Top issues on this week’s public meeting agendas include the release of the county’s report on the conditions of children and Anaheim making headway on public transit plans.
On Tuesday, county supervisors will receive the latest Report of the Conditions of Children , the final product of a yearly effort to have researchers, the county and the nonprofit community assess how Orange County’s children are faring.
The good news is that data shows more children have access to health care and that Child Support Services is collecting about $360 more per case compared to last year. Juvenile arrests are also down 10 percent over the decade leading up to 2010.
Among the bad news is that the number of known gang members who are minors has increased 50 percent over the last decade (though the trend has been declining in the past three years.)
There’s also been a 20-percent increase in children who receive financial assistance from CalWORKs, and the percentage of low birth-weight babies is also on the rise — from 5.9 percent in 2001 to 6.4 percent in 2010. The report also cites a 26-percent increase over the last decade in the rate of sexually transmitted diseases in children.
Officials will be presenting their findings at five community meetings from November to February.
In Anaheim this week, the City Council will decide whether to approve a $1.6-million contract for testing and inspection of the ARTIC transit center and to select streetcars as the “locally preferred alternative” for the Anaheim Rapid Connection project.
Here’s a sampling of other items on this week’s agendas:
Orange County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, Oct. 23, at 9:30 a.m.
- Approve a three-year, $4.2-million contract with Tetra Tech BAS Inc. to provide landfill gas operation and maintenance services for south region landfills.
- Reassigning the 14-employee county real estate office from Public Works to the CEO’s office.
- Receive the 2012 Report on the Conditions of Children in Orange County.
- Approve use of $3.8 million in Prop. 172 funding to replace Neighborhood Development and Preservation Program funding to continue anti-gang efforts in central and North Orange County.
- Approve lease with XpresSpa at John Wayne Airport for operation of a concession.
- Approve plans and specifications and set bid opening for Nov. 28 for phase two of the Perimeter Road reconstruction project at John Wayne Airport.
Anaheim City Council, Tuesday, Oct. 23, at 5:00 p.m.
- Award a $1.6-million contract to Group Delta Consultants Inc. for test and inspection services for the construction of the ARTIC transit center.
- Select the streetcar alternative as the locally preferred alternative for the Anaheim Rapid Connection (ARC) Fixed Guideway Project for further study as part of the California and federal environmental review process.
- Extending by three years the exclusive right of Aramark Sports and Entertainment Services to provide food and beverage service at the Anaheim Convention Center.
Newport Beach City Council, Tuesday, Oct. 23, at 7:00 p.m.
- Amending the contract with the California Public Employees Retirement System to create a second-tier retirement benefit: 3%@55 for police, 2%@50 for firefighters, 2%@50 for lifeguards and 2%@60 for miscellaneous members.
- Amending Newport Beach Civic Center construction contract to increase costs by $720,000.
Irvine City Council Special Meeting, Tuesday, Oct. 23, at 7:00 p.m.
- Approving more than $9 million in wire transfers.