Wieder Calls for Water, Transit Solutions : Board Chairman’s State-of-County Message Cites Progress During ’84

Harriett Wieder summed up her year as chairman of the Board of Supervisors on Wednesday with a call for new water supplies, transportation improvements and increased public-private sector cooperation to ensure future economic growth.

In the annual state of the county message traditionally delivered by the supervisors’ chairman at the end of the term, the first woman to head the board (she insisted on retaining the title of chairman) said Orange County “made progress on several fronts” in 1984 but was also dealt setbacks on some of the “many troublesome issues” spawned by growth.

Water, Growth Equated

Supervisor Thomas F. Riley is expected to succeed Wieder as board chairman Tuesday.

Wieder, predicting a water shortage by the end of the decade, said that maintaining a dependable water flow to the county and Southern California is “one of the greatest potential problems facing our region.”

“We must never forget that our county and our region are highly dependent on imported water from the Colorado River and Northern California. Sixty percent of the former (Colorado River) soon will be diverted to Arizona, and Northern interests are not anxious to compensate for the loss,” said Wieder.

“Water equates to growth in our region. With water, our region remains economically strong and attractive to investment; without water, our region will become weak and non-competitive,” she said.

Wieder cited formation of the Southern California Water Committee, comprising government, business and water interests from eight counties, including Orange County, as a step toward heading off future crises.

On transportation issues, Wieder said rejection by voters last June of a measure that would have increased the local sales tax by one cent to pay for transportation improvements was “a staggering blow” to the county.

Fees to Finance Roads

But she said government would continue to support fees for new freeways and roads, mostly levied on developers, that would tax “those who will benefit directly” from new roads.

She also called proposals to expand John Wayne Airport and increase the facility’s daily commercial flights “reasonable,” saying they nearly triple the airport’s annual economic benefit to the county--to about $1.9 billion.

Wieder cited a new effort by the Board of Supervisors to urge county air travelers to use Ontario Airport as an example of cooperation between the county and the City of Newport Beach, the most vocal critic of expansion at John Wayne.

Other Accomplishments

She cited the new Orangewood home for dependent children, built largely with private donations, as an example of cooperation between government and the private sector.

Orange County also should examine ways to better use some of its more than $1 billion in real estate assets to generate new income, Wieder said.

Other issues and accomplishments of her one year as board chairman cited by Wieder included:

- Adoption by the California Coastal Commission of a plan to develop the Bolsa Chica wetlands near Huntington Beach. While the compromise plan provides both for protection of 915 acres and construction of expensive homes and a marina, Wieder, a Huntington Harbour resident, said more planning must be done and the concerns of Huntington Beach residents must be heard.

- Creation of a task force to analyze hazardous waste management in the county and establishment of an office to coordinate the county’s approach to hazardous materials management.

- The county’s securing a $52-million state bond for construction of an intake/detention release center at the main County Jail in Santa Ana.

- The need for Orange County and other counties along the Santa Ana River to continue pressing in Washington for funding for a comprehensive flood-control project.