Message from Supervisor Katrina Foley

By: Katrina Foley

As your Orange County Supervisor for District 5, I care deeply about ensuring our community cares and plans for our aging population. I invite you to attend our upcoming Orange County Senior Summit on October 27, 2023 at Soka University.

Orange County includes more than 650,000 older Americans living in our communities with projections to double by 2060. A recent report in the Orange County Register discussed the lack of collected, systemic data needed by the County to work with our partners to better serve residents as they grow older. Our county remains committed to developing our Master Plan for Aging by collecting input from residents so we plan well for future housing, healthcare, walkability, transportation, employment, recreation, and other needs.

I invite everyone to participate in the Senior Summit on October 27, 2023, at Soka University as an attendee, or if your organization serves seniors, as a vendor for the resource fair. We also plan to host numerous public stakeholder events in the district at local senior centers and other community centers to collect information through our county’s survey for the Master Plan for Aging. We hope you participate in the effort, and share your ideas, thoughts, and concerns to help the County plan for the future. The community survey is available to any Orange County resident 55 years and older at www.olderadultssurvey.com.

My office also continues to explore legislative and funding options to Save the Balboa Ferry and bring more sand to our beaches.

Orange County also oversees work on the Balboa Marina Expansion and the Boy Scouts Newport Sea Base.

Last year, the Board of Supervisors approved improvements to the Balboa Marina. This project involves 26 private slips and 12 new public docks on County tidelands in Newport Harbor near the entrance of Upper Newport Bay. Once completed, the City of Newport Beach will operate these public docks under a lease with the County of Orange. The new public docks will include access to an accessible lift for the public docks. The project is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2024.

Another seaworthy project supported this year is the Boy Scouts Newport Sea Base. The Board of Supervisors approved an updated lease agreement with the Boy Scouts for their Newport Sea Base facility in Newport Harbor. The Newport Sea Base serves as a marine-oriented public education and recreation facility for youth ages 6 to 18 to enhance public knowledge of the marine environment and aquatic recreation. The BSA provides for various programs, including sailing, rowing, paddling, fishing, motor boating, marine science, and woodworking.

Since 1937, the Boy Scouts have operated and maintained the Sea Base on property leased from the County.  The updated lease agreement allows and requires the Boy Scouts to enhance its public programming and education opportunities through a $1.5 million improvement project. This project consists of dock, gangway, and piling replacement and improvements, dredging, and another accessible lift accommodation. The lease agreement outlines a four-year timeline and contains benchmarks for the design and construction of the improvements.  The Boy Scouts are currently preparing the final development plans for the construction work expected to start by October 27, 2023. 

I hope to see you at an upcoming fall high school sporting or community event. Or, on Wednesday, October 18, 2023 join us for a Wellness Wednesdays Walk with OC Parks at the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve. OC Parks naturalists will teach us about the local ecosystem during this guided walk.

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