Among this week’s happenings in local government are a public forum on Santa Ana’s budget and a 5-percent jump in train ridership on Metrolink’s Orange County line.
Santa Ana residents will have an opportunity to weigh in on their city’s budget at a community outreach meeting on Tuesday night.
The forum, which is mandated by the city’s new Sunshine Ordinance, will be held at 6 p.m. at the City Council chambers.
It’s hosted by the city’s finance department and new the new city manager, David Cavazos.
Also this week, the region’s main railroad planning agency is set to discuss ridership numbers.
Metrolink’s Orange County line saw a 4.9-percent jump in ridership between last September and this September, while overall system ridership was down 0.4 percent, according to a presentation to the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency’s technical advisory committee.
Overall ridership on Metrolink’s Orange County line was slightly less than 200,000 this September, according to the agency.
Over the same period, Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner route. which runs through Orange County, saw a 2.3-percent drop in passengers to 2.7 million.
The committee meets Friday.
And finally, Seal Beach City Council members are set to ban the keeping of pigs.
A city staff report recommends the change because the city’s ban on “hogs” unintentionally applied only to pigs that weigh more than 120 pounds.
Here’s a rundown of what’s up for debate this week across Orange County:
Monday, Oct. 28
Orange County Transportation Authority Board of Directors – 9 a.m.
- Request for proposals for customer information center.
- Measure M2 revenue updated forecast.
- Regional traffic signal synchronization overview.
- Strategic plan update.
Seal Beach City Council – 7 p.m.
- An ordinance banning the keeping of pigs of any kind.
- Sending a letter reaffirming the city’s position on the Interstate 405 improvement project
Closed Session
- Discussion of lawsuit against Ruby’s Diner.
Cypress City Council – 7 p.m.
- Presentation on pedestrian safety.
- Approving $7,000 “retention stimulus” payments for city executives and a 4-percent pay raise for middle management and confidential employees, for a total projected cost of $98,000 this fiscal year.
- Waiving the $300 application fee for a temporary use permit for the Caldwell dental care event.
Tuesday, Oct. 29
Orange County Great Park Board Special Meeting – 2 p.m.
- Presentation on fees for the balloon and carousel.
- Discussion about the FivePoint Communities development and Great Park plan.
Yorba Linda City Council – 5:30 p.m.
- Selection of special legal counsel for an unspecified case.
Closed Session
- Performance evaluation of City Manager Mark Pulone.
Santa Ana Budget Outreach Community Meeting – 6 p.m.
- Public forum on the city’s budget, hosted by city finance officials and City Manager David Cavazos.
Wednesday, Oct. 30
Laguna Woods City Council – 2 p.m.
- Extending by three years a bush shelter franchise contract with Clear Channel Outdoor and reducing the guaranteed minimum yearly payment from $81,000 to $40,000.
- Delegating the city’s authority to select an ambulance provider to the Orange County Fire Authority.
- Replacing the quarterly Wood Works newsletter with periodic targeted mailings, public forums and a mayor’s column.
- Approving a contract with PMC for climate adaptation plan development services.
Friday, Nov. 1
South Coast Air Quality Management District Governing Board – 9 a.m.
- Requiring large lead-acid battery recycling facilities to reduce arsenic emissions and other key toxic air contaminant emissions.
- Approving a $200,000 contract with the Advanced Power and Energy Program at UC Irvine to develop hydrogen storage capability for their gas blending facility.
- Issuing a request for proposals to upgrade hydrogen fueling stations.
- Purchasing an additional year of maintenance support for the Ingres Relational Database Management System for $180,000.
- Approving a $133,000, one-year extension of a contract with Cordoba Corp. for the Air Quality Institute outreach program.
Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board – 9 a.m. (Update)
- Presentation from Orange County Public Works on its program to control pollutants in storm water runoff.
Closed Session
- Discussion of a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency against the Orange County Sanitation District.
- Discussion of unspecified items.
LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency Technical Advisory Committee – 12:30 p.m.
- Presentation on the latest ridership and revenue statistics and customer satisfaction.
- Discussing the draft administrative support agreement with the LOSSAN Managing Agency.
Adam Elmahrek contributed to this report.
You can reach Nick Gerda at ngerda@gmail.com, and follow him on Twitter: @nicholasgerda.