Cori Takkinen

Local Governance:

• In the fiscal year 2021-22 State Budget, Cori worked with several municipal and nonprofit clients to secure $54 million in budget earmarks for priority projects, including funding for mental health, public safety, infrastructure improvements, and parks and trails improvements.
• In the fiscal year 2019-20 State Budget, Cori worked with 5 municipal clients and 1 nonprofit client to secure $20.2 million in budget earmarks for priority projects, including funding for a stormwater treatment facility, historical renovations, park and trail improvements, fire prevention, and children’s science education.

Public Safety:

• Leveraging relationships with the State Legislature, Cori secured an earmark in the FY17-18 State Budget in the amount of $20 million to form the North Orange County Public Safety Task Force. This Task Force will serve six TPA clients: the cities of Anaheim, Brea, Buena Park, Fullerton, Placentia, and Stanton. These cities will be able to facilitate regional collaborative efforts to combat homelessness, youth violence, and other critical public safety issues in the region.
• Cori worked with the City of Laguna Beach to secure $59,628 through the FEMA Assistance for Firefighter Grant program. Cori worked closely with FEMA program staff to secure funding for mobile radios and programming equipment that brought the Laguna Beach Fire Department up to P-25 compliance. Bringing the Fire Department into compliance has allowed increased coordination and activity with the California Office of Emergency Services and the State’s Master Mutual Aid Plan.
• Cori has been actively engaged in State fire prevention legislation to reduce the risk of fires caused by above ground utilities as well as to provide opportunities for local jurisdictions located in high fire hazard severity zones to receive priority for fire mitigation measures.

Recreation and Natural Resources:

• Cori worked closely with the State Legislature and Administration on the development and implementation of Proposition 68, the California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access For All Act of 2018.  Cori worked in support of a variety of clients to create specific funding opportunities to achieve desired results. In addition to securing funding opportunities for municipalities, Cori’s efforts with Proposition 68 resulted in $4.8 million to fund a conservation program at West Coyote Hills in Fullerton as well as $3.46 million to fund science education at the Discovery Cube Orange County.
• Cori worked with the City of Brea to secure over $10 million from local, state, and federal sources for the Tracks at Brea project. The project is a four-mile multi-use rail to trail project that will traverse the City. Funding sources include: the US Environmental Protection Agency, California Natural Resources Agency, Strategic Growth Council, California Transportation Commission, and the Southern California Association of Governments.

Transportation and Infrastructure:

• Cori worked on behalf of the City of La Habra to secure a direct funding allocation in the fiscal year 2021-22 State Budget in the amount of $8.5 million to repair an underground culvert in La Habra that collapsed due to a period of heavy rainfall. The culvert is a critical regional channel that provides drainage to approximately the City of La Habra and a portion of North Orange County. This is a critical infrastructure project to protect public health and to protect one of North Orange County’s busiest traffic corridors.
• Cori worked with the City of Costa Mesa to secure $1 million in 2019 Active Transportation Grant funding. The project was the highest ranked project in Orange County and the fifth highest ranked project in the SCAG region. The project will revolutionize the motorized environment in Costa Mesa by creating an off-road Class 1 multi-use trail and Class IV cycle tracks between Harbor Boulevard and Fairview Road. The project includes pedestrian improvements and other enhancements to increase the quality and safety of bicyclists and pedestrians along Merrimac Way.

Water and Wastewater

• Cori worked with the City of Santa Ana to secure a direct funding allocation in the fiscal year 2018-19 State Budget in the amount of $4 million to upgrade water infrastructure within the City. TPA worked with the City’s legislative delegation, staff from the Assembly and Senate Budget Committees, and the Department of Finance to ensure funding was included in the State Budget for this critical project to allow the City’s water customers to have real-time access to their water usage, which will help facilitate water conservation and reduce customers’ utility bills.
• Cori worked with the Orange County Water District and the Orange County Sanitation District to sponsor Assembly Bill 2022 (Gordon). The bill allowed for limited bottling of the highly treated and recycled GWRS water for educational purposes. The bill was the first legislation in the nation that allowed for the direct bottling of advanced treated recycled water. TPA secured bi-partisan support for the legislation and it was signed into law.