bid of $56.5 million. Headquartered in Newport Beach, Craig Realty Group specializes in the development and management of factory outlet shopping centers. As members of the Board’s subcommittee on the sale of the OC Fairgrounds, Supervisor Moorlach and I look forward to meeting with Craig Realty Group to learn more about their plans for the future use of the Fairgrounds property. For pictures, please click here.

I attended a breakfast for the kick-off of the Children and Families Commission’s campaign, "10 People Making a Difference in the Lives of Young Children". Beginning in February, the Commission will honor one individual per month for ten months to commemorate the Commission’s ten year anniversary. For pictures, please click here.

I attended a demonstration of the Mobile Multiservice Center in the Santa Ana Civic Center Plaza with my Board colleagues, and representatives from the community. The Mobile Multiservice Center approach provides a unique opportunity to bring assistance directly to Orange County residents experiencing homelessness through a multi-disciplinary collaborative including access to health care, financial assistance, and employment services in a one-stop environment. One of the reasons that this approach is successful in Orange County is because homelessness exists in areas throughout Orange County, rather than in one concentrated downtown area. For pictures of the mobile unit and the ceremony, click here.

Congratulations to my colleague Supervisor Chris Norby who was elected to represent the California State Assembly’s 72nd District in Tuesday’s special election. I have served on the Board of Supervisors with Chris for almost seven years and have enjoyed working with him on a number of issues. I wish him the best of luck in the State Legislature. For pictures from Chris’ victory party, click here.

Weather Forecast Warning For Next Week - The National Weather Service has released an early warning notice of the potential for a series of severe rain storms next week. To link to the National Weather Service website, please click here. There will be a chance for potential periods of dangerous rainfall which may produce mud and debris flows in the canyon burn areas. To stay informed about storm data and rainfall levels, please click here.

NPS Recognizes Santiago Creek Bike Trail- The National Park Service newsletter highlighted the partnership between OCTA and the Orange County Water District in the restoration of the Santiago Creek Bike Trail as an example of a recent success. By spring 2010, seven miles of bike trails will be open and accessible for the public. To read the newsletter, click here.

Earthquake in Haiti- Members of the California Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 5 Team and the Orange County Fire Authority have been activated to assist in recovery efforts for the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti earlier this week. My thoughts and prayers go out to our public safety personnel, residents, and loved ones of those impacted by this disaster. To read the press release, 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.