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LongBeachCC_08092022_22-0922

Speaker 4: Thank you. And can we do the functions for content? Items I believe are 11, three, 14, 16 and 28, I believe. Speaker 0: Item 11 is a communication from Council on Price recommendation to increase appropriation in the general fund group in the City Manager Department by $200 to provide a contribution to the Friends of the Long Beach Public Library. Item 12 is communication from Councilman Super Now. Recommendation to increase appropriation in the special advertising and promotion fund group and the city manager's department by $10,000 to provide support for the end of summer celebration. Item 13 is a communication from Councilman Austin. Recommendation to increase appropriation in the general fund group in the city manager department by $500 to provide a donation to the Jazz Angels . Item 14 is a communication from Councilman Austin. Recommendation to increase appropriation in the general fund group in the City Manager department by $300 to provide a donation to the Little Lion Foundation. Item 16 is a communication from Councilman Allen recommendation to increase appropriation in the general fund group in the city manager department by $1,020 to provide contribution to Casa Korero, Sew Feria Business Association, Friends of Long Beach Public Library and Dave Van Patten. Item 28 is a communication. Communication from Vice Mayor Richardson and Council Member Muranga. Recommendation to increase appropriation in the general fund group in the City Manager Department by $1,000 to provide a donation to Ron Palmer Summit. Basketball and Academic Camp. Speaker 4: We have a promotion and a second time as councilman served Councilman Ringa and customers and they have any comments. Speaker 2: Now. I had queued up to motion, but. Speaker 4: Great that we have any public comment on this. Speaker 5: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on items 11, 12, 13, 14, 16 and 28 in person, please sign up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine now. Seen on the concludes public comment. Speaker 4: Thank you. Please to a roll call vote, please. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Sanchez. Speaker 2: I am. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Allen. I. Councilwoman Price. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Councilman Spooner, i. Councilwoman Mongo i. Councilwoman Sarah I. Councilmember Waronker I. Councilman Alston. Speaker 1: I. Speaker 0: Vice Mayor Richardson. Speaker 3: I. Speaker 0: The motion is carried nine zero. Speaker 4: Thank you. That concludes the consent. Just a couple announcements for the regular agenda. So we do have a very long and full agenda today. We have the budget hearing, which will happen first and then right after the budget hearing. We have a variety of other hearings as it relate to the our local control program and sales tax agreement. And then we have we're going to go right into some issues around and bonds around the aquarium and also the second reading of the health care worker ordinance, which we're going to try to do all of that towards the beginning of the agenda. And then we have a long agenda for the rest of of the council. So I just want to warn folks that we do have a we do have a long meeting. We're going to go right into the budget hearings. That's the first thing on the agenda. And they're going to try to move through that, through the council as expeditiously as possible. And so with that, let's continue the budget hearing, which we are doing for fire, police and parks. We're going to hear all of the presentations at once. And then after we go through all the presentations, we'll do all the all of the questions at once and then any any public comment, and we'll go from there.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $200, offset by the Third Council District One-time District Priority Funds transferred from the Citywide Activities Department to provide a contribution to the Friends of the Long Beach Public Library for their Celebrate Our Librarians event; and Decrease appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $200 to offset a transfer to the City Manager Department.

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LongBeachCC_08092022_22-0917

Speaker 4: We're going to hear all of the presentations at once. And then after we go through all the presentations, we'll do all the all of the questions at once and then any any public comment, and we'll go from there. Thank you. Speaker 7: All right. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. It was our pleasure to give you an overview of the budget last Tuesday, we transmitted that officially to the mayor and city council and the public. And now we're looking to really dove deeper in some of the key departments. Today, we want to go through three key departments, the fire department. Then we'll go through our police department and then Parks, Recreation and Marine. So I will turn it over to Chief Espino and his team to go through the fire department presentation first followed by police, followed by Parks and Rec. Speaker 1: It's. Speaker 6: Thank you, Mr. Monaco. Good evening. Mayor Garcetti and members of the City Council. This evening, I will be providing a brief overview of the fire department, highlighting the key services that we provide to the community and some of our recent accomplishments. Additionally, I will share our focus proposed budget changes and some of the major challenges and opportunities that we foresee for the upcoming fiscal year. The Long Beach Fire Department delivers fire rescue, emergency medical services, marine safety response, hazardous materials response, and non-emergency response services. We provide a 24 hour operation 365 days a year. Our personnel are well-equipped and highly trained to mitigate all emergencies. The fire department strives to make Long Beach a better place to live, visit, work and own a business. Additionally, we work to ensure the safety of the community through proactive fire prevention activities, including code enforcement, fire investigation and proactive community outreach. We also provide training and education that is essential to the delivery of our core fire and rescue services. I would now like to present some of the fire department's accomplishments and highlights for the current fiscal year. Over the past 12 months, we've responded to over 80,000 fire, emergency medical services, marine safety and other emergency incidents, a 5% increase from last year. Since many incidents require multiple units to respond. These 80,000 incidents equate to more than 155,000 unit responses. Included in this number are over 55,000 medical calls and over 7500 fire calls. This number has steadily increased over the years, approximately 35% since 2005, when the department had even more resources. This number also includes hazardous material responses, airport responses and other non fire responses. I continue to be very proud of the work that the men and women of the Fire Department do for the community. Since the first days of the pandemic, they have come to work every day, answering every call, despite the danger and potential harm to themselves. In January of the third year of the pandemic, our first responders provided uninterrupted emergency services to the community during the COVID omicron surge. While nearly 100 fire personnel were in isolation. Our arson staff remained very busy. As a number of arson related fires continues to increase. Arson staff investigated 381 arson fires, which resulted in 78 arrests. These numbers continue to increase. One of the driving factors for this is the sharp increase in outdoor fires, specifically those near freeways and rivers. These types of fires have increased by 320% since 2018, from 199 to 637. As in all fire responses. These fires require a large amount of fire resources for a prolonged period of time. In an effort to reduce the number of injuries to fire department personnel caused by heavy lifting. We have purchased and installed an innovative patient lift system on all of our ambulances. With these lift systems, one individual first responder can safely and efficiently load a patient weighing up to £700 into an ambulance. Expanding our partnership with the state of California. The Long Beach Fire Department took delivery of a Type six fire apparatus from the State Office of Emergency Services. This apparatus is being used for statewide mutual aid incidents as well as local all risk events, emergency incidents and disaster responses. This apparatus is currently in Northern California assisting in the McKinney Fire, which has caused four deaths and is at 55% containment. In the current fiscal year, we've received over $4 million in Homeland Security grants through a combination of urban area security initiative, state homeland security grant program and port security grant program funds. These funds allow us to make one time purchases of equipment that is critical to our mission. Grant funds also support training to staff in many in many of our specialty programs, such as Hazardous Materials and Urban Search and rescue. Of the 29 local fire agencies that compete for these grant funds, Long Beach typically receives 20% of available funds. For comparison purposes, Los Angeles County and Los Angeles City fire departments, who are approximately seven times our size each typically receive 30% of available funds annually. In our continuing effort to eliminate bias and foster an environment of diversity, inclusion and equity staff from our Diversity Recruitment Program partnered with the City Manager's Equity Office to deliver the racial equity one on one course throughout the fire department. To date, over 70% of staff have received this training, and our goal is to have all fire department staff trained by the end of fiscal year 23. We continued our participation in Jordan High School's Public Safety Pathway Program. Through the efforts of our Diversity Recruitment Program in partnership with Long Beach Unified School District. We are introducing more students each year to the possibility of a career in the fire service. This is one of our long term strategies for increasing diversity in the Long Beach Fire Department. The Diversity Recruitment Program will also host the second annual Long Beach Fire Department Female Firefighter Career Workshop later this month. This is a one day event that prepares candidates to succeed in the fire recruit examination by providing information on the application and testing process. It continues to be a popular and highly successful event. But. Through the efforts of our Fighter Diversity Recruitment program, we graduated a diverse class of 20 firefighters. We also conducted multiple ambulance operator academies, resulting in 40 new ambulance operators. Two staff are increasingly busy basic life support units. Additionally, we conducted a successful Fire Engineer Academy with 16 promotional candidates in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID 19. Fire department staff from our Fire Boat program partnered with the Department of Health and Human Services to provide COVID 19 vaccinations to crew members on commercial ships that were docked in the Port of Long Beach. Additionally, fire staff continues to assist the health department with their mobile vaccination clinic, reaching those who are unable to get to vaccination sites. Finally, over 900 youth participated in the Junior Lifeguard program this year due to the proactive outreach efforts of our Marine Safety Division in recent years. This summer program, which has been in operation since 1969, continues to grow in number and diversity. The fire department has several major areas of focus for fiscal year 23. The first is to address the steady increase in coal volume and to maintain or improve response times to fires, emergency medical and other emergency responses. We are working with our medical director to analyze and provide recommendations. For adapting how we respond to incidents and perhaps what incidents we respond to in an effort to minimize response times. Innovative solutions such as telemedicine and alternate destinations may be explored. Firefighter safety and behavioral health continue to be significant issues in the fire service. Firefighters are under a tremendous amount of stress working on the front lines during the pandemic, witnessing tragic events firsthand and working long hours. They and their families are impacted by all of this. The health and Safety of Fire Department staff is one of my highest priorities as fire chief. To that end, we have trained peer counselors and made the services of mental health clinicians available to all staff. We need to ensure that everyone in the department is aware of these services. Remove any stigma associated with obtaining help and increase these services as funding allows. Another priority is to increase diversity in all ranks of the fire department through recruitment and training opportunities. Programs like the Female Firefighter Career Workshop prep sessions and the Fire Services curriculum at Jordan High School are all part of our short term and long term solutions to improving the diversity of the department. A significant focus area for the fire department in fiscal year 23 is to maintain staffing and resources to meet service demands of citywide growth. The demand for fire and emergency medical services will increase with the vertical density in the downtown areas and throughout the city. The continued increase in EMS calls and the increase in outdoor fires, especially those near freeways and rivers. The anticipated retirement of our leadership in the management and supervisory ranks creates a great opportunity to develop the next generation of leadership. This has always been a focus of mine and it will remain so in the next year. Officer development efforts include participation in the Leadership Long Beach Institute and Executive Leadership Program, USC, Sol Price Leadership Program and other local and regional training. The Fleet Services Bureau continues to update fire's front line vehicles that respond to fires, emergency medical services and other incidents over the next three years. We will replace ten fire engines, one airport crash rig, hazardous materials vehicle and our mobile command center. I want to thank the Fleet Services Bureau for their support and partnership in this area. Another focus area is to improve compliance with mandated fire prevention inspections. This includes hotels, apartments and residential care facilities. To help us to meet these requirements. We've hired three additional civilian inspectors approved in the fiscal year 22 budget and are now fully staffed in this area. Finally, we continue to streamline the fire plan check review process to meet service demands while ensuring the public safety. Despite the pandemic, we have been able to keep up with the workload and are committed to this continued level of service. We are currently collaborating with the Department of Technology and Innovation to increase efficiencies through an electronic inspection program. Other fire agencies who have used this technology report significant increases in efficiencies up to 40%. The Fiscal Year 23 budget includes several important investments for the fire department. The first is to structurally add measure funding of 609,000 to provide the anticipated city match for the Schaefer Grant to help fund the continued operation of Engine 17, which has been funded through one time investments since October of 2019. This amount represents the difference in the cost to operate Engine 17 and the amount of grant funding we're expecting to receive. We expect to find out whether we will be funded by the end of September if the city is not awarded the grant. Staff will revisit the measure, plan allocations and bring back to the City Council an alternative funding approach for Engine 17 operations. Additionally, we're requesting the addition of an administrative analyst to improve our admin administrative investigation and public records processes. Public Records Act requests continue to steadily increase. Fire staff currently handle 1400 requests per year. Since fiscal year 20, the City Council has supported the Fire Diversity Recruitment Program with one time funding. We are grateful for this support, which has resulted in the implementation of community partnerships and short and long term strategies to improve diversity in the fire department. The proposed fiscal year 23 budget includes structural funding for the fire captain, who functions as the diversity recruitment and partnerships coordinator. This ongoing structural funding is critical for the continued long term success of this program. The next two investments are program enhancements that are fully offset by revenue in fiscal year 22. The city began a partnership with the UCLA Medical Center in which a Long Beach Fire Department firefighter paramedic staffs UCLA's mobile stroke unit along with a stroke neurologist, critical care nurse and CTE technician. The Mobile Stroke Unit responds as part of the 911 emergency response system and delivers proven stroke therapies to patients in the field, improving immediate patient outcomes and reducing patient long term disability. The fiscal year 23 budget proposes to add this position structurally. Finally, we are proposing additional non-career lifeguards staffing to provide the staff support needed for our growing junior lifeguard program. The cost of the additional staff are offset by the increase in Junior Lifeguard program revenue and our agreements with the Long Beach Unified School District. Outside of the summer season. These lifeguards will be available to staff COVID 19 testing and vaccination sites. The fire department continues to work closely with public works, management and staff to improve our fire facilities. This slide provides an outline of these facility improvements. First is a relocation of fire station nine. The five year plan includes partial funding for a new fire station, which will be strategically located on Long Beach Boulevard to better serve the community. Improvements to fire stations 11 and 13 are also planned. These addressed deferred maintenance as well as kitchen and bathroom renovations. Funding for Fire Station 14 will address workforce privacy needs, deferred maintenance and energy efficiency upgrades. Finally, the plan includes partial funding for the expansion of the David Rosa Regional Fire Training Center. Improvements include additional space for classrooms and offices and workforce privacy renovations. The department will face several significant challenges in fiscal year 23. First, as I mentioned earlier, service demands, staffing levels, the pandemic and the types of calls that we see have led to firefighter safety and behavioral health concerns. Increased development, specifically vertical density in the downtown area and throughout the city will increase service demands, leading to an increase in emergency responses and response times. On a related note, the Department will also need to begin preparing for the upcoming emergency service demands brought on by the 2028 Summer Olympic Games, which will significantly increase the daily population in the city. We have front line safety equipment that is nearing the end of their useful lives and are in need of replacement. Items such as the breathing apparatus that the firefighters use are due for replacement in the next couple of years at a significant cost. The fire department will continue to explore additional grant funding for these items. Similarly, our first responders work 24 hour shifts, living in and responding from fire stations and marine safety facilities, some of which are old and have significant health and maintenance issues. A plan for repair and replacement of these facilities, including identifying a funding source, will be necessary to respond to this challenge. Finally, wildfires throughout the region and the state continue to pose a challenge as they grow in size and frequency. We also have several opportunities coming up. First, while anticipated retirement of our leadership in the management and supervisory ranks creates somewhat of a challenge. It also is a great opportunity to develop the next generation of leadership. As I mentioned earlier, the fiscal year 23 budget proposes the continued support of the FIA diversity recruitment program. This structural funding provides a great opportunity for us to continue our short term and long term relationships and recruitment strategies with the goal of increasing the diversity of our staff throughout the organization. I want to again thank the City Manager and City Council for your continued support of this program. Another opportunity is the potential for grant funding to support training for our specialized programs such as Hazardous Materials, Urban Search and Rescue Fiable Program and Airport Rescue and firefighting. As well as to support the acquisition of needed equipment, including breathing apparatus and personal protective equipment. Finally, we have an opportunity for improved efficiencies in the EMS system. We are working with our medical director in the Los Angeles County EMS Agency to explore the possibility of implementing alternate destination and telemedicine pilot programs. Thank you for for front for providing me this opportunity to present the fire department's fiscal year 23 budget. We're available to respond to any questions you may have. Speaker 4: Thank you. We're going to have to move on to the next presentation. Speaker 7: The next presentation will be if you wish. Speaker 8: So I'll cover just a couple. Speaker 9: Thank you, Mr. Modica. Ms.. Tatum. Good afternoon, Honorable Mayor and members of the City Council. I'm very excited to be presenting the Police Department's proposed FY 23 budget. My first as Chief of Police for our great city. The last few years have been unprecedented. Our police officers and professional staff have experienced increased anxiety and feelings of depletion, yet they return to work each day to serve our entire Long Beach community. They do this because their work has purpose. They do this because they are needed. Although some have chosen to leave the department or the profession altogether, the vast majority, the vast majority have chosen to spend their entire careers with the Long Beach Police Department. I believe this is because we're not your typical major city police department. We're large enough to be a world class organization offering specialized services and innovative training, but small enough to maintain close relationships centered around problem solving and innovation. Our mental evaluation teams, quality of life teams and outreach programs such as neighborhood walks are excellent examples of how we listen, learn and respond to the needs of our community. We know that we've made mistakes and we're not perfect. No person, no group, and no police department is. However, regardless of the circumstances or situation, the police officers and professional staff of this department continue to be here each day, providing a multitude of services to our community. They listen. They engage. And they strive to enhance the quality of life for all people in our city. In the face of a nationwide pandemic, rising violent crime rates and unprecedented attacks on police officers, their commitment to serve is unwavering and inspiring. They're always willing to do more to ensure everyone in our community has opportunity to thrive. Every year we discuss a variety of public safety services we provide, including emergency response and calls for service criminal investigations, including victim support and advocacy, and safeguarding our public while protecting critical infrastructure and key resource locations from international and domestic threats. However, we should also discuss the resources we dedicate to our many partnerships and collaborations, like working with the City Prosecutor's Office on Alternatives Incarceration. Partnering with community organizations such as TIP, the Trauma Intervention Program to provide support to people after critical incidents. Collaborating with the Fire Department and Emergency Communication Center to better link public safety responses. Or joining with our health department as part of the city's interdepartmental team addressing homelessness. These and so many other partnerships are the reason we're able to do the work that we do. Here you see the call volume we're currently experiencing, which further exemplifies how hard our officers are working. Year to date, officers have responded to over 100,000 calls for service, which is nearly 600 calls a day. Although we've had to make several operational modifications through the years, our response time to priority one or emergency calls continues to be one of the best in the nation at an average of about 5 minutes. Like many major cities, we experienced an increase in violent crime at the beginning of 2022. However, we remain focused and resolute. We developed strategies and our employees adapted to several operational changes. Our efforts have resulted in a notable downward trend in violent crime. And after starting 22, 2022, with a 17.4% increase, we've now seen that number shrink to a 5.4% increase year to date. The accessibility of firearms has also contributed to some of the violence we're experiencing this year. Our officers have worked vigorously to address gun crime in the illegal possession of firearms. Oftentimes, they do this at great risk to their own lives. As of June, we've had a 16% reduction in shootings, and we've made over 350 arrests for firearm related crimes. That's an increase of 6% over last year. 51% of these arrests involve people forbidden by law from possessing firearms. And this year alone, officers have seized over 450 firearms, which includes a 23% increase in the recovery of personally manufactured firearms known as pimps or ghost guns. Moving into the second half of this year, we'll continue analyzing data, identifying trends and strategizing on creative ways to address gun violence and other crime. The most devastating crime we experienced is homicide. And while every homicide is tragic, we are not dissuaded and we continue to work toward bringing justice to the families and loved ones of victims . Among our accomplishments, you'll see we have a homicide clearance rate of 77%. This is well above the national average, which is a park which is approximately a 50% clearance rate. There are many factors that contribute to our effectiveness in this area, including a rapid reaction and response by patrol officers, immediate follow up by our Special Investigations Division and the excellent investigative efforts of our homicide detectives. In addition, when communities trust the police, people are more inclined to become witnesses to violent crime. We understand this, and all of these factors combined are necessary to achieve the results we're seeing. I'd also like to highlight the work we've done to address dangerous, illegal street racing exhibitions known as street takeovers. Recently, the City Council supported our efforts and voted on a street takeover ordinance to assist us in combating this extremely hazardous trend. In addition, the police department joined other agencies to work collaboratively and improve information sharing. We deployed extra resources to serve as a visual deterrent, and we conducted proactive traffic enforcement whenever we became aware of a pending street race street racing takeover event. To date, our officers have issued 240 citations related to street racing takeovers. We've also continued our work supporting city efforts to address homelessness. Our community outreach response and enforcement model consists of quality of life officers, the mental evaluation team and Los Angeles County clinicians, along with many of our other partners, are doing amazing work. Year to date, they've offered services to over 5000 persons experiencing homelessness and have found temporary and permanent housing for over 200 people. The wellness of our employees is a top priority and must be supported through strategy and practice. We're making tremendous strides in addressing employee wellness and overcoming the stigma associated with trauma in law enforcement. We've onboarded a new administrator to strengthen our worker's compensation and employee leave programs, and we're implementing a structured peer support program along with trauma resiliency training. We also recognize the intersection between employee wellness and community wellness, and we continue supporting trauma informed care in a variety of ways, such as having community liaison officers available on critical incidents, facilitating and coordinating responses from TIP volunteers, and engaging with our health department to provide emotional support to those impacted during a traumatic event. I can't discuss Officer Wellness without acknowledging that one of the biggest challenges facing law enforcement today is recruitment and retention. And unfortunately, the Long Beach Police Department is no exception. Staffing shortfalls in a diminished interest in the profession are plaguing our department. Hiring, training and keeping police officers has never been more critical to the evolution and advancement of this organization. We're constantly assessing recruitment efforts and working to implement ways to reach future police recruit candidates, including those from underrepresented groups in law enforcement. We've signed on to initiatives like the 30 by 30 campaign with a focus of increasing female representation to 30% by 2030. And thanks to the recruitment and hiring efforts of our employees, we've increased female representation in our next Academy class by 114% over the prior class. We've also continued our collaboration with civil service, working on new projects such as our newest recruitment tool, the HLB PD Fit Truck, which is now used to engage community and potential recruits at various events and parades. To help increase our communication, transparency and engagement, we've developed a community advisory committee to help inform and shape department policies, and we engage our neighborhoods through division, specific events and commander forums. Our Office of Constitutional Policing works to ensure practices match policy through ongoing collaborations, such as our Current Data Analysis Project with the Center for Police Equity. And our media relations team has created a communications plan to better engage the public by delivering information more efficiently and effectively . We've increased our social media footprint and even created a daily crime blotter on our department website. As we move beyond the tumultuous past few years and as our city now experiences an economic health and public safety recovery, we realize that the Long Beach Police Department is well positioned to expand on past advancements and explore new transformational opportunities . Today's FY 23 budget proposal reflects a unified vision for the department focusing and prioritizing in the following key areas crime and homelessness. Acknowledging and supporting employee and community wellness and enhancing internal and external communication models. Built on a foundation of accountability, trust and transparency. Although we're proposing many unique and creative changes, the police department's structural budget request for FY 23 our cost neutral to the general fund offset by a strategic reorganization that realigns the Department budget and operations to address current and anticipated needs and provides a more efficient coordination of police services. To fulfill this vision. Significant focus and structure are needed. That's why I'm proposing the creation of a new bureau in our department. The new Collaborative Response and Engagement Bureau, or CRC for short. This bureau will be overseen by our newest Deputy Chief and focus on goals that enhance collaborative public safety models and build meaningful relationships between the police department and the public. Kerry will be responsible for many of the programs and partnerships that currently promote these goals. And the new bureau will consist of two divisions the Community Outreach Response and Enforcement Division and the Youth and Community Services Division. Kerry will prioritize efforts aligned with disrupting primary factors of crime through relationship based community policing models. To accomplish this, we propose the addition of 20 new police officers comprised of 16 new bike officers, four per patrol division assigned to divisional areas such as open spaces, parks and corridors or any areas in the division with immediate public safety needs and for additional quality of life officers to augment our citywide efforts to address homelessness. These four quality of life officers will join our current cadre to form two officer teams. Each team will represent a specific patrol division while also maintaining the ability to work as a single quality of life officer when necessary. For altogether as an entire eight officer quality of life unit for large citywide operations. All 20 police officers will be able to respond to calls for service and service patrol officers as well. Youth engagement is critical to successful public safety. The Department proposes moving the Community Engagement Division under the CRC Bureau and renaming it the Youth and Community Services Division. Additionally, we propose to structurally fund a police cadet program of up to five cadets annually. The cadet program will introduce law enforcement careers to young adults and help establish a pathway for future PD, police officers and civilian employees, all while providing paid work experience to our community's younger demographic. We're proposing additional department adjustments to assist us in supporting community needs and organizational growth while providing fair, just and ethical policing in our city. Will accomplish this by expanding the scope of the Internal Affairs Division and renaming it the Professional Standards Division. The division will add a new professional development section with two new civilian police investigators, while the Internal Affairs section will continue investigating allegations of misconduct. The Professional Development Section will focus on employee development and professional success to reviews of early warning signs and identifying areas for improvement through retraining or counseling. To better reflect the mission of being a data and form department, we proposed reorganizing and renaming the Administration Bureau to the Strategic Initiatives Bureau. Under the Strategic Initiatives Bureau, the Office of Constitutional Policing, OCP will be expanded from three four years to nine FTEs transferred from other divisions. This increase in OCP staffing will help us broaden their scope to include the manual orders and policy section responsible for ensuring policies are aligned with legal mandates, best practices and community expectations. Also under strategic initiatives were adding two administrative aid positions to the Public Records Compliance Division. Their workload is increased by 46% since 2019, and it's expected to continue to increase based on legal mandates. Effective communication shapes both the delivery and perception of services we provide. That's why I'm proposing a communications division which reports directly to the chief of police. The communications division will include our current media relations team and executive communications administrator. In order to replenish our ranks. We're currently recruiting candidates for back to back to back police academy. Class 96 begins on August 29th with 59 recruits. Class 97 is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2023, and we anticipate being ready for a third class sometime in FY 24. In addition, we're proposing a new administrative analyst position to focus on expanding inclusion and advancement efforts and to further support labor relations and move new initiatives forward. A clean and professional workspace for our personnel is central to maintaining a workforce that feels respected and valued. This budget proposes increasing the hours of current staff and adds two new part time employees so we can provide evening and weekend custodial services at our facilities that operate 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Finally, responsibility in the Business Operations Bureau has grown significantly and now includes oversight of department fleet and body worn camera programs. We propose adding a contract and grants officer to provide dedicated oversight in support of department wide operations. In addition to structural programs funded through our operating budget, I'm grateful to the Mayor and the City Council for their proposed additional investments in public safety, including funds for two years of outreach and cleanup along the river beds and additional overtime funds for crime and violence prevention. Additionally, as part of the city's new five year infrastructure plan, we're thankful to receive one time funds necessary to start the rebuild of our police academy. An initial funding for a new crime and evidence lab. The challenges ahead must be met with sufficient resources to manage the rigorous pace of requests and expectations that exist in today's law enforcement environment. We've weathered some of the most dramatic increases in violent crime in a decade. A stream of unfunded legislative mandates with unworkable timelines and antiquated technology and paper processes that hamper operational efficiencies. This, in addition to an already exhausted, stressed and disillusioned workforce, exasperate the challenges. But in these challenges, we find opportunity. The ability of our employees to serve through crisis and remain vigilant during difficult times is impressive. Yes, I'm concerned about our capacity for the challenges ahead, but I'm also encouraged by the service and resilience of this department and all those that work here. We look forward to developing new strategies that promote relationship based policing, models that engage our community and that build partnerships to reduce crime and improve everyone's quality of life. We're committed to promoting fair and equitable systems in all areas of the department. We'll continue exploring ways to leverage new technology and improve operational efficiencies to help modernize our services or seek new grant opportunities that enhance employee and community training and develop partnerships with research and educational institutions. In closing, I'd like to again express how honored I am to lead the officers and professional staff of the Long Beach Police Department and how appreciative I am for the dedicated service they provide each day. Our department will continue to evolve and move forward, building on our existing strengths and taking advantage of opportunities for growth and renewal. Our priorities around crime and homelessness, employee and community wellness and open communication will help guide us further into 21st century policing, while also supporting the shared responsibility of public safety in the city of Long Beach. Thank you. Myself and Bureau Chief Josie Murray stand ready to answer any questions they can. Speaker 4: A presentation, please. Speaker 9: Good evening, Honorable Mayor and members of City Council. It's my pleasure to present to you the Department of Parks, Recreation, Marine and Animal Care Services 2023 proposed budget. The proposed budget will allow our department team members to continue passing forward their passion to bringing joy to all from infants to older adults and our companion dogs and cats . The department's key services are aligned to implement the Department's Strategic Plan, which was adopted by City Council earlier this year. The Strategic Plan focuses on park equity, community identified goals, values and actions to guide operational staffing and budgeting decisions through the department. The Department is committed to providing a vibrant park system where everyone is welcome and can thrive. Our dedication is further reinforced by performing maintenance and stewardship for all of our parks, facilities, beaches and open spaces. We're very proud to further promote responsible pet ownership and the humane treatment of animals in alignment with our Compassion Saves model. Saving every treatable animal that comes into our shelter requires significant resources, and we work hard to provide care for our furry friends. We're fortunate to have the largest municipally run marina system in the nation, and it's our goal to make sure our marine facilities and waterways are fiscally sound in order to repay bond debt and be of excellent quality for the enjoyment of our local boating community. Developing strong partnerships that supplement and complement our award winning parks and recreation programs continues to benefit the community. For example, we've been able to take our partnership with the Boys and Girls Club at Martin Luther King Jr Park to the next level with an amazing transformation and upgrade to the gym. Thanks to the support of the Steph Curry Foundation and under armor, another dimension of the project is Snoop Dogg's underwriting of a marvel comic artist to refresh and enliven the facility's décor. Partnerships can also help fulfill community needs, such as our relationship with food finders at Admiral Kidd Park. Nearly half a million Long Beach residents benefit each day by services and programs that are offered by our department. 6 million visitors travel to Long Beach each year, many of whom enjoy our nationally acclaimed parks, beaches and open spaces. The department has the capacity to contribute to the local economy by having events at our facilities, parks and on our beaches. The scope of how large our department is and the diversity of the amenities and services we offer take a strong, supportive workforce at the peak of our busy summer season. Our department is a local workforce powerhouse, employing over 700 staff, many of whom are experiencing their first job ever. We're extremely proud of the many accomplishments this past year, including the completion of our strategic plan. All year, staff collaborated with our partners, provided recruitment and training of our employees, and processed thousands of permits and reservations. Staff also secured 11 park grants totaling over $28 million. Grant funds afford us the opportunity to provide community services, new amenities, and new and improved parks. I'm happy to report that Animal Care Services reached a very high adoption rate of 60% and achieved a live release rate of 92%. Our increased focus on the FOSTER program has resulted in many positive outcomes. This could not be done without our dedicated staff, volunteers and community partners. As our department eases out of COVID restrictions and we see our programs returning to pre-pandemic levels, we're very proud of these accomplishments. We've implemented violence prevention programs for youth through the Long Beach Recovery Act and provided free in-person programs for youth and seniors, as well as camps when schools are out on break. Once again, we participated in a great partnership with Long Beach Unified School District to offer meals to school age children by the end of this summer. Well, that provided 54,000 meals to youth through the summer food program and an additional 62,000 meals to seniors this year. Through our senior nutrition program, our department stretches across the entire city and is able to serve all of our Long Beach communities. As a department, we continue to focus on enhancing park access throughout the city and improving our parks, open spaces, beaches and marinas. We've been very busy this year with reopening Lincoln Park and Harry Bridges Memorial Park, celebrating two new playgrounds at Recreation Park and Colorado Lagoon, as well as a new floating playground at Alamitos Beach. We also introduced beach access mats at Alamitos, Granada and mother's beaches. A big thank you to our collaborative partners at Public Works Department and the beaches and marinas. We maintained a 94% marina slip occupancy rate and successfully performed the annual beach renourishment. We completed 4500 maintenance work orders to repair and improve facilities, grounds and equipment in addition to upgrading irrigation and the landscape of Daisy Lane. And transformative improvements at Sunnyside Cemetery. Well, we are extremely proud of all our accomplishments this year. We're very excited about the proposed investments for fiscal year 23. The budget proposes to establish the Park Safety Ambassador program, which adds a second shift team to address park and restroom cleanliness and safety. A team of six maintenance assistants and a supervisor will be able to lock gated mini parks and all freestanding restrooms at night. At 39 parks, this innovative approach will promote cleaner and safer park restrooms. The proposal allocates park ranger funds of $575,000 in the police department and incorporates the budget into a larger initiative and approach in the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department. Our department will establish the Park Safety Ambassador Program that will expand coverage of park facilities and promote cleaner restrooms. The gated many parks and parks with freestanding restrooms that will be serviced throughout this program are shown on the map. The Park Safety Ambassador Program will offer expanded coverage and maintenance of parks, allowing staff to lock gates and restrooms, making observations regarding overall park etiquette, encampment activity and the presence of graffiti to enhance this program. The budget proposes one time funds of $600,000 for new park restroom infrastructure upgrades and door replacements with automated time locking doors. This investment will further support safe and secure park restrooms. This initiative will involve citywide collaboration with several other departments for the most strategic coordination of resources, safety for staff and residents, and synergy with the citywide collective approach towards addressing public safety. Additionally, new positions will further support the Clean Restroom and Safe Playgrounds initiatives. For maintenance assistant positions will be added to support core services in park facilities. Also proposed is additional staffing to monitor park usage and permit compliance to ensure patrons are aware of and adhering to park regulations such as the recently adopted Kids Zone Ordinance. Overall, this plan would take the city from 3.5 FTE covering five parks to 12.3 budgeted positions, covering 39 parks and funding for restroom infrastructure upgrades. These strategic investments aim to enhance the cleanliness, safety and the welcoming quality of our parks. I'm happy to say that the proposed budget includes enhancements and one time funding for maintenance. Urban forest management will be enhanced with funding of $400,000 to establish a seven year cycle of tree trimming. The budget also includes a one time resource of $1.8 million for dead tree removals. In our efforts to address weed abatement in a more environmentally friendly way by eliminating the use of glyphosate in parks, funding to support using alternative herbicides will positively impact the quality of our grounds, maintenance and landscaping. To keep parks and open space usable and clean. Each year we deploy services for special park cleanups to address encampments, illegally dumped items and other waste. We're happy that one time funds are proposed to continue and enhance these essential services next year. The proposed budget also includes a structural investment in water for irrigation. This allows us to keep our parks green due to previous water rate increases and increase irrigation levels for healthy park landscapes. These maintenance investments align with our strategic plan and are a critical part of providing safe and accessible public spaces. Other proposed critical investments are in our Animal Care Services Bureau. The proposed budget adds staffing in several critical areas. It adds for maintenance assistance to provide increased shelter. Custodial services. Internal and external customer service will be enhanced through realign clerical positions and an upgrade of our volunteer leadership position. To advance. Compassion saves a budget increase of nearly $500,000 for contract. Veterinary services will support the medical costs needed for animal care services. This investment will help save lives and increase positive outcomes. Our strategic plan highlights the need to offer meaningful recreation programing and events. The Long Beach Recovery Act funding will continue to allow the department to provide violence prevention programs such as Be Safe Hoops after Dark Mobile Recess and other teen programs, as well as senior fitness programs. Investments in our aquatic facilities will keep pools open for residents, community groups and visitors, which can also generate revenue. The budget adds a general maintenance assistant for pool maintenance and one time resources for pool equipment. With the aging infrastructure of our pools, these strategic investments will greatly benefit our users. We work hard to provide access to healthy recreation opportunities in safe environments for the community's youth teens, adults and seniors who use our programs throughout Long Beach . Within the next half decade, over $97 million are proposed to be invested in our parks and recreation facilities as part of the proposed budget. A new five year infrastructure plan includes many park projects such as new playgrounds at Hartwell, Howden and Silverado Parks and Park Improvements at 14th Street, Cesar Chavez and MacArthur Parks, just to name a few. The plan also includes facility improvements and animal care services, several park community centers and the Martin Luther King Jr pool. Other infrastructure projects in the plan will support improvements to green belts, park restrooms. And our community gardens. Other projects in the plan include improvements to athletic courts, fields and turf. We're delighted to have so many park projects included in the new infrastructure plan. Even with many strategic investments next fiscal year, there are still challenges. Deferred maintenance, along with the continuing impact of vandalism and the abuse of our facilities, continue to be challenging. We collaborate with our partners to address the safety, health and environmental concerns related to people experiencing homelessness in our parks and on our beaches. These challenges must be addressed to enable us to provide core services and safe facilities for our community to enjoy while remaining empathetic towards the unhoused. Keeping our spaces clean and safe takes a lot of resources. With rising costs for equipment, services and materials, maintenance of our facilities and grounds requires our department to prioritize resources. Given that our services are deployed in parks, beaches and waterways, environmental sustainability and climate change are serious issues that the department must keep at the forefront of future planning. We are proud stewards of our natural areas that are home to urban wildlife. We continue to consider animal health and well-being as the foundation for all we do at Animal Care Services. It is a challenge to provide every animal daily care and enrichment according to their needs and in alignment with compassion saves. Of course, all of our services cannot be provided without people. Our department is a people driven department. Recruitment and retention of a diverse, dynamic and skilled workforce is paramount to our service delivery. It can be a balancing act of resources to strategically address critical priorities while looking to the future. I thank the city manager for including in the proposed budget strategic investments, which help to address many of these challenges. With challenges do come opportunities. New projects, parks, playgrounds and equipment provide us with the opportunity to address unmet needs of the community. Community engagement is a cornerstone of park equity in that it helps us learn where and how we can make strategic investments that will benefit our communities. Parks, stewardship and partnerships continue to prove to be very beneficial for our department. Seeking and successfully obtaining grants helps us to offer scholarships for programs and classes, beautification of our park spaces and future park development for our great city. New revenue generation can help to offset costs of services. However, we must be cognizant when setting fees. To be sure, essential park programs are affordable, equitable and accessible. We'll continue to explore more partnerships, collaborations and funding opportunities. Our participation in the Lower L.A. River Recreation and Park District is another opportunity to help promote open space and connectivity for the benefit of our community, as well as other communities along the lower L.A. River. By increasing inner jurisdictional coordination and maximizing our resources. Development of master plans provides with community provided with community input on its needs and wants. Strategic plans, vision plans and feasibility studies have all been useful tools to really look at how a park meets the needs of a neighborhood. Parks provide many benefits to the community, such as encouraging physical activity, improving health and fitness, and mitigating against air pollution. We look forward to optimizing these opportunities to create a park system for all. After all, people make parks. Parks make Long Beach and parks make life better. Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council. I thank you for your continued investment in Parks, Recreation, Marine and Animal Care Services. Your support helps us meet the needs of the communities across our city, our dedicated employees, and I thank you for your support. And this concludes my presentation. Speaker 7: Thank you, Vice Mayor. We are available to answer questions on any of the presentations. Speaker 3: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, and thank you to our department. Heads will now take public comment before we to order council deliberation. Speaker 5: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on item seven in person, please line up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the race hand feature or dial star nine now. We'll take an in-person first and you'll have 90 seconds. Speaker 2: Good evening, honorable mayor. Vice Mayor, Council. I'm Natalie Gonzales. Long Beach City Employees Union President for iam local 1930. As you've already heard, we have critical staffing shortages in almost every department and are at risk of no longer being able to provide essential city services. Members are working overtime hours on a mandatory basis in a number of divisions, one of which is under investigation now. Our members have been given more duties and less resources, more stress and less compassion. This continuous and accelerated loss of institutional knowledge impacts our efficiency through low morale and elevated call outs. We can't continue to place the burden on our backs to subsidize the mission of our city with our mental and physical well-being, our family time, or with our pocketbooks. We hear all the time about the cost of paying employees more, but no one seems to discuss the costs of not paying us proper wages. Simply put, we're asking you to put in cost of living adjustment to your budget for our members. In addition, we're asking you to invest in keeping your current employees. Now, recruitment without appropriate retention policies is ineffective. Retention is investing. We spend money on recruiting and training for members to leave. And then we started zero again. City budgets are the guys we use to invest in the issues we value most. We can talk numbers, we can talk line items in a budget, but we're more than just at ease on your Excel sheet. So I'm asking you to be bold, take the long view on this budget. I applaud your investment in infrastructure, but remember the people who deliver the work. I know the challenge is never easy, but the cost of inaction is severe and I am happy to take questions. Thank you for your time today. Speaker 3: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 10: Good evening, Mayor. Speaker 1: And City Council. My name is Natalie Mifflin. I'm a nine woman dispatcher on the PD side of the pack. I have worked for the city of Long Beach for. Speaker 10: 28. Speaker 1: Years. Speaker 10: Today, most of my colleagues. Speaker 1: Are here with the story of our department, and I ask you for your help. The truth of this story is that we are suffering and so are the community members calling 911. We've been chronically understaffed for as long as anyone can remember, and these shortages have become. Speaker 10: Critical. Speaker 1: Threats to our communications infrastructure. Speaker 10: Currently, our members are working over 2200. Speaker 1: Hours of overtime, mandatory overtime. Speaker 10: In a month. So far this. Speaker 1: Year, which is only been seven months, our members have worked more than 24407 hours of. Speaker 10: Mandatory. Speaker 1: Overtime. That is a lot. We are public safety. The consequence of error in our position is very high. It is a high stress, high trauma job that leads to burnout. Speaker 10: And psychological harm. Speaker 1: Even at the best of times, with these chronically extended hours, this job has become a danger to our bodies. 15 of our 31 employees on the PD side of communications have some level of medical restrictions, some of which are severe. That restrict them from working overtime. Every time another member has to go on a restriction, those of us who are not. Speaker 10: On one can find ourselves working 3 to. Speaker 1: 416 hour. Speaker 10: Days in. Speaker 1: A row. One of our members recently worked 88 hours in one week. That kind of hours and working conditions are not sustainable. We know that all of our brothers and sisters. Speaker 10: Throughout the city are experiencing similar shortages, and we stand in solidarity with them for a cost. Speaker 1: Of living adjustment. But we are also asking that Council take a real look at how our emergency communications are being. Speaker 10: Operated and funded. Speaker 0: Thank you. Your time is up. Speaker 1: Thank you. Speaker 3: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 1: Speaker What? Mayor and City Council Members My name is the honorable, our whole summer city employee of packing and I am member. We're here to support our colleagues and to ask for your support as well. I was hired in November of 2012 as part of the city's first attempt to consolidate both call centers. We were understaffed then, and we're understaffed now. We went from working 18 hour mandatory to 16 hour mandatory. Aside from working the weekly 16 to 24 hours of overtime, my center also suffers from having to work on our days off. We're understaffed. Speaker 9: Underpaid and overworked. Speaker 1: It's now at a point where we are terrified to get behind the wheel and drive home after our shifts. Some even like to sleep in the dorms because it gives us more sleep. We go our workweek without seeing our families having to pay for extra childcare and meals for ourselves and families. And yet, even with the overtime, we're still not meeting the state requirements. California requires that 95% of all night long calls be at within 15 seconds. However, we're falling short of that and too that at a rate of just about 77% for 2022, approximately 4% of our 7000 calls this year are. Speaker 9: Held for over a minute before. Speaker 1: You retell. I personally have my wife call 911 yesterday and we had about a minute before she reached a dispatcher. I helped the man keep from getting stabbed by a woman armed with the kitchen knife. This is a terrifying reality for residents such as myself. We stay committed to serving the constituents of Palm Beach. However, our pleas for help have been continuously ignored by city management and has now become detrimental to our health and those experiencing an emergency in our city. We ask for you to make this a priority immediately, not only for our health, for our community as well. Speaker 3: And view and execute the place. Speaker 2: Hi, my name is Michelle Sellers. I've been with Long Beach for three years as a dispatcher. My experience as a dispatcher has impacted me in different ways, including becoming hyper vigilant. I came in right before the height of the pandemic and civil unrest, watching the victims faces on media, hearing the college screaming at the top of their lungs, or a victim gasping for air after an injury or all types of stressors that we deal with. A variety of us constantly work 14 to 16 hour shifts, eating our lunches on our break breaks to on our desk to take calls is more frequent option rather than leaving our desk. At this point, I have just defaulted to telling my friends and family that I would most likely not be able to make an event or simple dinner due to being held for overtime. The stress has affected my body as well, causing my hair to fall and causing me inability to bear children due to high stress, high levels of adrenal and cortisol levels. My husband was hurt from all the call entries typing quickly so I can take the next caller. The calls are constant with little time in between. This is a disservice to the Long Beach community. We have 31 dispatchers now, including myself. That's one dispatcher per 14,711 people in Long Beach. It's not just our job. It's our livelihood, too. There's dispatchers that have families and children to take care of, along with others that take care of older, disabled adults. With the increasing cost and inflation, the quality of our livelihoods outside of work also declines. My request is that you please take care of us the way we take care of the community and compensated to equip the demands of this profession. Speaker 3: Thank you. Thank you. Speaker 1: Let's keep the peace. Good evening, Vice Mayor and city council members and staff. My name is Michael Jubilee. I'm a resident of Lakewood. I've been employed with the Long Beach Police Department for over 24 years. In those years, I've seen many changes. We are short staffed and overworked. Though I enjoy my job. Law enforcement has changed. The stress of being overworked and underpaid is then placed upon my family. After working my regular hours plus overtime due to staff shortages, no one wants to work with us long term because people get burnt out and because of the monetary pay is not enough. According to Out of Reach report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition dated July 22, the average California in L.A. County needs to earn an age of 3931 per hour. And in Orange County, it's 44.69 an hour, according to the city's salary schedule. The website of today's top step is 30, 79, an hour and so forth. Top pay is 35, 85 an hour with current housing, fuel cost, etc. The ability to make ends meet is difficult on the current salary, especially being a parent of three, one in elementary school, one in high school, and one who just turned 21 but is not able to move on his own due to high cost. I'm sure I'm not alone in this situation. Please consider a cost of living pay increase as soon as possible to aid with the continued rising costs in California. Thank you. Speaker 3: Thank you. Next, keep the police. Speaker 2: Good evening, mayor and councilmembers. My name is Jeanette Marie and I work for. Speaker 1: Long Beach Police Department as a marine patrol officer. Speaker 10: I've been with the city for 23 years to be an asset. Speaker 1: So Special Service Officer for Marine. Speaker 2: Patrol, you are required to complete a lot of arrest and firearms course to be able to enforce. Speaker 1: The laws. Speaker 2: Marine Patrol definition is we enforce laws in the marinas and beach areas. We provide services for the boat owners in our marinas that pay for slip fees, the laws, ordinance, rules and regulations that we enforce. Our California Harbors and Navigation Code Sections. California Code of Regulation, Title 13 and 14. California Vehicle Code Sections. Long Beach Municipal Code Sections, California Penal Code Sections and California Code of Federal Regulations are starting pay at step one is $21.79 in our highest pay rate. At step seven is $29.44. You reach the highest pay after working for approximately five years. I have worked. Speaker 10: For the city for. Speaker 2: 23 years and have reached my highest pay, making $30.78 for the past 15 years. I have been an acting supervisor for this deployment and get a higher class pay of a dollar for taking and taking on the responsibilities of a supervisor. I would normally make at least $3 more if the. Speaker 1: Position was open. Speaker 2: We are down six officers and a supervisor as of today. In the next few months it will be eight officers. Inflation and cost of living is at 10% higher than what our salary is today. Making overtime is every cent lower than what our cost of living is. We can't afford to live in this city. Speaker 0: Thank you. Your time is up. Speaker 3: Thank you for your time. Next speaker, please. Speaker 1: Good evening, ladies. My name is Blake. I also work for Long Beach PD, Marine Patrol Officer. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you. Marine Patrol Officers Cover Alamitos Bay, Marina, Shoreline, Rainbow Harbor. The launch ramps could only be permitted to assist police officers on a beach. We also have two special events. We are currently understaffed by six officers and one supervisor. Our officers work 20 to 40 hours overtime every week. We are absolutely overworked and underpaid. Our officers are tough. They step seven that they reach five. We, after five years working on the field, maxes out at $29.44. We hire recruits, try to hire recruits from the police academy who fill out the starting pay is $36.65. Our officers who have been on the field for five years, they have to train these police recruits who are coming in at higher pay than our top pay for our officers. We have officers who have quit the field training program because they don't feel that this is fair, that they have to train officers, future officers, for signifying significantly. Speaker 2: Less money than what they earn. Speaker 1: We have responded for in the month of April and May, which orient our. Speaker 0: Thank you. Speaker 1: Just one more thing, if I may. When the city under the pandemic needed extra funding, the city asked our officers to furlough our time and help to save labor costs. We did that. And now our officers and our employees like you are asking the city to do this for us. Thank you for your time. Speaker 2: Hello. I'm Tatiana Williams. I am the president of Olive Court Italy. And I have a lot on my heart just from hearing the public comments before me. And with that, I will work with my councilwoman on many of the other ideas that I have. I'd like to thank you to the officers and to the pub, the Parks and Rec. That won't be that spoke. I've used all of your services. I appreciate every thing that I heard today and everything going forward. The one comment that I would like to make, especially for the fire department and for the police department, is we can recruit, we can graduate, we can train officers and firefighters. And that is a big investment emotionally and financially. If there's not opportunity, if there is not a sense of belonging, that work is for naught. So I would ask you today, please, when you recruit people with brown skin like me, when you recruit women, please also make sure that there is opportunity and that there is a sense of belonging. Because when those people go out and they put their very lives on the line and then they feel like you don't belong. Put your life on the line, but you don't belong. It does something to them. That's all I have to say today. Thank you. Speaker 3: Thank you. Let's keep the police. Speaker 1: Son. I can face six district residents. It is easier to build strong children and to repair a broken man. That is a quote by Frederick Douglass. It's something I always am reminded of when the budget season, because I'm always thinking about the children. I'm an advocate of children because I was a child once. And so I know how this works, the cycle of life. With respect to today, I'm here to advocate for the department that makes the most sense in terms of trajectory in my life, which is Parks and Rec. I think that we have a phenomenal director. I've got to be honest, I wasn't a real big fan of the last one, but I think the one we have today, he's he's doing a great job. And I think for him to do an even better job, he's going to need more money. This is a surplus year. This is a historic year. There's never been this much money floating around. Shout out to Gavin. And I think that right now we need to dedicate some of that money towards our park spaces. There's a lot of disinvestment over the years throughout various parts of the city. I can only advocate for my part of the city. I grew up at Kings Park. We have right now $1.8 million dedicated towards the implementation program. I think the director would agree we need more money. We need about 3.5 million. So let's get that. Thank you. Speaker 3: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 2: Good evening. I'm Karen Recite. I'm the president of the Long Beach Gray Panthers and we are in sympathy with the employees. I am always impressed by the extent of caring and. Speaker 10: Knowledge that our. Speaker 2: City employees put forth. They are not always treated with the respect and the dignity that they deserve. That's why we're. Speaker 10: Losing some really. Speaker 2: Key people within our city. And I'd like to see that changed. But I want to talk about seniors, because. Speaker 10: Nobody hardly did. In their presentation, Brant mentioned a couple of things. Speaker 2: We're not using all our resources when we have tight budgets, we can't afford to waste resources. Seniors are a huge resource untapped in our community and in training in place. I've had seniors tell me that the paramedics come to pick them up and they're discussing how hard they should try and revive them. They need to be trained on how to deal with seniors. That's just not appropriate to talk to seniors like that. Police. Speaker 10: I have so many issues. Speaker 2: In my building. I talked to had the. Speaker 10: Prostitution is a problem. Speaker 2: In all the buildings, not just mine. So it's something the police department needs to begin to deal with drugs. We have people that are addicted. They try and come in and steal people's medication. The buildings are not secured. They're not safe. So let's look. And you can see included parks. We need the seniors strategic plan done. I think is worth more than the animals. Speaker 3: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 1: Lee Charlie, district one. I just heard that the really nice presentation and I want to say thank you. I read the statistics and I want to say that just in my district at 9:09 p.m. this Saturday, a woman was shot in the upper body. And so crime is still very relevant and very important in our parks, especially Great Park. But I want to talk about two things. First of all, the money, 2.4, 2.4 million to clean up the river beds, over $3 million to clean up encampments. Can you maybe look at solving and addressing the issue of housing and getting these unhoused people jobs and stop spending millions and millions of dollars? Second thing is these time locked doors. I mean, a homeless advocate just today, these these these doors that the parks are these are time locked, are magnets. And I'm going to tell you that it takes our driver's park. They don't tell the people when they're when these locks are going to the time's going to go off. They're magnets. And almost every day a homeless person is locked in the bathrooms and can't get back out into the morning. So they're vandalizing and sawing off these doors and that's a waste of money. So please reinvest them reimbursed at these time locked doors, the restrooms. Because I'll tell you, the more money you spend, the more homeless people we're going to thaw those off. It's going to be an endless cycle of waste of money. And please, please, please stop wasting money on doing homeless work with this encampment sweeps. You move a homeless person from there to there. $2.4 million. Why don't we start and address that issue of homelessness and instead of spending millions to just move them around? Thank you. Speaker 3: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 2: Hello. My name is Laurie Logan and I live in the Washington. Speaker 1: District, Washington neighborhood, which is in District one. And I noticed you. Speaker 10: Bundle three. Speaker 1: Budgets. Speaker 2: To one minute and 3 seconds, which means that you're really not looking for much community input. So I'm forced to bundle my comments. Speaker 1: So I can basically say the police. Speaker 2: And the park and our community, they both are the West Division. Speaker 10: They harass and they kick it out. If we complain and there's no community engagement, they're not even doing meetings and they basically leave. People feel unsafe to leave their houses. So clearly we can't go to a park. Now that leads. Speaker 1: Into the park. Speaker 10: I made calls to the. Speaker 1: Director. Speaker 2: To improve the 14th Street Park and he doesn't. Speaker 1: Return. Speaker 10: Calls or emails. Speaker 1: He's very not responsive. The park. Speaker 2: Too, needs to engage the community. Speaker 10: And not use nonprofits to speak for us. Speaker 1: Because that's the problem. Speaker 10: That they're speaking for. Speaker 1: Us. So that's it. Speaker 3: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 2: Good evening. I wanted to talk about I spoke last week about the overpolicing of our Long Beach community, and I want to speak on that today especially. It was a part of the budget today. I find it interesting that both the mayor and the city manager mentioned last week that they were referring to the racial equity and reconciliation report. And that very report talked about that the city of Long Beach, the number two reason that people believe they were experiencing racism was through police profiling. In addition to that, in that same report, it was found that the top reason or the top response to helping our community was to reduce police funding and instead invest in community and social services. That very same report also stated that they were looking for police officers to explore higher standards of education and also look at methods of exploring anti-racism and also racial sensitivity. Yet none of that was referenced in the budget meeting today. I know there was a lot about professional development, a nice social media post and a nice mobile cart for community events. But there is no commitment to anti-racism. There's no commitment to acknowledging that black lives do matter in the city of Long Beach. And if that makes the police department uncomfortable or city council members, and that's a real problem that really needs to be acknowledged not just in the police department, but in the city as well. Thank you. Speaker 3: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 2: Hi. Good evening. About this budget here, I can commend the fire department and all the things that they're going to. I agree to that. The police budget needs to be stripped because they only make up 2% of our community, yet they get 50% or more the general fund. And that really doesn't make any sense because like I said, they only make up one or 2% of the community. They only stop 1% of violent crimes, rapes, murders, so on and so forth. The other 50% of the time, they're nonviolent crime, and 50% of that time is actually even write a report. So what are they really doing besides hassling intimidating people and dragging people out of their homes because they're living on the riverbed and living on the street because we don't have enough affordable housing. I spoke last week again about building houses. They're not you have units available until the city comes to terms with the fact that the reason why we have crime, drugs, if people want to talk about those things, is because we're failing people at a level and not giving them take care of their basic human needs. How about even a toilet? The bathrooms being locked, where people are being locked in and or they're happy to defecate and urinate on the street? Come on. Police budget cut at fire department. Given that the Parks and Rec. Yeah, do that thing too. But in the meantime, in between time, y'all need to get straight with this. What was that? The housing envelopment law that was established in 1969. What it made, it mandated for the city to provide housing for all of their community residents. We're gonna leave that curve ball there. Where's the budget on that? Where is. Speaker 0: It? Thank you for your time is up for that. Speaker 3: Thank you. Thank you for your time. Next speaker, please. Speaker 1: Hello. Good evening. My name is Rodolfo Cortez. So, first of all, on this item of the budget, I really wish that actually the mayor was here to listen to the community's concerns, because, I mean, a mayor has so much you know, he doesn't vote, but he does, you know, sign and kind of serves as the voice of the city. So why is it, you know, we're hearing about all sorts of concerns about the budget and he's not here to listen. And then I especially want to bring this up right now, because I was censored on social media by the mayor for talking about this, for talking about the budget, for talking about how he's using money here in Long Beach and how he wants to use money, how he wants to get to D.C.. So I'm very concerned about that because like, look at all of these numbers. Like, people you you know, you guys are bringing up, oh, there is the fires on the highway and it's next to the river. So you're implicitly obviously blaming the unhoused people, right? So that's what you're doing. You're attacking those who are suffering under the system, and that's just egregious. What we actually need is a major investment in the community, in housing and education. And why are we not talking about that again? Why is he not here to talk about how he's going to deliver for these things for us in Congress? Why? You know, why is that? Come on. We need housing that's truly affordable. We need education that's truly affordable. And we need to stop being censored on social media from the mayor's office. Thanks. Speaker 3: Thank you. Next, could you please. Speaker 2: Hi. Good evening. My name is Tiffany, and I proudly serve the city of Long. Speaker 10: Beach as a. Speaker 2: Fire dispatcher for 24 years. For 22. Speaker 1: Of those years, I have been a. Speaker 2: Supervisor and a trainer. And we not only produce, we not only train, but we develop leaders in dispatch. It's frustrating when you watch other dispatchers leave and they they leave with our training model. They leave with our leadership skills, and then they go to work for departments. Speaker 1: That consistently. Speaker 2: Pay more and work less mandatory overtime. It's very hard to watch that. We need a competitive salary to not only. Attract entry level dispatchers, but we need it. Speaker 1: To keep the seasoned. Speaker 10: Dispatchers we have happy. Speaker 2: At their current jobs. Speaker 1: And to serve the city of Long. Speaker 2: Beach. It's just if. Speaker 1: Not, it's just a vicious. Speaker 2: Cycle of retraining. And then that leads to burnout, low morale and loss of more, more employees. Our staffing has been critically low for too long. There are times that I've been. Speaker 1: So exhausted after working long weeks that. Speaker 2: I didn't remember driving home. And it's hard to admit a competitive salary. Speaker 1: It keeps staffing up. It keeps. It means more family time. Speaker 2: And I'm not talking. I'm going home to my family. I have enough time to sleep, shower, maybe eat. But quality family. Speaker 10: Time for. Speaker 1: The dispatchers. Speaker 2: I'm a single parent of. Speaker 1: A disabled child. Speaker 2: It's very clear. Speaker 0: Your time is up, ma'am. Speaker 2: I think you. Speaker 3: Make three times. Next week at this. Speaker 1: Hello. Honorable Vice Mayor and City Council. My name is Devin. I'm a business representative for the Longview City Employees. I am 1930. You've heard a lot of stories here today from city employees. I was the first time many of you have seen this many city employees come down to city council. They're you're talking about their issues because they're very serious and they're very important. And not just for them, but to continue giving the services that the community needs and to make them more robust than they've been. Right. I'd like to address a few things for staff that wasn't able to make it for positions that weren't able to be here in the police department. Our admin staff are constantly under filling positions and doing duties way outside of their responsibilities for way less pay. The park ranger program, I guess, is being cut. We were not notified about this or they did not discuss this with us. We found out in the budget presentation that's a missed opportunity to save money and keep security services the same in the city because they cost less than police officers and care services. I really appreciate the investments go in their direction. We need a lot more. The animals are suffering. The people are suffering. I invite all of you to come down with me and tour the animal shelter. It's not good. And our ambulance operators, vice mayor, you know, it's been rough getting coverage there right in the ninth district and places. We need to invest in them. They're making $15 an hour. They're doing the job of paramedics, not just transporting folks. Speaker 0: So thank you. Your time is up. Speaker 1: You can do that. And also, really quickly, I do support our groups over here going for the $25 minimum wage. Thank you. Thank you. Next, could you please. Hello. My name is Patrick Gleason, and I live on Cherry Avenue in the sixth District. I was disappointed in the police budget before and it's really disappointing now to know that 40% of our city budget is not even getting to the front lines and the dispatchers who run the department. So you would benefit by focusing on crime prevention and to prevent crime, you should expand investment into the root causes of crime, which are poverty, pollution, lack of education, high unemployment, discrimination of all kinds, social inequities, and lack of opportunities that cause crime. But police don't prevent it. They respond to it. They investigate it. Sometimes they solve it. It's really frustrating to hear the police budget expand year after year. And once again, it's not reaching the people who are kind of. Responding. So when crime is up, police tell us they need more money to fight it. When crime is down, they tell us they need more money to keep the peace. But then we see spending on tear gas and we see spending on armored vehicles and helicopters and lots of things that are buzzy and exciting, but obviously neglecting the people. So I encourage you to think about that and really focus on root causes. I know you all know this. You know the root causes of violence. You know what the good departments are? Health departments, education. Youth parks. Great opportunity with this budget. Don't just chase the ambition. Thank. Speaker 3: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 1: Dave Shukla Third District President Thank you for the opportunity to speak on the presentations. I'd like to reiterate a question that I asked the Budget Oversight Committee during its presentations earlier today on revenue sources. Specifically, since the price per barrel of oil is considerably higher than was budgeted for fiscal year 22, exactly how much surplus is there ? You know, if it's averaging $90 per barrel and it had been budgeted for 55, uh, back of the envelope estimates is that that's a yearly surplus of about $200 million. It would be helpful to know how much of that is already being allocated for which departments and which programs. Thank you. Speaker 3: Thank you. Next week, the police. Speaker 1: Good afternoon. My name is Nelson Grundy. I am resident in District one. I wasn't going to come up here today. This is my first time in the city council meeting and I'm extremely impressed by the engagement from the public. Normally I've been in different meetings and very few people are on the audience, so I'm very, very encouraged by that. Having said that, I appreciate the council putting this this meeting here forth and I appreciate putting the budget forward now. What I'm seeing, however, is I believe there seems to be some sort of a disconnect between the folks, as the gentleman mentioned a couple of before me, the folks in the trenches. So I'm asking you if possibly some of the employees, city employees, were considered when this budget when some of these budgets were were authored, if there was maybe a poll. How can we, as people on the trenches do a better job or how can we better be used? How can we better be? How can we better use our skills? And of course, compensation if need be. There's a lot of beautiful, trendy, beautiful bullet point feel good bullet points of some of these budgets. But I don't think anything was mentioned as far as like what they're doing to take care of, of, of their current employees. Um, I think it's important before setting up a budget and putting it forth, it would be good to pull the audience rather the public, including the city employees. And lastly, I would really like to use this to segway into a larger point in stating that we should really importantly bring back the representative government. The gentleman in front of me, Vice Chair, with all due respect, sir, you're stretching and you're moving around. Speaker 0: Thank you. Your time is actually. Speaker 1: Deep about their problems. Thank you. I think that's a little disrespectful. But with all due respect, thank you very much. Take care. Speaker 3: Thank you. Do we have additional public comment online? Speaker 5: We have two members in Zoom. And a Christiansen. Your time begins now. Speaker 2: Okay. I wanted to. Speaker 1: Comment. Speaker 2: I was googling of salaries of 50 city employees make over $200,000 a year. I think we ought to create a system where there's the highest paid city employee cannot make more than a certain amount of times more than the lowest paid and have some trickle down of the city money. Speaker 6: To. Speaker 2: Employees. I would like to comment on the park budget and a good presentation from our park director. Speaker 1: As usual. Speaker 2: I am alarmed about tree trimming. Apparently now there is going to be a cyclical tree trimming in parks, and I would only ask that it not be done during nesting season and that trees, especially palm trees, not be trimmed annually so that we can provide nesting sites for birds and roosting sites as well. I would point out that you can save money by doing less. And a great place to do less is in our parks. You don't need to be mowed. They don't need to be edged as we watch constantly. They don't need leaf blowers in them. Every second a leaf could fall, you know, and it would still be okay. Sections of the park could be returned without batting bright green lawns, especially on artificial turf. Speaker 1: But even the lawns could. Speaker 2: Be restored as natural meadows. So if you, you know, and that saves a lot of money and it saves a lot of water. So that's just one suggestion. Speaker 5: And then my man can thank you for your time as a service. Our next speaker. Steve Hoy. Your time begins now. Speaker 1: Yes. Good evening. Hopefully you can hear me. My name's Boy. I live in the third district Marine Stadium. Just wanted to share an incident last Monday that we had at our home where we had a man climb up our fence in our backyard, threatened to kill us as we were sitting in back. And it was only that our dog saw the man and started barking, that he stopped jumping over. And I wanted to just report that it took the police nearly an hour to arrive to to our home. And unfortunately, the man was never found. He had gone behind the boathouse lane building. So our guests were with us for my son's wedding from South Africa. He immediately asked where we had our gun, which we don't have, and he mentioned that the response time was rivaling his third world country policing response times. And I just wanted to just reiterate the importance that we support our police, both financially and in the work that they do is vitally important. And as we hear people talking about defunding police and all that's really doing is discouraging our officers, I have three friends that are officers that are all can't wait to retire because of the environment. So I think we need to get behind them. We can we can find alternative policing ideas. We can solve root causes that people have talked about, but we have to support our police. So I urge you to do so. Thank you. Speaker 5: That concludes public comment. Speaker 3: Thank you. And we'll take it back behind the rail. First of all, thanks to everyone who came out and spoke during public comment. It was very well attended. And thank you all for your service to our city and to chiefs Espino and he Bish and Brant. Great job on your presentation. I'll just add a couple of notes, then I'll go through go through the council comments. We have five or six council members queued up on fire. I'll just say, you know, thank you for the accomplishments that you listed. I'm interested in continuing to follow particularly, you know, this progression to now fully funding or structurally funding the firefighter diversity program. That's a program, you know, that is important. And the council will pay some attention. And I remember when we began funding that with one time. So we want to continue to see the progress. Best of luck there. We also want to continue to understand and see progress on the Junior Lifeguard program, which I know is now connected to North Long Beach and other areas of town on, I would say Chief he bish it's this is your first budget as as chief. And I definitely see your fingerprints all over this thing. Some of the things that you mentioned early on when you expressed your interest in and you became chief and you talked about better communication, and I see that you've, you know, presented a new you know, a new apparatus around communication, your passion for community and community engagement. So this new bureau, the collaborative response and engagement, I think that's a good thing. And I would encourage you to continue to invest and see how we can build trust and congruence and partnership with the community. I love that you now have named the Community Engagement Division, the Youth and Community Services Division. I know we used to do things like police, athletic leagues and, you know, you know, the power center and things like that. And I think this is a step back in that direction, which is great. I think Professional Standards Division states very clearly that you have a goal of being a best in class, the police department, and that it takes not just investigating when things go wrong, but investing in mental health and professional standards and training as you move forward. So. So I want to just recognize those things in your budget. I also just want to want to note that, you know, I'm glad to see the community policing investment. That's something that's been important to the city council. I, you know, the community walks was something that, you know, I witnessed and participated in in North Long Beach and fully support this this city wide expansion of this program, along with the quality of life onward to the Parks, Recreation and Marine Branch. I think we're you know, you're building a lot of a lot of respect in the community. And I saw you last night at the hoops after dark lunch, and you have a true passion for the community. I think that's evident in what we see here. I would say we should continue to invest in you know, we talk a lot of times during the summer about budgets and programs like that, but then sometimes the community comes out and says, that's great, but we also want this right. And I think it's been very, very clear that whoops, after Dark is a program that that needs the city's focus, its ongoing focus. So we want to continue to support that program and see how we can expand it to other groups across town. So I'd love to see some moves after dark on the West Side or North Long Beach. So it's a great program, but I think the highlight in this budget is the focus on clean restrooms and safe playgrounds. This is something that I can tell you is a challenge. The fact that we can't we don't have the ability today to lock our bathrooms at night sometimes since we can't, you know, there have been situations since we couldn't lock them. They just stayed locked all day while people are using the park during the day. And I don't think that's okay. And and we invest in our restrooms and it seemed like two months, three months later, they're back in bad shape. So I think it's going to be smarter for us to be able to invest in keeping our bathrooms clean and safe and our playgrounds as well. So I just offered those brief comments. I'll you know, if I have further questions, I'll be sure to follow up with you in our briefings. We're going to go through the counsel list I have. I'm going to read off the list first. I have Councilwoman Sara, Councilmember Urunga, Councilmember Price, Councilmember Austen and Councilmember Mongo in that order. So, Councilman Zoro, you're recognized. Speaker 2: Thank you, Vice Mayor Richardson. I also want to thank Fire Chief Espino and Chief Heber and Mr. Brant Dennis for the great presentation. I know that there's so much more in your budget than you could possibly present in the short frame of the time that you have. So I encourage those who felt like it wasn't enough as far as an opportunity to have dialog to come out to our community budget meeting. That's going to be this Thursday, August 11th, as well as next week in the following week. And there is a lot and I just want to just start out by saying how much I appreciate seeing the investment in infrastructure for our fire department around equipment, as well as making sure that we invest more in diverse recruitment. It's really important, and I know that the fire department's been working hard on making sure it's diverse in gender, racial and ethnic and ethnicity as well. And the other thing I want to also congratulate Chief Heber on is six months, I think is about six, seven months that he's been chief. And I think that it really shows that you are being creative with the budget we have. I agree with the vice mayor that it's important we see investment in community policing because it is about engagement and building relationship with the community. But I think more so that that you're kind of switching up the restructuring in so many ways. That's really emphasizing around the thing I know we've had ongoing discussion about around transparency, accountability, and that shows because you're making huge investments in communication because that reduces and that increases in transparency by sharing more about what's happening on a regular basis, not just social media, but newsletters and emails and also getting boots on the ground and our police officer out in the community to build their relationship and to get to know the beats in the community as well as our businesses too. And also making sure that officers are reflective of those who are the community that they're walking in as well. So I really appreciate the creativity that's being taken around how you're doing engagement. And I see that and I appreciate it because that's some of the stuff that I've been I know that has been asked for. And the other thing I want to note is that, you know, we've come a long way in thinking we are going to go into a $36 million deficit to now closing that. And so I do appreciate all of our city staff figuring out how to make sure we continue to provide the services we do, but also make sure we consider how we appreciate staff at all levels for their service and the work that they put in, especially as we continue to recover from the pandemic. And just want to make sure to comment around parks, Rex, Marines and Animal Services how much that is also part of our public safety continuum because it is part of our violence prevention based on the whoops after dark program that was just mentioned by the vice mayor, as well as many other services and program to making sure we activate our parks, to making sure that we get young people and our elders out into the park doing programing. And I hope that, you know, the investment plan that's been shared is really making sure that we continue to get people to come out and be in our parks keeping it clean. I'm just really proud of how much that's going to be invested in improving MacArthur Park, thanks to Senator Lena Gonzalez, as well as making sure we create a vision plan bill, a dream for King Park. This coming very soon and where we want to hear back and how we can make this place the park better that work for everyone. Getting the funding we need to finally finished building the Kim the Killing Field Memorial Garden with the Cambodian Veteran Memorial Monument to making sure there's a place for Cambodians to remember the genocide and honor those who have passed. So there's just so much to this budget that I think is about adding and adding to values and adding to people's lives and adding to culture and also making sure that we connect more in person than we do online. And that's what our parks do for us as well. So there's much more, does it definitely say about the budget? But I just want to thank staff. All your hard work and then it day in and day out every all of our city staff, you really do make our city run and and definitely make it better. Thank you. Speaker 3: Thank you. Speaker 7: Councilmember Urunga Thank you, Ms.. Mayor. And I want to thank also staff for the great presentations you brought forward today. A lot of information in there. And I think it really shows that they're listening. You're listening you're listening to the comments that city council members have made. I know we meet on a regular basis talking about what our region is and what our needs are and what we see or what we would like to see from each department in terms of their services and the the infrastructure and the hiring. And. And one of the things that came out tonight in terms of the public comment, it was a recurring theme. And the recurring theme was about retention. And it's something that is very important, obviously, to our employees. And and I hear it as well from the from the unions themselves, police included, how they feel, stressed how they feel on the and on. And I'm not saying undesired. What's the word I'm looking for? Unwelcome talk, don't talk. But, you know, the point is that I think nothing says about retention than salaries. And I. Speaker 1: Think we might want to look at. Speaker 7: It and i guess it would be directed more to the city manager and to our h.r. Director. In terms of when was the last time that we did a compensation study for our for our salaries in the city? Because I know we continually it seems like the year in, year out, we're at the lower part of the median as opposed to being at the median in salaries. And we can't I mean, a city our size with all of the resources that we got, with everything that we've got going for us, which is great and we're Speaker 6: . A great city. Speaker 7: We're still, you know, either at the at the median or below in our salaries that we pay our employees. Speaker 1: And I. Speaker 7: Think that we need to finally address that somehow. Speaker 1: In the next. Speaker 7: You know, I'm not saying it's English because that's not something that we could do right away. But obviously start looking at. Speaker 6: How we can. Speaker 7: Raise our level of. Speaker 1: Quality of our salary to get more. Speaker 7: Retention. Speaker 1: People just want to work with us. Speaker 7: I mean, I've seen and I heard it today. Speaker 1: You know, employees who've worked for. Speaker 7: You know, 15, 20, 30 years with the city and yet, you know, they're capped out, but they continue to work with us. Speaker 1: And there are, of course, others who left us because there's no growth there for them. Speaker 7: So I think we really have to start looking more seriously at and how we can provide better retention. Speaker 6: Services, if you will, for our employees. Speaker 7: And of course, salaries is a big part of that. I mean, you feel good when you going to work and you get a nice. Speaker 1: Paycheck where you can go. Speaker 7: Back home and entertain your kids or buy them a nice dinner. So I think we need to look at that again. In regards to a compensation study, perhaps, Mr. Walker, you might want to. Speaker 1: Look at that. And when was the last time we did one, do you recall? Speaker 7: So as we did negotiations with our contract with AM, I believe was in around 2018, we did some preparation as part of that. If you remember in Closed Session, we talk a little bit about where we are in terms of the marketplace. We are currently in a long term agreement. We just did a I think a 2% increase just last year. We've got a 2% increase for our IAM staff coming up in September and then there's another 1% increase coming up in April of 2023 and then the contract ends after that and it'll be a chance to look at some additional negotiation. But we can get you the specific information on compensation study believe that does if it's any different than what I told you. You know, I think that, you know, we should do one of those studies every five years or so since our economy changes so much. And it's in flux at that point to keep up with what's going on in the real world in regards to how. Speaker 1: Far a person's salary can go in terms of their quality of life. Speaker 7: But other than that, you know, I love the presentation for Parks. Speaker 1: From Police. Speaker 6: And Fire. Speaker 1: All the great. Speaker 7: Things that they're doing out there in terms of retention, freeze at recruitment. Speaker 1: And. Speaker 6: Partner retention. Speaker 7: But I mean, we still need a lot more to do it. Obviously, we're we're making some gains in some of the restructuring and reorganization that's going on in all three departments in regards to answering the call for needs that the. Speaker 1: Residents want to see is great. Speaker 7: And so I'm looking forward to further discussions with the budget. This is just a first. Speaker 6: Review at it, if you will. Speaker 7: I know there's going to be some. Speaker 6: Deeper, more. Speaker 7: In-Depth discussions about more specifics as we get as we go with with the the study that equipment has. So I'm looking forward to that as well. Thank you. Speaker 3: Thank you. Councilmember Price. Speaker 2: Thank you, Mr. Vice Mayor. So a couple of things. I'll start in the order that we did our presentations tonight. So for fire, you know, I wanted to talk to the chief a little bit about the increase in activity in Alamitos Bay. We are getting more and more calls for service in Alamitos Bay, and this is mostly a lifeguard response issue, but also a marine patrol issue. So I wanted to talk to the chief and perhaps the PR director on how this budget reflects the increase in boating activity in the bay. I know that may not be an issue that affects everyone, but it certainly is an issue that affects a lot of residents and renters who maybe don't have the money to have their own boat, which is most everyone. So they're doing a lot of the rental businesses. And so that conflict has really come to fruition in a big way in Alamitos Bay. And I kind of want to get a sense from the chief and perhaps even director Dennis, how does your budget reflect that increase in activity? Because I really didn't see that reflected in the proposed budget. Speaker 6: Thank you, Councilwoman, for your question in regards to our budget currently. I can tell you that we have currently. Speaker 9: Hired up a security. Speaker 6: Company to help us out there. Now, let me just Bay, specifically with the with it and the activity that we're getting after. Dark Chief Medina actually came up with the idea, and I think it's a fantastic idea to get somebody to dissuade those folks from being out there. But it is a team approach. The security guards are only meant to identify folks that aren't supposed to be there when they're there. And then we notify PD. They come in and they assist us as well. Going forward, we're going to have to look at that. In the upcoming budget. Speaker 9: We have budgeted. Speaker 6: For additional lifeguards, which is going to help us. But it may be that we're going to have to just change the way we do things in the evenings. Speaker 2: Okay. So I'm not talking specifically about the the with it y the way we've we've shopped it around and we understand that the correct pronunciation is with it too, although we keep calling it the wee bit, I don't know. But we and our team, we call it the whip it. So the whip it is one factor. And I think Chief Medina has done a really great job with the innovative ideas of how to control some of the evening activity. But what I'm talking about is the increase in activity in the bay. I think we're putting a lot of stress on our lifeguards with the activity in the bay, and I don't know that we really do not have the support that we need for our lifeguards on the bay. There's bridge jumping going on. There's a lot of activity with the boat rental companies going on. And Chief Medina has been unbelievably amazing to me as a partner in trying to figure out how to increase the lifeguard presence there. But, you know, he can't do it alone. So how does the budget support him? Speaker 6: So at the current time we haven't specifically address that with our budget chief. Medina is doing everything that he can with his current lifeguards that he has. They've increased the patrolling and we're going to continue to do that and look at next year and see how we can increase those numbers even further. But there's nothing. Speaker 1: Concrete right now. Speaker 2: Okay. I get that. Chief Espino I get that. I understand that. But perhaps this message is for the city manager. Oil is trading at way over the budgeted $55 a barrel that we have. We've been talking a lot about the Tidelands budget. I fully expect that we will be listening to the community on these issues and considering the changes that we've seen in activity along the coastline in the bay. And I can tell you and I so appreciate Chief Espino and the limitations that are placed upon him, and I know he's probably not going to say this in the way that it needs to be said, but we need more resources to go to our lifeguard division. We have people now, we've got the with it in Alamitos Beach. We've got the women in Alamitos Bay. We've got increased activity in the bay with boat rentals. And we absolutely need some more resources to our lifeguards. We just simply cannot continue to do it with the resources that we've had in the past, because I think everyone will agree that COVID was a game changer in terms of recreational activities throughout the city, but especially along the coastline, which is a good thing. I think Councilman Ranga would applaud the fact that people are using the coastal amenities more so than ever before, and that's a good thing. And we want to make sure that every resident in the city has access to the coast. But in order for us to be able to accommodate that increased use, we need to have more support for our Marine bureau. So a marine safety division. So, Chief Espino, you don't have to say it because I know it puts you in a difficult position. But I'm sharing with the city manager that we absolutely need more resources for our Marine Safety Division in the fire department. And I'm hoping that the city manager can take a look, a look at that and see what we can do to augment those resources in terms of innovative proposals to the chair of the BMC for ways that we can augment that budget. So thank you, Chief Espino. But I think know, I think Chief Medina will tell you that he gets probably more calls for service and more community meetings than he probably can share with you. Speaker 0: Councilwoman, your time is up. Speaker 2: It's it's really a lot for one person to handle. Speaker 1: Understood. Thank you. Speaker 2: Thank you. So with that, I want to move on to fire. And I want to thank. I mean, I want to move on to police. And I want to thank Councilwoman. Your time is Chief. You are? Speaker 0: Councilwoman? Yes. Your time is up. Speaker 2: Wow. Okay. I'll recuse. Thank you. Thank you. Speaker 3: Thank you. Councilmember Alston. Speaker 6: Yes. Thank you so much. I want to just say thank you to all three departments who gave presentations today. I'll just try to, you know, highlight a couple of things that I've heard and a few questions. But if you can get everything in within 5 minutes, if not all with you. I'll go and order. Start with the fire department. This fire department is top notch. Thank you all for your great work, Chief, and your department. There are a few things that I wanted to just. Just get some clarification on. You requested a position for do the administrative investigations, the love for you to follow up on that, explaining more about the functionality of the position and why of it in terms of administrative investigations, what type of investigations will they be doing administratively? Internal or external? Just curious about that and then the related the issue of diversity and thinking in a full time position. I think obviously we want more diversity in our fire department and what our same in every department, by the way. I would love to know the results of the diversity recruitment over the past couple of years since we've had this position in place. So will be, if you can put forth a memo to the council to show how our diversity is improved for this period of time, that would be greatly appreciated. But I'll let you respond to the administrative investigation question about that position. Speaker 7: And Councilmember, if I can ask a clarifying question, was that specific on fire or other departments? Speaker 6: That was a fire. That was a fire position in the fire presentation. I was writing notes for. Understood. Got it. Councilman Austin to ask for an administrative investigator or an administrative position to do administrative investigations. Yes. Thank you for the question. Specifically right now, our admin officer is conducting all of the administrative investigations. Quite a lot of paperwork, quite a lot of bandwidth is needed for that. So we looked at the fact that we have investigations that are both internal and external. We found it to be very, very important for our department that we were able to to get through these, expedite, getting through the investigations, do a good job with the investigation. So we asked for an additional position to help out with the investigation process and also to help out with the PR process. We've, as I stated, were receiving 1400 praise per year. And so the only way that we're covering those periods now is with overtime throughout our department, with other civilian staff. And so now having a dedicated administrative assignment for that person, that's going to help us out quite a bit down the road. With your other question. Thank you for that clarification. And also, I had questions at the end, and you may not have to respond to that tonight, but please provide the council with some sort of data or information memo to highlight the diversity achievements in recruiting department over the last couple of years since we've funded this position. That's it. That's all. I'll move on to Penny. I want to just say to Chief, he this your first budget. I want to just salute and say this was an excellent presentation. It was encouraging to hear and I applaud the creative reorganization and thought that you put into the department and we're really addressing and listening to the needs of the system today. Much of what we see in this budget and which I'm trying to do with the department, attempting to do with the department, is this is in response to a lot of what you've heard from the community, but also of the council. And and I think that really what we're doing today needs to money in many respects. I believe that models, you know, should change, particularly in government of police department and every department. I mean, if we we can tweak our models to make them more efficient and more responsive to our public. We're doing the right thing. So I'm encouraged by what you're attempting to do with this budget proposal. Obviously, there I have some questions. I want to go into some detail at some point, and you can probably do that during the DLC. But it is it is encouraging to see this focus on on better communications of wellness internally and externally, thinking about the community, but also the officers and obviously crime. And you mentioned homelessness. Well, I will put on your you're something to think about and then I'd like to see accomplished in that no chief has been able to do in my ten years on the city council, and that is to open our Northwest Police station right from work to business station and basically maybe all of the stations to make them more serving to the community. Speaker 0: You can spend all your time is up. I'm sorry. Speaker 6: But let me finish my point. Speaker 10: Thank you. Speaker 6: I think in doing so, we do go a long way to better engage our community and improve accessibility to our public safety officials. And so I'll get to Parks and Rec. I can't wait to talk to you guys. Thank you for the time. Speaker 3: Thank you. And I couldn't agree more. Councilmember Mongo. Speaker 2: Thank you so much. What excellent presentations tonight. Having been on the city council for eight years. I know that there are things that come up year after year and changes that we make and some of them are minor. This year I feel like I see major changes in the right direction and I'm really, really, really impressed with the work that you guys are doing. First and foremost, I look through the budget book and I see the policies are at the front like we as a Budget Committee discuss and how important that is for all of us to be reminded of the policies that we adhere to as a council that we all agreed upon. Next, I really want to applaud fire. There are lots of questions that I've asked year after year related to grants, related to percentages, related to opportunities. And I feel like every single one of those questions was answered in your presentation tonight. I think that the community has asked the same questions over and over again, and I think that all of them are answered in advance this year. And so I think that that will be a huge success for us. I want to finish by giving a focus on Parks and Rec police great budget. Thank you for all that you've added. I can definitely see your mark on this, Wally, but with Parks and Rec, what a great budget to talk about the real big steps that this Council has made related to eliminating the herbicides in our parks, making sure we have water to water our parks, and then the park restroom issue, park restrooms have been something that I have just harped about year after year after year. We come up with creativity. I remember when I was first elected, I had a staff member who now works for Culver City PD, and on Saturday mornings he would do an inventory of what was needed. He would go to Ace Hardware and he would literally buy soap and toilet seats, not 20. He covers paper actual toilet seats that had been stolen the night before so that our kids who needed to use the bathroom during the day would have something to sit down on. And now for Parks and Rec to take ownership of their parks in a meaningful way is just so great. I want to echo the comments of Councilman Sara. I know these are truncated meetings, but our community budget meetings are really where additional information and feedback can be provided so that our city staff hear you. Thank you so much to everyone and just what a great budget. I'm so proud of the work you guys are doing and the focus on infrastructure and how we're going to see that develop over the next 12 months budget. Thank you. Speaker 3: Thank you, Councilwoman Allen. Speaker 10: Thank you, Vice Mayor. I really appreciate all of the presentations. Speaker 2: I was just telling. Speaker 10: Councilman Ringa I really appreciated especially appreciated his comments. You know, I think we as a council have always been really concerned with workers, whether they're health care workers, grocery store workers. And that's always really important to us. But we also need to take care of our own. And, you know, we need as we start these meeting confirms. I just I think that we just need to think about that. This is our city family. And I just feel like even the years when long time ago, when I was a police officer, I always felt like we were one of the most underpaid in the state . And so I just think that we need to look at that and recognize that we've got some work to do there. I also want to recognize all the speakers that came out tonight. I know there were a lot of. Speaker 2: You know, concerns. Speaker 10: And we have some work to do. But I'm committed to listening to building trust and to addressing the issues that are important to so many people. I'm Chief Habash. Thank you for your amazing presentation. And I just want to thank all of our officers for all their hard work. And I know it's a tough and demanding job. So thank you. And I under I really just appreciate all the sacrifices that you make and you your families make to protect our city. I also appreciate hearing the department's continues to prioritize building strong relationships with our residents and community and and still addressing crime, homelessness and also our employee wellness. That's the important things. Also the fire chief. So there you. Speaker 2: Are. Speaker 10: Thank you for your presentation as well. I appreciate your work. I know that our response times are really extremely fast, which save lives, and it's great to see that our focus for this year is to continue to improve those response times for all emergencies and minimizing. Speaker 2: A fire loss. Speaker 10: So I also like reading about your mental health and wellness initiatives. And also, as you know, many conversations that I've had with you personally, I love to see that, you know, you're looking at hiring more police women. And I loved hearing about your the workshop that you'll the female firefighter career workshop. That's all really good stuff. Speaker 2: So thank you for sharing. Speaker 10: That with with everybody publicly. Brant, someone said so many nice things about you. I agree. You're amazing. We're so lucky to have you and our Parks Recreation and Marine Department. And it was also wonderful to hear about all your accomplishments throughout the year from the openings of Lincoln Park to making sure that all of our beaches and marine areas are free of trash. Speaker 2: And. Speaker 10: And just maintaining all of our park facilities. Speaker 2: It's a lot of work. You've got a lot under. Speaker 10: You're under your umbrella. So I just really appreciate you. And also, I was reading the river debris was removed from the harbor areas and you were targeting 1500 tons and you end up doing 2500 tons. That's really just really incredible work. So appreciate appreciate you. I'm also excited about the about the pilot magnet door program. So I know we've had a lot of issues, especially out at Bixby Park. So just I'm excited about that. And let's see if this can solve some of the the, you know, the issues that we're having out there. And I'm also looking forward to seeing all the improvements over at Bixby. Speaker 2: Park as well as. Speaker 10: Well. So just appreciate all the department heads. Thank you so much. And we're so fortunate to have each and every one of you leading our departments. And and then I do. Speaker 2: Have I know my time's. Speaker 10: About to be up, but I do have some questions regarding 911 and just some of the issues that were brought up and this remote occur. So maybe in the days ahead, we can just, you know, clarify some of those those those issues. So thank you very much. Speaker 2: Great work, everyone. Speaker 7: Thank you. And just to follow up, we are working on a separate memo on 911 dispatching and is answering some of the questions that we've gotten about the status of that operation and. That should be out fairly shortly. We heard some other input today. Will be sure to address some of those. Make sure the council's got that information. Speaker 3: Thank you. Just to clarify, is the dispatch all in the police department or don't we don't we have it in the disaster preparedness department? Speaker 7: Yes, it's actually not in the police department. All dispatch is in disaster preparedness and emergency communications. Speaker 3: When are they presenting engineers? Speaker 7: Are they. Speaker 3: Scheduled to present. Speaker 7: Right now? They are not. But if that's the request of the council, we can talk about that a little bit as well. Speaker 3: Okay. Thank you. Next is council members and has. Speaker 2: Thank you, Vice Mayor. I just want to literally echo everybody's comments. I know that everybody has made some fantastic comments here. I want to thank the three percenters, chief, chief and five year female chief who have this. And, of course, Director Denis for their great presentations. I think it's very important that we as as the council, take into consideration all of the hard work that is being put into all of these budgets and also take into consideration all of the comments that were made from our audience as well. So thank you, everybody, who came to speak. I very, very much appreciate your comments. I know that. First of all, Chief Basch, I, I'm just so, so very proud of you and all that you have accomplished in this very short time of being our chief. It's been amazing. I know we've done some incredible work together. It's really great to have a strong partnership with you. And I think that also with Parks and Rec, I'm just so thrilled of all the work that that we've been doing together in trying to upkeep our parks and make them a place where where our community can enjoy. And I know there's still a lot of work to be done, obviously, but I'm really, really excited to be working together towards that goal. There's some really, really exciting things coming our way, and I think that that's very, very important as well. I just wanted to make sure that I also. You know, acknowledge the fact that, you know, there are like I think it was Councilwoman Allen that mentioned this, that along with Councilmember Dunga, that we are always, you know, champions for our workers in in the city. Me personally, you know, hero pay was very, very important to me. But we also got to look inside, you know, in our homes. And it's very important to be able to feel good about what we have in the house and how we, you know, compensate all of our employees who help us make the city run as efficiently as possible. And as we all know, this pandemic has hit us hard and especially within our employees. And I just want to reiterate to all of our city employees at all levels that you are a priority to us and that. You know, we can. And I think it's very important that we continue doing that and to continue finding ways to to be able to do that. I think it's very, very important. I also want to say that it's also very important to me that we do see more activities for older adults, not only activities, but programs and ways to help our seniors. One, because they are a big, big group in our city. And also because it's we're all headed in that direction. So I want to make sure that they also feel supported by us and by this budget. Again, I want to thank all of my council colleagues for all their very, very informative and very wise comments and and suggestions. And I absolutely support all of all of what has been said. Thank you. Speaker 3: Thank you, Councilmember Price. Speaker 2: Bank? Very much so. A lot of great feedback there. I wanted to go to police now. The five. Was it am I correct that the slide that you put up, Chief Bush said that 5.4% increase in violent crime. Is that correct? Speaker 9: Thank you. Councilwoman? Yes, that's correct. 5.4% increase year to date. That is after starting this year with a 17.4% increase in violent crime in January. Speaker 2: Okay. And we're talking about violent crime. How do we define that as that pursuant to what qualifies as a strike offense? Speaker 9: No, Councilwoman, it is from the federal UCR data. Part one Crime and violent crime is categorized based on those guidelines. Speaker 2: Okay. Do you think you can send me an email with those guidelines and we'll make those available for our constituents because we get asked that question a lot. Speaker 9: Absolutely. Speaker 2: Thank you. You talked a little bit about recruitment. I will say I'm in the law enforcement industry, so I talk with police departments all the time. And I know that recruitment is an issue statewide, probably nationally. But I will say it's a little bit more of an issue in Long Beach. When I talk with police officers from other areas, I asked them a lot of times, you know, why don't they apply to Long Beach? And what I hear repeatedly is that, you know, we're not paying competitive salaries for police officers. We're just we're not in terms of what what is being paid in the region and. You know, the level of support for police officers fluctuates depending on politics and things like that. So they don't feel like there's a consistent set of support for them. And I think that's really something we need to focus on as a city and, you know, as elected officials, like, do we support our police officers or do we not? Because I think it's important for them to to feel that, because retention and recruitment is a huge issue. And I think that's a structural issue that we need to think about, not just for this year or next year, but for the years to come. And I think that's something that we just need to have on our frame of mind in terms of how do we recruit the best and the brightest. We can talk all day long and have a lot of rhetoric about what that means, but what does that mean in terms of who were attracting to actually the fire chief? I love the creation of the new bureau. And I just want to take a moment. All politics aside, I think everyone here knows that the city budget that was prepared by the city manager that was submitted to the mayor's office that no council member was privy to. Officially on on July the first involved your recommendations. For this community policing proposal and your recommendations for the bike patrol officers that you referred to as the stop program. That was your idea. And I think it's really, really important. You don't have to comment on it. But for us to acknowledge that on July the first, when this budget was presented to the mayor's office with limited accessibility. Your proposal for community policing and bike officers was the proposal that made it into that budget. It is your proposal, and I want to thank you, Chief, for listening to the community and working hard to make sure that your proposal made it into the budget. Those of us watching know that this was your idea and we're really grateful for it. I want to talk to you a little bit about the professional development section that you're creating. Can you talk a little bit about how the ABLE program, which is something that came forth to the Public Safety Committee when I was chair of the Public Safety Committee, which focuses on bystander liability, fits into that program, and how programs like bystander viability are going to help with some of the public trust issues and culture change issues that we've been talking about. Speaker 9: Thank you, Councilwoman. The ABLE program is that that grant opportunity will be coming to council on the sixth. But we've already started our programing for able within the department. ABLES ran out of our training division, so that's under a separate bureau where Internal Affairs now the Professional Standards Division will investigate misconduct but also look into body worn camera early intervention programs and find ways to address behavioral issues that can ensure employee success and growth we're able is separate from that, but all connected on on demonstrating our commitment and investment in our employees in this department, in this community. So able is still moving forward and that's going to be a department wide operation, a department wide roll out for all of our employees, where the conversion of the Internal Affairs Division is more specific to that, and adding another layer of what we do within that division to ensure our employees can be successful. Speaker 2: That's wonderful. And I think anyone who's watching tonight, if you just Google the terms by standards ship liability, you'll find that that is an incredible resource. There's a ton of white papers on it in terms of police reform, and I'm so grateful that our police department's participating in that. I want to ask you a little bit about cameras. We have cameras all over the city. What is the plan to get those cameras tied into the police department? I get this question all the time. Do we have any funding for that? Speaker 9: Thank you, Councilwoman. The camera system in our city is under the Department of Technology and Innovation, so that's under a separate department director. However, the police department does have access to security footage, and we do use that, as I've spoken about that before, for the investigation of crimes and developing investigative leads and that type of thing. So the city camera structure is run out of the Department of Technology and Innovation. Speaker 2: Okay. All right. We'll save those questions for them. And then the other thing I just wanted to put on screen and price love all the innovative programing that we're doing. I like the allocation of new staff as I see it in the proposed budget. But one thing, Chief, that we. Speaker 0: Have a moment is your time is. Speaker 2: Up. No matter what district residents live in, they want to make sure that they have. Speaker 0: The best. Speaker 2: Response times. And that's the one thing I think probably me and all of my council members, all my council colleagues can speak to unilaterally is that residents can. Speaker 0: Always price your time. Speaker 2: Making sure that when they call the police, there's someone that's going to respond. And I think that's really important. And I know if you can just make sure that you're focused on that. Speaker 0: Councilman Price, your time is. Speaker 2: Up get some folks is response time and I think we need to focus on. Speaker 3: Thank you. Councilman Allen. Speaker 10: Yes. So I have a question probably for I think is probably for Tom. Can you speak specifically about turnover, cost and recruitment versus retention spending? I just want to make sure that we're looking at flexible ways to keep valuable employees and avoid having to replace them at. Speaker 2: You know, even greater cost. Speaker 7: Yeah. So it certainly is a challenging time right now to both hire a new staff and and keep our existing staff. People have a lot of options out there. It's a very low unemployment rate. And so people are able to move around and and move from job to job. We see that. We love to keep our city employees here as much as we can. Part of our strategy and programs is we do have a lot of promotion activities right now as we do have open positions. We are looking to promote our city employees, but we're also looking to bring on additional city employees to keep hiring going and make sure that those who are here have some support and aren't always having to do overtime shifts. We heard clearly from our employees, you know, I think you've heard this from me several times. We have a lot going on in our city. We do care very much about our workforce and try to manage their workload because they are being asked to do a lot of extra time, extra work. One thing that we did last year is we created our new performance incentive that would never existed before for anyone that was not in the management ranks. And so that's available to all employees. And we've been using a fair amount of that to acknowledge amazing work. What I get feedback from employees a lot is not just on the dollar amount, but it's just the recognition. We sign a certificate. Everyone who gets one of those gets a certificate from the city manager. And it really does help, I think, a little bit with morale. In terms of retention, we do have in our contracts, we've been trying to structure these as long term contracts so that there are projected increases and those are coming. We mentioned some of those and then of course, we did do equity adjustments in our AM contracts and others for not just every position across the board, but those where we were having some specific issues and we can go a little bit further into that. But yeah, one of the other things we're doing is we are investing in this budget, in civil service and in H.R. we have a number of efforts going on right now to try to streamline our hiring processes and also to bring more resources to civil service so that they can do, you know, open up our our our list faster and higher, faster, so that we can help support employees by bringing people in to make sure they're not having to do other jobs for those that are vacant. Speaker 10: Awesome. Thank you, Mr. Murdoch. Speaker 2: I also want to know. Speaker 10: Looking at the police budget so it looks like it's not much of a change. Here we are. So is it already what we're talking about, additional officers like and the bike officers, is that already planned in this budget currently? Speaker 7: Yes. So the budget proposal includes 20 new officers, 16 bike officers and four quality of life officers. Speaker 2: Okay. All right. Thank you very much. Speaker 4: Thank you, Councilman Mongo. Speaker 2: Thank you. My zoom had a quick blip. So if another council member stated this already. I just want to take a quick moment to acknowledge our dispatchers. I heard staff come to the podium tonight to discuss the demand on our dispatchers. And dispatch is a very, very straining occupation. And I would like to see us look towards better supporting our dispatchers. I would love to see. Obviously, pay is a component, but pay is a part of a negotiated process. There are still other things that agencies have done for their dispatchers that have been helpful, including refurbishing restroom rest areas because of the stress and the quality of their break times that is necessary. There's lots of other things we can do, and I'd really love to see an investment in that. Thank you. No more comments. Speaker 4: Thank you, Councilman Austin. Speaker 6: Thank you. I'll just follow up with my comments. I did appreciate the presentation by Parks Recreation Marine. Again, one of our asset departments that's public facing that. It's always engaging for a community. I think most people experience our parks have a positive experience and that's positive for the city. Much of the public comment and I did appreciate hearing from our city employees because of week after week after week. There's a common theme not only in our city but for us in our society, and that's workforce challenges of recruitment and retention is a it's a serious it's an issue that we have to grapple with as a city council, not just with public safety and police and fire, but what our employment ranks in the city. And so I'd like to see us obviously give a lot more attention to that, because obviously we want to ensure that all of our city employees are coming to work and feeling dignified and respected for the work that they do. I'm really interested also as well, remember with the dispatch emergency dispatch operators of 12, 18 hour shifts. That's really happening. And I've talked to the director who's shared with me the challenges that he's having with with hiring and retaining employees and that as well. So I think we need to take a stronger look at that. But also, I'd like to see us in all positions, you know, look at internal career ladders in recruiting internally, filling positions internally. People should not have to be feel like they're stuck in the role that they're there in forever, particularly in a city like Long Beach that has so many options for you to learn as well as as an employee. Right. And so we should be when you talk about diversity in hiring. Yeah, we want to know what it looks like, but we also want to know that we I'd like to know that we're looking at our candidates internally and promoting people within team to maintain a culture of of of excellence. So those are my comments. I look forward to obviously continuing the conversations around, you know, the X's and O's and the dollars and cents of the budget. But we also need to promote a solid workplace culture. I think we're moving in the right direction, but we need to look within to build people up as well. X. Speaker 4: Thank you. Council member Super. Speaker 9: Thank you. Great presentations. Speaker 1: By Chief Steven and Espinal and Director Denis and also great. Speaker 6: Presentations by our. Speaker 1: Dispatchers. Fantastic job tonight. And I'll just say here, I would like to see a presentation. Speaker 6: By Reggie Harrison as part. Speaker 1: Of the budget process or at least bring us a wish list, because I'd like to see this fixed as soon as possible. Speaker 9: And I just have everything's been covered, I think. But I just also. Speaker 1: Wanted to thank Chief Espino particular for this statistics that he brought forth. These are things that I knew anecdotally. I'm not sure what term he used on on point. They call them vegetation fires. But I know over the weekend we had. Speaker 9: The 405 freeway shut down at. Speaker 1: Lakewood Boulevard due to a vegetation. Speaker 9: Fire. And then I think about 21 hours later, there was a flare up of the same spot. Speaker 1: Two weeks prior. Speaker 9: We had a. Speaker 6: Vegetation fire. Speaker 9: Adjacent to the nature center that shut down the nature center for a day. So the stat I heard, Chief, was. Speaker 6: 381 arson. Speaker 9: Investigations. Speaker 1: I know that's probably different types of fires. Speaker 9: But the number that was so staggering to me of these types of fires. Speaker 1: You went from around. Speaker 9: 200 to over 630 and that in that range of more than 3% increase. So what I would like to suggest is that we need some type of effort here. And it might. Speaker 1: Be that all the departments presenting tonight and the city manager's office, if we can have. Speaker 9: Some type. Speaker 1: Of fire prevention effort, I don't know what exactly it is, but somehow we're taking a look at this issue because if we don't, I don't see it improving. And what we can do in terms of prevention would be something I'd like to look at. And so I thank you. Speaker 4: Thank you. Councilman Price, I'm not sure if this is the custom on price. This is from before I transitioned. Wasn't sure this is. Speaker 2: No, thank you, Mr. Mayor. I recused because I think I'm perfect. I was. I was in the middle of talking when I think my mic was turned off, so I just recused. So. Yes, thank you. So I just have a couple more questions. So going back to police. I know police doesn't oversee dispatch, but when people want to call for police response, they call dispatch. And sometimes they don't know that our internal structure makes dispatch a different department than police. And so a lot of times, if they don't get a good response from dispatch, they attribute it to police. And our dispatchers are under tremendous stress. I cannot even imagine how difficult and challenging their work is. So I agree with Councilman Super not anything we can do to be further educated on what we are doing to support them and give them the tools that they need to succeed. We get so many calls from residents and emails from residents saying that they were dissatisfied with dispatch. And sometimes I find myself getting very defensive on behalf of our dispatchers again, because of my line of work on a daily basis. I know the stress that our dispatchers have and they're getting faced with a lot of questions that are beyond just general police or fire response. And so making sure that they have the right training and they have the resources so that it doesn't fall on their shoulders entirely is critical. And so anything that we can do to support our dispatchers, I'm more than happy to do. They deserve our full support and beyond, frankly, because they they are the first line of defense. When residents call for help for 90% of the calls to the city, their touch point is dispatch. We cannot forget that their touch point is not the council office or the city manager's office or any of our departments other than dispatch. 99% of the calls from residents throughout the city that Touch City Hall are through dispatch. So we need to make sure we support our dispatchers. So I want to transition over to PR and fantastic presentation. Brant, I know that whoops. After dark last night you and I were talking and I did not realize this is your third budget. You came in during COVID years and so it just flew by. But you did an excellent job on that presentation and I know you're working really hard. There's a couple of things I wanted you to expand on, but first I wanted to say our bathrooms. I know you know, Mr. Janice, that I did my own personal audit of the bathrooms and I had myself and staff point to different bathrooms and looking at their condition. And we really need to make sure our bathrooms are clean. I mean, they just that has to be a focus for our city because taxpayers aren't feeling like they can use the restrooms when they go to the park or with their children or by themselves, and they feel like the bathrooms are not accessible to them, then we're really rendering those who use those public facilities useless to residents , and we want to make sure that we don't do that. Residents should be able to use the restroom. You go to the park. I know this is a mom of two kids. You go to the park for an hour with your kid. The chances are either you or your child is going to need to use the restroom. And if the restroom is is not in a condition, you're not going to use that. And I think that's one of the core services that the city has to provide. So I'm really grateful for our investment in bathrooms. But can you, Mr. Dennis, talk a little bit about the Rancho budgets for for both Rancho La Cerritos and Rancho Los Alamitos? They are in the budget. And I would like you to talk about them specifically, and I would like you to also touch on Pickleball. So if you could talk about those two things, and I think I will be done with questions after that. Mr. Mayor, thank you. Speaker 9: All right. Thank you, Councilwoman Price. So I do want to make a comment regarding restrooms. So I'm very optimistic and fully committed to this new initiative with the Park Safety Ambassadors. I think our park maintenance team has worked very thoughtfully to craft together second shift and have all the resources that from the get go, we'll have trained team members out there really doing the best job to secure our restrooms overnight and also maintain them because bottom line is we want them to be safe, clean and welcoming. So I think your comment about young families in particular nature will call and certainly we want our restrooms to be available. So the ranchos in the five year infrastructure plan, as I met with both the executive directors and their boards, they are identified as a top priority and for obvious reasons, because of the beauty of their historic structures, a fire detection and suppressant system. And they've worked with actually the same internationally acclaimed engineer for those systems that are very sensitive to the for the Rancho, the Adobe walls and some of the historic attributes where you want to have a system that's effective but not that obvious. So they have gotten to about 100% final design level, and we had recommended allocating $600,000 for each of the ranchos. And I think that was a. Very important high priority improvement for both of those great facilities. Pickleball I know we have a TFR for the citywide pickleball master plan summary that's going to be distributed. I know over the past week or so we've made some really great are we call although we call them low hanging fruit improvements but we introduced for new dual use or dual straight courts out at Marina Vista Park. We've gotten really great accolades from the Pickleball community there, and we're also moving forward with some improvements at Somerset Park and returning some attention back to Bayshore and College Estates is a little bit more challenging, but we're trying to be thoughtful to the neighbors. But the growing interest in Pickleball citywide, I think, has been very surprising and it's also very significant. So in the five year infrastructure plan, you'll notice that there were dedicated pickleball courts proposed for Veterans Park to Forest Park and also recreation park adjacent to the Billie Jean King Tennis Center. So we're thankful for that. And I also always like to give a shout out to our Long Beach Pickleball Advisory Group. They're self-identified ambassadors that have a great passion for what I call their nucleus groups that are scattered all over the city. Now we've got a new group that's formed up at Halton Park and also, you know, good news while we were at Hoops After Dark, the Salvation Army, it's a new facility or gym at Long Beach Boulevard in spring. Last night, two Saturdays ago, they actually added pickleball striping to their basketball courts. So they're anxious to work with us to have a pilot, three months league to see if there's enough interest in that part of the city. So I think that's the best update I can provide on my favorite sport. Now talk about and I do like basketball too, but but pickleball is important to a growing number of people. Do you have any other questions? Speaker 2: No. Thank you so much. And thank you for your show, Mr. Mayor. Speaker 4: Thank you. Thank you to all the councilmembers for the comments. We were going to go ahead and receive and file. There is a motion and a second, a roll call to receive in the budget hearing. And it just gets continued, of course, to the next budget hearing. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Cindy has. Speaker 2: A. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Alan I. Councilwoman Price. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Councilman Sabina. Speaker 1: I. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Mongo. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Catwoman. Ciro. I. Councilmember Muranga. Speaker 1: I. Speaker 0: Councilman Austin. Speaker 1: Hi. Speaker 0: Vice Mayor Richardson. Hi. The motion is carried nine June. Speaker 4: Thank you very much. We will. We're going to go and do. Audience 27 And then the aquarium bond items. AUDIENCE The 27 is the first reading of the ordinance, please.

Public Hearing

Recommendation to conduct a Budget Hearing to receive and discuss an overview of the Proposed Fiscal Year 2022 Budget for the departments of Fire, Police, and Parks, Recreation and Marine. (Citywide)

LongBeachCC

LongBeachCC_08092022_22-0946

Speaker 4: Thank you very much. We will. We're going to go and do. Audience 27 And then the aquarium bond items. AUDIENCE The 27 is the first reading of the ordinance, please. Speaker 0: Item 27 is report from City Attorney Recommendation to declare ordinance amending the Long Beach Municipal Code by adding Chapter 5.96 establishing the Health Care Workers Minimum Wage Ordinance. Read the first time and lead over to the next regular meeting of the City Council for Final Reading City. Speaker 4: Thank you. I think we all have the the document in front of us is your public comment on this before we take a vote. Speaker 5: If there any members of the public that would like to speak on item. Ordinance number 27 in person. Please sign up at the podium and zoom. Please use the raise hand feature or dial store and I now. We have one person in person. Speaker 1: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I want to thank you all for taking a look at this and your support for this measure. This is going to help a lot of people in the community of Long Beach and hopefully the community as a whole. We do know that the. It just shows from the report out from your own city workers. Understaffing is a chronic issue among all the folks that take care of our city. Health care is just one of many of many examples. We all work long hours, short staffed, and we're taking care of our most vulnerable citizens. And that's why, again, I'd like to thank you for bringing up this matter. And I would definitely hope that you will vote in the affirmative to support a $25 minimum wage for health care workers. And hopefully this will have effects on other workers here in the city and statewide. Thank you. Speaker 4: A speaker, please. Speaker 1: Hello. My name is Alberto in critical care, taking this U.S. Marine Medical Center and I have been working there for 15 years. I lived in Long Beach all my life. I just want to know that everybody gonna think different. Hear me yell. Um. I'm sorry. I congratulate you. Thank you. For how much? This means a lot to us for getting this wage going up for us, because a lot of people struggle in general just in their life and with their lives and having with the rent crisis situation and inflation. We also care and help people in need patients in the hospital because it's really short stuff at the moment. We don't have them there, so we short the nurses every single day. Staffing in general. And. Thank you for your support and hopefully you can pass a bill to give more aid and and especially in hospitals throughout the community because we are really short staffed as or she's a very overcrowded and we can't even take care of the people that come for help. So and dinner and stuff and other people are leaving also because again. Just wait the wages. There is not enough for them. So I appreciate you guys. I continue to take the field consideration. Thank you. Thank you. Speaker 4: And our final speaker. And then we'll go to online here. Speaker 2: Hi. Good, good. My good night. Yes. Speaker 1: And I thank you for be here for all. Thank you. Speaker 2: For. Speaker 1: Stay all. Speaker 2: Thank you, you guys, congratulations. Speaker 1: Because it's very important for the CDC to see you and I'm working and say merry. Speaker 2: My name. Speaker 1: Is Chris Larson and thank you for support for. Speaker 2: The minimum wage. Speaker 1: 25. Thank you so much for the great job. Speaker 2: And and I. Speaker 1: Hear all cases love peace can be great if you you guys. Speaker 2: Police Department. Speaker 1: Fire and the citizen have more communication for be more beautiful on beat because truly ne but the only way to stay all together. Speaker 2: And make good party for everybody. Speaker 10: Can be happy. And thank you. Speaker 1: So much for everything you do. I know it's very late for everybody. Speaker 2: Thank you so much for I love you. Speaker 4: Thank you. Is there any. Speaker 5: That concludes public comment. Speaker 4: That can be sort a comment. We have a motion in a second. I think we all have the ordinance presented by the city attorney. A roll call vote, please. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Cindy has I. Councilwoman Allen. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Pryce, I. Councilman Sabino I. Councilwoman Mongo I. Councilwoman Sarah I. Councilmember Ranga. Speaker 1: I. Speaker 0: Councilman Austin. I Vice Mayor Richardson. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: The motion is carried and nine zero. Speaker 4: Great. Thank you. And, you know, we do have I believe we'll have we took one more vote on this issue for final reading next week. Correct? Okay, great. Thank you all. We're going to move on to item 22 and I believe it's 30, Mr. Modica, which are the two concurrent aquarium items?

Ordinance

Recommendation to declare ordinance amending the Long Beach Municipal Code by adding Chapter 5.96, establishing the "Healthcare Workers Minimum Wage Ordinance", read and adopted as read. (Citywide)

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Speaker 4: Great. Thank you. And, you know, we do have I believe we'll have we took one more vote on this issue for final reading next week. Correct? Okay, great. Thank you all. We're going to move on to item 22 and I believe it's 30, Mr. Modica, which are the two concurrent aquarium items? We have a long agenda still. We're going to take these two items really quick and get these, you know, get these pass through and then we're going to go ahead and move on to. Speaker 0: Choose report from financial management recommendation to Adopt Resolution Approving the issuance and sale of Thailand's Revenue Refunding Bonds Series 2022 Refinance funds for improvements to the Cream of the Pacific District. One, two, three seven. Speaker 4: Great. Can I get a motion in a second, please? Is there any public comment at all? Is there any public comment on this item? Speaker 5: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on item 22 in person, please sign up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the race cam feature or dial star nine now. CNN. Yeah, that concludes public comment. Speaker 4: Great. Robert, please. Speaker 0: Councilman Sun has. Speaker 2: High. Speaker 0: Council. And Alan I. Councilwoman Price. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Councilman but I. Councilwoman Mango. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Sarah I. Councilmember Ranga. Speaker 2: Hi. Speaker 0: Councilman Alston. Speaker 6: Hi. Speaker 0: Vice Mayor Richardson. Hi. The motion is carried nine zero. Speaker 4: Thank you. And then we have our second aquarium item, please. Believe it's 30 item thirties.

Resolution

Recommendation to adopt resolution approving the issuance and sale of Tidelands Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2022, to refinance funds for improvements to the Aquarium of the Pacific, approving the form and authorizing execution of related documents, and approving related official actions. (Districts 1,2,3,7)

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Speaker 0: The motion is carried nine zero. Speaker 4: Thank you. Item 15, please. Speaker 0: Item 15. Communication from Councilwoman Price. Recommendation to refer to the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Government Personnel and Election Oversight Committee for considerations of renaming a section of Channel View Park to Ashley Park in memory of Ashley Almond. Speaker 4: Thank you, Councilman Pryce. Speaker 2: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Our office has received hundreds of emails in support of this item, and I look forward to having it go through the process tonight so that we can get feedback and public outreach and input on this proposed item. I want to thank, first of all, Officer Rich Almond, who is one of the officers who works in the East Division as well as I'm sure he sports and other divisions. But Officer Almond is a tremendous resource for the community and he and his family. Suffered a tragic loss when their daughter Ashley lost her life at this location. And the location serves as a place of refuge for a lot of people. And it is in his honor and in her honor that we ask the Parks Commission to consider this item. And I want to just stop for a moment to see if there's any public input on this item and to ask my council colleagues to please consider supporting this item, having it through the process. Thank you. Speaker 4: Thank you. Can I get a motion in a second on this, please? Speaker 2: Mr. Mayor, I would motion I put it on the council chat. Okay. Speaker 4: I have I have a motion. Speaker 2: I'm happy to motion, if that's okay. Speaker 4: Yep. I have. Speaker 2: Kelly. Speaker 4: Councilwoman Pryce and Councilmember Austin, please. Thank you very much. Let's do a public comment. Speaker 5: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on item 15 in person, please line up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine now. See. Now, that concludes public comment. Speaker 4: Thank you. Oh, couldn't do or call the police. Oh, I'm certain, Councilman Allen. Speaker 10: I just want to say thank you so much, Councilwoman Price, for bringing this forward. Just reading this was really emotional for me. I went to high school at Long Beach Poly with a dredge. I was a police officer with them. Speaker 2: And I just know how tragic. Speaker 10: Losing his. Speaker 2: Daughter was. Speaker 10: And to honor her in this way is just tremendous. So just couldn't be more. Just honored to see you do this. Thank you very much for bringing this forward. And I will be supporting this today. Speaker 4: Thank you. And I come from an astronaut. You were the second of the motion. The additional comments. Speaker 6: No, I a second of the emotional support support and I look forward to this deciding going through the process, coming back in giving further comments. Thank you for looking forward. Speaker 4: It's great. Thank you very much. There's a motion and a second and we'll do the roll call vote. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Cindy has. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Allen, I. Councilwoman Pryce. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Councilman Sabrina. I count women. Speaker 2: Mango I. Speaker 0: Count women. Sara I Councilmember Muranga High. Councilman Austin. Speaker 6: High. Speaker 0: Vice Mayor Richardson high. The motion is carried nine two. Speaker 4: Thank you. We're going to go ahead and do item 31, please.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to refer to the Public Health and Housing Committee for consideration of renaming a section of Channelview Park to Ashlee’s Park in memory of Ashlee Armond pursuant to Administrative Regulation AR8-7.

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Speaker 4: Thank you. We're going to go ahead and do item 31, please. Speaker 0: And I'm 31. This report from Health and Human Services Recommendation to Adopt Resolution to ratify City Manager's Proclamation of Local Emergency regarding the serious and imminent threat of monkeypox virus citywide. Speaker 4: Thank you. Can I get a motion in a second, please? I think we're all we've all been briefed on the declaration which which I know we just recently did through the city manager. Any public comment on this? Speaker 5: If there any members of the public they'd like to speak on item 31 in person, please end up at the podium and zoom. Please use the raise hand feature or Die Star nine now. See none. That concludes for the coming. Speaker 4: Roll call vote, please. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Cindy has. Hi, Councilman Allen. Hi. Councilwoman Price, i. Councilman Sabrina I. Councilwoman Mango. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Sara, I. Councilmember Ranga. Hi, Councilman Austin. Speaker 6: Hi. Speaker 0: Vice Mayor Richardson. Speaker 1: Yes. Speaker 0: The motion is carried nine zero. Speaker 4: Thank you. Mary Gordon. Do the for ballot measure items next. And so we'll just do these the the only measure I think that we get a fuller presentation on from what I understand talking to staff will be the KPCC presentation. We'll go through the others fairly quickly unless there's additional questions from the council, and then we'll do the PCC. So let's start with item 17, please, if I can get a motion in a second.

Resolution

Recommendation to adopt resolution to ratify City Manager’s Proclamation of Local Emergency regarding the serious and imminent threat of monkeypox virus (MPV). (Citywide)

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Speaker 4: We'll go through the others fairly quickly unless there's additional questions from the council, and then we'll do the PCC. So let's start with item 17, please, if I can get a motion in a second. Speaker 0: Item 17 is a report from City Attorney Recommendation to adopt resolution requesting the registrar recorder county clerk to give notice of a general municipal election to be consolidated with the statewide general election to be held in the city of Long Beach on November 8th, and include the proposed charter amendment to line the Long Beach Board of Education's primary election date with the state primary and general election held in even number of years. Directing the city attorney to prepare an impartial analysis and providing for the filing of primary and rebuttal arguments and setting rules for the filing of written arguments. See, do I. Speaker 4: Think you lose emotion in a second? Is there any public comment on this? Speaker 5: Are there any members of the public that like to speak on item 17 in person, please? And up at the podium in Zoom, please use the raise hand feature now. Seen on the concludes public comment. Speaker 4: Roll call vote please. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Cindy has a. Councilwoman Ellen I. Councilwoman Price. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Councilman Sabrina. Speaker 3: I. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Mangum. Speaker 2: Hi. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Sarah. Hi, Councilman Sapp. Councilmember Oranga. Hi, Councilman Austin. Hi. Vice Mayor Richardson. Yes. The motion is carried nine zero. Speaker 4: Thank you to the second consolidation item, which is US State and city. Madam Clerk, I need a motion in a second, please.

Resolution

Recommendation to adopt resolution requesting the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk to call, provide and give notice of a General Municipal Election to be consolidated with the Statewide General Election to be held in the City of Long Beach on Tuesday, November 8, 2022 and include the proposed Charter amendment to a vote of the qualified electors residing within Long Beach Unified School District Boundaries (LBUSD) to align the Long Beach Board of Education’s primary election date with the State’s primary and general election dates held in even-numbered years; directing the City Attorney to prepare an impartial analysis of the Charter amendment; and providing for the filing of primary and rebuttal arguments and setting rules for the filing of written arguments regarding a proposed Charter amendment to be submitted at said election. (Citywide)

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Speaker 4: Thank you to the second consolidation item, which is US State and city. Madam Clerk, I need a motion in a second, please. Speaker 0: Item 18 is a report from City Attorney Recommendation to Adobe resolution requesting the L.A. County to give notice of general municipal for election to be consolidated with the statewide general elections to be held in the city of Long Beach on Tuesday, November eight, and include the proposed charter amendment to a vote to align city's primary election date with the state's primary and general election date held in even number of years. Directing the city attorney to prepare an impartial analysis and providing for the filing of the primary and rebuttal arguments, and setting setting the rules for the filing of written arguments citywide. Speaker 4: Thank you. There's a motion and a second is your public comment, please. Speaker 5: If there any members of the public that would like to speak on item 18 in-person, please sign up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature. So, you know, and that concludes public comment. Speaker 4: Thank you. Please do the roll call vote. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Cindy has. Speaker 2: All right. Speaker 0: Because women. Allen, I. Councilwoman Pryce, I. Councilman. So. But now. Speaker 1: I. Speaker 0: Can tell women. Mongo. I came to him in sorrow. I can't remember anger. I can summon Austin. Speaker 6: Hi. Speaker 0: Vice Mayor Richardson. Hi. The motion is carried nine zero. Speaker 4: Thank you. Next is 29, which is kind of a companion to those items, which is the official request for the county to the county for the consolidations that we are discussing. Speaker 0: Item 29 is a report from the City Attorney recommendation to adopt resolutions of the City Council requesting the Board of Supervisors of the County to authorize and order the consolidation of a statewide general municipal election for four charter charter amendments with the statewide general elections to be held on November eight citywide.

Resolution

Recommendation to adopt resolution requesting the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk to call, provide and give notice of a General Municipal Election to be consolidated with the Statewide General Election to be held in the City of Long Beach on Tuesday, November 8, 2022 and include the proposed Charter amendment to a vote of the qualified electors of the City to align the City’s primary election date with the State’s primary and general election dates held in even-numbered years; directing City Attorney to prepare an impartial analysis of the Charter amendment; and providing for the filing of primary and rebuttal arguments and setting rules for the filing of written arguments regarding a proposed Charter amendment to be submitted at said election. (Citywide)

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Speaker 4: Index is item 20, please. The gas and water ballot measure. Speaker 0: Item 20 is a report from City Manager Recommendation to adopt resolution requesting the L.A. County to give notice of a general municipal election to be consolidated with a statewide general election to be held in the city of Long Beach on November 8th, and include the proposed charter to consolidate the city's public utilities, directing city attorney to prepare an impartial analysis of the charter amendment and providing for the filing of primary and rebuttal arguments and setting rules for the filing of written arguments. City Wide. Speaker 4: Public Comment. Please, please come forward. Speaker 5: If there are any members of the public that like to speak on item 20 in person please on up at the podium in zoom please use the raise hand feature. Speaker 4: Thank you. Speaker 5: In person. Speaker 1: Good evening. Dave Shukla, Third District. I'd just like to state for the record that most, as we saw from the presentation last month, most entities that have consolidated utilities include electricity. Many of them do not have the complications with an oil and gas department that is historically responsible for, depending on some calculations of two single or even 2% of global emissions carbon worldwide. Perhaps electricity can be included in this, perhaps not. Perhaps there's some other way to achieve some of these ends. Perhaps as advertised, this won't deliver as many of the goods as we think it will. I think these are open questions. Thank you. Speaker 4: Thank you. Neither public comment. Please. Please come forward. Speaker 2: Where? On the one. Speaker 1: On utilities, right? Yes. Okay. Uh, I'm cluelessly and, um, the. Speaker 10: Comments that I would have on the utilities. Speaker 2: Are. Speaker 1: That we have spent a number of years now working on the water department, trying to bring money from the water department into the general fund. And that hasn't worked out. And so, you know, it's been declared. Speaker 10: Illegal in a. Speaker 2: Couple of. Speaker 1: Cases. So then I look at it and now we're talking about putting it together with the gas department and um, and that we're doing that for economies of scale, that there's ways to save money by doing that. I've been involved in a lot of this kind of activity when I worked in aerospace. And when you make a statement like that, there should be reports behind it that give you what an industrial engineer would say. And they have tools and, and, uh, software where they can go through and time, study things and tell you if your assumptions are correct. So to believe that this is really about economies of scale. I would like to see professionals involved to put that together. Otherwise, what I'm afraid of and the elephant in the living room to me is that this is going to be another way to try to skim money out of the water department. Speaker 2: Um, we've. Speaker 1: Grown accustomed to using that money, so I would object to put it in this on the ballot. Thank you. Speaker 4: Thank you. The public comment is only public comment online. Nope. We have a roll call vote, please, on this item. Speaker 0: Councilwoman. Councilwoman Sun has. All right, Councilwoman Allen, I. Councilwoman Price. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Councilman Sabrina. Speaker 1: Hi. Speaker 0: Catwoman. Mongo. I Catwoman zero I Councilmember Ranga. Speaker 1: Hi. Speaker 0: Councilman Austin. Hi, Vice Mayor Richardson. Speaker 2: Yes. Speaker 0: The motion is carried nine zero. Speaker 4: Thank you. That concludes those items. We're going to go to police oversight, the PCC. We are going to get a presentation from staff on this just because there has been some clarifying questions from from the council. And so we'll go through the presentation and then we'll go into any public comment and then council discussion. Mr. Morgan. Speaker 7: Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So we do want to take the time today to really dove a little bit deeper into this issue. There's been a lot of discussion going back to reports that we did independently from consultants going out to the community.

Resolution

Recommendation to adopt resolution requesting the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk to call, provide, and give notice of a General Municipal Election to be consolidated with the Statewide General Election to be held in the City of Long Beach (City) on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, and include the proposed Charter amendment to a vote of the qualified electors of the City relating to consolidating the City’s public utilities under Article XIV; directing City Attorney to prepare an impartial analysis of the Charter amendment; and, providing for the filing of primary and rebuttal arguments and setting rules for the filing of written arguments regarding a proposed Charter amendment to be submitted at said election. (Citywide)

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Speaker 7: Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So we do want to take the time today to really dove a little bit deeper into this issue. There's been a lot of discussion going back to reports that we did independently from consultants going out to the community. We did public safety meetings, we've done Charter Amendment Committee. But I want to wrap all that up today and really explain some of the differences between what we currently have and what we are proposing. We do believe that it is a stronger model, but it is a different model. And so with that, with change comes different approaches and things that we're trying to do to make this an even stronger model for oversight and transparency. So I will hand this over to our assistant city manager, Linda Tatum, who's been leading the charge in the past year on this effort. And we're supported by our PCC manager as well. Linda. Speaker 10: Thank you, Tom. So I'd like to start the presentation by giving you an overview of the timeline that we've been involved in this effort. And it starts back in, in 2020 with the adoption, the City Council's adoption of the reconciliation report that called for this assessment, this independent assessment of the PCC. And as a result of that adoption, the City Council actually funded in the FSA 21 budget, this independent assessment. So staff then proceeded to go through an RFP process and we selected police change integration as the firm to actually conduct this study. And they have a we selected them because they have a depth of of experience in doing these kinds of studies nationwide. So their work took about ten months. During that ten months, they did extensive public outreach. As Tom mentioned, they did community listening sessions. They met did a presentation at the Public Safety Commission. They also actually went and presented before the charter amendment or I'm sorry, the PCC itself as a result of that in February of 2022, earlier this year, they did a very detailed report to this to the city council, pretty much outlining what they looked at in the study . They they surveyed the models that they were considering for the city's consideration, given the issues here in this community. And as a result of that presentation of the various models and their recommendations, City Council in February directed staff to go ahead and initiate that. The Charter amendment process. And those two initial steps in that process involved a starting the meeting confer process, which staff did and successfully completed the Phase one meeting confer. The second part of that process was to have the city attorney prepare draft language for the charter amendment. So those two steps were done in February. It was started in February and then in June, once the charter amendment process started this, the charter amendment body can conduct at two public hearings. And both of those were both in both of those hearings that the item was continued to move forward. So this is the third and final public hearing for the charter amendment process. And we are hoping that the result here is that the city council would refer this item to the November ballot. So I'd like to talk a little bit about what oversight of law enforcement is, what civilian oversight is. So in the police report, there was a pretty good definition of what a police oversight actually is. And it's essentially when one or more individuals outside of the sworn police chain of command whose work specifically focuses on holding that department, its officers and its employees are accountable. Now, any police oversight really is is critical, but they have several, several attributes. If you could go back to that former slide for a second. I just want to touch on those really briefly. There are seven attributes that any really effective model needs to consider. Number one is independence. And that is something that means that it's independent and it doesn't report to a line department in the city department, but rather an independent entity. It also looks at how much information and access to personnel in the department that the the oversight body has. So that's really critical to them being effective and doing the work that they need to do in terms of investigations, review or monitoring or whatever their role is. Transparency and transparency, meaning that the operations and the work of that oversight body are made available to the public freely and without any constraint. And also that there's a reporting component to the to the model. The other one is adequate funding. That is something that has been considered and was recommended in the police report community engagement. It's critical that the community input be a key part of any oversight process, as well as the legitimacy of the actual oversight body. And lastly, there ideally, there should be some kind of evaluation of the oversight body and the oversight process periodically. Okay. So the next thing I'd like to talk about is where police spent a lot of time, in addition to getting feedback from the public, they spent a lot of time looking at essentially three core models that exist nationwide for how police oversight is handled. The first of those is a review model, and the name in the title really suggests what their primary focus is. And that review model, the the oversight body, essentially focuses on reviewing the investigations that were independently done by the by the internal affairs within the police department. So that is one model, a review model. The second model is the auditor monitor model. And this model, it functions specifically to look at systemic operational policies, training and operations within a police department. And there it looks at those and makes recommendations for improvement. So that's the focus of the audit or monitor model. The third model is investigatory models. And those, as it's the name suggests, you have civilian professionals that are actually doing investigation of complete complaints against the police department. So those are fundamentally the three models where you could focus. Now, the fourth model is a hybrid, which means that you could pick and choose depending upon your community's needs, its objectives. You can pick and choose kind of these pieces of those three models and put together. So what you see on the right here is a really high level summary of what our current PCC model is, because it is an investigation model. Essentially, our PCC investigates civilian complaints. Those are external complaints against the police department from the public. The L b our police department, internal affairs investigates those complaints, and then they take the results of those complaints, go to the PCC and they make a finding or a determination on the complaint and they make a recommendation to the city manager. And the fourth and the fourth step of that process is for the city manager to make a finding on the complaint. And that's a determination as to whether or not the complaint was sustained overturn or if the officer was exonerated. So what I'd like to talk about at a very high level, and then I'll go into it and on a little bit more detail, just because there is some complexity associated with it is the proposed model. What the police report showed is that what they recommended to this city, based upon the feedback that they heard from the public, a review of the operation of the current CC KPCC model. They recommended that the auditor model, auditor monitor term model, but a hybrid, meaning that they wanted the focus to be on audit. Systematic review of policies, training and operations within the police department. But to support that, the hybrid comes in because they also recommended having an independent police oversight commission and the two of those bodies would work together systematically to address the issues and concerns that that arise in terms of police complaints in our community. So I'm going to give you a high level overview of that. Again, systematic review of internal investigations. And in this case, it would be both external community external complaints that came about from community complaints, but also internal complaints in the police department that arise within the organization. It also specifies that the director would have the authority to conduct investigations and a very limited set of circumstances. That's when there is great bodily injury resulting from a complaint. In that case, they would actually have the authority, the authority to investigate the complaint or review the the complaint. And I'll go into a little bit more detail on that. But the other case that was really important that they have the authority is to investigate complaints against the police command staff. And again, another key component of this, this model is that the police oversight director would have access to all of the police department records, all of their reports. They would also have access to to personnel as witnesses, to any complaint incidents. And again, I talked about the critical component of this model being the commission, which provides the opportunity for ongoing, ongoing public feedback. So that you're hearing from the community at all times in the process about issues or concerns that that that the public may have about police procedures or policies. And lastly, this model includes recommendations, specifically given their independence directly to city council. Okay. So what you see in this light is just a it's a much broader comparison of the different types of models. I talked about the investigation focused model earlier, and this just gives you a little bit of comparison about these models and how they're how they are represented throughout the nation. In terms of the investigation focus models, there's about 18% of the about 157 police oversight organization or activities throughout the nation. About 29 of those are investigation focused. And one of the the primary purpose, as I mentioned earlier, is that this model, they really focus on actually having the civilian commission do the investigations. Now, a strength of that model is that it can potentially reduce some of the perceived bias in how complaints are handled, but it also may increase community trust in the investigation if they feel that it's completely independent. But of course, a weakness of this process and the investigation model is that it's often procedurally quite complex and it's also pretty resource intensive. And there's also some level of community frustration in this model when broad or systemic change doesn't occur as a result of the focus strictly on only investigating complaints that arise in the community. The next model I talked about earlier is the review focused. That's the one, again, where the Oversight Commission is focused on reviewing complaints that occur within the police department. They don't undertake the investigation, but they review the investigation after it's been completed by the fire department. Now, this right now or currently this is the most popular or the most most communities have this oversight model, about 61% of all of the ones across the nation are this model. This is an older model, but right now it's still the most numerous around the country. It really does focus, as it says here on review of completed investigations, but it does have some strengths because of the civilian input into the complaint and the investigation process. There is there it increases public trust in the investigation process. But the potential weaknesses of the review focused model is that it has limited authority because the authority is focused on investigations or review of investigations rather than a systemic review of all of the policies and procedures. The focus, again, being on complaints. So let's go to the third model, which is the auditor monitoring model. Currently, only about 20% nationwide have this model. However, this is probably the most the most the newest model that in the world of police oversight, it's the newest and it's the most modern. And increasingly as as new oversight models come online and communities. This is the model that is is is becoming most popular. And there are some reasons for that. Its primary purpose is to look really broadly and examine systems in a systematic way or a systemic way. Broad patterns in police discipline, a review of police policies, training and operations. And that's one of the reasons that it's used more recently in the modern police oversight models. Some of the strengths of this model is that it gives more robust public reporting because of the systemic approach to looking at policies, procedures and operations. You get a much better picture of the operations, and it's actually more it's more effective ultimately in promoting long term change within the police department. And some of the weaknesses is that the community may be skeptical of that systemic approach, and it does require a staff with significant expertize. So let's talk in a little bit more detail about kind of what we found when we look at benchmarking our community against other communities, particularly those here in California and in similarly sized cities. So to get that information, we went there is a National Association of Civilian Oversight and they they have a rich database of different models within different communities. So the police study looked at 26 different communities here in California, not including our RC PCC here in Long Beach. And what we did in comparing ourselves to other similarly sized cities, we looked at the city of Anaheim and Anaheim. They have the auditor monitor model and it's a hybrid because they also have a commission, a police oversight commission. We found the same thing in the city of Fresno and the city of Oakland. Again, all three of these had a hybrid auditor model. More auditor model. That's a mouthful. Auditor monitor with a commission. And in Riverside, they had the city had a review model. And lastly, in the city of Sacramento, they likewise had a hybrid model that had the auditor monitor again, the auditor monitor being the. More systemic review of policies, operations and procedures along with the Commission. Okay. So in looking at police oversight, in terms of how you would implement in the city, there are some really important factors to keep in mind. When you start thinking about how you implement or how what model you use, it's really is critical that you realize that civilian oversight of police, it is really it's not a policy panacea. It won't address all of the problems of police misconduct or or organizational and operational changes. But it is one really significant piece of that puzzle. So it's important that we keep that in mind that this this that any model that we choose will will need to be practice along with other really important tools. There's also no perfect model. I think each city has to look at its objectives and what it wants to accomplish and what the issues are in their community and design a model that really is customized to their needs as much as possible. And lastly, it's so important that oversight programs be grounded in those attributes I talked about earlier. But the really important components are making sure that the model is is is collaboration, and that's collaboration between the oversight body or the oversight director. And the commission is in the city's police department. And it's also critical. That there be a high level of transparency. Okay. So I will talk a little bit in more detail about the oversight model that is proposed. That is. Earlier, I talked about the auditor monitor model. It's a hybrid because what is being proposed is a clearly and a very significantly independent model. Our current model is is underneath the city manager. This model would not be underneath a city department, but it would be independent and report directly to the city council. So the two components of the hybrid model are the the director of police oversight. This person is hired and fired by the city council. Currently under a model. Now we don't have a director. It is. The KPCC is managed by a manager within the city manager's office. This director would report directly to the city council. He would have direct access to the police department, records, data and personnel and witnesses, including police personnel. And currently, under our current model, there's limited KPCC access to police data. As I said earlier, a very critical component is that they would look at systematic issues, look at patterns, data and trends and deficiencies within operations, policy and training. And right now, there is no authority of the current model to look in a systemic way at police operations. And the second component is the Police Oversight Commission that would be appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the council. They have their role would be to solicit or to get input from the community on areas of issues are concerned and they would provide feedback directly to the director regarding priorities for what areas need to be looked at based upon the feedback they get from the public. And they would also review the annual reports that the director would be required to provide to the City Council. So why did why did the art consultant recommend the auditor monitor model? We think that the basis for that recommendation is that this model gives us the best change, opportunity for systematic change within the organization because of the systemic approach to looking at the organization and the and a high level of community input and feedback and collaboration with the police department. And we we also saw that during that very extensive public hearing process, the community asked for independence. They wanted an independent body. They wanted more transparency and the need for oversight of internal affairs, as well as getting better a higher level of education about C.P.S. in the community. So again, I talked about some of these and I will I will go through these really quickly. Systemic issues addressed by the director. That does not occur now because the focus in the current model is on investigations rather than looking at systemic operations. There would be a timeline for when a recommendation is made by the director and a report to the City Council. This model includes a timeline for the police department to review the recommendation and respond and to ask for more time if they need it. I'd also like to just highlight that they can investigate major uses of force that result in great bodily injury upon the request of the city manager. That's a new authority that they do currently do not have. They also have the right to be on the scene of a critical incident, a critical incident being a a major use of force, a police shooting or something of that nature. They get to review all the complaints to ensure that all of the allegations included in the complaint are are appropriate. And they also are required to investigate specific types of incidents. And I mentioned earlier, if there is a complaint against the police chief or the command staff, it's appropriate that there be an independent investigation of that by the director. And lastly, provide an annual report to the City Council on their findings once they do the systemic reviews. So we feel that this model is a strengthened version of police oversight. I listed some of the bullets here that talk about what that role is. They get to review the commission itself. They get to review and provide feedback to the director, and they also play a role in hiring the director. So they have a very iterative process, working directly with the commissioner in terms of getting public feedback and then making recommendations to the director. Okay. Next. This I to. Here's how just in a really quick summary, how the director works with the Police Oversight Commission. It's essentially a feedback loop where the commission meets monthly and they get feedback from the community, they provide that feedback to the director. And I just give some examples of how that that could work. If there is a particular issue in the community that has occurred repeatedly based upon feedback, they can make a recommendation to the and to the director to investigate that particular area and prepare a report and recommendation to counsel. So there. The next one is I talked earlier about the systematic reviews or the systemic reviews. This involves the the director looking at operations, policies, procedures and training. And again, an example there could be if there's a number of calls for service in one particular area, they could ask the police department to look at the criteria for determining those calls for service and provide a report and a recommendation. Next slide. Again, I talked earlier about the comparison of those models, and I'll just focus here on the powers and duties, because I've talked about some of the other ones, both the PCC right now and the Internal Affairs Conduct investigations. We feel that that's redundant. So it's more efficient to go to a model where only the I.A., the Internal Affairs, is conducting investigation, but the director would have the authority to review those investigations that are completed. Next slide. Currently the P.C.C. Does have subpoena powers. However, under our current model, they rarely use that authority. But with a new oversight director, there would be no need for the subpoena power because the charter amendment would allow access to all of the police department records, to police personnel, to witnesses. They would allow them to be on the scene of a critical incident so they could observe it and make recommendations based upon their observations. And again, I talked about the community engagement. The proposal now bakes in that community input and engagement into the process, and that doesn't exist in the current model we have. Okay. So the director, they would have the authority in a use of force incident that results in great bodily injury. Here's a really quick rundown of what they get to do. They get to respond to the scene to observe how the investigation is being conducted. They get to review the complaint itself before it is investigated to ensure that the allegations are included. They get to audit the case to ensure thoroughness, timeliness and quality. And based upon the findings of the investigation, they can present recommendations to the police, to the to the city, the city council as a result of their investigation. Okay. Next slide. In the case of which which doesn't result in great bodily injury, say it's a police involved shooting, but it doesn't result in great bodily injury. They have the same authority there in terms of being on the scene, relying on their own observations. They can actually brief the they can request a briefing of the incident to the to the police commission or the oversight commission. And the director can actually review the investigation again for thoroughness, timeliness and quality. And if an officer involved shooting occurs, the director has the authority to investigate. If the city manager requests it. Again, the very specific role that the director is required to conduct the investigation is within is a case where there is a complaint against the police chief or any member of the command staff. That's where the independence is, is actually required and mandated as a part of this this model. And again, they will report those findings to the city council, and they will have access to all department records and data in order to complete that investigation. Okay. So I just wanted to reiterate that as a part of the City Council's initial recommendation to move forward with this charter amendment, they did give staff the authority to look at the current PCC operation and to start implementing improvements in that current process. And those are in the areas of transparency, making sure that the results of the operation are more available to the public. They ask us to look at training for both the commission and for the staff, and also to look at operations for greater efficiency in the current CPC model. So this is just a recap. There were substantial opportunities for public engagement, and I mentioned some of those earlier, and that also includes the two public hearings we've had so far to date, as well as tonight's public hearing. And I will just highlight that any change in the proposed charter amendment and language that's already been published and circulate it would require a meeting confer with the affected labor organizations. And if that were to occur as a result of tonight's feedback, it would fundamentally defer the the proposed amendment to the to the 2024 election cycle because there were just not be physically time to complete the meet and confer and still make the ballot. So the staff recommendation in closing is that we ask the recommend that the city council refer the matter to be placed on the on the ballot. We think that the auditor monitor hybrid model is a superior, stronger and more modern model than the one we currently have. It's responsive to the public feedback that we heard during the outreach process, and we think that it provides the greatest potential for systemic change and reform based upon a high level of collaboration between the the Oversight Commission, the director and the police department. That concludes that presentation. Thank you. Speaker 4: Thank you. Do have a motion by Councilmember Austin and Councilman Sara Johnson are awesome. Do you want to go to the public or you want me to comment first? Speaker 6: I'd like to go public first. Speaker 4: Okay. So, Madam Clerk, will you do the public comment, please? Speaker 5: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on item 19 and person, please line up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine now. Speaker 1: Hello again. I am very, very encouraged by this. I am very excited to hear something about this. I'm a strong advocate of we, the people. The people are the actual government up here. You folks, with all due respect, you're the representatives and the public servants. So when the people are empowered to have oversight, I'm extremely, extremely encouraged. And I appreciate this this being brought forth. I'm reading here. Forgive me. I am encouraged by the fact that it's independent. It's independent and as transparent as possible. I call it a win. And when I speak transparency, I mean as transparent as possible. Say, when someone goes to court, they are even if just accused and not found guilty, the public knows what's going on with who, where they are in the investigation, what things have gone on rather investigation. But in the case. So so transparency as much as possible is very encouraging. I'm not sure how deep it goes. I would like. I would actually like to read for the details. But I want to make sure that there is no absolutely no red tape from the police to state that, hey, there's an investigation going on and we can't share this information. This has to be, again, as public as possible with no red tape, or they must be compelled legally or face consequences. One or two people behind the whole thing is fantastic. However, again, being that it's public would be would be best. So that way they any sort of steps that they take the public know exactly where they are, who's involved, what steps are taking. So to people is great, but so long as their work is entirely public I believe would be would be best placed to say we should consider maybe termed employment for these individuals. That way they don't become entrenched and and shake hands with folks behind doors, possibly, possibly an elected type of type of position again. So that again. So it could be termed and and avoid entrenchment. No hiding behind a public investigation. Excuse. Excuse me. Writing. I wrote a lot of notes. This. I'll just. I'll just end with this. I guess we can be a model as as the presentation showed, others are doing it. But I think we can be a model to be the perfection of what it is. There is no perfect, but we can be as close as possible to perfection if we need to hold it off a little bit till 2024. I'm not saying we do. If in case I would rather we do it quality before quickly, because something like this is absolutely fantastic. And I'm again, I'm very encouraged. Last quick, quick note. Very, very on this on the side here, just a quick request on decorum. If the council members can maybe shut off their videos when they're eating big mouthfuls with noodles, hanging out of their mouths is very distracting. Thank you very much. Speaker 4: Thank you. Just 1/2, sir. Everyone that's going to speak, if you can, please just line up at the podium, please. Is anyone else speaking on this item? I'm going to close the speakers list. Okay. And then is there anyone on? Okay. Did you do the count? Okay. Great. Yes, sir. Go ahead. Speaker 1: Good evening. My name is Tom Beck. I'm an attorney. And I've done a great deal of litigation with the police department of your city over the years. In fact, I was instrumental in in seeing that the first CPPCC came into existence. And my concern then, and it continues to be today is whether or not a complaint by an or an aggrieved citizen reaches a fair conclusion and objective conclusion. The weakness in the current system notwithstanding what you've just heard. Is that although now the proposed oversight lacks the ability to investigate. It also opens the door for investigations at the discretion of the city manager. If it's a GBI, great bodily injury case or shooting or. Yes. By an officer, that that that's a hybrid to me the office that they're either going to have the powers to investigate especially those high profile incidents or they're not. And this is where the subpoena power becomes so important, because under the present system, the power exists. And if you've just been told that power is being taken away, if an investigation is being commanded by the city manager into a high profile incident, they shouldn't be confined to the parameters of the department's investigation into that incident because they may discover, for example, a very simple one, that if they can't subpoena the medical records of the person that was injured, to know the gravity of those injuries, whether they can be called GBI or not, GBI makes a difference. And that, to me, emasculated the power of the investigative oversight body. It's really at the discretion of the city manager to do it. And and the model that's being proposed patterns itself after the war, the way the United States Department of Justice overtakes the the administration of police departments, as it did in L.A., as it's done in Seattle and Ferguson, Missouri, where those persons reported to a federal judge, not to a city manager, and who had the authority to the cloud, so to speak, to do things that the city and its employees, its agency, were unwilling to undertake. So I think that those are weaknesses you all must consider before you decide to bump this to to the electorate, because the electorate electorate really won't know any of the things we're talking about. Thank you. Speaker 4: They can expect police. Speaker 2: Good evening. I want to thank you for a very thorough presentation. I do have I am in support of this commission, but I did have a couple concerns. First, I was just wondering how the community will continue to be engaged with this commission. I know that a part of why this commission was created in the first place was to ensure that the community has that direct line of communication with the Commission. And so I'm hoping that that is further clarified to ensure that that still does happen. Also, my other concern is that how this committee is selected. I know it's stating that the city council members and the mayor will be the ones selecting the committee, and there's really no input from the community itself. And I'm wondering if there's a possibility of opening the door that perhaps the community can have influence on selecting those committee members or maybe even voting those members into this commission? Because, again, this is about that line of communication with the community. And I'm sorry I may hurt some feelings right now, but as we talk about the criticisms of the city council and the police department, there's really no response to those criticisms, but instead continued praise for the Long Beach Police Department. So I'm just questioning if they're going to select people on that commission that will truly have oversight over the police department. I know in the presentation it was included that a potential weakness is that you need a staff with significant expertize to have truly true oversight. And so that's again, echoing my concern about who might be selected on this committee. And I think it's important to have people that have expertize in systemic racism and systemic issues within communities. So that's looking at, again, systemic racism, specifically issues of policing, the history of policing, not just in Long Beach, but in the United States as a whole. So I think that's really important for the commission and even the director specifically. My other concern was that it was mentioned that only the internal affairs would be investigating and that the Commission didn't necessarily have to. So again, I'm questioning how do we ensure that the Commission will be investigating the issues that are coming forward? And again, I think that's important through that ongoing communication with the community and full transparency, as someone else also stated earlier. Again, I've read the language in the recommendation prior to coming in and it just seemed very vague in terms of how much community input would be in this commission. And I'm hoping I'm hoping that we can really strengthen the language or just at least clarify community input. And again, I want to emphasize community input on the commission members and the expertize that is needed for those positions. Thank you. Speaker 4: Thank you next week or please. Speaker 1: Good evening, Mayor Garcia and counsel. And my name is David Clement and I'm a resident of the second district, Cyndie. And I had the honor of serving on the PCC a few years ago and I was chair one year and I was appointed by Mayor Foster, reappointed by Mayor Garcia and then supported by our Councilwoman Susie Price . Susie and I also served with Sully Sara one on one of the commissions and I Patrick Patrick Weathers over there. He's one of our investigators. In any case, I have always had the greatest respect for our officers, men and women in uniform. And I believe that the entirety of the CPC felt the same way. We have a great police department. I think the vast majority of our officers are of the highest caliber professionalism and integrity. But my position on this is I don't think that we should of I don't think you should vote on this. I don't think it should be passed. I don't think it should go to a to the ballot and for the following reasons. So I ask you to vote no on it. I believe that the proposed changes to the Charter will weaken the PCC, see PCC rather than strengthen the Commission. I think that will hurt. I think it's ironic, I think will hurt some of our most vulnerable, vulnerable people, people of color. Because because if we have this person, this person called the oversight director having to be somewhat subservient to our city manager, it seems like that kind of a conflict of interest, and I don't support that . I think that and it's ironic because these people are the same people who vote for the majority of our council members. So so I don't support this this amendment. I think that the CPPCC should be able to interview police officers if there's a complaint directly interview those officers. And I think that I think that the current CPPCC should be able to. I think that the fact that the city manager can overturn and review findings of the CPPCC, I think that that should. I think that's a little bit of a conflict of interest as well. So please vote no on this amendment. Thank you. Speaker 4: Speaker, please. Speaker 1: Good evening. My name is Stephen Downing. I'm a resident of Council District three. This is a pre-paid package. From a so-called consultant who did not compete. But rather got the job through a purchase order and then went through the motions to deliver. What we see tonight is a preordained package that works for the way it works for City Hall, but it doesn't work for the people. The proposed charter amendment guts every possibility. The people of this city ever had for true civilian oversight of their police department. What we have now in the PCC charter could have been improved, but clearly even that is made to work by eliminating the false barriers that have traditionally been put up to ensure that it did not work. Like interview of officers. Interview of witness officers obviously posed too great a danger. To City Hall image makers. And so tonight, the curtain will fall on the third act of one more firm performance of Long Beach political theater. This one billed as part of a framework or reconciliation. I fully expect the performance will receive rave reviews from behind the rail. We've all been able to rationalize their praise by pointing to the dishonest polling of 896 potential audience members. Made to believe that the $53,000 reconciliation bill. And that they read will actually result in a performance that delivers true civilian oversight. Well, those of us who are interested enough to attend the actual performance and all of the rehearsals leading up to it to know what a turkey. The oversight performance will really be so as a last appeal. All we can ask of those of you who will vote tonight is that you abandon the 63% crutch offered from that poll. Of those falsely led to believe a great performance will be delivered. Speaker 0: Thank you. Speaker 1: Your time is an individual thought. Speaker 4: Thank you, sir. Speaker 1: To the quality of the script. Speaker 4: Time is in play. Thank you very much. Speaker 1: Relationship. Speaker 4: Sir. I'm so sorry, sir. Time is up next. Speaker, please. And votes. Thank you very much. Speaker 1: Will these over the microphones? Speaker 4: OFFICER So, sir. Speaker 6: You mean that. Speaker 4: Your time is up? All right, sir. Thank you, sir. Time is up. Next speaker, please. Speaker 1: I would give Mr. Downing most of my time. My name is Richard Lindeman. I was with Julie Shiro on the Ship Commission and my share, but it's been pretty much a fraudulent commission since its inception. You know, it has no real bearing because it didn't matter what we decided. On any case, sometimes the city manager agreed with us. Usually when we said no, sometimes she agreed. A couple of times when we said yes. But it's still up to the city managers. Discretion. And that's where the problem lies. If we have something that has been. Recommended here. This should not stand at this point and it should go into actual. Election. And be a real independent. Organization because the ship she she is not. And this derivation of it is not. Again. Thank you. Speaker 4: You'd expect a police. Speaker 2: I carelessly here. Speaker 1: I did appreciate the professional report. I learned a lot from watching that. Speaker 2: Um, and. Speaker 1: I didn't have time to really digest it. It wasn't in the staff report, um, information. But my first question would be why would we choose the model. Speaker 10: That is least. Speaker 1: Likely to have public confidence? And that's on those charts. It said in there that you had to be you had to it was critical to have a high level of transparency with this chosen model. And, you know, Long Beach isn't famous for transparency. But when I read the documents on this, it talked more about confidentiality. So it would be very difficult to get transparency along with confidentiality. Those are two opposing things to me. Speaker 2: Um. Speaker 1: But my, my real question is, what is the problem we're solving? I can't figure that out. I mean, I hear it doesn't work, but it sounds like we're throwing out the baby. Speaker 10: With the bathwater. Speaker 1: We haven't gone through and picked out what doesn't work and what can we do to fix it. Right now, we have a citizen commission that has a lot of rights. They can initiate an investigation, hold hearings, subpoena witnesses, documented disposition. Those are big responsibilities. All of those authorities have been removed. So it sounds like we thought that was a failed model. And I think we're going to have to take out. Speaker 2: The word. Speaker 1: Citizen commission if we go with the choice that's being made here, because this is not a citizen's commission. This is a professional model. You're looking at bringing in a professional. Speaker 10: To do the. Speaker 1: Things that you had citizens doing anyway. Anyway, the investigative reports are. Speaker 2: Those. Speaker 1: Causing the city problems in court. I mean, I, I wonder I keep looking at this and saying, what is the problem we're fixing? Who benefits from it? And I just heard the last speaker say the peel away and city hall benefit. I'll tell you how I don't feel. We benefit. This is going to cost more. Speaker 2: We're going to. Speaker 1: Have to hire people to do this. So if if. Speaker 10: We were really. Speaker 1: Getting something better, perhaps that'd be worth it. But I just heard all those other speakers tell you that we're not financing the basics of running the city. I mean, we have a whole department that's working hours and hours of overtime, and we're talking about bringing. Speaker 2: In more high level. Speaker 1: Executives. That doesn't make sense to me. Thank you. Speaker 4: They can expect place. Speaker 2: Good evening. Your presentation was very informative and I too learned a lot. But it still leaves me with some questions. And I know that we need to do something. We got to do something quick and fast because we cannot continue down the path that we've been traveling historically with policing and what it brings to the community, especially for black and brown communities. There needs to be transparency. There needs to be accountability. And there's none of that. So when we look at an oversight committee, a committee, I do believe that maybe this instilled need to be involved with that as well, as well as having it brought to the attention and maybe put on the ballot so that citizens can vote on that to have a say in what's going on or who's chosen for that job position. With that being said, anybody that you've made a mention about having an expert, being expert in that in that field, for somebody to be an expert in the field for this director position, I question what does that actually mean? What are they are expert in? And what concerns me is that that now brings in another law enforcement mindset. And again, how do we screen out? Those potential risk. That is still a risk and they're still working hand in hand with police officers again. So with that being said, clearing those things up, making sure that we do have a community input in that, that's very crucial in there. If we're going to have accountability and trust to build community trust, the only way we're going to do that is if there's transparency and we're actually involved in that. So with that said, again, making sure that we clear out what are those expertize you're looking for involving the community in that? Yeah. Building up some trust and transparency. We need it all the way around. How do we work together? We can't continue down this path. The reality is people are still dying on the streets. And they look like me. Something's got to change. If you want law enforcement to have respect, they must have respect to the first and foremost accountability. How about we get rid of qualified immunity to black lives do matter. Speaker 4: Thank you. That concludes another public comment that's here lined up. I think we have a one that's going to be online and control. Speaker 5: Your time begins. Speaker 2: Now. I had my hand up for. Speaker 1: A previous comment. Speaker 2: I did not have my hand. Speaker 1: Up with this. Speaker 5: Thank you. Speaker 4: Okay. That concludes public comment. We have a motion by customer Austin customer in Austin. Speaker 6: And I thank you all as the mayor and I really want to thank the people who came out and provided public comment and provided input throughout this process to get us to this point of. I would just say that I had the privilege of serving on the Citizen Complaint Commission from 20003 to 27. I served as chair of the Commission and it certainly is not a perfect commission. And there were a lot of frustrations with the commissioners about, you know, sometimes a lack of power, lack of transparency, lack of authority to really make a difference. But I've learned a lot over the course of my time personally on the city council as well. I just want to give everybody a little bit of background. No. One Citizen Police Complaint Commission was put in place with 30 years ago, 1992. I believe the first executive director had a law enforcement background and the second executive director had a law enforcement background and the third executive director had a law enforcement background. And it wasn't until recently, maybe the last ten years or so, that the civilian kind of got the position of the executive director. But during the course of that period of time, we also saw the staff in that commission significantly reduced. Right. That's what the city council. That's what the city manager. And the effectiveness of that condition was was impacted as a result of that. The culture was set up early with the executive directors and the managers of that commission. And I can go into even more detail on that recently, just within the last couple of years. And I'll ask the city attorney, when do we find that that the City PCC had subpoena authority? Maybe you can help me out with that. Somebody. That's a request. Speaker 2: Yeah. This is Don Macintosh. We'd have to look into when exactly that happened and get back to you. Speaker 6: Councilman Ralston, I believe it was recently. Within the last couple of years. Right. It was actually the CPC does have subpoena authority. And for all these years, they did utilize this, this, this, this authority or this tool that they had. We had because we were told we couldn't ask certain questions and we couldn't get certain information. Well, I think that was a game changer. The opinion from the city attorney's office to give the city c. C. Subpoena authority. I'm I'm I mean, I like the fact that we've gone through this exercise and looked at other models. And even as I mentioned earlier, every model was meant to be changed. But I think this model can be actually changed and we can achieve this hybrid model that we're looking to achieve through a administrative action. Through two actions that our city manager already has the tools at his disposal to empower to commission even further the the proposed commission. To me, he values the citizens. Right. It takes the citizen component and assists an oversight component away from the model. And and and there's somebody, I think astutely mentioned it makes it a professional model. Right? It creates another IP manager with with the with the direct accountability to city council. But I mean, where's the citizen involvement? I think that's that's really what's missing here. And so I'm troubled. I want to and certainly I really want to make some similar reforms to our city PCC. I've always said that I think there are administrative tools and we can we can do one. One thing that was actually missed missing from tonight's presentation that we received a couple of weeks ago was actually the the the cost difference of of this is the current model versus what is being proposed is going to be significant. We're going to add several staff members to be able to support this this new auditor. Auditor model, but. The current motto is deficient with stealth. We have to ask yourself, how much better could this model be if we added a couple of investigators and we added the administrative staff to allow them to at least do their reports on time? I understand our reports. We haven't had a report. What was the last time the city council voted on a key report? Right. They're delayed. They're late because it's a staffing challenge. And I would challenge that to try to challenge me on that. This this stuff this model goes from 11 commissioners to seven commissioners with less responsibilities. This model doesn't apply for our commissioners, too, to investigate the small things that really impact people's engagement. It's not just the officer involved shootings and and great bodily injuries and use of force issues. It's this respect. It's the engagement that people have with police officers. This officer called me in a racial slur. This person, you know, mentioned my sexuality. You know, those are complaints that that the PCC deals with that won't be dealt with under this model at all. As I can tell today. Speaker 0: And so Jasmyne asked, is your time is up? Speaker 6: I'm just there. My time is up. I'll recruit. But I'm having a tough time justifying moving forward with this model and taking it to the voters because I think it needs some work. Thank you. Speaker 4: Thank you. So I can comment on some of that. I'm assuming that was not set in motion. Speaker 6: So my motion would be to not approve staff to make a recommendation tonight and continue to work on our own civilian oversight model. Speaker 4: Okay. So is there a second on that motion? Speaker 2: I'll second. Speaker 4: Okay, Councilman, give any comment on that. Speaker 2: No. Just open to hearing from my colleagues. Speaker 4: I have no one else queued up right now. I have a motion in a second. Anyone else have any comments? Speaker 2: I guess I'd like to ask a couple of quick questions. Councilmember Austin, I hear a ton of passion in your voice, and I know you have a lot of experience in this and. I guess I would ask what a timeline would be, because I think that. It's moving in the right direction. I do agree there are some challenges. I also know that the community. Is looking for change now. And I heard you say that you think within the scope of the city manager's authority, we could make some of those changes. What would that timeline look like and how will we involve the community in that? Speaker 6: Well, I'll just put forward my my recommendations based on what I've heard from them. People want independent commission. What? They want a commission with teeth. Well, the training for commissioners should be done independently about that, right? But the training of four police commissioners and maybe is that professional of auditor or investigator that comes in and provides that training improve the communication. The budget allows this commission to communicate with the public. The public gallery improve the public trust. Right. As it stands right now, it doesn't matter if it's a C, P, C, C, existing model or a a new model. If we don't we don't build a communication and. A way to engage the public. We're never going to have the public trust. We're going to have the same problem that we have today. Right. And so that that I don't even see that in this new model. And I think we need to staff this insurance, because you see with civilians, investigators and administrative staff, individuals that don't have conflicts necessarily. Those would be just initial. Speaker 2: And I think one of my initial hesitations as one of the public speakers came forward today and said. Who is selecting these commissioners. And I think that that's a big question. And the integrity of the body. I think that having community input in the selection of the commissioners could be a an important factor. And so I'm open to seeing where this motion goes. And also open to letting it go to the voters and them saying that they feel the same way you do. Councilmember Alston So thank you for your passion about this important matter. Speaker 4: Thank you, Councilwoman Ciro. Speaker 2: Um. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I'm. I'm really curious. Why? What is it you know about? Because we have a from 11 commissioners to seven, which will still be part of representative, that there's still going to be city resident commissioners. So so the question I wonder I have is how is it are residents still able to make complaints to I.A. as they normally would? So people who have concerns still everyday people about the police would still be able to do that, right? Speaker 10: That is correct. There is no change in that process in terms of them being able to go to the police department, because right now, the majority of the complaints that we receive to see PCC come directly through the police department so that process would not change. Speaker 2: And as far as my understanding, having also served as the chair of the Citizen Police Complaints Commission, I have heard loud and clear from many of my colleagues here about I mean, one of my colleagues who I serve here shared that he feels this is a much more independent process that will allow the that that residents voices who made the complaint would be heard even more because it's not going to be going through the concerns. I've heard a lot from my colleagues who served on the commission with the concern about it going through the city manager versus now it's going to be investigated by an independent individual, will be able to look be able to review numerous materials that we don't have access to. But they will also this director would also have the ability to report to the commission on his that person's finding as well. Right. Speaker 10: That is correct. The any report that's prepared by the director would go to the commission on and wrote to the city council. Okay. Speaker 2: So I felt that there was a thorough process in getting feedback from our consultants and really felt like this is a redesign based on what people have asked for. Obviously, the next steps will be determined by the voters in order for us to determine how the next process will be. So I like to make a substitute motion and go back to supporting our original item on the agenda right now. Now, second, that. Speaker 4: There's a substitute motion to go back to. I believe the the staff recommendation is that if that's the way to phrase it, to move to the charter amendment, to move to the ballot. There's a second one. Councilman Allen. Uh, let me keep going on the less councilman knowledgeably comment on the second. Okay. Councilman Austin. Speaker 6: Thank you so much. Well, I want to be clear. I support civilian oversight very much. I was very much involved in the process. I'm just not sure that and nothing convinces me that this is going to change or add the public confidence that we're looking to of this deal. I would ask the city manager, can you do a comparison in terms of what our existing model is right now and what it what you propose to be? I thought it was $1.4 million and an additional was five staff or civilian oversight versus our current model and 2.5 full time employees. Is that correct? Speaker 10: The current model is 2.5 employees. And the the recommendation is for an additional four employees. The net additional cost under this new model is point just shy of 1 million as point nine. 900,000 to add the additional employees and the support for the Commission. Speaker 6: And. Well, I mean, I think, you know, obviously, you know, we want to make sure that we are a quality city when that's all we can. We're in our budget process right now, and we heard a lot of public comment about employees and workforce challenges. I would just venture to say that we have a lot of other priorities right now that we should be putting additional an additional million dollars toward right now. Or we could bolster the existing PCC with staffing. Right. And get a stronger result out of the existing model that we have today. And that's that's that's the whole my my and my only that that that's a that that's something that I think is you to taking the strong consideration. You know I understand yes we went through a a great process and doesn't mean that that that at the end of the day, we come in we're walking out with a perfect model because this is certainly what is proposed, not a perfect model. And you heard that from staff as well. You heard this. You're going to have the same criticism. There's going to have confusion. You're going to have citizens who are confused with the model and don't know who to put a report to or how to even access it. Those are challenges with the existing model that will continue to be the situation if we are all forward with what is recommended recommended today. And I would just just say to you, ultimately, the accountability for civilian oversight rests with this body at city council. Right. We are the responsible people for this. We we set the priorities. We set the tone for our city. We set the budget. We are the people that are accountable for failures in our systems. If our city manager is oversee PCC and the PCC is not functioning, then that's on us because we hire the city manager and he hires the manager for the city CC. I honestly believe that we have the ability to have a strong hybrid model, to build the model that we have with the tools that we have today. And and what we heard earlier from our police department should have been encouraging because there's a there's a culture shift within policing as well. So with that, I mean, that's fine. There's been a subsequent blessed motion. You know, we can play this game and go back and forth. I will offer to substitute. Substitute motion. Right. To. To consider to to further study this matter. Right. And and it has to come back to the city council at a later date with three options for civilian oversight that that will help meet our needs of the public trust, accountability and transparency. That's my most. Speaker 4: Thank you. There's a substitute motion to substitute. Substitute motion? Is there a second on the substitute? Substitute motion, please. Speaker 6: Okay. Speaker 4: So there's a I believe there was a council on bongos. Did I hear that correctly? Speaker 2: I'm happy to do it. I thought it was Roberto, but. Speaker 1: I could be wrong. Speaker 2: I'm happy to be the second. I also have a question now. Speaker 4: Yes, it was. There was no no one's done the second yet. I heard someone from the video. I thought it was on second. Okay. There's a there's a substitute substitute motion which I think we've heard. Did you have comments come forward, Marco? Speaker 2: I do. I'd like to ask the makers of all motions on the floor to consider a friendly amendment that. Immediately, regardless of if this passes the voters or goes to the voters, depending on which motion passes that the city manager is instructed to include the additional staffing effective October one with the passage of the new budget year . I'm comfortable with both options on the floor, but I do strongly feel that both Councilman Zorro and Councilman Austin, who served on this commission, feel that it is significantly understaffed. While we all agree that there are lots of needs in the city and that are important and we have heard from the community that they would like additional oversight. And I think that an immediate way to do that, regardless of which method we choose, is to staff the commission appropriately. So, Councilmember Austin, are you open to that friendly amendment? Speaker 6: Absolutely. Speaker 2: And I know that I cannot make a friendly amendment to a motion that is not currently on the floor. But should this motion fail, I ask that any subsequent motion. Consider my friendly. Thank you. Speaker 6: I would just. Just ask. Yes? What would you think is appropriate staffing? Right. Currently we have a manager, maybe an investigator and a kind of admin or half time academy of. I think at least two investigators need to be added to this and a full time admin of. So point from 2.5 to 2 to four or five is to me would be appropriate to have. Speaker 2: As chair of Budget Oversight Committee. I. I'm going to yield that to you and say yes. Speaker 4: Okay. Thank you, Councilwoman. I have Vice Mayor Richardson. Speaker 3: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Just a few thoughts on this. And it's been a while since we had a substitute substitute conversation. So I'm actually kind of excited about this. Just real quick, just in terms of process, if this doesn't move forward tonight, it can't happen for the this election. It has to be reconsidered for future election. Right, 2024. I don't know that I want to pass this discussion on to a future council. I won't be a part of that council. So I would like to, you know, take some action. I will say a few things. One, I appreciate the history that was given to my you know, about how sort of the staffing had changed. And at one point it was law enforcement focused and it was more civilian. And I appreciate that. But I think that actually underscores the flaw with the PCC is that any given council or city manager with a different style or leader can have a deep have a significant impact on how effective it is. And it's largely outside of the, you know, one paragraph or so the small, you know, the description within the charter. Most of it is programmatic. And program can be powerful, certainly, but policy is progress. And I think what I like about the hybrid model is that it acknowledges that we live in systems. The police department is a system guided by policies made by people. And times change and standards evolve. But if the charter if your system isn't evolving, it's difficult to make sure that we are always getting better. And I believe that systems should always get better. Looking at a system that evaluates both the ability to go in because it's a hybrid going and review investigations. With citizens, but also to have an auditor who's like keeps a lens on trends and systems. I think that's interesting and I think that is a more modern model. I would ask that staff just pull up that slide. That compares the three models because I really I think that was really telling and I hadn't seen that slide before. No. The one that said the positives and the negatives. As I said. Okay. So, yeah, so I thought this was good. If you take review focused and auditor focused and you compare the positives, the strengths and weaknesses, I think these are some of the things that people have been asking for. So if you look at review focused because we're moving away from investigation focused because there's right now there's two investigations, there's an internal investigation and a citizen investigation. This model allows you under review to review the internal investigation and to audit trends. So here's what I think is great under potential strengths provides civilians inputs and input into the complaint. Invest into complaint investigations. That's a good thing. May increase public trust in the investigation process. That's a good thing. Then when you look at auditor monitor focused, often more robust public reporting, that's transparency. That's something people want to see. That's something I'd like to see. That's a good thing. May be more effective in promoting long term systems change in policing. That's something that's a priority for me, that we continue to have a better police department and a better city in the long term. So I actually like that long term view. I also like the slide that that highlighted that we're looking at best practices across cities that are our size. Fresno, Oakland, Riverside, Sacramento, Anaheim, when we think about policy, is always good to look at other agencies that are similar in size because as they evolve, we should evolve as well and learn from their best practices and improve on it. We should be a leader and help improve those areas as well. I also like this presentation, provide examples on how because that had that wasn't there before you provided examples on how this could be used. And you know, before I run out of time, I'm going to ask you to go over those examples again now. Not right now, but I'm gonna make a point, I think often. The discussion when things happened is what happened. I think there's not enough discussion about why it happened and how we keep it from happening in the future. And that's what's interesting to me about looking at the systems model by including the auditor controller. That's what's interesting to me. So I know that the PCC is not perfect and I know that it hasn't been funded the way it needs to be funded and that needs to be corrected. I also know there's a transition in place should this be adopted by voters, and we should fund that immediately to make sure that we don't miss a beat. But I think we have a responsibility to take what's been presented, and I like the timeline that is presented today from reconciliation, all the discussion two years ago to today. We have a responsibility to put this in front of the voters and let the voters decide. So I support moving forward with staff recommendations tonight with also adding what Councilmember Mongeau mentioned in terms of let's make some recommendations to improve CPC staffing, staffing today. And that's where I am on this. Thank you. Speaker 4: Councilman Mongo. Speaker 2: Thank you. I want to say that the thing that I'm frustrated with is. The. I followed this all along and I know the staff member who was leading this is no longer with the city, but. This is a. When you talk about a city as large as the Titanic and you take a step like this, this is a titanic turning decision. And I am just disappointed in the staff that this is happening at the 11th hour because I feel like the items being brought forward have put us as a council in a really tight sort of a I hope that the city brings back alternatives that are better, which I know there are some or a accept this and put it towards the voters. And if the voters feel, as some have stated today, that they're frustrated with this, I worry about the additional lack of public trust that can come from putting forward something that they don't the community doesn't feel heard their needs. I do really appreciate the points brought up by Councilmember Richardson, and I appreciate that the proposal is ambitious and says this may happen or that may happen. But I think what I heard from the community is. There's not a system to guarantee it. And I get it. We're all people. And and the system is based on the people within it and that they do the right thing and we select the right people. And I again, that's why I've been torn tonight. But I do want to appreciate the staff and the work that they've done so far to get us to where we are and to help us have a option and option. And I would just ask that. We look back at this in two years and say that items like this should be coming before the council with at least 120 days of deliberation where all presentations have been brought forward appropriately. With that, I support both the substitute substitute motion and the substitute motion, and I appreciate the staff and all the work they've done. And I think we've learned some good lessons today, and I appreciate the community for coming forward with some really good input and feedback. And I applaud Councilmember Austin for trying to make those steps to make the the resolutions and changes that he hears from the community. And I also appreciate Councilwoman Zoro and her pursuit of a solution for the the voters to consider. So thank you. Speaker 4: Okay. Back to basically Richardson. Speaker 3: Just one thing that I left off on. I didn't actually allow you to finish the question. I asked you to just review one time those examples that you gave, because I thought that was very compelling to help explain to the public. What we can do now that we couldn't do before. If you could just do that. That would be helpful. Thank you. Speaker 10: The three specific different examples. So scenario number one, this is a case where the director it's it's outlining the director's authority when there is a use of force incident that's resulting in great bodily injury. The director can respond to the scene and observe the investigation and how it's being handled. They do not have the authority to do that now. They can review the complaint before it's investigated to ensure that all of the appropriate allegations surrounding that particular case are included in the investigation. There is no opportunity to do that under the current model. They can audit the case to ensure that the investigation is thorough, that it's done in a timely manner, and that it's done with the highest level of quality. Again, there is no opportunity right now for the PCC to actually audit an investigation and make recommendations based on the findings from the investigation. The director can present the recommendations for the police department. Any thing regarding policy practice or changes, those can come to the City Council under this model. That is not an authority that the see the current C PCC has where any of their recommendations come to the City Council. The director has the authority to investigate the use of force incident when it results in great bodily injury. If it's requested by the city manager, again, that is not that is not a current authority that the PCC has. So that there's example number one, that was one, there was a great bodily injury. Scenario number two, the director has the ability to respond to the scene, to observe the investigation and how it's being handled. They can rely, obviously, on their own observations of the scene when considering the evidence that's being collected and the witnesses being interviewed . Again, that's not an authority that they have currently. The commission can receive a briefing from the the police department and the director on the specific incident where it's an officer involved shooting so that they can understand how the event will be reviewed and how it will be processed by the department when the department conducts their investigation. The director can review the investigation for thoroughness, timeliness and quality. They can, based on the findings from the investigation when it's completed by the the I.A. and the the their review of the part of the investigation. They can present recommendations for the the department regarding policy or practices. And again, those recommendations will come directly to the city council for consideration. And lastly, if an officer involved shooting occurs, the Director has the authority to investigate that officer involved shooting if it's requested by the city manager. And just to go back on that one case, if you could go back 1/2 and on this one, the city manager's role here is to request that they investigate. They would not be actually conducting the investigation. The the Internal Affairs Department would continue to investigate. That is always their role. But the city manager can request a specific investigation for this type of incident. Lastly, the third is a case where there is a complaint against the command staff. The director has the authority to investigate a complaint against this, the police chief or the any of the command staff. If he's requested by the city manager, the director would conduct that investigation and provide a report of their findings directly to the city council. As I mentioned earlier, just want to point out that in this case, we talked about the communication directly with the commission. Any report that's prepared by the director would come to the commission so that there is a public review of that report when prior to its being forwarded to the City Council. Thank you very much. Lastly, the director has access to all police department records, reports, personnel and witnesses. And again, that is an authority that the the current model does not provide. Speaker 4: Thank you, Mr. May. Go back a councilmember Superman and then come from here. Austin. Speaker 1: Thank you. So on the slides, Linda Tatum could reiterate there. I think I heard at least on two of the bullet points. Speaker 9: There is a. Speaker 1: Caveat of if you. Speaker 9: Know, asked by the city manager, my understanding was this whole idea was to give the director autonomy in the city manager. So my question is, are we just following some other cities. Speaker 1: Model and we've or was. Speaker 9: Is there a is there some rationale for why that. Speaker 1: Caveat is in there on a couple of bullet points? Speaker 10: The point of including that language in there is to stress that because this is not an investigative model, it really is designed to ensure that in some cases that are of great concern to the community that the city manager has a role or a role in asking to ensure that those incidents of interest to the community, that there is a path so that the investigator can then review those. I'm sorry, the director can then review the investigations are conducted by the police in those specific incidents. Again, it's just highlighting and encouraging greater transparency to the community in those incidents because otherwise. Well. Speaker 1: Maybe I didn't frame my question. Right, but I'm. Speaker 9: Unclear on. Speaker 4: Why. Speaker 3: The city manager has a. Speaker 1: Role here. We're hiring a director, paying him a lot of money. Why does the director have that authority. Speaker 3: Without without. Speaker 6: Approval from the city manager? Speaker 10: I see. And I understand your question again. I think the interest there was because this is not an investigative model. The idea is to try to to to not have this body or this director be consumed with investigations, because their primary role is to look at the whole process policies, procedures and operations much more systemically and to minimize the incidents in which they would need to actually go directly into reviewing a particular case. Speaker 7: And this is well, this is. Speaker 1: Time. I just it from comment that what I've heard generally over the years is that. Speaker 6: The city manager did. Speaker 1: Not act when there was an expectation that the city manager acts. I see the flaw here that we would be back. Speaker 9: To square one. Speaker 1: Possibly, but we spent a lot more money for the process. So in that regard, I'm tending to want to support the steps up by Councilman Brosnan. Thank you. Speaker 7: And if I can help clarify, this is done. This really is designed where the city manager will not have authority over the director. They don't report to me, which is currently the CBC staff report to me. They report to you. So you will hire them. You will fire them. All the things that Linda mentioned, the ability to review, the ability to be on site. None of that requires city manager involvement. There was a provision, though, to say in the event that we say we want them to be more involved in an investigation, that's when the city manager could request that they be more involved in those lives, their duties. But all the reviews, what they pick, what they choose to look at, how they make the recommendations. The city manager has no involvement in that. I can't direct them and I don't want to I want them to be completely independent from me. So I just wanted to make that clarification. Speaker 4: Thank you. I'm going to go back to actually Councilman Austin. Councilman Price, I want to make some comments and then we'll go through the votes count on behalf of our outfit. Speaker 6: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Listen, I understand we have an election coming up in November. Right. And, you know, there are there are those on this council who are enthusiastic about, you know, making change and and getting something done right. I'm I want to get something done, but I want it to be done right. I would. Our charter gives the city council the authority to direct the city manager. Because we we are elected by the legislative body. We can direct the city manager. We don't do that. Direct any other personnel in the city. A city manager. Right. Since then, almost every council item one before the council. Right. We hired a city manager. We fired a city manager. Some wonder what's being proposed here. Is in order. Model that. The City Council would hire. Right. But nowhere in this does it say that the city council has any sort of authority to direct that individual. Two votes. Right. But you hear now is that the city manager has the ability to do that. Right. And so I think there's a there's a flaw here that that is one that that. Needs to be considered strongly. Again, I support civilian oversight. I work on one of what are the civilian oversight process to have achieved and be well versed. But I want to be thorough with it and I want they good policy. And I think, you know, there's a lot to be desired here. I'm really concerned about the excess cost. And and there's no guarantee that we're going to get the return award on this. Why are voters and by the way, you can send anything related to civilian oversight to the voters. They're probably going to pass it. Right. We understand that. We understand that. Just like, you know, there's a there's a number of other things that you just put before the voters. They're going to vote for it because in theory, they support it. Everybody supports oversight, but I think they want good policy and they want us and they're looking to us to bring forward good policy. Sound policy. But we are being fiscally responsible. Are we are we are we checking the boxes? And again, to Councilmember Michael's point, this does feel a bit bit rushed. You know, and again, we should not put something on the ballot just to say that we did it to check the box. Let's make sure we get it right. Speaker 4: Thank you. Councilman Price. Speaker 2: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So I did want to highlight what the city manager just reiterated, that allowing the city manager to initiate an investigation or review does not mean that the director is precluded from doing so. Is that correct? Leicester City manager. Speaker 7: No. Can you rephrase that? I wasn't quite following the question. Can you say that again? Speaker 2: Sure. So. So the language that Councilman Super not talked about with the provisions that allow the city manager to request an investigation or a review does not preclude the director from being able to look into matters. It's just that if they don't and the city manager wants them to or thinks that they should, they can direct them to. Speaker 7: So I think the issue is the review versus investigation. The investigation is is conducting a specific investigation. And since that's not their role anymore, that would be with the police department, unless it was specifically requested by the city manager in certain instances as like an extra step on top of what police is doing for the reviews or anything. They want to ask questions about if they want to know about a specific complaint and what happened. They have no, they don't have to ask me. They don't have to do anything. They have the full authority to do and review at anything and everything. All policies, even specific investigations they're allowed to pull and say, I want to see 10% of all investigations that are done and review every single one of those and have all access. And they don't need city manager approval at all for that. It is just if we ask them to go into an investigative mode where, for example, if the chief of police comes under a complaint, I need to do that separately. Then in the police department, we would have the ability to request this commission to do that for us, and they would look at it completely independently. Speaker 2: Okay. You know, I understand. I appreciate everyone's comments and I definitely do understand where everyone's coming from. But, you know, I what I don't understand is the reference to this as being this 11th hour kind of decision. We've been talking about this charter amendment for a very long time. We've taken input. We've offered comments and. And I think there's been a lot of. Input into this process already. And I think that. The voters and the residents of the city want to see us move forward with a model that's better than what we currently have. It may not be the perfect model. It may need adjustments down the road. It may need us to make further modifications in the form of additional amendments by vote of the people in the future. But I think that we've been working towards progress and my thoughts and I completely hear what you're saying, Councilman Austin, but my thoughts are if we were to go with the substitute substitute. Where does that leave us in terms of any major modifications to the commission? Does that then put us in a situation where we're looking at additional recommendations by consultants for additional models for the next election cycle? Because if that's the case, then I don't know that that's fair to the voters who have been engaged in this process up to this point. So maybe if I can have some clarification on that, because, you know, we've we've been engaged. We've all been asking questions. We've been talking to people. Some of us have talked about this, the community meetings. And so I think the process that we've we've arrived at today, to me, does not seem like an 11th hour. But that that could just be to me. But I'd like to hear your thoughts. Speaker 6: Well, what you haven't heard is the city manager say that that he doesn't know or they lack the authority to create a hybrid model that actually can implement some of these recommendations without going to the ballot. And maybe that's a question for the city manager. Is that possible? And what can you do to create a hybrid body model that goes beyond the investigative model of potentially includes some of the review and potential maybe auditor authority? Can we create a position? I mean, without going to a ballot? I mean, is that possible? Can we tweak this this model under our current with our current model? So this is time to take your time. But that's a that's a question for. Speaker 2: I think those are very fair questions. So I don't view it as taking my time at all. I love the answers to those questions as well. Speaker 7: Yes, this time. So we didn't cover it tonight, but there were recommendations in the police report on how to improve the current CBC model. And if you remember back when we presented that to you back in February, when we made this decision, do we move down this road or not? We gave the option. If we don't, we would still recommend that you make improvements to the CBC. There are things, though, that we're not able to change in the charter. It specifies what they do and what they're not allowed to do. And so those we would not be able to change without going back to a charter amendment. But in terms of adding investigative staff, in terms of improving the way that we report on things, you know, there's a number of those that we can review with you that are in the report that we think are good ideas. So one way or the other, whether you support this tonight or if we don't support it tonight, we would be making changes to the CBC. Speaker 4: And let me let me go back to Councilman Price and kind of wrap up this debate. Councilman Price, you have any additional comments or questions? Speaker 2: The only thing that I wanted to comment on is a lot of the frustration for me is the lack of structure right now for this auditor position, for this director position. And I know that we I asked about it last week and we said that at some point once the charter amendment goes to the voters, then we would sit down and we would talk about the structure. But my concern about the position is it sounds great in theory, but I'm worried that the position could be politicized by virtue of the fact that it reports to the city council. And I mean, you know, no offense to our current structure, but, you know, people count the votes and they see where the majority is and priorities shift based on where the votes are. And that's a to me, that's a fundamental flaw with just our current process right now that we have with our city manager structure. And I don't want to see that structure. And that that's that's that's not to criticize anyone. I'm just saying it's a flaw in the process. And I would hate to see that floor carried over to an important role like this, because what we don't want is a role like this to be politicized. But I understand the structure of this position is not something that would be formed prior to being approved by the voters. But that is a concern that I have that I want to make sure that I articulate. Speaker 4: They could count on. I think that any other I don't see any other council comments on the on the board. I want to make some comment and then we'll go to our series of votes. So I'm just going to just say a few broad comments. I do appreciate all the comments we heard today, and I especially appreciate what I'm sorry, Councilman Mungo, additional comments. Speaker 2: Thank you. I would just amend my from the amendment to say not only should we consider the stopping, but regardless of whether or not this goes on the ballot, I think that Mr. Votacao should start a process of implementing those things that were recommended. Or at least bring back a list of those things that were recommended by the consultant that we can implement immediately. October one with the resources and that would be my modified friendly. Councilmember Austin's okay with it and I. Regardless of what happens, I proposed the same to Councilwoman Sorrell. Thank you. Speaker 6: To that end, that's what we want to hear. So I certainly accept that from the can. Speaker 4: Thank you. That's for the motion that's on the floor. So let me go back and save a few a few comments. So I want to just first say that I do appreciate the different opinions of the council and the community. This is a really important topic, and I think the reason why folks are struggling is because we have a system currently in place that does not work. I think we gotta be very clear about what's happened over the last couple of years. We started out this endeavor with this idea that we believe the PCC needed to have reform. And in talking to folks that currently serve, that have served in the past, it's no question that many of the folks that currently serving have served also believe that it needs to be reform more broadly speaking. We have to remember that we've been working within the confines of something that the public has passed, and it's been in place now for decades. At the end of the day, the idea of a reformed and reformed commission is to provide more police accountability for there to be more direct accountability from the public to our police department and to build trust. The current system we have and we've had incredible people serving on it, including two members of our city council, is not providing the level of oversight that I believe this moment and the public have demanded. And so we can choose to continue doing what we've been doing in the past. That, in my opinion, has not worked. But there have been there have been good efforts. And the people that serve on these commissions have done really, really great work and have worked really hard to be the best possible commissioners that they can be . So this is not on them. It's a system that we have in place or we can actually try to make some reforms and created more a system that is more accountable, which I believe the public has been demanding in protests and letters in coming before us and asking us to do more in in this area personally, particularly during the George Floyd protests that happened and all the actions around Black Lives Matter that were happening. I personally made a commitment to many community members that we would look at the PCC as a place that needed reform. To me, I think at the center of what makes this proposal strong is the auditor system that is appointed accountable to. The City Council. And in a democracy, any time you make a position more accountable or directly accountable to the body, which is accountable to the public, I think it's a stronger system. The the city council only appoints a not even a handful of physicians. You appoint a city manager and you appoint a city clerk. Those are the two positions that actually this body actually hires. This would create a third direct report. Where you would have an auditor system but is also accountable to the council. And the council is the democratic representative of the public. And if the public demands change are going to go through the council, they go to the mayor and sort of create a system where you don't have a layer of bureaucracy which currently exists within the system we have now. And the city manager, you're actually creating a position that is as close to the public as possible, in my opinion, in a representative government, which is why I think this model is so unique. It has, and I think the potential is really strong. I also want to add, as far as it concerned, some of the concerns that were brought up and I respect all of them. I'm not concerned with costs. This is a incredibly important issue. And you know what? We're talking about 100 hundreds of thousands of dollars or millions of dollars. We're talking about ensuring that people feel that their law enforcement is accountable to the public. And so I think the cost is worth the investment that the city should make. And I think we think that the public has demanded us to invest in ways that bring transparency. And I think this this reform commission is able to do so. I will also just note that. This initial proposal was brought to the Council in February, I believe it was February, January, February, and the staff have been working at the direction and input of the Council to actually present what it actually is in front of us. So this has been a a build building block on building block of different types of suggestions from from the public. And I will also say, see this and I disagree some I actually trust voters. I believe that that people can go to the ballot and make decisions on what's in front of them. And I do believe that we either choose to continue the system we have now for another couple of years because this would not be able to be on the ballot. It's a charter amendment, I believe, until 2024. Or we put a different model in front of the voters for them to decide. But this other additional model could be better. I personally believe this model that that is being proposed by staff and the consultants and the community input is a better model. Is it the exact model that I personally would have written or designed myself? I think it would have been something that I may have made different, but it's a consensus that staff and folks that you guys consulted, including current commissioners, former commissioners in the community developed. And so I do support moving forward with this recommendation of putting this on the ballot. I understand that other folks may not support that, and that's okay. And we have different opinions on that. But I will add that there are very few things that are stronger than a new direct report to this body. One which I will not serve on you will all of you will still be here, and that the public can hold this council accountable to the actions of the auditor and how the auditor is monitoring and investigating any issues that relates to law enforcement, the police department, which is which is why I support bringing this forward. But to the public to vote on it. I believe, Councilman, I'll see you cued up again. Councilmember Austin. Speaker 6: Yes. Mr. Mayor, you said a lot there. I won't respond to everything, but I will just say that I will remind everybody here that I was the city council member about for the initial motion to request for reform of the P.C.C. So I still very strongly support reforming the PCC. I think I've talked about starving thought PCC for many years. And with all due respect, Mr. Mayor, you have 14 years to care about funding PCC and civilian oversight. We haven't gotten to that point yet. And so we could throw we could have we could have put a lot of resources into the existing model that we have to to to build that public confidence, to build the public trust, to to to ingratiate that that that commission with the voters and with the residents of the city. We failed. And I would say as a collective body, the city council has failed in that regard and we need to eat it. So if my motion fails tonight, that's fine. I mean, you've weighed in, Mr. Mayor. That's great. I will support the subsequent motion to put this on the ballot, if that's the case. But I can't guarantee you that that I will I will recommend people vote for this, because I see some inherent flaws in the policy. And and I think we can do a lot better without going to the ballot. I think we could we could we could fix this internally. Everything doesn't need to go to the ballot. And and when go to a constitutional amendment right, the only way to fix it is going back to the ballot. Okay. That's that's if we've learned anything from from this this exercise 30 years ago when Alan Lowenthal brought the PCC, the existing model to the city of Long Beach, a city council member, and he championed this as a as a model. We are now, 30 years later, looking to amend it because the only way we can do that is go into the ballot. Right. But I also say that there are there are tools that we can employ as a city council and with our city manager to fix the model. There were a number of recommendations in that study that we're well aware of, and obviously that wasn't part of the presentation. There are a number of recommendations in this study that could be employed and put forward tomorrow to fix the PCC and make it a more robust commission and more responsive to the residents. So with that, I'm done. I'm happy to take the vote getting a vote now in the end of the session. Speaker 4: Thank you. We're going to go to a vote. I accept. I heard Councilman Price's additional comment. Speaker 2: I just have one clarifying question, Mr. Mayor. If we wanted to have additional changes and we didn't put it on the ballot tonight or approve this, would it be 2024? Would that be the next time or would it be 2020 when one would be the next opportunity? Speaker 4: Mr. America. Speaker 7: Charter changes are only allowed on the general election, so every two years you can do a charter change. Speaker 2: Got it. Okay. Thank you. Speaker 7: 2024. Speaker 4: Thank you. Thank you. We have a motion by Councilmember Austin and second by Councilwoman Mango. That is a sub substitute motion. Please roll call and cast your votes, please. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Cindy has. Speaker 2: You may. Speaker 0: Catwoman? Speaker 2: Allen No. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Price. Speaker 2: Nay. Speaker 0: Councilman. So. But now. Speaker 1: I. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Mangum. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Sarah. Speaker 2: Ney. Speaker 0: Council member TURANGA. Speaker 2: They. Speaker 0: Councilman Austin. Speaker 6: I. Speaker 0: Face May Richardson. Speaker 3: Now. Speaker 0: Motion fail. Speaker 4: We have the substitute motion, which I believe was by Councilwoman Sato and I believe the second with the Councilwoman Allen. And we'll do a roll call vote, please, on the Councilman Sato's motion. Speaker 10: Excuse me, Mayor. Speaker 2: I don't. Speaker 10: Know that. I think. Speaker 2: Councilmember Mongo asked that her friendlies be. Speaker 5: Considered on this motion if it was going to be heard. And I don't know that there's been an acceptance of those. Speaker 4: I haven't heard. Speaker 1: You. Speaker 4: I haven't heard an acceptance of the friendlies. Is there. Would you want to repeat those really quickly? Councilman Mongo? Speaker 2: Yes, thank you. I would like to request a friendly amendment to the motion on the floor that. Regardless of if the voters approve or don't approve the ballot initiative in November that effective in October through our budget process, we allocate funds to step up the DCC and work and ask the city manager to bring back a list of the recommendations that were provided by the consultant that he plans to implement. Immediately. Thank you. I will accept your initial friendly to look to supporting the CPC, but not the additional second part of the friendly that was added later to looking at a list of stuff that additional additional. I just. Well, let's take the part about looking into supporting CPC, looking at the funding source. Additionally. Speaker 4: Okay. So that part of the family's been accepted and comes in. Councilman Allen, you accept? Okay, so roll call vote, please. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Cindy has. Speaker 2: Hi. Speaker 0: Councilman Allen. I Councilwoman Price. I know Councilman Spano. I can tell you in mango. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Sarah. I can't. Member Ranka. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Councilman Austin. Speaker 6: I. Speaker 0: Vice Mayor Richardson, I. The motion is carried. Speaker 4: Thank you. That concludes that item. We're going to be going to item 26, please, Madam Clerk.

Resolution

Recommendation to adopt resolution requesting the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk to call, provide, and give notice of a General Municipal Election to be consolidated with the Statewide General Election to be held in the City of Long Beach (City) on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, and include the proposed Charter amendment to a vote of the qualified electors of the City to establish a Police Oversight Commission, which will replace the current Citizen Police Complaint Commission, and add a Director of Police Oversight position; directing City Attorney to prepare an impartial analysis of the Charter amendment; and, providing for the filing of primary and rebuttal arguments and setting rules for the filing of written arguments regarding a proposed Charter amendment to be submitted at said election. (Citywide)

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Speaker 3: Thank you. Number 23, please. Speaker 0: Item 23 Report from Financial Management Recommendation to Adobe Resolution Authorizing City Manager to execute a contract with Home Depot USA for furnishing and delivering materials on an as needed basis, literally in a total annual amount and not to exceed 1.2 million. Speaker 3: Thank you. Moving in second in any public comment on this. Speaker 5: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on item 23 in person, please line up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature. See. Now, that concludes public comments. Speaker 3: Thank you, members. Please cast your vote. Speaker 0: As Women's Sunday has. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Allen. I can't. WOMAN Price. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Councilman Spinner. Councilwoman Mango. Speaker 2: Hi. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Sara I Councilmember Ranga. Councilman Austin. Speaker 6: Hi. Speaker 0: Vice Mayor Richardson. The motion is 87 zero.

Resolution

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with Home Depot U.S.A., of Atlanta, GA, for furnishing and delivering maintenance, repair, and operations supplies and miscellaneous materials on an as-needed basis, on the same terms and conditions afforded to Maricopa County, AZ, through Omnia Partners, in a total annual amount of $1,000,000, with a 20 percent contingency in the amount of $200,000, for a total annual contract amount not to exceed $1,200,000, until the Omnia Partners contract expires on December 31, 2026, with the option to renew for as long as the Omnia Partners contract is in effect, at the discretion of the City Manager. (Citywide)

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Speaker 0: Vice Mayor Richardson. The motion is 87 zero. Speaker 3: Thank you. Speaker 0: 24 item 24 is report from Health and Human Services recommendation to authorize City Manager to execute all necessary documents with the Board of State and Community Corrections, California Violence Intervention and Prevention Cohort four To accept and expend grant funding in the amount of 3.9 million for the Long Beach Activating Safe Communities Program Citywide. Speaker 3: Thank you. Public comment. Speaker 5: If there are any members of the public, they would like to speak on item 24 in person. Please sign up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature. Now we have a comment in person. Speaker 2: Good evening. I wanted to speak on this item because I noticed in the recommendation that there was a lot of funding that was going to the police department and that the intent with this recommendation was to really focus on safe communities programing. And as I mentioned earlier and last week as well, I am concerned with the consistent overpolicing of Long Beach. I know the mayor wasn't here when I spoke on this earlier or last week, but I had mentioned that we have a history of consistently resorting to policing as a response or a solution to a lot of our issues. And I mentioned some examples using the unhoused, looking at education, the fact that we have given information to ICE, the fact that we had a concentration camp here in Long Beach ourselves. But what I am looking at is the mayor and the city manager referenced consistently the racial equity and reconciliation report. And in that report, it really focuses on looking to the community and what the community feels is adequate responses and solutions. And again, I want to reference that in that report. A key finding was looking at things like education reform, looking at things like more funding for schools and parks, looking at social services, looking at improved health care, looking at education of different cultures within the city as well. And I'm looking at this as an opportunity when we think about safe communities, that we are looking at those solutions. And also earlier in the budget, there was a reference to looking at a program for cadet for the police department. But I'm thinking, why don't we do that for other types of services, social services like education or programs in social services or social work? We are not really thinking in it in an innovative way to how we can adequately provide these safer communities and really build up our communities. I think this is an opportunity to really be progressive, that perhaps we fund things like mental health counseling, again, education, social work within these communities rather than just resorting to policing. Only because when we look at policing, whether it's on bikes, whether they're not, whether they're unarmed, it doesn't matter. It's still policing and that's automatically criminalizing our neighborhoods. So instead of always looking at how come you throw police funding in there, why are we not looking again for things like counseling, mental health, education, social work and really investing in our communities in a real progressive way? Thank you. Speaker 4: And. Q There's emotion or second, is there any was there any online comment? I don't believe so. Members, please go ahead and do a roll call vote. Speaker 0: Councilman, Councilwoman Cindy has. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Allen. Councilwoman Price. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Councilman supporter. Speaker 1: I. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Mongo. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Sara I. Councilmember Muranga. Councilman Austin. Vice Mayor Richardson. I am. The motion is carry it to. Speaker 4: Make you item 25.

Contract

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all necessary documents, subcontracts and subsequent amendments, including amending the award amount, with the Board of State and Community Corrections, California Violence Intervention and Prevention Cohort 4, to accept and expend grant funding in the amount of $3,919,232, for the Long Beach Activating Safe Communities Program from July 1, 2022 to December 31, 2025, with the option to extend the agreement for an additional one-year period at the discretion of the City Manager; and Increase appropriations in the Health Fund Group in the Health and Human Services Department by $3,919,232, offset by grant revenue. (Citywide)

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Speaker 4: And so I think it's really important that we provide space to give a full presentation and ask questions and and actually go through this in the detail that it deserves. And so unless there's any objection that we'll take a vote to the venue motion in a second to move this to the next meeting. I'm going to motion in a second, please. Okay. Is there any public comment on just the motion to move? Speaker 1: At the. Speaker 0: Mr. American. We asked who made the second? Speaker 4: The second was Councilman Allen. Speaker 0: Allen. Thank you. Speaker 4: Okay. Is there any final comment on this? Speaker 5: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on this item in person, please sign up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature now. Speaker 10: Mayor, while we're waiting for public comment, just a note that if it's continued, it would need to be continued to a date certain so that we wouldn't have to re notice it. Speaker 4: Okay. That's. Speaker 1: Good evening, mayor. Council Members Pete Marsh Second District. And yeah, I do appreciate the your desire to have a thorough discussion on this and so I'll be back. Look forward to it. Approve it when you get it and then strengthen it. Speaker 4: Yeah. And thank you so much for being here. I know how important this is to you. And so I you know, I think, yeah, we want to we want to give this the attention it deserves. Yep. Speaker 1: Yep. Hashtag electrify everything. Speaker 4: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 1: It's. They should clear their districts, hash tag, electrify everything with renewables. Yeah, I appreciate that. The council wants to not do this at the 11th hour. I am someone who has been waiting for over five years for this hearing. I hope that it is date certain next week. Thank you. Speaker 4: Take the vote, please. The date? Certain. Speaker 1: You do. Speaker 2: That. Speaker 1: You do what you need. Speaker 0: He says moving to the next regular meeting. Speaker 4: Move to next. Next possible meeting date certain for. Speaker 10: And that would be the meeting of the 16th. Speaker 4: Yeah. What's whatever the meeting is what is it next meeting. Speaker 10: Is the success the 16th. Speaker 0: Okay, great. Thank you. Women said they has. Speaker 2: You. Speaker 0: I can swim in, Alan. I can swim in price. I can come and sit. But now. Speaker 1: I. Speaker 0: Can swim in mango. Speaker 2: Hi. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Sarah. I. Councilman Austin, Vice Mayor Richardson. The motion is carried. 9080. I'm sorry. Speaker 4: Thank you. We are going. We are doing the next hearing, though it should be quick. So we are going to do hearing nine and it'll be our last item for the evening. So. Madam Kirk.

Resolution

Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, and conclude the public hearing; Adopt resolution approving and adopting a Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (EIR-03-21) to the General Plan Land Use Element and Urban Design Element Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) (PEIR-SCH# 2015051054), in accordance with the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Section 15164 of the CEQA Guidelines, and making certain CEQA Findings and Determinations relative thereto, including a finding that the adopted General Plan Land Use Element PEIR Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program shall apply; and that no new or different mitigation measures are required; approving the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (2205-02); and

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Speaker 4: Thank you. We are going. We are doing the next hearing, though it should be quick. So we are going to do hearing nine and it'll be our last item for the evening. So. Madam Kirk. Speaker 0: Item nine Report from Economic Development Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record. Conclude the public hearing regarding an economic subsidy associated with the First Amendment to Sales Tax Incentive Agreement with Ashland Corporation pursuant to California Government Code Section 53083 and authorize City Manager to execute all necessary to implement the agreement with Allen Corporations for the Expanded Circle Port and Aldi dealership located at 1855 North Lakewood Boulevard District four. And this is required of. Speaker 4: I have and I do have a motion by Councilmember Super now and Councilman Allen. Mm. Do you want to do both? Speaker 0: Yes. You and each of you do solemnly state that the testimony you may give in a court now and pending before this body shall be due to the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God. Speaker 4: I mean, conservative stuff for short. Speaker 7: Thank you. Yes, we have a couple of things you have to read in the record. Johnny Vallejo or acting director of economic development will do that. Thank you, honorable mayor. Mayors, members of the city council. This hearing is for an amendment to sales tax incentive agreement. 32687. With the corporation doing business a circle for Audi located 1855. In 2011, City Council authorized a sales tax incentive agreement circle Porsche Audi. The agreement supporting an expansion redevelopment project that included renovation of the existing Audi dealership and expanding its operations by acquiring and renovating an adjacent 1.44. Speaker 9: Acre property. Speaker 7: For a separate Porsche dealership. The initial sales tax incentive establish a 50% share of annual local sales and use tax above a base of $294,465 through 2022, or upon reaching a cap of $2.5 million, whichever came first. The corporation is undergoing a significant expansion of the dealership, which includes a new showroom, new parts and service department and an additional storage lot. Kaiser Marston Associates, the city's fiscal advisor, estimates. Estimates of the expansion project cost will total $9.22 million and have an annual feasibility gap of $338,000 in support of expansion, investment and retention of this Long Beach business ALONG Corporation has requested an extension of the terms of their initial sales tax incentive agreement. The proposed amendment would retain the same terms with the city and continuing to share 50, 50, 50 of the annual local sales and use tax generated above the base amount through December 2032, or upon a lot receiving $2.5 million from their share of local sales and use tax, whichever comes first. Based on current projections, the cumulative total of local sales tax generated during the ten year term of the proposed agreement is estimated to be over $10.1 million. With these new improvements of this amount, a maximum of $2.5 million will be paid to A1, while the city would receive the expected 7.6 million in excess of that amount. The proposed agreement will retain and strengthen the position of this local business preserve 87 existing full time jobs, and create approximately 18 additional full time jobs. Thank you. And this concludes my staff report. Speaker 4: Thank you. Is there any public comment at there? Speaker 5: Any members of the public they would like to speak on item nine and person, please. Can I put the podium in zoom please use the raise hand feature now. We do have one person in Zim. Your time starts now. Can you please unmute yourself? That concludes public comment. Speaker 4: Okay. So there's no clever comment on that. Can't come from of any comments. Speaker 3: That was. That was super. Speaker 4: I'm sorry. You're right. That was customer super now. It says, okay, this is awesome. Speaker 1: So I'll just say. Speaker 9: I appreciate my colleague's support. This is an iconic business. Speaker 1: We appreciate them staying in Long Beach and as just been an iconic. Speaker 6: Dealership. Speaker 9: As a traffic circle for over 50 years. Speaker 4: Thank you, Councilman Allen. Speaker 10: Yes, I agree. And my previous life, I had the opportunity to work with both of those dealerships. And it's you know, it's hard to get a dealership to stay when they're inner city and so and not on a freeway. And so I absolutely support this. It's good for for the city and it's good for our taxes. Speaker 2: So thank you very much and happy to support. Speaker 4: Thank you. There's a motion and a second. We'll do the roll call vote, please. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Cindy has. Councilwoman Tandy has campaigned. Councilwoman Allen. Speaker 10: All right. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Price. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Councilman Sabina I. Councilwoman Mongo. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Catwoman Sierra I. Councilmember Muranga. Councilman Austin. Speaker 6: I. Speaker 0: Vice Mayor Richardson. Speaker 1: Yes. Speaker 0: The motion is carried ater. Speaker 4: Thank you. That concludes the agenda. I do. We do have general public comment. Is there a second general anybody to speak at there?

Public Hearing

Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude the public hearing regarding an economic subsidy associated with the First Amendment to Sales Tax Incentive Agreement No. 32687 with Alant Corporation, dba Circle Porsche Audi, a California corporation, pursuant to California Government Code Section 53083; and Authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to implement the First Amendment to Sales Tax Incentive Agreement No. 32687 with Alant Corporation, a California corporation, for the expanded Circle Porsche and Audi dealership located at 1855 North Lakewood Boulevard. (District 4)

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Speaker 0: Okay. So now we move on to the regular agenda. We have item number 19. Speaker 1: Item 19 is a communication from Councilwoman and Mongo recommendation to request city manager to direct the appropriate departments to review the existing EDU permitting process and design a program that would both incentivize acceptance of vouchers for housing and educate landlords on how housing choice vouchers work. Speaker 0: Okay. Is is as. And I see you. Councilman Price. Is Councilman Mongo here? Yes. Okay, great. Did you want to log your motion and some of the second. Okay, great. Okay. You recognized. Speaker 5: Thank you. In working with the. Speaker 2: Many different departments of the city, we recognize that there are opportunities to improve the way in which we address our housing shortage. Many know that there are approximately 2000 homeless individuals in our city. And those homeless individuals. There's a report or a statistic from one of our department heads that says between 20 and 30% of those individuals actually have housing vouchers. So if we were able to better incentivize landlords to take the housing vouchers, we would potentially get an additional 600 people off the street. This motion is to encourage the city to come together with many different departments. I've talked to individual department heads about potential opportunities. I'm going I look forward to seeing what they will bring back so that there's an incentive for more landlords who are either modernizing or building additional units and or use to take housing vouchers. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Councilman Price. Speaker 4: Um. Thank you, Mr. Vice Mayor. I want to thank Councilwoman Mongo for bringing this item forward. This is a fantastic item, and I think it's really important for us to work with our local housing providers to do everything that we can to increase our affordable housing stock. Our office will be hosting a workshop on August 11th. We've invited our housing authority team to be there to educate landlords, all landlords throughout the city. Anyone who wants to come is welcome to come to the workshop on August 11th. I'll make an announcement with the with with the specifics at the end of the meeting. And I think it's really important for us to think very clearly about where our affordable housing options lie in the city and do everything that we can right now to make existing housing stock more affordable. That is something that I think we have a lot of landlords that have very positive experiences in working with the city on the vouchers and that program. And I think it's important for us to educate them and make sure they have the opportunity to participate in those programs with the help of city staff. I think that's a a key issue here with our city staff. They're willing to sit down and educate people on the process. And it's just we don't have enough opportunities for them to do that. So thank you, Councilmember Mungo, for bringing this item forward and allowing us to have that discussion at the city level. Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilman Alston. Speaker 7: Thank you. I'll be brief. I just want to thank, uh, maker of the Motion Councilmember Mongo, for bringing this item forward. I think it's innovative. It's an innovative way to utilize or to utilize a program that that is actually seems to be pretty popular since we adopted it a couple of years ago. Staff report says it has over 400 applications in for a to use this year. Probably 250 have been built in the last couple of years. And so clearly there's an opportunity for a to use to to help meet our housing needs, particularly for low income households and those with the housing choice vouchers. And so I applaud the innovation and I'm happy to support this item. Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilwoman Zendaya's. Speaker 2: Thank you very much, Vice Mayor, and a big special thank you to Councilmember Mungo for bringing this very important item forward. I think that we are living in special times, especially right now as we're recovering from COVID and a lot of our residents are finding themselves in need of vouchers. And I have also spoken to a lot of other property owners, too, who would like to take these vouchers. But the time that it takes to get approved, to be able to take these vouchers sometimes is not ideal. And that's one of the things that holds them back from accepting to take these vouchers. Is there anybody in staff that can maybe speak on that a little bit more? Speaker 10: Yes. I believe we have Kelly Colby on the line about the voucher program. Well, she may be unmuted or not on the line. Speaker 2: Okay. I mean, you can get back to me in regards to this. I just am very supportive of this item and look forward to to supporting this item. Speaker 10: Sorry about that, Councilmember. We'll make sure we get your answer. Speaker 0: Thank you. Speaker 2: Councilwoman Mongo might be able to help with an answer for Councilman Zendejas. You are correct. There used to be significant challenges in the approval process and therefore landlords were incentivized. But several years ago, a few of us on the council worked with the Housing Authority, and they actually will pay you to hold your unit open for one of our members. So you actually could theoretically get rent for holding the unit for about your members, so there's no disadvantage to the landlord. Further, I did want to thank. A couple of my colleagues. I know that throughout the journey of our time together, we had many different versions of what we can do to help our housing voucher community. And I think that the workshop on Friday is going to be very, very, very beneficial. I think that I'll also just mention a couple of quick things that I was thinking when writing the item that many people don't know. But when you add either an EDU or an additional unit, you're not required to add any meters if your property is already metered. And one of the things that's an incentive for the water and gas department is they want to know each and every customer, and they also want to incentivize conservation. It's difficult to incentivize conservation when you have a dozen people on a meter or even two or three people on a meter because no one knows exactly who is using how much and if the things they're doing are working. When you go to build an Adu and or a an additional unit, meters cost upward of 1500 dollars. So if a person wants to add meters, it can be a quite an expensive experience when they're already paying thousands upon thousands of dollars for permits. And the cost of building right now is high. And so I look for opportunities similar to what's possible than water and gas to find ways to incentivize landlords to get something that the city already wants. That helps us all in our environmental pursuit of excellence and finds housing opportunities once again. And thank you, Councilwoman Price. I know that I didn't have time to have you sign on to an item with our restrictions at City Hall and COVID. But I just wanted to thank you as well for being second door on the item. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. I'll just offer my support I think is a great item. And, you know, I'll just also just say that, you know, over the years, the group of landlords, it changes over time. And there are always stigmas with the housing choice voucher program. And a lot has changed about the program. Like what Councilwoman Mongo mentioned, the standards have changed. We can, you know, put down additional deposits to hold the unit. And there are a lot of things that people don't know about. The Modern Housing Choice voucher program is very different than the Section eight program of the nineties or the eighties. And so the more we can do outreach, last time we did this was a lease up Long Beach initiative that we worked on together, the workshops and things, but we didn't have to use at the time. And I think this you know, I think this is really, really smart because this is yet another way for us to have a higher lease up rate, because if we don't use all our vouchers, you lose them to the federal government. So we have to continue to identify ways to utilize the vouchers that we have, particularly given there is a long line of people who are who have vouchers in hand and don't have a place to go. So I really like this item. Is any public comment on item 19? Speaker 5: If there are any members of the public that. Speaker 1: Would like to speak on item 19 in person, please stand up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine now. In person. Speaker 0: Thank you. Speaker 1: Your 3 minutes begin now. Speaker 6: So I can't face success for president. This is a very rare occasion. I'm both a product of public housing here, specifically Section eight housing here in the city of Long Beach. And now I'm a provider of nine units in my neighborhood in a central area where we use Section eight vouchers to house people in the neighborhood. The only problem is not one of them is through the housing authority of Long Beach. They're all Heathcliff. And I'm going to tell you why. I was not incentivized to take a single voucher from the city of Long Beach. The process was strenuous. It was months and months of delay. Um, there's only a percentage of the, uh, units that's covered, not the entire amount. So I just want to say that. And last but not least, another reason why a lot of landlords are not incentivized is because the price points are antiquated. Um, you know, I live nine or 813, uh, the, the median is $1,595. That does not cover a one bedroom apartment right now. So, you know, you take the capital ES aspect, that side of it, right. I just don't know that many people that on real estate that are doing charitable work in relation to the properties that they own. So it's just not working. If you look at, um, currently what we do, we are, uh, we have because of COVID this incentivize the greatest voucher recipients in the city of Long Beach. Those are motel friends. They no longer are taking these vouchers because we're incentivizing them, because we've given them all this COVID money. So now they don't want to take the vouchers because they would rather take the COVID money and the millions and millions of dollars in contracts which we've repeatedly renewed and given to them. And the homeless people continue to be homeless because they're holding vouchers. And when they go to the provider to give them the vouchers, there's no need to, you know, save. Long Beach is one of the few metropolitan major metropolitan cities in America that has more vouchers than public housing. I want to commend, uh, councilwoman. Mango for bringing this up. I think it's a great attempt at solving something. The problem is this is a bandage trying to patch up a gunshot wound. A shotgun, arguably. I think that if we want to have really radical positioning with respect to. You know, getting rid of the 2000 plus people. As Councilwoman Zendaya said, these are special times and we need special efforts. We need to expand, expand public housing. You know, we have under 5% of the city. That's public housing. And if we really want to do more like room for error, we need to just buy up. We need to have the housing authority instead of spending so much time on these Section eight vouchers, you know, open up a conversation with hope and try to buy up, you know, all these antiquated buildings. You know, a lot of these buildings I living in in their time in the last 1960. I just want to finish this point. The building I live in is old. So the apartment, the amount of rooms in it doesn't fit the current families. The current families have to separate by gender. So you can't if you have a boy and a girl, they can't sleep in the same room. Under section eight. We need to update that. If we want to use these vouchers. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. I saw one more speaker. Was there another speaker on this? Okay. Our final speaker. Speaker 6: Good evening. I just want to clarify something. Speaker 0: Is the microphone on. Okay. Maybe speaking to the microphone. Speaker 6: Hello? Yeah. Good evening. I just want to clarify written opposition to this as written not because I'm against housing choice vouchers, section eight housing Section eight rental assistance, the need to incentivize uptake of the HCV program to reduce the number of potentially homeless people that are still waiting. None of those things are things that I'm opposed to. It's just as written. There's a bit of a missed opportunity, as the previous speaker mentioned, not only. To incentivize better construction, but to frankly investigate existing aid use not only for environmental, health and safety, public safety compliance, but also just for efficiency. And I made a comment specifically because, you know, when it comes to where we're in human history, but also where we're at in this city, we do not need to pipe in natural gas into any of these homes, frankly. I would love to see more incentives for not only the kind of green building construction we have, but frankly, the kind of building stock that we're going to need to house as many people as we do. And there are other ways to incentivize, frankly, more public housing and more affordable housing construction. You know, this is I mean, you know, just as one one final point. I mean, you know, it'd be great to see if there was some data on not only which landlords, but which landlords have, which situations that are constraining them. And for future projects for new construction, you know, which which properties are kind of waiting for, for these to house these populations. Speaker 9: Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. That satisfies for the comment. Let's have a roll call vote, please. Speaker 6: Councilman's in Dallas. Speaker 2: Hi. Speaker 6: Councilman Allen. Speaker 4: Hi. Speaker 6: Councilwoman Price. Hi. Councilman. Super or not. All right. Councilwoman Mongo. Speaker 2: Hi. Speaker 6: Councilman Zoro. I council member younger. Hi, Councilman Austin. Hi. Vice Mayor Richardson. All right. Motion carries nine.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to request City Manager to direct the appropriate departments to review the existing process for individuals entering the permitting process for apartments and Accessory Dwelling Units and design a program that would both incentivize acceptance of vouchers for housing and educate landlords on how Housing Choice Vouchers work; and Request a letter outlining potential incentives related to the Water Department be sent to the Water Commissioners for consideration.

LongBeachCC

LongBeachCC_07192022_22-0837

Speaker 1: Vice Mayor Richardson. Motion carries nine zero. Speaker 0: Thank you. 22, please. Speaker 1: Communication from City Clerk Recommendation to receive and file the letter of completion from the Los Angeles Registrar Quarter County Clerk for the Long Beach Minimum Wage of Health Care Workers. Speaker 0: Thank you. As a staff report here. Speaker 1: There is no staff report on file. Mr. Modica, did you from the city clerk's office? This is. Speaker 10: Yes, Johnny Vallejo. I can give a short staff report on this item. Speaker 6: Thank you. Good evening, Vice Mayor and council members. So this this item here is to bring a petition that was submitted to to city clerk and confirmed and certified by the county clerk related to a petition in regards to health care, minimum wage increase. So in addition to this is somewhat related to a previous request for a minimum wage study that was requested previously from economic development staff, which we are currently in process of conducting. So we shared out via TFF recently an update on the status of that excuse me, of that minimum wage study. So as I understand you will be provided the, the certification in the language that was certified tonight and you will have certain actions that you may take tonight. Uh, one of those being an opportunity to wait for the completion of the study and reconsider this item at a later time. And that concludes my staff report. Speaker 0: All right. Thank you, Councilman Ciro. Speaker 4: Thank you, Vice Mayor. So is I mean, based on the TFF, is there any outcome of this study so far? Speaker 6: So we have not completed the study. So the study is in process right now. We, the consultant LLC is currently working to um, to circulate a survey, uh, that is already being circulated with some of our partners and will be more broadly circulated starting tomorrow. Speaker 4: And when do you expect us to get something that we will be able to review? Speaker 6: It will be tight. I think we shared some of the timing considerations related with the study, the complexity of the study, and some of the, the hurdles that were, um, that were expressed to us by the consultant. They will, though, attempt to have a study completed in draft for presentation to the Economic Development Commission on August 1st and a very tight turnaround. We will then bring that that that study for review to the city council the following day, August 2nd. Speaker 1: Thank you. I'd like to to. Speaker 4: To motion that we continue the study until we're able to get it by August 1st to be able to have further discussion. And as far as how. How to proceed with our options. Speaker 0: Thank you. Councilmember Garrincha. Speaker 10: A very supporter of the site. I'm looking forward to the completion of the study. Speaker 0: Thank you, sir. Public comment here. Speaker 1: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on item 22 in person, please line up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine now. We have one in Zoom. And over nine in line. Speaker 0: Okay. So that means we go down the 90 seconds. So let's do this handle Zoom. Matter of fact, let's start here because they're going to actually be standing and the people on Zoom are going to be at home. So let's start right here. Thank you. All right. You recognize. Speaker 5: Thank you. Good evening, everybody. Good evening. Um, honorable counsel officials here. And, uh, everybody. My name is Cynthia Okafor. I am a licensed vocational nurse at one of the psychiatric facilities here in Long Beach City. I am here to humbly implore you to. Speaker 13: Consider raising minimum wage. Speaker 5: For health care workers to $25 an hour. I know he mentioned about 30. And, um. Speaker 13: While that is a process, I am still requesting that you listen to us and maybe be swayed by our arguments. So a $25 minimum wage for us. Minimum wage. Minimum, uh. Speaker 5: Minority group actually because I say minority, because majority of the people who work, uh, at healthcare facilities, well, I'll use the place where I work. Uh, you know, mostly people. Speaker 13: Of the minority group and majority of us, um. I'm really living beyond the poverty threshold in California. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It beats me. I don't know. Health care is something that nobody should be. Should be taking a back seat that I remember. Thank you. 2020 time many. Speaker 5: Of us had okay. Many of us had in 2020 when the COVID case happened, when we had like the first outbreak of COVID things. You worked alone many times because I was burnt out. Speaker 13: I almost gave up. You know, I worked with so many of. Speaker 5: My colleagues and well, some of my colleagues felt the same way. We walked. Speaker 13: Along. We were burnt out. Speaker 5: If only we had therapy. Speaker 13: Right. Speaker 0: Thank you. Thank you. Think we really have to be fair to everyone. But thank you so very much for your testimony. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 5: Hello. My name is Marcella. I just want to first off say that, you know, it's a privilege to hear us out, us as workers. Through this pandemic as health care workers have been there. When you think of health care, it's dedication, time, devotion, blood, sweat, tears. I have three kids and there's been many a times where I would have to do doubles and, you know, not see my kids off to school. And, you know, it hurts. But my devotion was to take care of patients. It's a struggle at times. But as a single mother, I tried to push through. But with everything on the rise, as far as groceries, rent, kids, there's no limit to payments. So I just hope that you guys really taking consideration to our struggle and our needs and we need help just as well as our patients do in our unit. We have COVID patients and it takes time, you know, away from our family to help them in order, you know, to save their lives and to help us keep our head above water, you know, to provide for our family. So I ask that you guys deeply consider our needs. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Next week or please. Speaker 6: Very good. Thank you. Speaker 5: I love when I start this. I mean, I'm Miller Carlin. Oh, I'm sorry. Uh. Speaker 3: Trabajo para la. Speaker 5: Salud aqui in Long Beach. But am. Speaker 3: I a key player in La Paramo and help mentor the paramount nosotros. Speaker 5: System? Must be the. Speaker 3: End the. Speaker 5: Maintenance salary of the minimal work aloneness as it damsel Cousteau they re. The more. Speaker 3: We got on ESA. Speaker 5: Is more rural Salida the land people can nosotros is. Speaker 3: Is the movie mucho cost of. Speaker 5: Para nosotros. De la leche tortillas. Speaker 3: La. Speaker 5: Gasolina todo acevedo la renta todo necesitamos sobre sally salida adelante. You're so you're persona. Get me your you will get real mucho nosotros gammas al in Los Gatos the Los Pacientes Black It. Speaker 3: Is cal mental used. Speaker 5: I This guy knows that his grandmother's thermostat has done the same prep work. I am from Barnoldswick and Lana from gold. P e. Buddhism knows better than most is the cost of a no law. No law meant then get in. Was it not less system of supplicant looking lamenting but utterly rather lanthimos utter convinced that I be the con mistress. Speaker 3: For a possible. Speaker 5: Mistress illusionist. Yeah, it's total craziness. Speaker 0: Thank you. Speaker, please. Speaker 6: Hello. Thank you so much. My name is Amelia Carlene. Good afternoon, everybody. Thank you so much for being here. And I want to just to let you know, I work with Long Beach between Long Beach, Blue Lagoon in Paramount and Health Care Mental Clinic. We kindly request to each one of you today that we need for you to increase wages is really difficult because we're barely making ends meet. It's very difficult for us. The cost of living just by itself milk, tortillas, gas, everything has increased drastically. So we actually want that change to make happen. I mean, I'm a person, I can tell you that I'm a hard working person. Every day of risking my life are risking working with patients, not just with them, but even actually even having the risk of getting hit by them. And also, we can only request once again that you make this change. We need that increase. It's getting very difficult just to make ends meet on a daily basis. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Speaker, please. Speaker 6: Thank you very much, Vice Mayor and members of the City Council, Alex Jones, speaking tonight on behalf of the Hospital Association. Speaker 9: Of Southern California. I want to thank each of you individually for your engagement in recent weeks on this very complex issue. As you'll hear from members of the coalition tonight, we've got two major concerns. One I think was voiced earlier tonight as part of the motion, and that is with the timing of the economic impact study. It's a very complex issue. Long Beach is a very nuanced, complex city. If we rush into this without knowing what the economic impacts are directly or indirectly, I think we're doing the voters an injustice. The second issue is a good governance issue, and that is this should be put to the vote of the people. Again, Long Beach is a diverse constituency, lots of ideas, lots of complex issues. People have a diversity of opinion on it. We would ask that you wait for the economic impact study. Give yourselves and your voters time to digest the findings of that study. As a group, we are a stakeholder and we are engaged with leads. But what we've heard so far is that there will be significant time constraints on doing a proper study of this very complex issue. Number two, we would ask that from a good governance standpoint that you put this matter on the ballot and let the people of Long Beach decide. Thank you very much. Speaker 0: Thank you. Next week, a police. Speaker 12: Good evening. Speaker 4: My name is Kristin Pugh. I'm the vice president for government relations for the memorial care health system. As you know. Speaker 12: Our system includes. Speaker 4: Memorial care at Long Beach Medical Center and Miller Children's and Women's Hospital, as well as other ambulatory sites of care in the city. We are proud of our long, deep history. With over 100 years providing compassionate and quality health care to the Long Beach residents. Our hospitals are top regional. Speaker 12: Providers of medical services. Speaker 4: And that is thanks in part by our dedicated workers. From environmental services to radiology to pharmacy and many others. I'm here today. Speaker 12: To speak on the proposed. Speaker 4: Health care wage measure and to recognize and thank you, the Council, for requesting an economic impact report. As with other hospitals. Speaker 12: Community clinics. Speaker 4: Workers and local organizations, we are concerned about this proposed measure. The measure is arbitrary, unequal and discriminatory. Speaker 12: It excludes the. Speaker 4: Majority of workers in the city. Could deepen inequities in the health care system. Speaker 12: And jeopardize. Speaker 4: Access to care. We are proud and appreciative of the professionalism, hard work and personal sacrifice that all of our employees make and have made to treat. Speaker 12: Our patients during this pandemic. But unfortunately, on acting, this measure. Speaker 4: Is not the way to show appreciation. Again, I want to thank this Council for recommending the city to conduct an economic analysis to better understand the impacts of this measure. We hope you agree this is something the voters should have the opportunity to inspect on their own. Thank you so much for your time. Speaker 0: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 5: Lock on some very much. My name is Florrie Munoz. I was working for 30 years at some Mary's Medical Center as a CNE and as well as a dialysis tech for 18 years working two jobs to support my family as I am a single mother. One of the big issues that the hospitals right now is they're being short of staff and during the pandemic got worse. The reality is that hundreds of health care workers are working for less than $25 per hour. And. After the pandemic. Got worse. Even after that, we risk our lives and our families lives taking care of patients during the pandemic. And we still do. The inflation is 8.4% higher. Yes. Last year alone. How we can live with a salary that barely cover our living expenses. We are here to ask you, all of you, please. Speaker 3: Please support our. Speaker 5: $25 minimum wage for clear language. And they did that and they did it. Please don't leave language behind with the servant. We are it. Thank you for your time. Speaker 6: Thank you. Next week, at least. Speaker 5: Good evening, council members. My name is Celine Castillo. I've been a CNE for six years and I have been working for St Mary's Hospital in Long Beach since the beginning of the pandemic. But even in the work, even in my work as a skilled credential health care worker, I have to work two jobs to make ends meet because I also work as a CNE in San Pedro. I've been getting tested for COVID weekly since March of 2020 due to the degree of exposure. I faced many challenges in my life. I'm grateful for my opportunities as a student and a doc, a recipient. I am working hard to follow my calling and serve my community, but I have nothing to show for my sacrifices. Having to work two jobs has meant everything else in my personal life has been on delayed. We, as health care workers, are feeling broken throughout the pandemic. I had to isolate myself from my family, my friends, because I couldn't risk getting them sick. Even I had I. I even had to care for a fellow coworker who contracted COVID and passed away on my watch. The experience has been very lonely and hard on me psychologically. I can't. But I continue to work in health care because I love what I do. I could make 24 an hour at Target or become an insurance agent like some of my former coworkers, many who have decided is not worth staying to endure the stress while feeling undervalued and left short staffed. 80% of health care workers believe California is definitely going through a crisis of short staffing. It's real. Speaker 1: Your time has expired, ma'am. Speaker 0: Thank you so much. Thank you. Right next to the police. Speaker 5: Good evening, Vice Mayor. City Council members. My name is Laura Culbertson. I am the chief human resources officer at College Medical Center. College Medical is a 221 bed acute care hospital with surgery, medical and behavioral health services. It has been a fixture in the community for 65 years. We employ over a little over a thousand employees and provide services for approximately 20,000 patients annually. Many of those patients are dramatically underserved in our community, including those with behavioral health issues and individuals with limited economic means. This measure, while it does increase all employee wages, it doesn't account for how we are reimbursed, which is generally a flat fee, which with no negotiation to increase. We're dedicated to serving behavioral health patients. We have plans in the works. We're about to open a 27 bed additional unit. However, due to this measure, there are concerns that we'll have to limit the number of beds in the community. Um. You know, I think that arbitrarily creating a two tier system is going to lead to work for lead to a workforce shortage at smaller clinics and public health care facilities, jeopardizing, jeopardizing access and quality of care for Long Beach's already underserved communities, including those 2000 homeless people that you spoke about earlier. Speaker 1: Time has expired, ma'am. Speaker 0: Thank you so much for your time. Okay. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 5: Right. Hi. My name is Vanessa Rodriguez and I work at St Mary's Hospital. I have been working there for 15 years and I work in the IVF department. And as you can see, we have a thin kitchen people and we I work. Been working there 15 years. So since day one, we've been there working through the COVID period. Some people without vacation denied a vacation because of the shortage of the staff. Speaker 3: So I feel we deserve it. Speaker 5: Because we've been there day after day, working, seeing patients passed away. We've been there families. Speaker 3: We've been there for them. Speaker 5: We've been working in every single patient's. Speaker 3: Room, cleaning the rooms. So we for me, emotionally. Speaker 5: Having to see patients passed away, it's mentally hurt. My feelings and everything, having to be there. Speaker 3: But we are still there. We never gave up. Speaker 5: And we're still there. Speaker 3: So I feel we deserve it. Speaker 5: And then the cost of life. The life, the cost, the especially Long Beach. Speaker 3: I grew up here. It's changed a lot. Really lot. Speaker 5: Lost everything up. I'm pretty sure medical expenses have. Speaker 3: Gone up too. So I feel we deserve it. Speaker 0: Thank you for your time. Speaker 5: Thank you. Speaker 0: Thanks to the police. Speaker 3: Good evening. My name is Reverend Stanley Kim, and I am the director of Mission Integration, the St Mary Medical Center. And these are my colleagues. And it pains me to stand before you, but I ask for your counsel as well as your prudence. We all seem very supportive of our 400,000 patients annually and of which the 70% are under insured. Our outreach programs and medical care results in over $67 million of a net community benefit annually. We are your safety net hospital seeing high medical and uninsured. Our number one focus is maintaining access to the care we provide. Enacting measures that implement higher wages at some facilities while excluding the other majority of others, is not only inequitable, but also creates an unstable market. For instance, this will take a heavy toll on staffing as skilled nursing facilities. Since COVID, we have been struggling to place individuals in lower levels of care. With more surges happening as we speak, this would impact the total system of care in Long Beach. We can move patients out. We can take critical COVID patients in. We understand that the US has had a tight turn around and should the analysis exclude some important economic considerations? We believe continuing to do thorough research on this measure is important. Our residents also should have an opportunity to weigh the merits of this measure and determine whether the policy is good for the Long Beach community. So your time is strongly urge the Council to refer the measure to the ballot. Speaker 9: Thank you very much. Thank you. Speaker 0: Next speaker, please. Thank you, everyone. Let's let's let's move through public comment. Thank you so much. Next speaker, please. Speaker 7: Good evening. My name is James Bell and I'm a radiology tech. I work for Kaiser Permanente. And I'll be very upfront with you gentlemen and ladies. This does not impact me directly at all. But I am speaking here in support of the $25 minimum wage for healthcare workers. We've heard from the California Hospital Association of the various employers saying how this would be a negative impact to them. But the bottom line is they're trying to create a divide between health care workers of the haves and the have nots. It is labor's contention that everybody deserves $25 an hour as a minimum wage working in health care. You're doing an impact study. I was at Downey when they discussed doing the same thing. And the and the legal expert there said the likelihood of getting an effective and accurate assessment by August 1st is unlikely, in part because the data you're going to have to get is going to be from the California Hospital Association and the various employers who are not going to give out confidential information about their finances to you, because that could impact them in a competition. So they're not going to give you accurate information and they're going to tell you what they. Speaker 9: Want you to hear. Speaker 7: And they're going to spend millions of dollars to lie to the voters if it goes to the ballot. And we're talking about millionaires who run these hospitals. Speaker 2: Sorry to tell. Speaker 7: You that I make too much money. Thank you. So I'm asking. Speaker 3: You, please. Speaker 7: On behalf of labor. Speaker 3: To support this measure for the health care heroes. Speaker 9: So you're supposed to be honoring that, sir. Speaker 0: Thank you. Speaker 4: Good evening. Council members and Vice Mayor Richardson. I am from the Hospital. Speaker 5: Association and I'm here today to speak with you. Speaker 2: About the. Speaker 5: Minimum wage health care worker initiative. The previous caller said that we are choosing winners and losers. But I want to make clear, this measure chooses winners and losers. This measure targets. Speaker 4: Private facilities. Speaker 5: And integrated systems. It excludes community clinics, Planned Parenthood clinics, acute care. Speaker 4: Senior living facilities. This measure is the measure that causes a divide. And as you heard. Speaker 5: From many of the speakers, there is already a workforce shortage going on. Speaker 4: In health care. The hospitals are well aware of that. Speaker 5: Those that are included and those are excluded are working to recruit and retain health care workers every day. Speaker 4: This is not the way to do it. Speaker 5: Choosing winners and losers. Speaker 0: Just, just a moment, folks, please. Just a moment. This doesn't help us get through the process. We want to make sure everybody's heard no matter which side, and that you get your full 60 seconds. So when that happens, we have to roll back more time. So just respect, respect the process. Let's go ahead and move through. Thank you. Speaker 4: Thank you. So this does not. We're asking you not to put us in a position where. Speaker 5: You're choosing winners and losers. We're asking you to do an economic. Speaker 4: Study to look at the overall impact on health care systems. And we applaud you for that step. Monterey Park has taken that step today. Inglewood sent this to the ballot. Duarte has sent this to the ballot. And yes, there has been some cities that have. Speaker 5: Chosen to move forward. And those cities are currently experiencing a referendum. Speaker 4: Because this issue is. Speaker 5: Discriminatory and it chooses winners or losers. Speaker 1: Losers matter. Time is up. Speaker 4: Treats people working, doing the same job at different locations differently. Thank you for thank. Speaker 0: You for your time. Next speaker, please. Speaker 5: Hi. Good evening. I tried to do the best I could. Thank you for be here for us. Speaker 3: Because you guys represent to all of us. Speaker 5: And for that, we both for you guys. Well, we want to tell you about they really we need that. The rent is very expensive. You can find one bedroom, 1500, no minimum. That that is very expensive. The gasoline. What happened in Ukrainian? They sent already five packet the money of Crimea. So we need help like. Speaker 3: Ukrainian to. Speaker 5: You know sergeant do you represent us. So first. Speaker 3: Here. Speaker 5: Later there but very good help Ukrainian but help. Speaker 6: Us to. Speaker 5: We need that for candles so barber. And coming another thing like monkey part it's another thing impact to also everybody is scared because we don't know what's going to happen for you for me and we already have a lot employer death so my hospital is good because give me a good things but. Speaker 3: We need you guys help you too. I everybody know only. Speaker 5: Employee of the Empresario something like that. Everybody because if you have money for other things can have on it for us. Speaker 13: So please help. Speaker 5: To us in off of them and everybody because they can do their self. You represent and need to help everybody because we live in the United States. Speaker 3: Thank you. Please. Speaker 5: Thank you. Thank you for. Speaker 10: Your time. Speaker 0: Next week. Speaker 7: The please. Speaker 2: Yes. Sorry. Speaker 0: Thank you. Come forward. Speaker 5: Good evening. My name is Kimberly Estrada. Speaker 12: And I'm. Speaker 2: Speaking in support of raising the minimum wage. I would like to let you guys know that I am a food service. Speaker 12: Worker at. Speaker 2: St Mary's. My mother is here. She is a housekeeper at St Mary's. My sister works in the. Speaker 5: Lobby in St Mary's. Checks in visitors and staff. My entire family has given its livelihood to this amazing hospital. But during the pandemic, you know, I. Speaker 2: Have seen the change and we've all been short staffed, so much so that they. Speaker 5: Eliminated. Speaker 12: Positions and. Speaker 2: Disperse the workload among the workers that. Speaker 5: Stayed. And, of course, the pay didn't go up, you know, and it's not. Speaker 2: Like just because you're sure you're. Speaker 5: Not going to feed two floors of patients, we get it done because we have to. Speaker 12: We care about our patients. Speaker 5: So I'm here to ask you to support us in raising that minimum wage. The last five. Speaker 4: People. Speaker 5: That have been hired in my department this year to help us with that problem. All of them have quit. A day, a week, a month. Every single one of them. Speaker 2: You think you're getting help and they all leave. Speaker 5: And I ask myself, why is that? Speaker 2: Our pays and competitive anymore. And it's bordering on unsustainable. So please help us, because we're asking for your help. We need it badly. Thank you. Speaker 6: Thank you. Speaker 7: Next speaker, please. Speaker 6: And I can face six sense for president. I was born at 2776 Pacific Avenue. There used to be Pacific Hospitals, now college medical. I'm speaking in support of the workers. I think they should get more than $25. But I accept the number that you guys want. But it's interesting to me that we all obviously have a rank and file versus senior management conversation here as effectively split on the die the aisles here. But it's interesting to me that the woman from college made a medical reference that they might not be able to pursue a further 27 bed expansion to, you know, attack our homeless population due to this particular process. That's crazy, because currently, as it stands, the state of California, the highest medical fraud case was from Pacific Hospital when $900 million was stolen by Dr. Faustino Bernadette. And that money was still being used for why they can't pay people a fair wage. And also, the only person that Trump pardoned, uh, in California outside of Duncan Hunter, it's interesting to me where money the the lack of money is ignored. And and when it's supported, it's supported when you can pay people a couple of hundred thousand dollars to do kickback schemes and steal from the workers tax payers like ourselves. When workers come up here and ask for a fair wage, there's no money. That's wrong. Speaker 1: Your time has expired. Speaker 6: It's wrong. Speaker 0: Thank you. Our last speaker. Speaker 7: Hello, city councilman. My name is James Marks. I'm a former health care worker. I worked in health care for many years. And I'm here at a for support of these people who put their lives on the line every single day. They're underpaid. They're under-resourced, out of work that they do. They overdue. Trust me, I know. You know, they owe their lives on the line with COVID and everything else. Not only that, but in some institutions, they're working. They're working with. Speaker 9: With their. Speaker 7: Lives, their health is jeopardized. So I just want to say, I'm here for support of them and the working class. You all everyone up here, we all, we're working class people and some of us, we still are to this day, our parents, our great grandparents. We're working class people. So we're all able to relate to what they're saying. This is not about you have inflation going up. This is a. Speaker 9: Survival thing going on right now with people. People are in dire straits. They're in desperate need. People need relief. Speaker 7: And I don't know any one else who deserves it other than needs. And then you have someone who comes here from corporate who's saying what they don't need. I worked in College Medical Center. Trust me, I know they have the resources and the fans are everywhere and corporate, they have it. It's just a matter of the we'll the political will to do it for the people and the hard to do it for the people. Thank you very much. Speaker 6: And ah, I missed it. Speaker 0: Thank you. Speaker 1: We have one speaker zoom does it. Speaker 5: We have one speaker in Zoom. Speaker 0: All right. Let's let's handle the Zoom. Speaker 1: Speak three in a row. Speaker 4: So that. Speaker 2: Evening, my name is Serena Jo Cell, and I am assistant director of public affairs at Kaiser Permanente South Bay. I want to thank the Council for working with the L.A. EDC to conduct a thorough impact analysis. Kaiser Permanente has served Long Beach since 1954. We are the largest private employer in the state of California and we employ 147 staff in positions that are Long Beach medical officers who care for more than 32,000 members. We take. Speaker 4: Great pride in providing competitive. Speaker 2: Pay, strong benefits and exceptional support to our employees. Everyone is concerned about health care worker burnout, and that is why we have invested so heavily in supporting our workforce, particularly over the past two and a half years. We have provided additional COVID related benefits, including childcare, grant, alternative housing, additional paid sick leave and onsite counseling. And we provided bonus payments to all of our employees. The issue of burnout is serious, complex and multifactorial. The solution placed before you by the initiative's proponents will not fix this problem. Instead, it threatens to deepen the disparities in our broader health care system, exacerbating the challenges that community clinics already face in hiring as they struggle to compete for staff. We thank the Council for taking steps to fully understand the potential consequences of the proposed measure and ask that you ultimately let the voters decide. Thank you. Speaker 5: That concludes public comment. Speaker 0: All right. Thank you, sir. Will now take you back behind the rail. Thank everyone for their public comment. We have a motion. Mr. City Attorney, can you restate the motion. Speaker 10: Has as I understand, the motion is to continue this item until you August 2nd when you have the economic study. Back at that time, the decision under the election code for the Council will be to either adopt the the initiative as written without changes or place it on the ballot. Speaker 0: Right. Okay. So let's go ahead and move on to the roll call vote, please. Speaker 1: Councilman's in the house. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 1: Councilman allen. Speaker 4: I. Speaker 1: Councilman Price, I. Councilman super. Now I. Councilwoman Mongo I. Councilwoman Ciro, I. Councilmember Your Honor, I. Councilman Austin. Hi, Vice Mayor Richardson. Motion carries nine zero. Speaker 0: Thank you. Now we're going to move up item number 28, the sister cities presentation. I'm going to hand over hand it over to Councilman Austin to manage this one. Thank you. Speaker 5: Item two so.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to receive and file the Letter of Completion from the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk for the Long Beach Minimum Wage for Healthcare Workers.

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Speaker 5: Item two so. Speaker 7: Much. And. Clerk. Can you read the item, please? Speaker 1: Item 28 Communication from Councilman Austin. Recommendation to approve its application to Taiwan as the city's newest sister city. It's a recommendation to approve the application of the Tao Yuan City, Taiwan, as a city's newest sister city. Speaker 7: Okay, thank you so much. And I would just ask if you guys can please exit quietly. We still have business before the council. Thank you so much. And I'll recognize myself on this item. Motion. I'm excited to bring this item forward, which at the Long Beach City Council to approve the application from Taiwan City, Taiwan for sister city status with the city of Long Beach. Five years ago, the Taiwan City sent a delegation of government leaders and prominent business figures to Long Beach in hopes of forging a stronger relationship and ties between our cities. Since then, our partnership has blossomed into a friendship and partnership, and we've been fortunate enough to host Taiwan City representatives on several occasions. Like Long Beach, Taiwan City is a multi-ethnic metropolis that acts as a logistics hub for Taiwan. Both cities have taken advantage of our coastal positions to develop into hotbeds for trade and commercial activity. Embracing Taiwan City as a sister city, providing multiple or multiple I'm sorry, a mutually beneficial exchange of business opportunities and port strategies. Further, an exchange of culture may lead to enrichment for both of our cities. Throughout the exhaustive application process, Taiwan City has shown a willingness to embrace. Long Beach. Worked diligently with our sister cities of Long Beach. They attended Dragon Boat festivals, promoted Taiwan, Hakka, food culture and local events. And I want to also just recognize that during our toughest times during the pandemic, when we were dealing with PPE shortages, it was our friends from our from Taiwan City who were sending personal protective equipment like face masks and shields and gloves and other equipment to our emergency operations center. Their hard work has culminated in the sister city's of Long Beach organization, unanimously approving their application to establish a sister city relationship on December 28, 2020. However, Council approval is still needed to formalize this agreement and this relationship. I'd like to thank those in attendance today who've worked tirelessly to make this partnership possible, and I would ask that my colleagues support and embrace Taiwan City, Taiwan as a sister city for the city of Long Beach. And I'd like to kick it over to the city attorney for. Speaker 10: Thank you, Councilmember Austin. And the request is totally understood by the council member. But I was wondering if we could change the motion to direct the city attorney to prepare a resolution approving the application of Taiwan, Taiwan, new city, Taiwan as a sister city. If that direction we received tonight, there is no action that the mayor would take or be authorized to take. So it would be a vote of the body. So tonight, if it's the will of the council, we would bring back to you next at the next meeting a resolution approving this. And then it would be turned over to the sister cities of Long Beach, obviously, to administer on behalf of the sister city program. Thank you. Speaker 7: So move that. I accept that. Mr. City Attorney, that is our motion and tastic. Speaker 0: Thank you. Councilman Price. Speaker 4: I wholeheartedly support this item and thank Councilman Austin for bringing it forth. Speaker 0: All right, Councilman Ciro? Speaker 5: Yeah. I also want to add my support. Speaker 4: I'm always supportive of anything that allows us to do mutually beneficial exchange for business opportunity, port strategies, and obviously especially cultural enrichment with other countries. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. I'll just. Councilman Allen. Speaker 1: Yeah. Just real quickly, just want to say thank. Speaker 5: You to Councilman Austin for bringing this forward. This is a great item and I will be supporting it. Speaker 0: Thank you. And offer my support as well. I will now go to public comment. Is there public comment on this item? That would be the time to come forward. Speaker 1: Are there any members of the public that would like to speak on item 28 in person? Please line up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature now. Speaker 0: Thank you. If you will sit on. Speaker 8: My name is Susan Redfield. I'm president of the sister cities of Long Beach. And I want to thank Councilman Austin for bringing this request for full status. I'm startled because I didn't know I was going to have to wait another month anyway. Sister Cities happily collaborates with thousands of Long Beach residents from multiple backgrounds each year. It's our vision to continue serving as an international arm for our city and its leadership, serving toward the betterment of the personal and economic future of Long Beach. Thank you for the consideration of this request. Speaker 0: Thank you. Next speaker. Speaker 6: Please. Hi. Good evening. My name's Mindy, and I'm part of the Long Beach, Italian Sister City Formation Committee. I just wanted to thank the Long Beach City Council and Councilman Al Alston for bringing this up today. I've been delighted to be working with the rest of the sister cities of Long Beach City members for the past several years. Italian city has long held the city of Long Beach in high esteem as one of the forefront cities in the country. When town Mayor Chang visited, he was very impressed with much of what he saw, and he believes that there is much more in common that we can share after working together with all the sister cities and meeting everybody else. I look forward to seeing much of the incredible things that we could accomplish together. Connecting cities to cities, cultures to cultures and people to people. I'm very excited to continue moving down this path and introducing Long Beach to Taiwan and talking to Long Beach. Thank you very. Speaker 0: Much. Thank you. All right. That satisfies public comment. Let's go. Councilman Austin. Speaker 7: Thank you. And appreciate the public speakers and the support of my colleagues on this item. I just would like to point out, I know the mayor isn't here this evening, but he was enthusiastically supportive of this item as well. I know that the Cities Association was working with the mayor's office and there may have been a little confusion in terms of how to draft this as a result. But he was fully supportive. Like I said, five years ago, the delegation came here, met with the mayor. I was privileged to be in that meeting and part of that and and host that delegation. And I think that this will be a fruitful relationship for many years to come. Look forward to our vote this evening. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Let's cast our vote. Speaker 1: And women's interests. Speaker 2: I mean, women. Alan. Speaker 1: I count. Women price. Speaker 4: I. Speaker 1: Councilman. Super. Speaker 6: Now I. Speaker 1: Councilwoman Mongo. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 1: Councilwoman Sarah, I. Councilmember Urunga. Hi. Councilman Austin. Speaker 7: Hi. Speaker 1: Vice Mayor Richardson. Hi. Motion carries nine zero. Speaker 0: Thank you. Congratulations. All right, so we'll move now to item 23. And I think this is the last item with the staff presentation. So this is the last longer one, folks. Let's hear item 23.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to approve the application of Taoyuan City, Taiwan as the City's newest Sister City, and authorize the Mayor of Long Beach to take necessary actions and execute any and all documents to accomplish the establishment of such a relationship.

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Speaker 0: Thank you. Congratulations. All right, so we'll move now to item 23. And I think this is the last item with the staff presentation. So this is the last longer one, folks. Let's hear item 23. Speaker 1: Report from Development Services recommendation to approve the five year consolidated plan and Fiscal Year 2022 2023. First Action Plan and Prior Action Plan Amendments for the Community Development BLOCK Grant, the Home Investment Partnership Program and the Emergency Solutions Grant Program. Grant Funds City Wide. Speaker 0: Thank you. Speaker 6: Staff Report. Speaker 10: Thank you, Vice Mayor, Members of the Council. We're excited to be here today to talk about our five year plan for CDBG funds that come out of the federal government. These are really transformational funds for some of our most impacted communities. And the team has been doing a lot of planning with the community about how best to invest those limited resources. So we do have a presentation tonight as we really look at how those funds are going to be focused. And I'd like to turn it over to our sports, he and his team to go through the presentation. Speaker 3: Thank you, Mr. Rocha. Speaker 0: Vice mayor and members of the City Council. Speaker 6: Earlier this year, we conducted. Speaker 3: A workshop with council to discuss and help us provide a framework. Speaker 6: For the Consolidated. Speaker 3: Plan. I want to say that Council, we heard you. Speaker 6: We put your comments into action, including. Speaker 3: An extensive. Speaker 6: Public participation process to gather input that helped us prepare this plan. Speaker 3: Tonight, we are here to provide you a presentation on the five year consolidation plan. Speaker 6: As well as the annual action plan. Speaker 3: So with that, I've got Nikki Haymaker, our community program specialist. Speaker 6: Who will provide you a presentation. Speaker 12: Thank you. The city's current consolidated plan will expire on September 30th, 2022. The new consolidated plan will take effect on October 1st, 2022, and will expire on September 30th, 2027. Once a five year consolidated plan is adopted, the city must submit an annual action plan for each of those five years. The annual action plans are guided by the Consolidated Plan and they identify annual goals, deliverables and funding for each fiscal year at the end of each fiscal year. A paper report, which is consolidated annual performance evaluation report, is also submitted to HUD and that summarizes our annual accomplishments. The Consolidated Plan is required in order to receive these three grants, the first of which is the CDBG program. This program can be used for both housing and non housing activities that improve lower income communities. The city anticipates receiving about 5.4 million each year under CDBG. The Home Investment Partnerships Program supports affordable housing production, and we anticipate receiving about 2.3 million under home and for ESG. This funding is specifically for programs that support individuals and families experiencing homelessness. Our health department administers this program and we anticipate receiving about 500,000 each year. There's a lot of information to cover in this presentation, but these are the big takeaways. The need for more housing, particularly affordable housing, is something that we heard a great deal of during our input process. So this plan cycle focuses on all things housing. So that includes new construction through funding for site acquisition, accessory dwelling, unit construction, homeless prevention and continued home spending. The plan builds on community input, HUD priority areas and other related efforts, such as the recently adopted housing element. We're also expanding programs and staffing to prevent homelessness through landlord tenant mediation, anti displacement regulations and other supportive programs. We also received input regarding increasing grant amounts for our existing rehabilitation and facade programs to increase the impact of those programs. This change will also reduce the overhead expenses to to administer those programs. Funding for our city parks will continue. However, there will be a shifted focus from programs to improving the physical facilities. Oh, I'm sorry. Lastly, the plan supports community grants and partnerships through capacity building for nonprofits, community land trusts and neighborhood associations. The first step in the development of the consolidated plan is to determine the different needs in the community within the areas of housing, community development and homelessness. These needs are determined through analyzing available data and gathering public input. The second step in this process is to identify any gaps in services and or determine current available resources to meet needs. And because the level of need tends to be greater than the limited resources that we receive through these grants, we then move on to the third step, which is to identify priorities or prioritize needs, rather. So we do this by considering the extent of needs, the impact toward our consolidated plan goals, availability of other funding, and eligibility for funding. Based on HUD's program parameters, HUD does have rules about what we can and cannot use the funding for, so we need to be mindful of that as well. Public participation is key to the development of the Consolidated Plan and the Annual Action Plans staff has been engaging the community to identify high priority needs in the areas of housing and community development. Due to COVID, much of our outreach efforts have taken place virtually. But we have employed some other methods to try and engage as many people as possible. We created a multilingual survey which was provided in English, Spanish and Tagalog, and all detailed the results of the survey in a later slide. The city also conducted a variety of outreach efforts, including promoting the Consolidated Plan, community meetings and the survey via the City of Long Beach and Development Services, social media. And just to give you a picture of the reach. The city of Long Beach social media has about 193 contacts and development services. Social media reaches just over about 10,000 contacts across all of the various social media platforms. We also placed advertisements and multilingual newspapers as well as sponsored posts via the Long Beach Post, English and Spanish social media accounts. We emailed all neighborhood associations and CDBG areas. We sent email blasts to community organizations and residents through the Neighborhood Resource Center and Link L.B.. We've promoted the plan in the Go Along Beach newsletter, which goes out to over 56,000 recipients. We issued a public notice to the city manager's office and we sent hardcopy mailers to 21,000 residents and businesses in CDBG eligible or recap census tracts. We also hosted for Neighborhood Association Focus Groups three virtual community meetings, two public hearings with the Long Beach Community Investment Company, and one virtual feedback session after the draft plan was published . Interpretation services were provided at the community meetings, the public hearings, and the feedback sessions as well. Staff have also consulted with and held meetings with several city departments. The Long Beach Continuum of Care Board. And we hosted two study sessions, one with the LV CIC and one here with the City Council. So the next couple of slides detail some of the key findings as it relates to housing conditions and challenges in Long Beach. The majority of residents in Long Beach are renters and 52% of households are lower to moderate income. 12% of households are considered large. WATTS Which means that there are five or more members living in the home. 20% of households are headed by seniors. 7% of households are headed by single parents. And the vast majority of those single parent homes are have a female head of household. And 40% of those households have children living in poverty. 10% of Long Beach residents live with one or more disabilities, and there are 3296 persons considered to be homeless. The majority of housing stock, 83% was built before 1979. So the implication here is that many units currently require or will require upgrades and rehabilitation. Other key findings illustrate the challenge of housing affordability and overcrowding. 2089 Publicly assisted affordable units are considered at risk of converting to market rate housing. Home prices have increased significantly over the last five years by 22% between 2017 and 2020. And then from January 2020 to January 2022, it's increased another 24%. Additionally, the median rent at Long Beach is higher than what HUD considers a fair market rent for smaller units. So studio apartments, one bedrooms and only about 14% of rental units have three or more bedrooms, compared to 63% of owner occupied units. We also looked at housing problems among low to moderate income owners and renters. Housing problems, for our purposes include physical defects, overcrowding, cost burden and severe cost burden. So cost burden means that a household uses 30% or more of their gross income to pay for housing. And as you can see here, LMI, renters experience cost burden at a much higher rate than LMI owners at 47% compared to 19%. 27% of LMI renters experience severe cost burden, which is 50% or more of their gross income spent on housing compared to 11% of owners. And overcrowding, which is more than one person living per room, is experienced much more frequently by renters at 14%, compared to 3% of LMI owners. So now we're looking at the prevalence of severe housing problems among and how those disparities exist across race, ethnicity in general. Extremely low income households experienced severe housing problems more than any other income group in the city. However, when we look at these problems, when factoring in race and ethnicity, we can see that Pacific and Pacific Islander households, as well as Hispanic households, experienced the highest rate of severe housing problems at 100% and 84% respectively, which is quite a bit higher than the citywide average of 75%. This is also true for the very low income category. Pacific Islander and Hispanic households experienced the highest rate of severe housing problems at 81% and 58%, respectively. When looking at cost burden, American Indian Alaska Native households experienced the highest rates of cost burden at 33%. However, black households experienced the highest rates of severe housing cost burden at 28%. So in addition to assessing for housing needs, the Consolidated Plan also evaluates what we consider non housing needs. This includes needs for persons experiencing homelessness, non homeless, special needs, which may include needs for persons with disabilities or single parents, for example, and non housing community development needs, which includes things like infrastructure, neighborhood cleanups or economic development. As mentioned previously, this plan includes about $500,000 annually for homeless services through the Emergency Solutions Grant, which is not a lot. However, the city receives funding for homeless services through a variety of other sources, including the city, county, state and federal, which totals over 77 million. And so even though the Consolidated Plan contribution just makes up a fraction of these overall resources, the Consolidated Plan does play an important role in the Health Department's overall homeless response and strategy. The continuing production of affordable housing is critical to addressing housing stability and preventing homelessness. The city currently receives annual funding for affordable housing under home at approximately 4.3 million per year. But we are also a recipient of the permanent local housing allocation, which gives us about $3 million per year, as well as some other one time funds, such as the city's care home grant. So as we'll discuss in future slides, the current plan and the first year action plan really maximizes those home funds. And aligning and leveraging all of these other different housing resources help us maximize our impact. Over the last few years, 302 new affordable rental housing units were completed with financial support from the city and the LBC, AC . Currently there are 323 affordable rental housing units under construction across four projects. The City and L.B. CIC provided about $14 million in funding, primarily through home. To support these projects, a total development cost for these four projects is over $180 million, which is to say that the city's $14 million investment leveraged 166 million and outside investment into these projects and into the city. The average city subsidy has been about 44,000 per unit, which is very low compared to past years as we asked developers to work hard to maximize other resources. The first of these four projects under construction is Anaheim Walnuts. This property will offer 87 affordable rental units for extremely low to low income families. Long Beach Senior Housing is a 67 unit rental property for extremely low to low income seniors. 26.2 apartments will provide 76 affordable homeless rental units for extremely low to low income households. And lastly, there's The Cove, which provides 89 affordable units for extremely low to low income homeless veterans. Another important tool to address housing needs is the housing element. The housing element is a required component of the city's general plan. It was updated this year and it shows how the city will meet housing demand over the next eight years. Our housing element goals are aligned with our Consolidated Plan goals, and some of the programs contained in the housing element will be addressed in the Consolidated Plan and with the funds that we receive. Housing element law requires that all California cities, towns and counties must plan for the housing needs of all residents, regardless of income. The California Department of Housing and Community Development determines the total number of new housing units that must be built. And this is called RINA, a regional housing needs allocation. Our local arena requirement is given to us by Skaggs, the Southern California Association of Governments. They look at several different factors in determining what our arena requirement will be. Some of those factors are household growth, future vacancy needs transit and job accessibility and household overcrowding. So as you can see here, the Long Beach Rina allocation is 26,502 units, and of which 57.9% of these units need to be for the extremely low, very low and low income households. These are our consolidated plan goals to assist in the creation and preservation of affordable housing for lower income and special needs households. To support activities to end homelessness. Support activities that assist with basic needs. Eliminate blight and or strengthen neighborhoods. Expand economic opportunities for low income households, and promote fair housing choice. When we develop a five year consolidated plan and the action plan activities, HUD regulations require us to focus on and address the listed priorities here. So housing needs, homeless needs, economic development needs, community facilities and infrastructure and community services needs. These are the steps that we take to develop the action plans. We start with HUD regulations and what is eligible. We gather meaningful public input. Input. We conduct an analysis of data which informs the needs assessment and helps us identify gaps in services. We also incorporate housing element goals to align our efforts. We consider resource constraints and we make geographical considerations in line with HUD requirements. So as we've discussed, one of the ways we've collected public input for this consolidated plan is through a multilingual community survey. This survey was posted online for a period of two months and was promoted and community meetings, workshops on social media and the various outreach efforts that I mentioned previously. The survey received a total of 586 responses. Respondents were asked to rank the relative importance of different programs and services, with one being the most important and seven being less important. So they ranked these items in three different categories community development, housing needs and economic development needs. So based on the survey results. Services for people experiencing homelessness was ranked as the most important community development need, followed by street improvements and neighborhood improvements and engagement. For housing needs. Housing for people experiencing homelessness was ranked highest, followed by rental housing for low income families and low income housing for older adults. And then finally, for economic development activities, respondents ranked job creation and retention programs as more important than small business assistance. Oh, sorry. I also want to mention the survey is just one of the ways that feedback is gathered. We also gathered input through community meetings and workshops, so we also recorded those public comments and weighed them as part of the overall needs assessment as well. And we received many public comments around the need for more affordable housing, increasing access to that affordable housing and services for people experiencing homelessness, which is in line with with the survey results that we received as well. I mentioned these structural changes at the beginning of the presentation. However, this slide just provides a little bit more detail about what those changes are in the new consolidated plan compared to the current consolidated plan. The proposed plan places an increased focus on new affordable housing construction through CDBG funded site acquisition, 80 new construction and continued home spending for affordable housing production. The plan expands programs and staffing to prevent homelessness through landlord tenant services. Support for the implementation of anti displacement regulations and complementary fair housing services. The plan also phases out the place based Neighborhood Improvement Strategy Program and modifies existing programs like the Home Improvement and Commercial Improvement Programs to increase increase grants of up to $25,000 to increase impact. Again, funding for parks will increase just with a shifted focus from programs to physical facilities. And the plan will also support grants and partnerships for capacity building for nonprofits, community land trusts and neighborhood associations. For the first action plan. Under the new consolidated plan, which is fiscal year 2023, we are proposing the following budgeted activities. Under Consolidated Plan Goal one Create and preserve affordable housing. We are focusing on affordable housing, production and site acquisition, anti tenant displacement services and housing rehabilitation under goal to support activities to end homelessness. We're focusing on preventing and responding to the needs of persons experiencing homelessness. I do want to point out that in fiscal year 23, the ESG activities shown here have since been revised. In FY 23, the focus will will be on rapid rehousing, $373,000 for that, and about $85,000 for street outreach. As we've all seen, the recently published homeless count has shown that the number of people experiencing homelessness has increased significantly over the last two years. So getting as many people into housing is the priority. We're also continuing the security deposit assistance program, though this time around it will be funded under CDBG rather than home. Under goal number three, eliminate blight and strengthen neighborhoods. A variety of community development activities are being supported, including graffiti removal and prevention funding for the Neighborhood Resource Center, capacity building for neighborhood leaders, grants to assist community organizations, community land trusts and business improvement districts. Park Facility Improvements. Code Enforcement and tree plantings. Under goal for the city will continue its technical business support program and undergo five. Fair housing services will be provided, which includes support for tenant landlord disputes, fair housing workshops to educate the public about protections and rights as well as some other services. The activities that we just covered do not constitute all of the activities that the five year plan will carry out. The programs listed here are currently funded under the 2018 to 2022 Consolidated Plan, and they will continue in the news cycle because these programs have existing funds already. They will not receive additional funding under the year one action plan, which is why they were not shown in those previous slides. However, these programs can receive funding in years two through five, depending on the need and the available funding. As mentioned before, local needs do exceed the funds that we have under this consolidated plan. However, there are some existing programs and resources that are working to address some of the needs identified in the plan process, which you can see here. So that includes some home ownership assistance programs, community land trust development, additional accessory dwelling unit programs and eviction prevention services. As required by HUD's recent directives. The Fiscal Year 23 action plan will not include any unspent REPROGRAMABLE funds from prior Action Plan years. Instead, these funds will be reallocated through the amendment process to different programs that are in line with the last consolidated plan, and they'll just continue to be accounted for and spent under their original fiscal year. So the table shown here details the reallocation of remaining FY 22, 21, 19 and 18 funds contained in the amendments. The proposed amendments are refocusing the majority of unspent funds to support housing acquisition. And with that, here is the staff recommendation for this item. The Consolidated Plan, an annual action plan must be submitted to HUD no later than August 15th, 2022, which is 45 days prior to the beginning of the new fiscal year. Speaker 10: Thank you very much, Mayor Council. I know that was a long report, but you can see how much thought and how much investment has gone in with community input into the next five years of these really, really critical funds. So I want to thank the team and thank Nicky for a really comprehensive report and shows how much we're paying attention to the community needs and housing in particular, and we're available to answer questions. Speaker 0: Thank you. I'll start off here and I'm happy to make the motion here. And you're right, it's it's important. Lots of community engagement went into this plan, and we only get one bite at the apple every five years. So it's important that we take our time and understand this program. In the district I represent, North Long Beach community is incredibly important. We it's one of the only flexible dollars that we have to address some real serious issues like economic development and improving facades. And we had a good conversation a few months ago, and I'm really proud to see a lot of the feedback from the council reflected in here. We talked about how the $2,000 grant program had an increase with inflation in many years. I'm really proud to see that it's now $25,000. That's enough to get a property on an open the door and, you know, sign the paper to let us spend some money to improve the facade. So so it's 25,000. Yeah. So that's, you know, that's a that's a that's a big deal. I also love that, you know, and based on our conversations, you know, when we first I mean, you know, last time we did a plan and the time before that we didn't have an economic development permit, we do now. And so this still allows you some flexibility to allow economic development. Whose you know. You know, I know they're short staffed today, you know, but but to allow that team to utilize things like this grant to go out and actually make things happen in the community, I also the last thing I'll say is it's very, very clear that you have an intentional focus on housing these five years. And I saw based on the surveys and all the feedback, that is the top issue. We have to use every tool that we have to advance affordable housing and so on, and to keep people in their homes. And so I particularly love the the the piece in there to help people stay in their homes. So that's incredibly important. So happy to make this motion and I move on to Councilman Sorrell. Speaker 4: Thank you, Vice Mayor. Yes. I want to thank staff for a great work done with this report back, reflecting our priorities. But I also am interested in learning how I'm new to kind of this CDBG grant process in the way that the reports or surveys are done and the reports coming back. And I see that it's now changing the emphasis from place based neighborhood programing to the housing development. And so how does that look? Because before when it's place based, it's based on kind of the criteria used in the most need, right? So how are you? So using the same criteria or approach? Speaker 6: Before we answer your question, I just want to just remind you that the place space will still will still be in process. We have two or three different project areas that we need to address, and I will be working with the corresponding districts to complete those efforts. It's under the separate the previous consolidated plan that that effort was unique. It was something that we discussed. So as far as projects to be able to identify brand and help neighborhoods in terms of improve its economic sustainability. Again, based upon the input we received at our public outreach efforts, we shifted our priority now to really focus on all things housing. So that's kind of what led to the phasing out of that of that program and into more housing opportunity areas. And to further answer your your question, COUNCILMEMBER So when we talk about a shift from, you know, sort of the place space program where those are infrastructure improvements, so sidewalk improvements, crosswalk improvements, landscaping, lighting and your district in, you're familiar with those. When we talk about housing production that comes in the form of a loan, it's a residual receipts loan, meaning the developer does not have to pay that loan unless there's extra revenues in a given year and then they make a payment on that loan. So we have two different pieces on the CDBG side. It's what's called a side acquisition loan. So it's to buy a piece of land to develop in the future an affordable housing project. So that may not end up being in the most the area of concentrated poverty. You've talked about on other items this evening and other occasions about, you know, housing being built around the city and not just in your district. So the emphasis has changed from the federal government over the last ten years and the emphasis is on high opportunity area. So we would do a solicitation of developers asking, you know, propose a project and we would look at a number of different factors the financial performance, the number of units, but also the location. And we would consider a location that might be over concentrated where there's a certain stretch of Long Beach Boulevard, which has a high concentration of affordable units. And those are great projects, but we're looking at doing projects elsewhere. So we would look at the location in that way, which is a different way of thinking about it than how we did the play space. But you're still serving people in poverty and very high levels of poverty and actually providing them certain options to experience different locations around the city. Does that answer your question? Speaker 4: Yes, because that's really where I'm getting it is regardless of where the housing is built, I would just want to make sure it's serving. Those who it's supposed to address are people living in poverty or people who are in at risk of being homeless. So I just wanted to make sure that regardless of where is built, if it's not identified as these sites as being high poverty areas, that people would be able to who meet at least a criteria would be able to have access to those housing. Speaker 6: And I'm going to let them give you the exact criteria for who we can assist and who we don't assist in general. Speaker 7: Which is used mostly for affordable housing. Speaker 10: In the first instance of the completion of affordable housing, we serve people that earn 60% area median income or below. And then when we also put together the contracts and the agreements together, for instance, out of 100 units, we have an option to make like 60, 70 of those units to be to go for very low income or basically hard money, whether it's home or some of it. You can only assist in housing production, land acquisition, people that are on 80% or less in the area, median income. Thank you. The other point I want to mention here is we have several other strategy funded activities. Those activities are still remain for us in low income eligible areas. Speaker 4: Great. Thank you so much. One thing I'll add is to say appreciate seeing more money being added to enhancing our neighborhood leadership program is so vital because some of the reason why many of the neighborhoods are needing support is because it does also need leadership in the area. So I hope to see more. I know that it's set there, but I hope they can be increase a little bit more because I think that's really what helps maintain whatever gets built in those the neighborhoods. Thank you very much. Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilman Mongo. Speaker 5: Thank you. I just wanted to ask. Speaker 2: A question of clarification about the presentation. Speaker 5: It talked about. Speaker 2: Homes with more than one adult. And I think that I just wanted to clarify. I know that people are watching at home and we want to be accurate and I could be wrong. I think that it's more than one adult that are not siblings or more than one adult that are not married to one another or cohabitating . I think that those would be exceptions. If they're not exceptions, I'd like to know about that. Speaker 5: It's now. Speaker 6: Yeah, I'm trying to find the exact slide, but we look at overcrowding in a couple of different ways. So one would be what you just mentioned, adults that do not have a, you know, relationship through marriage or sibling or parent child. And we also look at just the sheer number of persons per room. So there's two different ways to look at it. And I think both are actually alluded to in the presentation. Speaker 2: Yeah, I just know that we're a family or a city of family values and we appreciate to parent families just as much as one parent families than if there are two parent families. That's a reasonable way to live. And so when you count those numbers, we don't wanna be penalized for the number of families that we have in our city when the statistics are aggregated. And then my mom comes from a family, and I come from a family where my brother and I shared a room and my mother shared a room with her three sisters . And I think that that's a my girls share a room, even though I could separate them. I think that there's a lot of value in that and we want to make sure to have accurate statistics on a true need. Thank you. Thanks and great work on this presentation. It's been a long time coming and I know a lot of work going into it. Thank you. Speaker 0: All right. Thank you, Councilman Price. Speaker 4: Thank you. I just want to take a moment to acknowledge the staff for that amazing presentation. It was really thorough. I know these are topics that we've talked about quite a bit, certainly over the last eight years. But just recently we had the opportunity in April to touch on some of these topics, and the presentation tonight was fantastic. So I want to thank staff for everything that you're doing and also for the work that you do offline, not in a council meeting to educate all of us and teach us how we can be part of the solution in terms of working with housing providers and not only just helping shape policy, but also helping implement some of the policies that you bring to us for recommendation. So really grateful and appreciate the presentation. Thank you. Speaker 0: Fantastic. Thank you. Public comment on this item. Speaker 1: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on item 23 in person, please line up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the race hand feature or dial star nine now. Speaker 6: In present day Sinai campus. Sixth District Resident Councilwoman Mongeau. Page 26. I've read it multiple times, so you know you. I would let you know when we get this home acquisition program in and in movement. I would love to volunteer all my free time that I already spend reading your guys's white papers and reports. Amazing. Uh, uh, presentation. Uh, Miss Nikki. Uh, it's. It's amazing when the data supports, when you spent years of your life talking about, you know, we were losing our working class, uh, framework and, uh, it's great to see finally some teeth behind the methods used. To facilitate preserving that population, it's imperative for the future for the future of our school district, because our schools are going to be closing in next seven years because there's not enough children attending them. And honestly, just for the continuity of our communities and neighborhoods, I think I agree with Dr. Sorrell with respect to the concentration. HUD has the scattered method that they use now, but the concentration is of affordable housing projects in the 66 district neighborhood is always something to bring up. I think one topic, a solution that I like that was referenced was the, uh, the storefront facade thing, the $25,000 would help. The problem is that some people want to maintain blight. About a year or two ago, Councilman Austin tried to bring up a bill or relation to the vacancy tax because there's corridors like the Civic Avenue where people willingly choose to leave their storefronts empty, blighted, because they're waiting for the next economic kick to, you know, over sell their, you know, antiquated property for. That's something that we as a city need to impact and either force them to either drop the land so we can do something with it, like house these people or move on from it. The second thing would be that because although we do financing as a sneaky reference, we take county financing. When we do that, they one of the stipulations is that we have to take a list housing lists. So even though we are, to Mr. Hogg's point, providing opportunities of housing, it's not Long Beach people that get put in those buildings. And that's a problem. We cannot continue to allow, you know, projects to come onto our land and be built here, but don't facilitate eliminating those 3296 people. So great presentation, great opportunity for the public to see data and hopefully we can do something with this. Thank you. Well, finally, one thing is that L.A. Metro just announced that they're going to be facilitating land banking around all the transit hubs and transit zones. Maybe this is an opportunity to engage as a city with the county to facilitate some type of development. And I know lobbies Boulevard all the way up to Norfolk. Speaker 1: Mr. Can Vega, Time's up. Speaker 6: Has a lot of car dealerships that need to go. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 3: My name is Clarissa Cooper, and I came about a disturbance of the very and the city of Long Beach, a sanitation department. I have a picture here on my phone was so disturbing. And I don't I just like to show it to one individual or whatever to get something done. And there's another problem in the city of Newark, Long Beach beginning, maybe Cher Park and going forward, going north there, there's a bad rodent problem. And there are there are just many things that, you know, just really, you know, this is really getting really foul as far as like, well, the rats are really starting to come all around the apartment building and some people like four and 3:00 in the morning, they will take, you know, like their rubbish and throw it in the big vendors and I alley because it's you know so many apartments right around there and I was just to do anything they can be done about that because the raccoons are really the motion and I don't know whether in a Daytime Cher Park or not, but you know, it's really getting bad and they really need some type of situation to, you know, have it sprayed or, you know, it's really out of hand. They're going all the way from from from from right there along Beach Boulevard over to Atlantic. All the way down del Amo, up all the way to maybe South Street. And you know, if you ever be out in the evening by people that, you know, work at night and are coming home, this is this really is getting scary. And I've been here Long Beach for 50 some years, and I've never I've never witnessed this situation. And I was just wondering, cause I had a lot of fine people in my family that worked for the sanitation department that have gone on. And I just worried, you know, if they could do anything, it would be deeply appreciate it. I would really, you know, really. You know, thank God for that. Thank you. So if I could show someone this picture, if I may. Speaker 0: Maybe Mr. Murdoch is cued up. He'll help make sure someone can. Speaker 3: Speak with his shoulder. Speaker 10: Yes, absolutely. Aubrey, if I can ask you to come to talk to this lady and get all her information, and we can certainly work on this problem. So thank you for bringing that to our attention. Speaker 0: Thank you so much. I think that concludes public comment here. Members, please cast your vote. Speaker 1: Councilman's in Dallas. Speaker 2: All right. Speaker 1: Councilwoman Allen. Councilwoman Pryce. Speaker 4: I. Speaker 1: Councilman. Super. Now. Speaker 6: I. Speaker 1: Councilman Mongo. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 1: Councilwoman Sara. Speaker 4: I. Speaker 1: Councilmember, your anger. Speaker 3: I. Speaker 1: Councilman Austin. Speaker 3: Hi. Speaker 1: Vice Mayor Richardson. My motion is carried nicer. Speaker 0: Thank you. Good news. We have some results for those who have been waiting on the permit results. So, Madam Clerk, I'll hand it back over to you. Let's pull the let's pull the midtown up first. Speaker 1: So regarding results of assessment ballots cast for the Midtown Business Improvement District, the total assessment ballot distributed was 61 total valid ballots counted were 22, and the percentage of assessment in favor was 58.89%. There is not a majority protest. Speaker 0: Though. That's good. Speaker 1: News. This is good news. This passes. Speaker 0: Congratulations and we need to take a vote on this one before we move to the next one, correct? Correct. And we pull the item up on the system. Speaker 1: And this is item 17. I joined 23 International.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to approve the 2023 - 2027 Five-Year Consolidated Plan (Consolidated Plan) and Fiscal Year 2022 - 2023 First Action Plan (Action Plan), and prior Action Plan Amendments (FY 2021-2022, 2020-2021, 2018-2019, 2017-2018) for the Community Development Block Grant, the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, and the Emergency Solutions Grant Program Grant Funds; and Authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all necessary documents with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and other entities necessary to receive these funds, and execute agreements necessary to implement and comply with related federal regulations. (Citywide)

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Speaker 1: Vice Mayor Richardson. Hi. Motion carries nine zero. Speaker 0: Thank you. 27, please. Speaker 1: Report from City Attorney. Recommendation to declare ordinance amending the Long Beach Municipal Code relating to marine areas and Pacific Ocean areas. Read the first time and later for the next regular meeting of the City Council for Final Reading Citywide. Speaker 0: Thank you. Has been moved and seconded. Any public comment here at there? Speaker 1: Any members of the public they would like to speak on item 27 in person please. And up at the podium in. Speaker 5: Zoom, please use the raise hand. Speaker 1: Feature or dial star nine. See. Now, that concludes public comment. Speaker 0: Fantastic. Members, please cast your vote. Speaker 1: Councilman Zendejas. Speaker 2: Hi. Speaker 1: Councilman Allen. Speaker 4: Hi. Speaker 1: Councilman Price, I. Councilman. Supervisor. Speaker 6: All. Speaker 1: Councilwoman. Mango. I. Councilwoman Sara, I. Councilmember Urunga. Speaker 9: Hi. Speaker 1: Councilman Austin. Speaker 7: Hi. Speaker 1: Vice Mayor Richardson. Speaker 3: All right. Speaker 1: Motion is carried. Nine zero. Speaker 0: All right. Fantastic. That satisfies the agenda.

Ordinance

Recommendation to declare ordinance amending the Long Beach Municipal Code by amending Sections 16.08.023, 16.08.025, 16.08.026, 16.08.140, 16.08.551, 16.08.650(A), 16.12 Title, 16.12.060, 16.12.061, 16.12.162, 16.12.270, 16.12.280; and by repealing Section 16.08.024; relating to Marine Areas and Pacific Ocean Areas, read and adopted as read. (Citywide)

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Speaker 1: We have item 26. Speaker 13: Oh. Speaker 0: 26. Speaker 1: Okay, Mr. one. Speaker 0: No, we did 26. The infrastructure. Okay. Well, let's do 26. Speaker 1: Report from Public Works Recommendation to adopt specification. Ah, dash 7193 and authorize city manager to execute all documents to enter into multiple contracts for various infrastructure repairs and improvements and a total aggregate amount, annual amount, not to exceed 40 million for a period of one year, with the option to renew for two additional one year periods at the discretion of the city manager citywide. Speaker 0: Or any public company here. Speaker 1: If there are any members of the public that like to speak on item 26 in person, please line up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature or dial start start nine. See. Now, that concludes public comment. Speaker 0: All right, members, please cast your vote. Speaker 1: Cattleman's in the house. All right, Councilwoman Allen, I. Councilwoman Price. Speaker 4: I. Speaker 1: Councilman Zuber, now i. Councilwoman Mongo I. Councilwoman Sarah I. Councilmember Urunga, I. Councilman Austin. Speaker 7: Hi. Speaker 1: Vice Mayor Richardson. Speaker 0: Hi. Speaker 1: Motion carries nine zero. Speaker 0: All right. Thank you. That satisfies the agenda now. So we have our second general public comment. Before we go to closing remarks and adjournment. Madam Clerk, you want to just make sure you give the rules on public comment and if there's any final public comment. Speaker 1: So if you'd like to speak during second public comment, please line up at the podium. You'll be given 3 minutes for your second public comment period. Speaker 0: Thank you. Now we turn. Thank you. Come on forward. You recognize?

Contract

Recommendation to adopt Specifications No. R-7193 and authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to enter into contracts, and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with ACCO Engineered Systems, Inc., of El Segundo, CA, Bitech Construction Co., Inc., of Buena Park, CA, Blue Nose IT Solutions, Inc., DBA Blue Nose Construction of Los Angeles, CA, Good-Men Roofing Construction, Inc. of San Diego, CA, Harry Joh Construction, Inc. of Paramount, CA, Horizons Construction Co. Int'l, Inc., of Orange, CA, MIK Construction Inc., of Whittier, CA, PUB Construction, Inc., of Diamond Bar, CA, SJD&B, Inc., of Walnut, CA, Vincor Construction, Inc., of Brea, CA, and, World Wide Construction, Inc., of San Pedro, CA, for various infrastructure repairs and improvements throughout Long Beach, to be performed under the method of Job Order Contracting (JOC), in a total aggregate annual amount of $40,000,000, for a period of one year, with the option to renew for two additional one-year periods, at the discretion of the City Manager. (Citywide)

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Speaker 3: All right. Speaker 1: The motion is carried. Speaker 0: Thank you. We're going to now do item six, please. Speaker 1: Item six A report from Health and Human Services recommendation to authorize city manager to execute all documents necessary to enter into an agreement with the County of Santa Cruz, host entity for the county based medical, administrative, activist and target case management programs. Speaker 0: I councilman's in has. Speaker 2: If staff could give a brief presentation on this. Speaker 0: Mr. Modica. Speaker 6: Kelechi, please. Available. Speaker 3: Good evening, honorable mayor and council members. So this agreement is is actually a it's. Speaker 6: A hosting. Speaker 3: Agreement with the county of Santa Cruz to help in the administrative work of two very important programs in the health department. That's the Medical Administrative Activities Program and the targeted case management programs. These these programs allow us to draw down the modernization program, allows us to draw down dollars to help support different services. So the key places of support for these different services are through our medical outreach program. So conducting medical enrollments, outreach, other types of services, really removing the barriers to access for Medi-Cal. The other is targeted case management and we call it Rt-Cgm, which is really focused on specific programs for children under the age of 14, those who are medically fragile at risk of insulin institutionalization. Now also, those are at jeopardy of negative health or psychosocial outcomes. So that program is run through our Community Health Bureau, through our Nursing Services Division, and we work very closely to ensure that we can do outreach, case management and really connecting people to medical, social and educational services so that while this this is the contract to help us with that paperwork, it's a statewide contract that everybody buys into. The work itself is very important, and we look forward. Speaker 6: To moving forward with that work. Speaker 2: Thank you, Director. I just think that it was very important to highlight that program. Can you let our residents know where they can go or call for assistance on these programs? Please. Speaker 3: Yeah. So this is actually located at the main health building at 25, 25 grand. And if we if you go online, you can find the different phone numbers for the different programs. But the assistance can come either by telephone and virtually or it can be in-person. Speaker 2: Thank you so much. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Can I get a motion councilwoman in a second on this item? Councilman's in Haas and second by councilman sorrow and the public comment on six. Speaker 7: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on item six in person, please line up at the podium. And if there are any members of the public that would like to speak on item six in Zoom, please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine now. Speaker 0: Casey County Council member. Your anger. You queuing in. Speaker 6: So I was just trying. Speaker 5: To check on the motion, baby. Speaker 0: Okay, it's all secondary. Okay. Roll call, please. Speaker 1: District one. I district too. I disagree. I just took for. All right, District five. Speaker 3: I. Speaker 1: District six by district seven. Speaker 6: I. District eight. Speaker 1: District nine. Speaker 5: I. Speaker 1: The motion is Kerry. Niger. Speaker 0: Great. Thank you. We now want to turn it over to our city manager to do a presentation. Speaker 6: Yes. We have a presentation on our ADA and I will turn that to Heather. Speaker 0: Okay. I think we're going to come right back to that presentation in just a minute. We are we're going to go ahead and move on to our fund transfer consent items you think are 23 and 24.

Contract

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to enter into an agreement, including any necessary amendments, with the County of Santa Cruz, host entity for the County-based Medi-Cal Administrative Activities and Targeted Case Management Programs, at an annual cost not to exceed $6,500, for the period of July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2025, with the option to extend the agreement for three additional one-year periods, at the discretion of the City Manager. (Citywide)

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Speaker 0: Okay. I think we're going to come right back to that presentation in just a minute. We are we're going to go ahead and move on to our fund transfer consent items you think are 23 and 24. Speaker 1: Adam, 23, is a communication from Councilwoman Mango recommendation to increase appropriations by $1,000 to provide a donation to the Long Beach Lesbian and Gay Pray Inc to support the 2022 Long Beach Pride Parade and Festival. I am 24 is a communication from Vice Mayor Richardson. Councilwoman Sunday has and Councilwoman Allen recommendation to increase appropriation by 50,000 to support the Uptown Jazz Festival. Speaker 0: Can I get a motion in a second, please? Speaker 3: So moved. Speaker 0: Can I have a second by Councilman Richardson. Any public comment. Speaker 7: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on item 23 or 24 in person, please line up at the podium. And if there are any members of the public that would like to speak on item 23 or 24 in Zoom, please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine now. Seen none. That concludes public comment for these items. Speaker 0: Okay. Thank you. So we have a we have a motion, a second. There's no public comment. And so we will I have council members and they have I see you cued up also. Was this to speak for the prior item? Speaker 2: And this was just too motion for the presentation. Grant, I will come back to you. Speaker 0: Okay. So Vice-Chair Richardson, do you have any comments? I'm taking to the motion now. Speaker 5: Thank you. Speaker 0: Okay, we'll do a roll call vote, please. Speaker 1: District one. Speaker 2: Hi. Speaker 1: District two. I did it. Three. I district for. All right, District five. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 1: District six. District six. I. District seven. I. District eight. District nine. Speaker 6: I. Speaker 1: The motion is carried. Nine zero. Speaker 0: Okay. Thank you. We are going to go ahead and move on to two items, if that will, and we're going to go to general public comment and then to the rest of the agenda. These are the two commission appointment items.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $50,000, offset by $40,000 in Ninth Council District One-time District Priority Funds, $5,000 in First Council District One-time District Priority Funds, and $5,000 in Second Council District One-time District Priority Funds transferred from the Citywide Activities Department to support the Uptown Jazz Festival; and Decrease appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $50,000 to offset a transfer to the City Manager Department.

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Speaker 0: Thank you. With. With that, we're going to go ahead and conclude public comment. I just want to thank everyone that came to speak out for public comment. And we're going to go ahead and transition into the regular agenda. And. First up is item 14. I think, vice mayor, if we can take over the next two or three items and I will be right back. Speaker 5: Thank you. I'm happy to. Let's go to item 14 and we'll go to Councilwoman Sylvia Allen. Speaker 1: Item 14 is communication from Councilwoman Allen. Councilwoman Cindy has and Vice Mayor Richardson. Recommendation to request city attorney to draft resolution expressing the City of Long Beach support for the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems Initiative and coordinate with all relevant city departments and the Port of Long Beach Harbor Commission to join the Alliance for Renewable , Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems with the objective of creating a winning hydrogen hub proposal for California. Speaker 5: Thank you, Councilman Allen. Speaker 3: Yes, thank you. Vice Mayor, if I so may. May I request that we go to public comment before I make my comments, please? Speaker 5: Sure. Speaker 3: Thank you. Speaker 7: If there are any members of the public that wish to speak on this item in person, please line up at the podium and if there are any members of the public that would like to speak on this item in Zoom, please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine now. Our first speaker in Zoom is Jacob Bauer. The time begins now. Speaker 5: Thank you very much, Mr. Mayor, Vice Mayor and Honorable City Council members. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak. My name is Jack Brower. I'm a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of California, Irvine, and I've been studying how to reduce pollutant emissions, improve air quality and health for more than 25 years , especially using electrochemical energy conversion technologies like hydrogen fuel cells, electrolyzers batteries coupled to solar and wind power. Every single jurisdiction all around the world that has studied how we can achieve zero emissions in all sectors of the economy has concluded that the features of hydrogen are required. This is why you see almost all major countries in Europe. You see Japan, you see Australia, you see China all investing tens of billions of dollars in the hydrogen vector to achieve zero emissions. And this is why also our federal government, following on some of the leadership here in this very state of California, has also agreed to invest. Same order of magnitude, about $9.5 billion in hydrogen. And it's because we know, for example, in the state of California, we have achieved a very high level of renewable energy on our electric grid. But we're starting to need the features of clean hydrogen like long duration and massive energy storage. We also need it for underground delivery of renewable energy, which will give us the reliability we need in a zero emissions grid. We also need the features of hydrogen for decarbonizing and polluting. Very difficult to decarbonize indeed polluting applications, things like heavy industry, like heavy duty transport, like shipping and aviation. These sorts of things cannot be decarbonized, cannot be polluted without the features of reducing gas, high temperature and feedstock that hydrogen portends. So I urge you all to support the letter of support for Arches, the Alliance for Renewable, Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems, which will, I am certain, provide the opportunity for the city of Long Beach and many other entities throughout the state to bring green jobs and show the world how we can actually achieve zero emissions. Thank you. All right. Thank you. There's no. Speaker 6: Public comment. Speaker 7: Those members of the public that wish to speak, who are in the chamber, please line up behind the podium. Speaker 6: Good evening, honorable mayor, honorable City Council. My name is Chris Hannon. I'm here on behalf of the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California and the Los Angeles Orange County's Building and Construction Trades Council, representing over 500,000 of the best trained men and women in construction statewide and over 140,000 here in Los Angeles and Orange County as we speak, in support of joining the Arches Initiative. Hydrogen, specifically a green and clean hydrogen, is a way for us to power in a clean, responsible manner. Our future. This initiative, endorsed by Labor, is is going to be a competitive applicant for federal dollars and the bipartisan infrastructure bill to bring money back home to California, to bring money back home to communities like Long Beach and give give your residents and our members a future for for a clean economy that includes high road careers and the ability to meet our our carbon emission goals here in the state of California. Again, on behalf of the state building trades and all affiliates of our Los Angeles Orange County's Building Construction Trades Council, we wholeheartedly endorse the initiative and support the city of Long Beach joining the Arches Initiative. Thank you. Good evening, Vice Mayor and City Council. My name is Tommy, followed by IBEW Local 11 and support. We have I want you to recognize our members that are here today are IBEW staff and they know how important it is when it comes to hydrogen. There's been a lot of talk about hydrogen for she want to see for the last five, six months. And we've been involved with the coalition called Arches. We feel that this is a responsible coalition put together with public and private entities and labor. We feel that moving forward with the hydrogen motion tonight will signal other cities to support arches and to support hydrogen. And we're not just talking about hydrogen as general. We're talking about green hydrogen electrolysis. Green hydrogen is going to be the key for, you know, renewable and zero emission energy for the future. And we know that is going to be bring a lot of good construction jobs, just like my partner Chris Hannan mentioned. Obviously, the first thing that needs to happen is to bring to make sure that the grant funding is available, that we secure, you know, a really good organization when it comes to Arches and having stakeholders join in as well. But getting receiving those grant funding from the state and from the federal government is going to be key for California. And we want to we want to start that here in Southern California, especially Long Beach. I urge the city council to prove this tonight, and we look forward to working together with the city of Long Beach. Thank you. Good evening, Vice Mayor. Council staff. My name is Joe Sullivan. I'm speaking on behalf of the National Electrical Contractors Association, or NICA of Greater Los Angeles. This represents approximately 300 electrical contractors in Los Angeles County that partner with in the range of 10,000 union electricians. We strongly support and are committed to and strongly support this item. NECA is committed to arcus because we believe this coalition is the best option to receive federal funding for our region to produce green hydrogen. Green hydrogen is mandatory to decarbonize our economy and our contractors are trained and eager to do this work. As we see other phases of industry sectors get phased out. We think this can be great opportunities for contractors and electricians to continue to work in this space. This will create high road careers along with our partners at IBEW Local 11, we make a strong investment into the highest quality apprenticeship training with great pay and benefits at no cost to students. And we think Arches is a vehicle not only to decarbonize the economy, but to continue this economic ecosystem of creating career opportunities. Thank you. Speaker 3: Good evening, Mayor. Members of the council, commissioners and city staff. My name is Monica Garcia, and I'm here representing a yes. Our Alamitos Energy facility is located in the city of Long Beach Council District three, and we are committed to a long term vision of a carbon free energy future in California and the benefits it will bring to Long Beach and communities across the state. The eighth mission is to accelerate the future of energy together. And today we join our friends and allies in support of item 14. We applaud the City of Long Beach for placing this item on the agenda, and we thank you in advance for taking a leadership position in support of the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems Initiative, also known as Arches. As is one of the founding members of Arches, along with the University of California Renewables 100 Policy Institute, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, the L.A. and Orange County Building Trades and IBEW NECA, among others. We are a private partner in this public private initiative, and we intend to help the state of California reach its vision of a carbon free economy the renewable resources, energy storage and carbon fuel. Carbon free fuels such as green and hydrogen. Green hydrogen is produced from 100% renewable resources and offers significant promise in advancing zero carbon solutions and a replacement to diesel and natural gas to realize the goal of a green hydrogen hub in California. A public private partnership was developed in response to the Federal Infrastructure Bill. The objective of ARCHES is to create a winning hydrogen hub proposal for California and to be competitive for any green hydrogen hub application that this coalition would submit later this year or early next year to the US Department of Energy. We believe the city of Long Beach should be an integral part of the arc of the discussions and development as this diverse and experienced public private partnership is built out and governance is designed. The city, and particularly the Port of Long Beach, will be key stakeholders in the clean hydrogen hub development for production, storage, distribution and use . We thank you for your leadership on this item and give special recognition to the authors and their staff. Let's accelerate the future of energy together. Thank you. Good evening, Mayor, vice mayor and members of the council. My name is Tommy Reilly and I am the manager of government relations for air products on the West Coast. Air Products is the largest producer of hydrogen in the world. We have committed more than $12 billion globally to support the clean energy transition. Air products is now poised to bring an additional $2 billion in investment in hydrogen infrastructure to Southern California. We believe that a just transition can occur right here, beginning with the decarbonization of the port area. I'm here this evening to support the city joining the Arches Hub, hydrogen hub discussions. Working together, we believe that California is well positioned to attract significant D.C. hydrogen hub funding to the region. Thank you. Good evening, Mayor Garcia, Vice Mayor Rex Richardson, Honorable Council members my name is Angelina Ava, and I'm the founder of Renewables 100 Policy Institute. I'm also a member of the World Council for Renewable Energy, and I'm also on the board of the California Independent System Operator. We have Californians and the fifth largest economy in the world have been able to reach 100% renewable energy on our electricity grid, which is an incredible success. Although it's only for 112 minutes. We know we need to get to 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, every single hour of every single day. To get to that point, we need hydrogen and we need large scale storage and a diverse resource of fuel. Green electrolytic hydrogen made by the abundant renewable resources that we have in this state is certainly the way to move forward. But not only is it a method to decarbonize our electricity and energy systems, it's also a method to decarbonize our transportation system. 43% of our greenhouse gases in California come from transportation resources. So decarbonizing the difficult to decarbonize areas which Jacob Brower pointed out, such as heavy transport and shipping, certainly can be done by hydrogen. And that is why it is important for us to move into that area. We also want to congratulate the city of Long Beach for their ability, for their vision and for their support of the initiative. That is, Bridges and Arches is a public private partnership that has now been endorsed as the vehicle and the hub initiative for the whole state of California by the governor's office. So we are very proud that the University of California system for the very first time has created an unprecedented partnership to support Arches. We're very proud to have the united front and support of labor. We're very proud to be supported by industry such as industries in Long Beach, a yes and a product. And we look forward to creating the ecosystem of the future that will allow the fifth largest economy in the world to continue to decarbonize our energy systems, our transportation systems, our building systems and our fuels, while creating jobs, while creating economic development, ensuring reliability and resiliency of our system, and keeping our energy resources local. We will also intend to embrace the environmental justice community as well as ensure that just transition with good, high quality jobs and keeping our industries here. So thank you so much for your support and your leadership and we look forward to working with you. Speaker 6: Good evening. My name is Dave Shukla, Third District. I live across the street from the east plant. Also the founder and operations director of small nonprofit Limited Alliance for Clean Energy. Green Hydrogen has the potential, as you've heard earlier, to be a clean energy solution or like certain forms of the battery, better energy storage or blue green algae or carbon capture utilization and storage can replicate some of the problems that we currently have with our highly dependent fossil fuel system. For instance, the first thing you don't want say electrolyzers on the coast to require more energy than it provides. Second, there's a number of blue or gray hydrogen applications such as steam, methane, reforming that will only serve to extend the life of fossil fuel infrastructure that we knew weren't part of any realistic 2030 or 2050 scenario. Third, hydrogen as a gas is much harder to store and much more flammable than methane, which we already have considerable problems with leakage with our facilities and infrastructure already. I 80% of the wind installed over the past ten years. Offshore wind was done by one country over the past 12 months and that was China. Offshore wind is one of the examples where you have clear tradeoffs and it may be much more cost effective and much more easier to deploy to scale up in that way rather than replace it with hydrogen applications, especially in the generation sector. That said, this agenda item is something to support. The Arches proposal is something of some promise and it's something that we have some interested. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Let me let me turn this back over to countrymen, Ellen. Speaker 3: Yeah. Thank you. And just thank you to all the diverse supporters of this item who came out tonight and shared their positions. We saw Tommy from I BW Local 11, Jo from Annika and Chris Hannan from the IOC building trades on behalf of the state building trades. Thank you. Angelina from Renewables 100 and Monika from A.S. and Tommy from Air Products. And Dr. Brower at UC Irvine. This is just really important. And so I really appreciate you being here and speaking on this. At the UC office of the President sent a letter of support as their representative cannot join us tonight due to COVID . So I if I if you all let me if I may I'm just going to read a short excerpt. It says, UC serves as a research arm of state of California, encompassing ten campuses spanning the state, three affiliated national laboratories, six academic medical centers, and a division of agricultural and natural resources. U.S. performs nearly 10% of all the academic research in the United States as a founding member of Arches. The University of California is committed to working with the city of Long Beach and the Port of Long Beach and local, regional and statewide industry, utility and community partners towards needed deep decarbonization, pollution reduction and the betterment of local communities. By joining a participating in the formation and the establishment of Arches, the city and the port of Long Beach will be well-positioned to advance local and regional clean hydrogen hub development goals and ensure investments for clean hydrogen production, storage, distribution and use. Importantly, engagement with Arches will help ensure that the development and deployment of new zero emission hydrogen technologies addresses the concerns and needs of front line communities who have a who have borne and is portion it burden of the environmental impacts. This letter is in full. This this letter in full is part of the public record. And it will be published with these meeting minutes if you want to read the full letter. This item came about over the last couple of months due to the federal program to fund the development of clean hydrogen for decarbonization. We worked with Galvez, with the U.S. Office of the President and a number of other stakeholders to understand the federal program and how Long Beach could be a part of a winning proposal. Green hydrogen is the ultimate multitool like a Swiss army knife. So hopefully it's developed right here in Long Beach. It can be potentially used to decarbonize the heaviest industries and energy uses, like shipping, aviation and heavy duty trucks. And the federal government has put up $8 billion and competitive grants for hubs to accelerate development and rollout of this emerging technology. And by joining Arches as quickly as we can. Long Beach can have an influence on the development of the state green hydrogen application for these funds. So time is of the essence here. Due to the DOJ. Speaker 2: Meeting. Speaker 3: I've ever met, it's already 715 in there. Okay. All right. So time is of the essence because the DOJ is moving to the next phase of the program, likely in September. After discussing with port staff. Since then, the item was published last Monday. I have a slight alteration to the motion that I'm going to propose in a moment. Staff feels strongly that the city should move as one, and I agree this would be ideal as long as we can do so without any delay. The language differentiated between the Harbor Commission and the city as the Commission and the Council need to take separate actions. And this tweak would maintain that while bringing the harbor in the city together to move as one. This would allow harbor staff to bring their decision to their commission and for the city managers departments to move with the harbor department in tandem. Following the Harbor Commission's approval to join the Coalition. So. With all that, here's the motion. I would like the I would like to direct the city manager to coordinate with all relevant city departments to consider joining. And I would like the third recommendation to read request the Port of Long Beach Harbor Commission within 30 days. So does this seconder of the Motion Council in sorrow? Do you approve of that? Yeah. Yes. Okay. All right. Thank you very much. That's the end of my comments. Speaker 0: Thank you. Councilman Allen, complimentary of any comments? Speaker 2: Yes. Yes. Thank you, Mayor. Speaker 3: So I want to thank Councilwoman Allen for her leadership, as well as vice mayor and council members and for signing on. I support this item. Speaker 2: You know, I sit on the Metro. Speaker 3: 710 task force. Speaker 2: And. Speaker 3: This task force is formed to really think about a new vision for the 710 corridor. And how are. Speaker 2: We making sure. Speaker 3: It's clean, it's safe, and that we mitigate all levels of just pollution along that corridor? And I think that this is a first step with this item and how we can move beyond talking about getting. Speaker 2: You know. Speaker 3: Zero emission trucks on the freeway. Right. This is a step towards taking action to find investment and scaling the technology so that we can do so. So I'm really excited about it because I feel like we've been talking a lot about green energy, clean energy for a long time. And so I appreciate the efforts that's taken to get to this point. And I hope that at some point, as we are developing a new vision for the 710 Freeway, that this can be part part of it that that get to a level at some point if we are able to get the investment because of this group that you form. Speaker 2: I think it's just timely in the way things are moving forward. Speaker 3: So thank you. And again, I support it. Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilman Austin. Speaker 4: Thank you. And let me just lend my support to this item as well. I think this coalition can't lose. I mean, you look at the the amazing coalition that has come together. It's a public private partnership that I think represents everything that we need to have together for a greener, more innovative future of public private partnership. That I think is carefully constructed. But I think one that will actually grow. And, you know, I'm I'm encouraged about the future of this green hydrogen, the ability to create careers, jobs, GHG reductions, and help our city reach our goals of climate adaptation and resiliency. We've talked about this for many years. This is an action coalition that has come together, and I support everything that you guys are doing and look forward to results in the future. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Vice Mayor Richardson. Speaker 5: Thank you, Councilwoman Allen, for your leadership. And I want to just also chime in and thank the coalition for joining us this evening, but more importantly, for working together. You know, it's not often you see folks come together with United Ways, labor, business, NECA, your products and everyone else is sort of working together here. This is an important application. We know that at least one of these items will go to a significant port area in the San Pedro Bay. Port is the largest in the United States. So we have a good shot if we really get behind. This is very likely that if we apply, that will receive the funding that creates significant opportunities for us here in the city of Long Beach. So I think this makes all the sense in the world to go after as chair of the federal legislative committee here on the city council, as chair of the Marine Ports Committee, and be familiar with and I'm aware of the great challenges that we have with respect to the transition ahead with the clean air environment, and to do so in a way that preserves and protects jobs. And it's going to require significant funding in the years to come. This particular application presents a real vehicle for us. It's a vehicle to drive this transition. And so I want to thank all of you for speaking up. I want to thank Tommy for life, for acknowledging that all hydrogen is in all hydrogen isn't the same. This investment isn't a green hydrogen that plays an important part in the energy mix, the energy mix that we need in order to transition our economy and our systems and particularly our transportation system. So I'm happy to support this. Thanks again to my Councilwoman Allen and Councilwoman Cindy has for so long. Thank you so much. Speaker 0: Thank you. Next up, I have Councilwoman Pryce. Speaker 2: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I, too, want to thank the author of the item Councilman Allen and the Cosigners of the item for bringing it forward and the speakers tonight. I wholeheartedly support this item. I think one thing is clear is we're talking about our transition away from fossil fuels and our goals towards zero emissions. That all forms of energy are good and definitely needed right now for us to explore during this transition phase. It's really exciting. As chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and chair of the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority, we're seeing so many different zero emission and green jobs and companies forming in the city of Long Beach and piloting different forms of energy and different forms of energy delivery and so many different applications that are happening right now, mostly in our ports that we're studying and tracking data on and assessing feasibility for. And I think that's a fantastic thing for us to do. And we're seeing a lot around us. Some things are going to work great, some are not. But anything that we can do to try to move towards accomplishing some of our climate action adaptation goals as a city, but also our goals, the goals for the port, I think are critical for us at this time. So I wholeheartedly support this item and I look forward to the report back from city staff and hopefully being educated a little bit more about the specific type of energy and being able to educate our residents about it as well. As we move into this new era of examining and learning more about all the different types of energy that's out there and the ways that our city is going to transition to a zero emissions future. As we work with companies and all the entities that spoke today and and are out there that haven't spoken today, but hopefully will come before us at different committees and council meetings to educate us on the technologies that are being deployed. So thank you very much for this item and I support it. Speaker 0: Thank you. Councilman's in Dallas. Speaker 2: You think you, Councilwoman Allen and Vice Mayor Richardson for inviting me to join you on this item? This is very, very important, and I am super supportive of this item. And I just want to say this is a perfect example of the power of unity and coming together and moving in the right direction. So thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. I just. Just briefly. I just had to step out for a minute, but I did hear all the comments, and I just want to thank all the trades and the leadership. And obviously, Tom is here. Chris is here. I see people from a here, so many other folks that are involved and have been involved in this process and bringing this forward. I want to thank Councilman Allen and the council members that were thoughtful in bringing this forward and just all the hard work that's gone on to this point. I think it's exciting for me to be a part of this. I know that the Coalition has been speaking to my team as well and very supportive of of this coming forward. And I just want to thank everyone involved and look forward to its implementation and hopefully gaining the support so we can bring back these these federal funds and and other funds that are out there on the private and the private industry side to really ensure that we are going to a zero emissions future. So thank you to all involved. I know that we've done public comment, so if we can do a roll call vote, that would be great. Speaker 1: District one. District two. I did it. Three. I did for. Speaker 6: All. Speaker 1: My district five. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 1: District six. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 1: District seven. Speaker 6: I. Speaker 4: District eight. Speaker 1: Hi, district nine. And the motion is carried nine zero. Speaker 0: Great. Thank you very much. Thank you all. Next up is Adam 15, please.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to request City Attorney to draft resolution expressing the City of Long Beach’s support for the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES) initiative as it applies for federal Hydrogen Hub designation and funding; and Direct City Manager to coordinate with all relevant City Departments to join the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES) public private partnership initiative with the objective of creating a winning Hydrogen Hub proposal for California; and Request the Port of Long Beach’s Harbor Commission, within 60 days, to review and formally consider joining the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES) public private partnership initiative with the objective of creating a winning Hydrogen Hub proposal for California.

LongBeachCC

LongBeachCC_07122022_22-0782

Speaker 0: Great. Thank you very much. Thank you all. Next up is Adam 15, please. Speaker 1: Adam 15 Report from City Manager Recommendation to DOT Resolution to execute a contract with Arts Council for Long Beach to fund Long Beach Recovery Act grant programs in a total amount not to exceed 681,000. I'm in agreement with Long Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau to increase the contract by 900,000 for a total amount not to exceed 5.5 million, and a resolution to execute contract with modern market for all in a total amount not to exceed 26,000. Speaker 0: Think we get a short report on this, Mr. Modica. Speaker 6: Yes. These are part of our Recovery Act. I will ask Meredith Reynolds, our special deputy city manager, over recovery, to give a report. Speaker 3: Thank you, Tom. Good evening. Member of Mayors City Council. Standing before you tonight is a single item inclusive of multiple contracts that are necessary to implement programs approved by the City Council in March 2021 under the Long Beach Recovery Act. The following programs require the City Council to adopt resolutions and or authorize the city manager or designee to execute contracts with selected vendors to continue implementation of Long Beach Recovery Act programs. First, the City Council approval is requested to adopt a resolution authorizing a contract with the Arts Council of Long Beach to administer the Creative Economy Grants Program. The Arts Council is a clearinghouse for for all arts, culture and historical organizations and is leading the Creative Economy Grants Program. This action enables the distribution of grants that close on July 7th. City Council approval is also requested to amend the city's contract with the Convention and Visitors Bureau to support visitor attraction activities. The CVB will use funds to coordinate marketing campaigns in conjunction with the States, visit California campaign and reach businesses and leisure visitors and bring them to Long Beach. City Council approval is also requested to adopt a resolution authorizing a contract for modern markets for all, for the enhancement and expansion of the app that supports the work program . This pilot program was launched in 2020 by Pacific Gateway in partnership with Modern Markets for All. City Council approval is requested to adopt the resolution authorizing a contract with California State University Long Beach Research Foundation for the Economic Recovery Analysis Report. That's part of one of the recovery economic recovery programs. And finally, the city council approval is requested to amend the city's contract with Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab. That will allow the continuance of technical assistance that is helping to study and improve the city's procurement process, which was part of a previous council action. This recommendation requests the City Council to grant this authority to the city manager, and no funding changes or appropriations increases are necessary at this time, as these are part of previous budget actions taken by City Council. So these are simply the contracts that allow us to execute. That concludes our presentation and we're available for questions. Should you have them? Speaker 0: Thank you. There's a motion and a second. Is there a public comment on this item? Speaker 7: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak onsite in person, please line up at the podium. And if there are any members of the public that would like to speak on this item in Zoom, please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine now. The first speaker. Please approach the podium. Speaker 6: Thank you. Good evening. Honorable mayor, vice mayor and council members and city staff. My name is Dan Cypresses. I'm the president of the Arts Council for Long Beach. I would just like to say thank you, thank you for your continued support of the Arts Council. I've been on the board for five years now. With me, I have my board member and former vice president and vice president, Mr. Greg Johnson of former President Tarja Hunter. And and I also have my advocacy chair, Mark Davidson. That's going to give more of why we're here tonight. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening. Your garcia and vice mayor and city council. It's great to be here. And specifically representing, uh, and appreciative of the continuation of the Creative Economy Grants Program. I wanted to just kind of remind the Council, uh, specifically the four grant opportunities that this program represents. The Organic Organizational Recovery Grants will be available to support the operational recovery of large arts, cultural and historical nonprofit organizations in the city of Long Beach. The second program is the Public Mural Program, a Creative Economy Grants program that includes funds to support a public mural program for which the city has created sites at public facilities citywide that will be made available to artists for mural art work, which has been incredibly successful and and really quite a visitors attraction, I might say, for anybody visiting the city of Long Beach. The third program is the community project grants. These are grants to support one time projects by arts, cultural and historical organizations in Long Beach, the arts one week's existing Community Project Guidelines. The fourth program is the Artist Fellowships. These are professional artists who live, work and actively create in Long Beach and demonstrate an active exhibition in or production record. They are eligible to apply for artist fellowships to the Arts Long Beach, uh Program Arts. Long Beach Arts for Long Beach was selected as they are. We are the only organization with the necessary experience, qualifications and institutional knowledge to successfully administer the City Arts Supporting Program in Long Beach. Our leadership and oversight is represented by individuals with diverse professional backgrounds, many speaking right behind me with a profound understanding of community. I think this is incredibly important. The Arts Long Beach acts as a clearinghouse mentioned for all the arts, cultural and historical organizations within Long Beach, and has had a longstanding contractual relationship with the city to manage city funded art programs, including program for public art and grant programs. Again, quite appreciative of your support and continued support. Thank you. Speaker 4: Honorable mayor and council members. When I was Charles Brown. I'm a board member of the African-American Cultural Center of Long Beach. But I'm speaking from a general cultural community perspective for over 50 years, starting at the age of 19. Being appointed to a community advisory committee by then Mayor Ernie Cahall. I I've been working with a number of organizations and for agencies and governmental groups that have tried to do their best to address the issues of equity inclusion from a social lens, from an employment lens. But very often there was no inclusion or view in regards to a cultural. Speaker 6: Or arts. Speaker 4: Perspective. One of the things I'm pleased to see that in the language that has been introduced, especially by the city of Long Beach, with the Recovery Act resources that are being involved, arts and culture is being included. And I want to stand here in support of this contract, as the Arts Council has served as the hub for a number of our cultural organizations in the city and addressing and speaking to the community's perspective on how we can best use those resources. So, again, I stand here in support of this contract. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Councilman Sarah. Speaker 2: Thank you, Mayor. I just want to. Speaker 3: Thank the board members of the Arts Council of me, just all the staff and all the supporters for your hard work. It's evolved a lot. I remember the Arts Council back. Speaker 2: In the days. Speaker 3: When it did distribute grants for performance arts as. Speaker 2: Well, and many other was a really. Speaker 3: General. Speaker 2: Grant making in the arts. Speaker 3: General arts community. So I really appreciate all the work in that and the difference that you've made in all of our communities in Long Beach and how much culture is such a part of our neighborhood now because of what you you've all been able to do. Speaker 2: So thank you. Speaker 0: Councilman Austin. Speaker 4: Yes, I'm happy to second this motion and support the continued funding of our Arts Council. It's the gift that keeps on giving a lot of creativity, culture, arts. I think Mr. Brown said it best and obviously continuing to fund our CVB. And, you know, we know that our Convention and Visitors Bureau is an investment in our city that will continue to to promote economic development. And and, you know, the best of Long Beach. Speaker 0: Catwoman price. Speaker 2: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, and I appreciate all the comments tonight from all of the speakers. And it's great to see the commitment of these funds to so many important organizations throughout the city of Long Beach. I wholeheartedly support this. I do have a couple of questions for staff. Do we have any information on any future recovery funds that we would expect from the state or federal government? Speaker 3: Councilmember Price in terms of future funding, we are tracking a variety of sources at the federal level as well as the state level through our federal and state legislative work. We are also actively pursuing a variety of grants from county, state and federal opportunities that have been funded by the American Rescue Plan Act and will continue to do so as those budgets are adopted and appropriation processes happen and matching our local needs to a variety of those services. We have been reporting also biannually on our website and through a variety of other methods of additional funds that our office and our colleagues at different city departments have been securing over the the time since council adopted the original Recovery Act and will continue to do that as we do successfully secure those additional funds. Speaker 2: Great. Thank you for that. The funds that we're approving tonight through this item, how do those compare to any that we've previously allocated in terms of uses, amounts or eligible organizations? Speaker 3: Councilmember Price. These particular entities and amounts are those that come from the original Long Beach Recovery Act that council adopted and were contemplated as a part of that. This is the kind of technical action that council needs to take in order to grant authority. So these are existing organizations that we have relationships with that require council authority to extend the ability to either provide the funding for grants or to execute contracts to continue the work. We do have a variety of other entities, community based organizations, nonprofits, etc. that will come to you in future council items that were done through a competitive bid process centered in equity and collective impact that will provide for additional funds to those groups for the continued implementation of other programs that you don't see here this evening. So this is one of several actions we will take over the next couple of months to ensure that the adopted programs are implemented as council directed. Speaker 2: Okay. Great. And then just out of curiosity, do we have any metrics that we're employing to see the impacts of funds like these and and their impact on our community? Do we. Is there any way that we can, you know, moving forward, know that, you know, this investment of these dollars resulted in this economic benefit for the city, or are this type of engagement or access or whatever for the city? Are we following any any sort of metrics? Speaker 3: Yes, Councilwoman Price, every of all of the 80 plus one Beach Recovery Act programs, each one of them has a program plan, which includes the metrics that that program will follow and report on actively throughout the process. And so as programs get rolled out, or if we're entering into contracts with partners or program or service providers, those metrics are ones that either we as city staff or those partners are capturing. And we will be reporting those in a variety of ways. And those metrics will be reported as part of our biannual reports that go to the city council as well as on our city website. And we are providing a variety of those metrics also to the U.S. Department of Treasury when we report our our include our federal report by their deadlines. And so those are metrics include, you know, basic things like number of grants given out, but also the quantitative metrics and measures about the impact, as well as qualitative measures related to the stories and storytelling from our community members or other nonprofits that are providing these services. So you'll get to see that data in a variety of ways and through a variety of people's eyes as we move through and implement these programs. Speaker 2: Is it sort of like like you would have with a grant, like a quarterly report on performance metrics or things like that? Speaker 3: That's right. So. Councilwoman Pryce, as we enter into contracts, for instance, those that we are proposing to you this evening, these are metrics that are built into the contract requirements. And then those contract with those vendors or groups that we are contracting with then provide that information on a periodic basis. Some are monthly, some are quarterly, some are. If it's a one time thing, it might be a one time sharing of data. But depending on the way that the program is designed, all of that is coming from the partners and we'll be able to communicate that back to city council and to our public. Speaker 2: Excellent. Thank you so much. I appreciate your work and this is a great item. I look forward to supporting it. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. I just want to add, it's really great to see all the kind of the work that we initially put in. Mr. MODICA When the team came together to kind of figure out where we were going to propose to spend all these resources and how we bring this in front of the council to allocate resources into what kind of areas and what buckets on the on on the federal dollars that that we went out and we worked really hard to get and to compete for. And that's especially happy that we made an early decision to put significant funding into arts organizations. And I was saying that was important, that we felt that that if we're going to have a full recovery, that our arts organizations needed to be a part of that and needed to be at the center of what we're doing. In addition, we had some early conversations. I'm really happy to see the research component in here. I think, Mr. Monica, you and I talked about that specifically and the fact that Cal State Long Beach is involved and that you brought the Arts Council so active and they were ensuring that our our our CVB and Convention and Visitors Bureau as is SAT and so many artists is, is really, really great. I know this is just some of the grants and some of the other money that's being distributed. I look forward to the rest of the list. I think you've done a great job of bringing forward some how we're spending a lot of these resources, but it's good to see all the kind of large buckets of money that the council approved. It seems like maybe a year ago or so finally in front of us to to to put out and I was wondering once these are approved tonight and as we approve these moving forward, because as you know, I've been a little anxious and have felt that things have taken a little bit long to get to us. But I understand it's been complicated. But when when these can approve tonight, how quickly is the resources and the money distributed? Speaker 3: Mr. Mayor, in terms of the resources being distributed, those are things that can happen immediately. So, for instance, with the Creative Economy grant for the Arts Council, though, those programs have been available for a series of months. They were actually extended just to maximize the amount of applicants. They closed on July 7th. They're in the process of making those decisions, and the money will be available to the Arts Council to issue those at such time that they are ready for the artist that they are giving grants to. Same thing with the CVB and the others that are on the list in terms of being immediately available to implement those programs. Speaker 0: Great. And let me also ask the as far as all the broader economic recovery programs that we adopted. How many more are still on or on their way to council? Have we gone through most? I know many of them are going through an RFP process, but what percent of the money spent in the programs has actually gone out? Speaker 3: In terms of the the percentage of funds we can provide that to you very detailed case and we have begun to do that. And through our biannual report in terms of the number of programs in the economic recovery and healthy and safe communities buckets. All all except one have been internally approved and many are out and live. And there's a variety of others that are coming and anticipated during the summer, including our Universal Basic Income Program and some of those that have come to council. So we can provide a full accounting of everything that you have seen for council action to date. And any that will ah, excuse me will be anticipated in the coming months for City Council contract authority approval. Speaker 0: Great. I personally and if the Council agrees, I'd like to get a public presentation from staff on all of the entire economic recovery package that was adopted. And just the status update of where of what money has gone out, what is still outstanding and where we are in the RFP process. And we can wait a little bit. I know, I know a lot of these are kind of on the verge of happening right now, but it'd be nice maybe and you know, six weeks or a couple of months just to get a full update once you're feeling really good about where those programs are, because I'd like to come back and see the success of what we've done as a city. And I think the public a good time to remind the public as well of all the great things that the city is doing and how we're spending these funds. Mr. MODICA Yeah. Speaker 6: Happy to do that. And we're also in the process of building a very interactive dashboard that can show you all of that as well. We have a lot up already and then we're putting in a lot of the financials as well, so we'd be certainly willing to come and talk about it. There's a lot of successes that have happened. Speaker 0: Have the grants gone out like the restaurant grants and the fitness grants and all of those they have, right? Yep. Okay. And so it sounds like a vast majority of these of the grants have already gone out. And maybe there's some more that are still on the way to the council, but a major majority are out. Is that correct? Speaker 6: Yes. Okay. Speaker 0: Excellent. Well, there's a motion and a second. Members, please cast your votes. Speaker 1: District one. My district, too. I disagree. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 1: District for my. Speaker 3: District five. My. Speaker 1: District six. I. District seven. Destroy District eight. Speaker 6: By. Speaker 1: District nine. The motion is carried nine zero.

Resolution

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with the Public Corporation for the Arts of the City of Long Beach, Inc., dba Arts Council for Long Beach, a California nonprofit corporation, to fund Long Beach Recovery Act (LB Recovery Act) grant programs, in a total amount not to exceed $681,000, for a period of two years with the option to renew for one additional year, at the discretion of the City Manager, consistent with City Council approval of the LB Recovery Act; Authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to amend Agreement No. 28164 with the Long Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Inc., a California nonprofit corporation, to provide LB Recovery Act funding, to increase the contract by $900,000 for a total amount not to exceed $5,508,676 for Fiscal Year 2022, consistent with City Council approval of the LB Recovery Act;

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Speaker 0: Thank you. Next up is item number 16. Speaker 1: Item 16 is report from Development Services. Recommendation to adopt resolution declaring the Long Beach Community Investment Company owned property located at 2253227 East 15th Street and 1510 Palm Court as exempt surplus land and ensure compliance with the Surplus Land Act and State Regulation relating thereto. District one. Speaker 0: Thank you. If I can get a motion in a second, please. And I'm going to get with the motion in a second. I'm going to also ask for a long, extensive report on this item. Just kidding. Interesting. There's the motion in a second. Is there is there a public comment on this item? Speaker 7: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on the side in person, please line up at the podium. If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on this item in Zoom, please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine now. Speaker 6: So I can create a six district resident. We only need a little bit of transparency. Mayor We don't need it. You don't need a 90 page report for every item. Is this the councilwoman then? They are. This is the 15th street. Uh. Um. Item The surplus land is the. Speaker 0: Palmer Court item. Speaker 6: So again. Speaker 0: Palmer Court. Court. Speaker 6: Okay. Um, I think this is amazing. What's been blighted and it's a great opportunity to hopefully, you know, my understanding of Governor Newsom's executive order and with the Surplus Land Act is that these are the kind of opportunities, a public space being pushed towards affordable housing. Um, and so I think that this is a great opportunity for us to develop new opportunities to help combat the current housing crisis. So I appreciate the councilwoman for bringing this up and hopefully we can find some appropriate partners to do something great with this land. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. We have a motion in a second and there's no public comment. I'm sorry. There was one member of the public who spoke. Unless anyone has any comments on this item. Councilman, you have any comments? No. Councilman. Sir? Customer. Your anger is just emotion. With that members, please go and cast your votes. Roll Call. Vote. Speaker 1: District one. District two. I disagree. I. District four. By District five. Speaker 3: I. Speaker 1: District six. I. District seven. Speaker 6: I. Speaker 1: District eight. District nine. Speaker 5: I. Speaker 1: The motion is carried. Nine. Zero. Speaker 0: Thank you. Next up is item. 17, I believe.

Resolution

Recommendation to adopt resolution declaring The Long Beach Community Investment Company owned property located at 225-227 East 15th Street and 1510 Palmer Court (APN 7269-017-035,036,037) as “exempt surplus land” as defined in Government Code Section 54221(f)(1)(F); and Authorize City Manager, or designee, to take any actions and execute any documents necessary to ensure compliance with the Surplus Land Act and State regulations relating thereto. (District 1)

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Speaker 1: The motion is carried. Nine zero. Speaker 0: Thank you. I'm in. Speaker 1: 2020. Report from Technology and Innovation. Recommendation to Adopt Resolution to execute a contract with Office Depot, LLC for ongoing lifecycle replacement of equipment and new incremental technology growth for a total annual contract amount not to exceed 1.5 million c. Y. Speaker 0: Got a motion in a second or any public comment. Speaker 7: If there are any members of the public, they would like to speak on this item in person. Please let up at the podium. And if there are any members of the public that would like to speak on this item in Zoom, please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine. Seen none. That concludes public comment. Speaker 0: There's a motion and a second. Members, please cast your votes. Speaker 1: District one. By District two, i. Three. I. District four. I. District five. District six. I. District seven. I District eight or District nine. The motion is carried. Nigel. Speaker 0: Thank you. Leave. Next up is item 26.

Resolution

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including subsequent amendments, with Office Depot, LLC, of Boca Raton, FL, for ongoing lifecycle replacement of equipment and new incremental technology growth, on the same terms and conditions afforded to Region 4 Education Service Center (ESC), of Texas, through OMNIA Partners, for a total annual contract amount not to exceed $1,587,000 until the Region 4 ESC contract expires on May 31, 2024, with the option to renew for as long as the Region 4 ESC contract is in effect, at the discretion of the City Manager. (Citywide)

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Speaker 0: Thank you. Leave. Next up is item 26. Speaker 1: Adam, 26, is a report from Health and Human Services recommendation to enter into an agreement with Los Angeles County to receive and distribute infant formula to families who have been impacted by COVID 19 citywide. Speaker 0: There's a motion and a second is or any public comment. Speaker 7: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on this item in person, please sign up at the podium. And if there are any members of the public that would like to speak on this either in Zoom, please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine now. Seen none. That concludes public. Speaker 0: Comment. Thank you. I'm going to ask Mr. Monica, do you want to have health? Give us kind of a short report. And this is an important and really great development for the city. Absolutely. Speaker 6: This is a great thing. So Kelly Colby is on the line and can give a report. Speaker 3: Leaning mayor and council members, including Harry. Speaker 6: Yes. Speaker 3: So this item you've been having a shortage of, you are well aware of your formula. Speaker 6: And this is a. Speaker 3: Contract with the county. They're providing 1000 cans of. Speaker 6: Formula to the health department. Speaker 2: To distribute to people who are having difficulty accessing. Speaker 3: Formula we'll be distributing into our websites. Speaker 6: Through. Speaker 5: And and. Speaker 3: Community based. Speaker 5: Events. Speaker 3: As well. And then for. Speaker 6: Folks who are. Speaker 5: On Medi-Cal and other states and so we are working. Speaker 3: Very closely with the county. Speaker 6: And this allows us to set that formula to distribute. Speaker 0: Great. Thank you very much. There is a motion in a second. And he said there's no public comment. So we'll go into do a roll call vote. Speaker 1: District one. District two, i three. I. District four. Ninth District five. Speaker 3: I. Speaker 1: District six. I. District seven. Six seven. Speaker 6: I. Speaker 1: District eight. Speaker 4: My. Speaker 1: District nine. I'm. The motion is carried nine to.

Contract

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to enter into an agreement with Los Angeles County to receive and distribute infant formula to families in need of infant formula who have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. (Citywide)

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Speaker 1: District nine. High. The motion is carry. Speaker 0: Thank you. Items now. Item 16, please. Speaker 1: Thank you. Speaker 0: So read the item 16, please. Speaker 1: Item 16 is a report from Parks, Recreation and Marine recommendation to authorize City Manager to execute all necessary document with L.A. 84 Foundation to Accept Learn to Swim 2022 Grant funds in the amount of 15,000 for summer aquatic programs targeting economically disadvantaged youth at Belmont Plaza, temporary pool, silver pool and Martin Luther King Junior Pool from July six, 2022 through August 26, 2022, two, six, three, six and eight. Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilman Toro. Speaker 1: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I just first want to thank L.A. 84 Foundation for providing the funds for the three pool, particularly the Martin Luther King Jr. Pool. I just had a question about this because, you know, about a few months ago, Long Beach, six district residents and leaders just walked through the the pool with the city staff and found that the pool and the area to be in terrible condition. So and right away staff took action and is going through a renovation process but I wanted to make sure we got clarification of that's going to affect what is that renovation timeline and how is that going to affect the programs for this pool? Speaker 2: Eric Lopez. Thank you, Tom. Councilwoman So we're we're doing see some of the repairs that we can do now. We can do fast that hab and that will have minimal impact on on the on the users of the poor. So we're going to be doing plumbing repairs, painting the cleaning of floors and other areas. We're going to be just there's a series of other improvements that we have planned, but they will not impact the actual operation of the pool. We will need to come back either in the fall and winter to do more improvements. That will be more impactful. But we will we will have time to plan those out, and it won't happen during the busy summer, summer season. So we'll be able to plan those out. But the current summer programing will not be impacted by our improvement plan. Speaker 1: Great. Thank you so much for clarifying that. Speaker 0: Thank you. Can I get a second on this motion, please? There's emotion and a second is really certain. Speaker 8: Thank you. I'm happy to take in the motion. Just a quick question. So I see the three city pools are included here in North Long Beach. We've typically used Jordan High School through the Joint Use Agreement. Was it not included in the application for this program? Speaker 2: It is. Brant is on the line. Do we have him available? Speaker 7: Yeah. Tom, this is Brian here. I also have Ted Stevens, who oversees our aquatics program, which would include the swim program. My recollection, though, the grant application, because of its funding limit, we've historically just applied for our three pools, although I would say in the future, because we're really working closely with Long Beach Unified School District to improve our joint use agreements. And I know they're renovating all of their high school pools and updating them. So there are some greater opportunities in the future. But for this coming summer, which actually starts tomorrow and runs through the final Friday in August, that will be our summer swim program for Kings, Silverado and Belmont. Speaker 8: Thanks, Brian. I would just say, you know, I know that we don't have our pool in North Lombard yet. We will have one someday. But the joint use that Jordan is is available to us. So as we apply for grants, we should keep that in mind because, you know, a fifth of the city's youth live in the 925 zip code. Thanks a lot. Speaker 7: Good boy. Thank you, ma'am. Speaker 0: Thank you. Is there any public comment on this item? Speaker 5: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on item 16 in person, please line up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature or dial starting nine now. Speaker 6: First, I want to thank, um, Councilman Sorrells, successful office as well as L.A. 84, for this opportunity to peer together. I think it's great that the surplus money from the Olympics, the only Olympics to ever be profitable, is still positively impacting the lives of children in Southern California. In the meeting that our councilman just referenced, which I was present and, um, you know, one of the things we brought up to um, Mr. Dennis were relation to the pool was that there's an issue with capacity and space for children in the neighborhood. Um, currently my pool is, uh, and a temporary pool. And so there's a shuttle process between the children and elderly in the Belmont area to the Kings Park pool. I was just there over the weekend and witnessed it with my own eyes as I brought some of my seniors in the neighborhood to the pool where there's a space capacity. And so I'm just curious what relation to this funding. How is it that we're going to be able to impact the lives and target specifically economically disadvantaged youth if the economically disadvantaged youth that live in the neighborhood are still unable to use the pool during the busiest time of the year due to, um, you know , the swim, uh, spots being taken up by people outside the sixth district. I can't speak for relation to Silverado. Um, but I did bring it up to the Director of Parks that the people from our neighborhood in the Kings Park area are told by staff at the pool that they should go to Silverado Park to swim. So I'm hoping that if we're going to be getting some of this money, that we can somehow prioritize or make some type of quota system for residents in the area rather than, uh, continually being directed to go to a pool on the west side. Thank you. Speaker 5: That concludes public comment. Speaker 0: Members, please go out and do the roll call vote. Speaker 1: Mr. Gunn. District nine, District two I. District three I. District four, District five i. District six. District six. I. District seven. Speaker 6: I. Speaker 1: District eight. District nine. I. The motion is carry. Speaker 0: Thank you. I'm not going to turn this over to. Actually, we do have some fun transfer items, I believe. Right. So let's go and do the fun transfer consent items. Think are 23, three, 26, 37, 340. If I get a motion and a second for all those and let's read those please, Madam Quirk into the record.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all necessary documents with the LA84 Foundation to accept Learn to Swim 2022 grant funds in the amount of $15,000, for summer aquatics programs targeting economically disadvantaged youth at Belmont Plaza Temporary Pool, Silverado Pool, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Pool, from July 6, 2022 through August 26, 2022; and, execute all necessary documents to implement and administer the grant including any amendments. (Districts 3,6,7)

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Speaker 0: Thank you. I'm not going to turn this over to. Actually, we do have some fun transfer items, I believe. Right. So let's go and do the fun transfer consent items. Think are 23, three, 26, 37, 340. If I get a motion and a second for all those and let's read those please, Madam Quirk into the record. Speaker 1: Item 22 is communication from Councilwoman Mango. Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $250 to provide a donation to the Long Beach Camera era singers. Item 23 is communication from Councilwoman Price recommendation to increase appropriation in the General Fund group in the City Manager Department by 20 $500 to provide a donation to Long Beach Lesbian and Gay Pride Inc. Item 24 is communication from Councilwoman Price recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $1,289. To provide a donation to Loss Loss readers. Wetland Steward Item 25 is a communication from Council and Price recommendation to increase appropriation in the general friend group in the City Manager Department by $250 to provide a donation to the Long Beach camera singers. Item 26 is a communication from Councilwoman Allen recommendation to increase appropriation in the general fund group in the city manager department by $250 to provide a contribution to the Long Beach camera singers. Item 37 is a communication from Vice Mayor Richardson. Councilwoman Sunday has Councilman Allen recommendation to increase appropriation in the general fund group in the city manager department by 7500. To provide a donation to the following of $5,000 to Long Beach Partners Apart and 2500 to Long Beach, Lesbian and Gay Pride Inc. Item 39 is a communication from Councilwoman Sara recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund group in the City Manager Department by $4,000 to provide a donation to Love Beyond Limits. And item 40 is communication from Councilwoman Cindy has recommendation to increase appropriation in the general fund group in the city manager department by 20 $500 to provide a donation to Long Beach lesbian and Gay Pride. Speaker 0: There is a motion and a second. Is there any public comment on this? Speaker 5: If there are any members of the public, they would like to speak on item 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 37, 39 and 40 in person. Please note about the podium in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine now. See none. That concludes public comment. Speaker 0: Q There is a motion and a second. Let's do the roll call vote, please. Speaker 1: District one. Speaker 4: Nine. Speaker 1: District two, despite District three. Hi. District five. Speaker 3: I. Speaker 1: District six I. District seven. District eight. Nine. District nine. Speaker 8: All right. Speaker 1: The motion is carried. Speaker 0: Thank you. Next up, we have a presentation which I'm going to turn over to Councilman Mango to make.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $250, offset by the Fifth Council District One-time District Priority Funds transferred from the Citywide Activities Department to provide a donation to the Long Beach Camerata Singers for their summer concerts in the Fifth District; and Decrease appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $250 to offset a transfer to the City Manager Department.

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Speaker 0: That required emotion. Speaker 2: It does require emotion to withdraw the item. And then also on item three, if I can still just ask also that that item also be withdrawn. It has come to our attention and council member Supernova brought this to our attention. There is an error in the metes and bounds and the map that we need to work with the city engineer to correct the metes and bounds on a very small portion of where CD four and CD five come together. And we want to make those corrections and then bring that back for approval by the Council. Thank you. Speaker 0: And I am not surprised that Councilmember Soprano found the error from. Speaker 2: Nor are we. Thank you. Speaker 0: And so thank you. So there is a motion in a second to withdraw both those items, public comment on those on that withdrawal. Seeing none. Okay. We will go ahead and do a roll call vote, please. Speaker 1: District one and District two I, District three, I, District five I. District six i. District seven i. District eight i. District nine. The motion is Kerry. Speaker 0: Thank you. Item 29, please.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to authorize the Long Beach Police Department to continue the use of military equipment as outlined by California Assembly Bill (AB) 481. (Citywide)

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Speaker 0: Thank you. That was Adam. 29 to 30, please. Speaker 1: Item 32 Report from Public Works. Recommendation to authorize City Manager to execute multiple contract amendments necessary for providing as needed architectural services to increase the aggregated contract amount by five 5,000,004 revised aggregate contract amount not to exceed 16.5 million and extend the contract term to July 19, 2023. Citywide. Speaker 0: Taking a motion in a second place. Can I get a second? Thank you. Sure. Public comment on this item. Speaker 5: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on item 30 in-person, please line up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature or dial store name in person. Speaker 6: Good evening, Dave Chappelle, Third District. I'd like to reiterate my public comments in relation to item 19 on the Council agenda on June 21st of this year. With the extension of these contracts passed, there would be it'd be helpful, I think, for each council member to know which projects in their districts are currently behind this, as well as with item number 31. Also where these projects are located or are they located in kind of historic cores and centers of activity in their districts, or are they in areas of change especially? Also 13. It would be helpful to know what the order of priority is for completion, especially if some of these may be at risk for service interruption or the lack of continuity of deliverables. Thank you. Speaker 0: Roll call, please. Speaker 1: District one. Speaker 4: I. Speaker 1: Stick to my district three I, District five I, District six i. District seven. Speaker 6: I. Speaker 1: District eight. Speaker 7: I. Speaker 1: District nine. The motion is carried. Speaker 0: Thank you. Item 32. Speaker 1: Item 32. Do you want 31 or 32?

Agenda Item

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to amend Contract No. 33926 with Architects McDonald, Soutar & Paz, Inc., of Long Beach, CA, Contract No. 33912 with Kardent, of Long Beach, CA, Contract No. 33913 with Mary McGrath Architects, of Oakland, CA, and Contract No. 33917 with Rania Alomar Architect, Inc. dba RA-DA, of West Hollywood, CA, for providing as-needed architectural services, to increase the aggregate contract amount by $5,000,000, for a revised aggregate contract amount not to exceed $16,500,000, and extend the contract terms to July 19, 2023. (Citywide)

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Speaker 1: Item 32. Do you want 31 or 32? Speaker 0: 32. Speaker 1: 32 is a report from Technology Innovation Recommendation to authorize City Manager to execute an amendment with Utility Solution Partners LLC related to the City of Long Beach Utility Systems to amend and revise the annual contract amount to 2.4 million, with a 5% contingency for a revised annual contract amount not to exceed 2.5 million and extend the term of the contract to September 30th, 2023, with the option to renew for additional one year periods at the discretion of the city manager citywide. Speaker 0: Any public comment? Speaker 5: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on item 32 and person, please line up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine. No. In person. Speaker 6: Thank you again, Dave Chappelle. I'd just like to comment that I believe this is actually subject to a ballot measure that is going to go before the public. I didn't know that all these, uh, uh, customer service, uh, systems needed to be combined, uh, already at the state. Things like uh, kind of current laws are being being reversed. Thank you. Speaker 5: Thank you for becoming. Speaker 0: Inclusive of a comment cover, please. Speaker 1: District one. Destructive. I disagree. Speaker 4: I. Speaker 1: District four. District by district six. I. District seven. I. District eight. Speaker 7: My. Speaker 1: District nine. The motion is carry. Speaker 0: Thank you. We are going to do item 38, please.

Contract

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to amend Contract No. 34740 with Utility Solutions Partners, LLC, of Rancho Cordova, CA, for managed services to provide maintenance and integration support related to the City of Long Beach’s utility systems, to amend and revise the annual contract amount to $2,428,852, with a five percent contingency in the amount of $121,443, for a revised annual contract amount not to exceed $2,550,295 in the first year, with a maximum increase of five percent annually, and extend the term of the contract to September 30, 2023, with the option to renew for two additional one-year periods, at the discretion of the City Manager. (Citywide)

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Speaker 0: Thank you. Ordinance 36, please. Speaker 1: Item 36 is a report from Development Services. Recommendation to declare ordnance amending the use map of the city of Long Beach by amending portions of parts eight, nine, ten, 11, 15 and 24 of each of save map for parks rezoning read and adapted as Read City. Speaker 0: Why thank you. There's a motion and a second, please. Thank you. Can I please see if there's any public comment? Speaker 5: Are there any members of the public that would like to speak on item 36 and person? Please line up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the race cam feature. See none. That concludes public comment. Speaker 0: Thank you. There's a roll call vote, please. Speaker 1: District one. District two. Speaker 4: I. Speaker 1: District three. Speaker 4: I. Speaker 1: District five. Speaker 3: I. Speaker 1: District six. I. District seven. I. District eight. District nine. District eight. I'm behind the motion is Kerry. 35.

Ordinance

Recommendation to declare ordinance amending the Use District Map of the City of Long Beach as said Map has been established and amended by amending portions of Parts 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, and 24 of said Map for parks rezoning, read and adopted as read. (Citywide)

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Speaker 0: Two. Thank you. Item 16, please. On the consent calendar. Speaker 1: Item 16 is a report from Public Works recommendation to authorize city manager to execute an amendment to the MRU and and any subsequent amendments between the City of Long Beach and 80 Alamitos LLC to extend the term except a one time cash payment of $150,000 and amend Section five term and renegotiation to support the Alimentos Bay Water Quality Enhancement Project and increase the appropriation in the Thailand Operating Fund Group. In the public works department by $150,000, offset by an employee cash payment from the AEC Alamitos LLC for the Engineering and Due Diligence Effort District three. Speaker 0: Councilman Premiere Pro comments. Speaker 4: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. If it's if it's all right with you, I'd like to have a short staff report. I see Josh Hickman here. And this is a really important project for the water quality in Alamitos Bay. And I would like just a brief staff report, please. Speaker 2: Thank you very much. Absolutely. So this is a huge project and it really is an important one to really address the water quality issues that will we expect to come when A ceases to do their current pumping. And so Eric Lopez is actually on the phone with us today. So he will get part of it. And Josh is here to answer questions as well. So, Eric. Thanks. And we have the PowerPoint on the screen and we can go to the next slide. So the Alamitos Bay Water Quality Enhancement Project. We've made some progress since. In the last ten years, though, we've we've had the opportunity to refine our engineering design concept and really lay the foundation for the additional engineering and technical analysis of of water quality data that will help inform our, our proposed design as it is well known the as and at h g as our power plants have been pumping water through through cooling pumps for over 55 years and that the water flow and the circulation patterns within the bay have grown accustomed to this activity there. There is a phase out of the current pumping systems are in place at both A and each test. And so this project is meant to find ways to for us to maintain our good water quality in and throughout Alamitos Bay, we're looking at a pumping system that's more fish friendly, that's more environmentally friendly, and that helps us achieve our main goals of maintaining our water quality. Our next slide. We. There is currently a series of pumps and outfall structures that are shown on this slide. The there are different different pumps are operate at different times and at different rates. But overall, the pumps and the gas pumps do provide a substantial pool of water and assist with with that with circulation. Next slide. They were out of focus area for for this project this is the south and take us to now it's near six which as a has retired they've actually retired punch one two and six and the are other three pumps are still operational. The current date that we have for when those will be retired is around December 2023. That is subject to change. And where we're just we're we're following that very, very closely. There are some additional pumps that will continue working throughout that time and that would be retired later this decade. And but right now, we're focused in the area of I retired a number six next like. So for the last couple of years, we've looked at a couple of conceptual designs and we've looked at different alternatives out four to be exact, and really trying to come up with a with a system around at this unit six, we were initially looking at using the existing structures there. But then have you can we go to the next slide? As you can see in this next slide, we found some some substantial deterioration. And our engineers are recommending a new structure as part of this effort. So we've been focused and kind of what that new structure could look like. And we've come up with a concept that would allow us to achieve the original goals of the project. And, you know, while continuing to use the the same area the unit takes existing and take area and achieve the project goals next line. What we're looking at is maintaining the existing intake canal, using the existing underground pipes that exist, potentially constructing a new pump house with fish friendly pumps and then using the existing outdoor structure. So the water will continue to circulate through through the bay to the San Diego River and continues that similar pattern. To help maintain water clarity, water quality. Next line. And this this is just a site plan that shows where the plants will be located. The electrical services are the discharge pipes and then the existing outfalls into the San Diego River. Next slide. Our tentative schedule is to complete our 30% design this year. That will allow us to go through the environmental entitlements process and to take our regulatory permitting. And then we are going to be fine tuning the financial and operational needs so that we have a really clear sense of what this project is going to require and what the budget, what the what the target budgets are going to be, the budget requirements we next line. The conceptual design process estimated. We don't have the funding in place. The proposed contribution from A is going to be a big help in allowing us to continue the engineering and cycle force that is required for this project . It is early to put a budget or a cost number to this effort, but it is expected to be substantial and we will be providing that as part of the next phase of this project. And same with the operations, maintenance and monitoring costs, ongoing cost. That's something that we're we're trying to solidify. Next slide. And that concludes that presentation, and we're happy to answer any questions. Speaker 0: Gentlemen. Speaker 4: Thank you. I have no additional questions other than just some hopefully direction to staff that. We are looking forward to the funding gap and identifying ways to meet that. It's going to be a huge financial burden for us and I think this item shows that ACE is the willing partner. And hopefully that partnership continues to the next phase of this project with us. But this is a major priority project for the city of Long Beach. To to scale down that entire presentation into the following, I think would be accurate. If we do not replace those pumps, that water will collect bacteria and will not provide an opportunity for recreation and swimming as it does currently. And it will become a source of liability and blight for the city as opposed to an opportunity for recreation and outdoor enjoyment of a city asset. So it's imperative and I think it's a critical environmental project and I think staff are being involved in and I know it's a highly technical project and I think you're doing a great job having recently got it back on track. So thank you. Speaker 0: Councilman. Also, any comments? As public comment, I believe. Speaker 1: Elizabeth LAMB and Dave Chappelle. Speaker 5: Thank you, council members. My name is Elizabeth LAMB and I'm executive. Speaker 6: Director of the Low. Speaker 5: Street US Wetlands Land Trust, and I appreciate this opportunity to comment. We completely agree there are problems with pollution in. Speaker 6: Alamitos Bay that need to be resolved. Speaker 5: We just want to make sure that the solution is consistent with the ongoing efforts to restore low cerritos wetlands. We do thank Mr. Modica and Mr. Lopez for providing us with several studies that were prepared by Moffitt and Nicole about the project. And on its face, it does seem reasonable that the continued operation of the pumps would help to maintain. Speaker 6: Water quality in the bay. But experts that we have reviewed these studies. Speaker 5: With raised concerns about some of the baselines and assumptions used to support the conclusions about the fact that there would be no significant impacts to marine biology. Because of that, we are glad to see that the latest report does include mention of environmental review. Our concern right now is that the project is moving into agreements about access to the. Speaker 6: Property and final. Speaker 5: Construction design. We are concerned there is so much momentum behind the city's preferred. Speaker 6: Alternative that the city has. Speaker 5: Already precluded an objective discussion. Speaker 6: Of alternatives that would come through something. Speaker 5: Like a square review. We want to suggest to you that the city engage in something similar to a secure scoping process. Speaker 6: Before going any further with planning and expenditures for the bay pumping. Speaker 5: Plan. The process that would include interesting interest in interested parties like the Lowe's through the Wetlands Land Trust and the Low Street. Speaker 6: US Wetlands Authority, who are the restoration planners for the area, and of course state. Speaker 5: And local agencies. Speaker 6: Council members. I know we. Speaker 5: Want the same thing. We want water quality in the bay that protects recreational uses and is consistent with wetlands restoration. And we understand that that is a complex problem. Speaker 6: But perhaps there is more than one way to resolve that problem. Speaker 5: So we hope the city will share with us that they have fully conceived and investigated all the alternatives and share that. Speaker 6: Specific information. Speaker 5: With us. I hope you can see how getting input from public, from the public and the several agencies with expertize on water pollution would not only ensure a thorough consideration of potential alternatives, it would pave the. Speaker 6: Way. Speaker 5: For a smoother adoption of the permits required. I thank you for your time. Speaker 2: Dave Shukla Third District and in specific, I grew up and my house is directly across the street from this project, from the water intakes one, two, three and four. First of all, the energy content necessary to run the pumps does not necessitate continuing to keep the power plant open. The basic argument that this facility has made over time has been that, well, you know, bad things will happen, you won't have reliability, you won't have, you know, water quality, you won't have all the good things if you don't have us. And the fact of the matter is, you don't need to burn gas at that facility to charge up and run the pumping stations. Moreover, there's a lot about this facility that we just don't really talk about. Like, for instance, it's one of the facilities in the coastal zone that is literally over time changed the actual line of the coastal zone. The coastal zone line is going to have to be increased, you know, more inland because of the climate change that this facility over time has created. Uh, according to Energy Information Agency data from 1968 to 2000, uh, this was the third most polluting facility by electricity generation in North America. And, you know, the combined point source right across the street from my from my backyard, it's chiffonade. Yes. These are both kind of legacy facilities. And they're two of maybe four or five of the last holdouts in the state. Um, the state has a commitment not only to water quality, but also to ensuring a livable future. And we know per the carbon scoping plan that a lot of people have disagreements about where, where, what direction that may be. Um, it's been proposed that three or more of these facilities need to be created to meet our energy needs at a time when solar, wind, geothermal or oil cheaper, when the offshore wind permits for the entire West Coast are about to go live, it's an industry that is holding on with a death grasp. And, you know, we may not be able to escape it. It may be one of the reasons why, you know, our family leaves before things get too bad, you know, I mean, we have this on our conscience. Well, I'd be continuing to be. I mean, I come here every week trying to see if there's any possibility of getting out from under the system of dirty energy and a lot of the, uh, economies of dependency created. And I honestly, you know, I don't think there has been concrete proof that the water quality issue in specific, let alone the more general issue of burning natural gas to meet our energy needs, has ever been shown that, you know, we need that specific facility or we need the city's preferred alternative. I think it needs to go through sequent. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. There's a motion and a second by Councilman Austin, and Pryce comes from Pryce and an Austin. I just this is that was up on the board, but I think that was from the last one. Did you just clear the. We have the same the same. Speaker 1: The same motions and the same mover in secondary. Speaker 0: Okay, great. So then it got clear to my board for whatever reason. Could you put those back in, please? Yeah. Just. Just put the motion back in. It wasn't. It wasn't on mine for whatever reason, so. Okay, great. Speaker 2: Now it's gone again. Speaker 0: Okay, that's okay. So we have a motion in a second. Members, please go and cast your votes. Speaker 1: Castleman said he has. The motion is. Speaker 4: Carried. Speaker 0: Thank you. We're going to do we have we have two presentations and some items we need to get to pretty quickly. And so unless there's any objection on the funds transfer, hopefully get through this very, very quickly. Let's read those into the record and just get these voted on, please.

Contract

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute Amendment Number 1 to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), and any subsequent amendments thereto, between the City of Long Beach and AES Alamitos, LLC, to extend the term, accept a one-time cash payment of $150,000, and amend Section 5 “Term and Renegotiation.” to support the Alamitos Bay Water Quality Enhancement Project; and Increase appropriations in the Tidelands Operating Fund Group in the Public Works Department by $150,000 offset by an MOU cash payment from AES Alamitos, LLC, for engineering and due diligence efforts. (District 3)

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Speaker 0: Yes, we'll do that for sure, sir. Is Lissa Bishop here? Okay, then word concluded from a comment. And we're going to go ahead and go on to the remainder of the agenda. We're going to begin with item number 25, please. Speaker 1: Item 25 is a communication from Mayor Robert Garcia and Councilwoman Allen. Recommendation two requires city manager to work with local stakeholders to create a cultural district recognizing and supporting the historic contributions of the LGBTQ community. Speaker 0: Thank you very much. I'm going to go out and just make a few comments and I'll turn this over to Councilwoman Allen. I think it's no surprise that Long Beach has a large and really proud LGBTQ plus community. We have had it for four decades. One of the things that makes Long Beach unique is organizations across the country will tell you that the density of LGBTQ plus people in the city is actually one of the highest in the state of California and certainly for a city of our size. When you think about Long Beach and the heart of the broader gay community, that really is the Broadway corridor. Our LGBTQ plus community is has developed, has grown, has come out, has invested all up along this corridor for many, many decades. It's also one of the most politically active communities in the city and has been for a very long time fighting for rights at Pride, making sure that that employees had equal but equal employee benefits, and ensuring that, particularly during the AIDS crisis, that there was attention brought to this important and critical issue for many gay people and members of the community, myself included. Many of the spaces along Broadway, particularly in Alameda Speech and the bars and and the businesses, were the one place that you would go to, where you could be open, where you would come out, where you would meet friends, where you would share stories. And so the the the corridor along Broadway is a very significant place for the community and I think for the broader language community here in the city. For many years, there's been discussions within the community about creating a historic or cultural district that would encompass the historic gay neighborhoods in Alameda Speech along Broadway. These are spaces that are incredibly important to the community. It is currently there are numerous small businesses, LGBTQ plus own businesses, bars, nonprofits, restaurants, spaces that celebrate the community as well as, of course, other other businesses. We also know that this is an area that is a great neighborhood, a neighborhood that is incredibly inclusive, broadly across the city as well. Over the years, there's been improvements made, whether it's been the crosswalks, whether it's been ensuring that the infrastructure for mobility gets, gets, gets installed. But this is an opportunity to think about the broader history and to involve the broader community. The recommendation is to ask staff to come back with a a plan after, of course, working with the community. And we'd like the team to work with our local historians, neighbors, the LGBTQ plus business owners, of course, not the nonprofit organizations, to really begin creating a cultural district along the Broadway corridor. It is something that can be created with and through the community. And most importantly, it's a process that is going to respect the businesses that are already there. Ensure that we don't that we don't lose the history of the of the street and make sure that we are working with small business owners to try to maintain that as a culturally significant portion of the city for the community. I will also add that over the years we have lost some businesses, some of the bars, but many remain that you find most of them there along that stretch of Broadway. You talk to most gay folks in this community, most LGBTQ folks in this community, and they all have stories about Broadway and how important it was to them as it was and has been to me personally, in my experience coming out in the city and and meeting other people that were like me and like folks from our community, across the community. This is creating and designating LGBTQ plus historic districts is not uncommon, and it's happened in other communities across the country that have large gay populations or that have significant areas that are that are historic. And so this is something that we have been talking about for a significant amount of time. And I'm really proud, particularly as we celebrate pride, to be able to bring this forward and get approval and support from the council to begin this really important process for the community. And so with that, I'll turn it over to Councilwoman Allen. Speaker 6: Thank you, Mayor, for your leadership. And I'm excited to work on this vision with you. I'm also proud to represent this area. These bars and businesses have been safe spaces for people in need for many, many years. They are homes away from home community centers and gather. The wrong places. They make people feel safe in our community when so many other communities do not feel safe. Long Beach has no nationwide is welcoming and inclusive. And the Broadway corridor is a central part of this history. As councilwoman representing this area and its history, I am so proud of what our city has accomplished, and I'm proud of how inclusive we are. I think that we must be committed to working on even be a more welcoming, welcoming and more inclusive. I'm proud to have supported the gender inclusive language policy for the city to be supporting the placemaking and events at the restored Pride Tower and to support the LGBTQ plus community building events and cultural affirming programing. I'm also excited to hear from constituents about what boundaries and vision for this district should be. I look forward to how we recognize and preserve this history that makes our community so very special. I want my children to be able to talk to to take their future children here and learn more about the resilience and the accomplishments of our LGBTQ community. So I look forward to starting this process and definitely want to thank you again, Mayor Garcia, for your leadership and vision on this. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Commissioner Richardson. Speaker 7: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And now I'll voice my support for this idea, this concept. You know, I didn't know that it wasn't already. I always assumed it was already a historically historical district, because everyone in lobbies knows that that's sort of a historic corridor there on Broadway. I think it's important context for the entire city. Landmarking is an important process that recognizes local, local culture, local diversity, local history. But it's also smart economic development policy. The more you can add value and recognize the existing assets and see people and see their culture as an asset, you attract more interest in the area which supports those small businesses that certainly need more support and more help. So this this makes a whole lot of sense and I'm happy to support it. I think this will underscore what is truly a strength of our community, our diversity. But also I think it acknowledges history and it brings broader understanding as well. And so I'm happy to support this motion today. Speaker 0: Vicki Vice Mayor, Councilwoman Sara. Speaker 4: Thank you, Mayor. What a great item to bring forward during June, which is Pride Month. And I am just so proud of our LGBTQ plus community and what they have all accomplished to come to this I think point and as far as continuing to uplift the struggle but also the accomplishment and to continue to celebrate what the community have have done. And, you know, it's just I'm just really happy to be able to support it and to continue to lift the LGBTQ community forward in and and have it continue to be recognized nationally. Because I think that whenever people think about Long Beach, it's much more than obviously our Cambodian community that's well known, but also our LGBT. Speaker 5: Uh. Speaker 4: LGBTQ plus community as well. So happy to support that item. Speaker 0: Thank you. Thank you. Councilman Sunday House. Speaker 4: Thank you, Mayor. Thank you for this very, very important item. This is a very, very important step for our city. So thank you, Councilwoman Allen, also for for supporting this and bringing this forward, actually. One of the things that I will also agree with is that I've always thought that it was already a district. So it's so encouraging and so beautiful to actually make it official. Long Beach is known for being welcoming to all, and that's very important. I think that, you know, the reason for that being is because we take great pride in our rich diversity. Cultural districts highlight and celebrate our diversity through artwork, foods, businesses and spaces that are tailored specifically to create safe spaces for for our communities to enjoy. I look forward to initiating this process and to establishing a vibrant LGBTQ place district in Long Beach. Congratulations. Speaker 0: Thank you. And I just want to before we go, I think there's a member of the public here to to speak before we go. I just want to I also think the center, Long Beach, I think they're going to play a key role in the key role in helping us bring the community together. And I know we've asked the staff to work with directly with the center to help us guide this process. And then the other piece, which I think is important, is that throughout this process, the a historic district can be a lot of things. It could be obviously ensuring that the history is preserved that could be working with businesses. Its its economic development is historic preservation, it's infrastructure, it could be infrastructure improvements. And so there are a lot of pieces that can really make this a really special corridor more special than it already is as we continue to preserve our LGBTQ history in the city of Long Beach. And so with that, I'm going to open it up to the public. I think we have a member of the public, Madam Clerk. Speaker 1: We have Josh Newell almost. Speaker 2: Good evening, Mayor. Good evening. City council people. I'm so glad to hear those wonderful comments, especially since we are right coming to the end of Pride season. So happy pride to all of you. Happy pride to the city of Long Beach. My name is John Newell, and today I'm representing the LGBTQ center here in Long Beach. And the LGBTQ center advances equity for LGBTQ plus people through culturally responsive advocacy, education and programs. Long Beach has made a tremendous, tremendous and huge advances in the last 30 years. And a portion of that success is due to the strong LGBTQ community here in our city. As a community, we're very proud to see these items come up on the agenda today and to formalize that the Broadway corridor is part of our culture and part of our history here in Long Beach. The Broadway corridor is filled as as many of you know, with gay and queer owned businesses, gay and queer friendly businesses. Many of these businesses have open storefronts. The nearby homes have been rejuvenated along the corridor, and residents can visit a plethora of coffeehouses, bars, stores, thrift stores, restaurants, all selling art, clothing, furniture that definitely help the economy here in Long Beach. One thing that we do need that I do want to recognize is this area has our very first LGBTQ rainbow crosswalks. Thank you to the council and the city and public works for putting those in. So I again urge the city to and the Council to fully support this item. And the LGBTQ center is here ready to support this item and work with the city to make sure that this cultural district becomes a becomes a reality. So, again, thank you, Councilwoman Allen. Mayor Garcia, the entire council, we appreciate you. And this is a perfect way for us to recognize pride. So happy pride, everyone. Speaker 0: Thank you so much. And thanks to the center and the entire board. And with that, we have a motion and a second. Let's go ahead and please cast your votes. Speaker 1: The motion is carried. Speaker 0: Thank you. We're moving on to item 40.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to request City Manager to work with local stakeholders to create a community vision for developing and activating a cultural district recognizing and supporting the historic contributions of the LGBTQ+ community.

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Speaker 0: Thank you. We're moving on to item 40. Speaker 1: Item follows report from public works. Public. Public Works Recommendation to request City Attorney to prepare resolution to set operating days and hours for parking meters Zone one and one A to Monday through Sunday, excluding holidays during the hours of 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. for a maximum of 2 hours at a rate of $1.50 per hour. District three. Speaker 0: Tom Price. Speaker 4: Thank you. And this item comes to us by way of the Belmont Shore Parking Improvement District. Speaker 6: And they the Belmont Shore Parking Improvement District, they. Speaker 4: Went through a process to vet this proposal. They considered all their finances. They opened it up for public comment. And it's the recommendation tonight that we adopt the street change. And I would ask my colleagues to support it. Thank you. Speaker 0: Councilman Austin. Speaker 3: I support the city. Speaker 0: There's a motion any second. Is your public comment on this? Speaker 1: No public comment. Speaker 0: Team members, please go. Ancaster votes. Speaker 1: Emotions carry. Speaker 0: Thank you. We are now going back to our hearings. So we have our first our first hearing up, which will be item 21.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to request City Attorney to prepare resolution to set operating days and hours for Parking Meter Zones 1 and 1A, pursuant to Section 10.28.130 of the Long Beach Municipal Code, to Monday through Sunday, excluding holidays, during the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., for a maximum of two hours, at a rate of $1.50 per hour. (District 3)

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Speaker 0: Thank you. We are now going back to our hearings. So we have our first our first hearing up, which will be item 21. Speaker 1: Item 21. It requires four votes. It's a report from Development Services recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record. Conclude the public hearing and adopt negative declaration. Adobe resolutions amending the place type map of the land use element of the general plan. Declare ordinance setting aside and dedicating certain lands owned by the City of Long Beach for public park purposes and uses declare ordinance amending table 30 5-22 at 11 subject parks and declare ordinance amending the use district map to change the zoning districts of the subject parks and remove foreign and 56 square foot remnant parks located at the southwest corner of East 14th Street and North or Zaba Avenue from the area dedicated as or as a Park City y. Speaker 0: Thank you. I'm going to go into this over first, over to our city team. Speaker 6: Mr. Mayor, Mayor and members of the council. I'd like to introduce Alison Spindler, our acting planning manager. She'll give a presentation on this item. Good evening, Mayor, and members of the Council. The item before you this evening is a request to approve a variety of land use and zoning actions associated with 11 existing parks to ensure appropriate protections for those parks in perpetuity. The Department of Development Services and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine have been working collaboratively for more than five years to ensure land records, zoning dedications and the general plan designations of the parks within the city are accurate, up to date and consistent across multiple regulatory instruments and documents. This has involved researching land records and identifying the legal boundaries of city owned parks for the purposes of ensuring that they have the appropriate land designation and zoning and are formally dedicated as park land to ensure proper protection and preservation of public open space in perpetuity. On June 20th, 2019 and November 18, 2021, the Parks Recreation Commission recommended the designation or dedication of 29 existing owned parks, including any other land use actions needed, such as central plan amendments, zoning code amendments and zoning changes. This current batch of cleanups associated with 11 existing parks represents ongoing efforts and progress towards updating and modernizing those appropriate designations. The remaining 18 parks recommended by the Parks, Recreation and Marine Commission will be brought forward for dedication and necessary land. These actions at a future date. Most of the remaining parks have been identified to have more complex boundary and land use issues that required additional resources and land surveys before action can be taken. Dedication is the process that applies to city owned parkland. To protect a park in perpetuity for public open space use. The City Charter specifies that the Council shall adopt zoning and other regulations for the purpose of protecting parkland. Both the Charter and the general plan, open space and Recreation Element provide that if a dedicated park is sold or used for an on park use and it must be replaced at a ratio of at least 2 to 1. Protections provided through dedication help implement the goals and policies of the general plan, including the land development and open space element, to ensure that all residents have access to open space and recreational facilities. Therefore, typically, city owned parks are designated with an open space general plan, place type, are zoned park and dedicated in perpetuity. The last park designation was in 2006, though other minor land, minor parkland designation cleanups have occurred. Citywide Park inventory was completed in 2019 by Planning and Parks, Recreation and Marine. Many of the properties being proposed for dedication and land use designations this evening are properties that were owned by the city's former redevelopment agency. Again, this represents a first batch of proposed dedications and cleanups. Additional parks with additional issues to be addressed will be brought forward at a future date, as provided in the City Charter. The powers and duties of the Parks and Recreation Commission include recommending to the City Manager and council the dedication of public land for public parks. Again, as a history, in 2019, the Commission recommended the Council dedicate 29 existing city owned parks, and in July 2021, the Planning Commission recommended to the City Council dedication and associated land use actions for 12 parks. In September of 2021, the Council moved to continue this item due to needed additional research on Willow Springs and Tanaka Parks research, which is still underway. Therefore, 11 of the 12 parks that were contemplated at that time are moving forward today. You can see on the map here the 11 parks that are being proposed for dedication, that designation, including a list on the left hand side and a map on the right. But Slide summarizes which parks require general plan amendments to change the general plan from whatever existing place type may exist on the park to the open space place type as appropriate. Similarly, zone changes are proposed for ten parks listed on the slide. For each of the ten parks, the proposed zone change is to change the zoning from a variety of existing zoning districts to the park zoning district, which will provide for consistency with the open space place type and with the existing park uses . Again, it's a clean up. The zone changes are reflective of what's on the ground. All are being read zone to park except for one 450 square foot noncontiguous remnant parcel at the southeast corner of or is of a park which is proposed to be zoned from P to AL. It was dedicated in 2003. Many years back, a community organization was to improve and maintain the remnant parcel. However, over time, this responsibility fell to the Parks Department, which presented some challenges. Meanwhile, economic development staff has been exploring the possible sale of the parcel to the abutting industrial property owner. As a result, this area is proposed to be zoned from park to light industrial consistent with the abutting private property. The proposed zone change and removing that small area will allow the parcel to have appropriate oversight and be better maintained. This action does remove that small square footage. However, the other dedications proposed as part of the project more than fulfill the 2 to 1 requirement. This project proposes a zoning code amendment, a text amendment to add the 11 parks to the dedicated parklets in the municipal code again that supports formal dedication of the parks. Finally, Willow Springs Park was included in the original submittal. However, it was removed due to additional investigation needed, including preparing a legal description and clarifying boundary information. It's anticipated to come forward towards the end of the year and to Minorca Park was purchased by the city after the first batch of parks was considered by the Planning Commission . It's anticipated to be heard by the Planning Commission in July and with the Council in August. The remainder of the parks with more complex boundary and land use issues will be brought forward for dedication and necessary actions at a future date when that work can be completed. Public hearing notices were published as required and shown on the side. With that staff recommends approval of the dedication and associated land use actions to designate these existing parks with the proper zoning and land use designations and to protect these 11 parks in perpetuity. With that, staff is happy to answer any questions you might have. Speaker 0: Thank you. Can I get a motion in a second, please? I also believe there's going to be four votes required on this. Yeah. For whatever reason, it's not appearing on my vote counter. But it needs. Yeah, it's not appearing on mine. So the. For some reason, Madam Clerk, the. Those that are coming in are not appearing on the main screen or going to the. Top of the screen. So it's a little tech I should be going to fix. Thank you. So there's a motion and a second. Let's go ahead and first go to public comment. Is your public comment on this? Speaker 1: Yes, we have five Dave Shukla, David Sonata, Anna Christiansen, Lynnette Firenze and Mike Le Quatre. Speaker 0: No, I know, but. Speaker 1: Dave Sugar. David Sonata. Please approach to the podium. And Christianson. Annette Firenze and my love. David Sonata. Please approach to podium. Speaker 2: Good evening, Mayor Garcia, Council City Manager Tom Modica. I came tonight to really sincerely thank you for the support that you give to Parks, and particularly to create open space in our park, poorer areas of Long Beach and communities of color. Tonight's actions are very important and I support them completely. As the last major park dedication took place in 2006. I do want to bring your attention, though, to the comments about Willow Springs. It is my favorite park in our city. And as we move forward to the December date that we discussed as they look into Willow Springs, I am hoping that council will keep attention to keeping these parks in total in whole. Because I have been told that there is a tension to plan and remove park acreage from Willow Springs Park to make it available for sale or swap. That would be a tragedy, especially on the West Side where we need open space and park accessibility. It also is not consistent with the park. Park's Commission and Planning Commission recommendations, nor with the city councils adopted in the global master specific plan. Again, our parks need to be in perpetuity. All of them taking any more properties from our parks will only cause us to lose access for our citizens. But with all that said, I think you already saw the quality of the Parks Department with Brant and his team. Durbin do an excellent job and I'm sure you'll keep attention to keeping our parks whole across our city. But most important, Willow Springs, because it is one of our different parks. Thank you very much for your attention. Speaker 5: Anna Kristensen loads through this Wetlands Task Force. I came because I was at the Parks and Rec meeting and the former speaker did not introduce himself as the former chair of the Parks and Rec Commission, which he has been for many, many years. And he was highly honored at that meeting last week. And and there was a concern about Willow Springs Park. And and I think Willow Springs Park is a particularly special place because it it once had a spring. It was the original source of water for the city. And that spring and that source of water, it could could maybe the spring can't be active. But they are trying to rebuild the wetlands there. And in the middle of an urban area to have a space, we have soccer fields. You know, we have not maybe not enough, maybe we don't have enough basketball courts. But other than the nature center, we don't have a place like this. And that's the way it's being developed. It's being developed with native plants and and in honor, really, of tribal people and and the way they could teach us how to live and sustain the land. So I agree that to chip away at it, we've we've seen this too often, in fact, in front of the Coastal Commission meeting when we were trying to get better protection for our coastal birds, we were told, well, well, urban birds are just they just adjust. But if they adjusted, where the hell are they then? Because because we're losing, you know, we're losing this. And our parks are for people like like that, the Parks Department says, but they're also for wildlife, which I think we've we've taken so much for granted. And the way we we the way we treat those residents and the way we allow spaces for them. Yeah, we know we can't we can't have it. We need, we need those playing fields and we need the picnic benches and stuff. But Willow Springs is different, you know, and and money isn't everything. I mean, taking that little piece of land away and putting a little mall on it, there's a spot I'm probably going to go over. Oh, not quite. Oh, there's a there's a city park. It has the city of Los Angeles City Art Museum there, Barnsdall Park. I don't know if any of you've ever been there, but Elaine Barnsdall had a home there surrounded by farmland. She was a great radical and she left that land to the city on the condition that children have a museum there and children's art classes would be there. Her home was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It's quite an elegant place, but somebody decided at some point to take the city, took a chunk out of that to build a strip mall, and it's really ugly. And so that's what we see. We see it sometimes on our public schools, in our universities. Even so, we have to be careful because our our public open space is priceless. It really is. Thank you very much. Speaker 7: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 5: Okay. Um, good evening, Mayor and City Council. My name is going out, and I'm also here concerning that Willow Springs Park is again excluded from this with when the park dedication was last heard at City Council on September 14th, 2021, the dedication was for. Speaker 6: 11 parks. Speaker 5: Instead of 12 has approved by the Planning Commission since Willow Springs has been removed from the list. The motion was to continue to an unspecified date. City manager Tom Monaco spoke on this item and said that there were letters of concern regarding Willow Springs Park. It has been removed from the list of parks shortly before the item went to City Council, although it had previously been approved by both the Planning Commission in 2021 and Parks Recreation Commission in 2019, and it was included on the same list of the 12 other parks. He said the city was fully intending to bring Willow Springs back to be dedicated as a park. But there were very technical issues regarding lot lines and you have to be very specific on boundaries as well. Once it is dedicated, it cannot be undone. He went on to say that the city intends to bring Willow Springs back and have it dedicated as a park. Once that work is done, he did state that the city will look at that in all parks and will bring them back all at once to see that they would be dedicated in perpetuity. However, once again, this is not happening. This process has been going on for at least three years. The map for Willow Springs Park dedication from the Parks Commission was approved on May 21st, 2019. I checked with the Planning Department today and was told there have not. Speaker 6: Been any applications to alter. Speaker 5: The boundaries in the last ten years. The boundaries have already been approved by two city commissions. The community feels that these actions are a stall tactic and are very concerned that the park size may be reduced. This is an area of the city that has an extreme lack of open space. The city's new Long Beach Strategic Park plan has one of its goals a commitment to end parking equity and systematic racial inequality. Without the dedication approved by city council, the park is unprotected from sale or reduction in size. Unfortunately, the community is in the exact same situation we were nine months ago, with 11 parks being proposed for dedication in Willow Springs left off. I hope the city manager will simply honor his own words from last September and continue this item until Willow Springs as part of the 12 Park dedication has promised to the community. Thank you. Speaker 7: Thank you. Next picture, please. Speaker 2: My name is Mike Quatre, and I'm also here to speak concerning Willow Springs. I'll keep this brief since many of my points have already been covered, but I am pleased whenever we gain a dedicated park space. But I am concerned about whether Park Springs Park not being on the list again for a year or more. We've been told they would all be dedicated together. Yet Willow Springs remains the odd person out, so to speak. Repeated calls and emails to various council districts. Parks and Rec, city manager's office and other involved entities have failed to yield a concrete answer for this. Instead, we can continue to get vague responses, citing questions about long lines and boundaries. Central and West Long Beach are underserved in regards to parks. And since Pacific Place and soon, Baker Street properties are going to be marked for development. Willow Springs appears to be our last chance to gain open space, since there seems to be no definitive reason as to why this park is being treated differently. I fear that in the face of a looming budget deficit due to the recent court ruling overturning Measure M, the city might be considering selling part of the land currently included in Willow Springs Park prior to the final dedication. I hope that I'll be proven wrong, but the continued failure to dedicate this park space leads me to this conclusion. Therefore, I am asking that you follow through on the city manager's previous promise to dedicate all 12 of these proposed parks as a group. Thank you. Dave Chappelle, third district. I'm not here to speak in support of Willow Springs, except to say that I grew up skateboarding down that road, and it would be great for there to be a park there. I haven't heard any good reasons yet why it shouldn't be included for perpetuity scale, but specifically on the removing of the 456 square foot noncontiguous remnant parcel located at the southwest corner of East 14th Street, North or Rizal Avenue. That was, uh, originally part of the dedication of words of a park. I think that's kind of a harbinger of what's to come. More generally, throughout the city, which is kind of carving off and selling off parcels where one can, uh, to generate revenue, uh, when we should be doing the opposite. We should be trying to take over the properties where we can and just use the city authority to make it, uh, something better than it is now. And specifically with that, uh, noncontiguous remnant parcel that was part of the Pacific Electric wide right of way, as well as with all the other parts. I'd like to ask on the record. Um, has, when you, when you do things like a equity analysis, do we do it? Do you ever think about like grid reliability, like where these parts are located in the city is important. Where we have parks, resource rich areas also happen to be certain areas where electricity needs water needs, different needs are either met or not. And parks are interesting because they kind of have everything that like an institution or city hall building a school, for instance, would have in the way of services, utilities, buildout, etc.. So I'd like to know specifically just how deep is the equity analysis. Thank you. Speaker 1: That concludes the public comment. Speaker 7: Fantastic. Thank you. Is there I don't see any any individuals queued up because anyone want to speak on this? Councilman Austin. Speaker 3: Thank you so much. I appreciate the public comment and I certainly am supportive of this land use general plan change to declare these parks in perpetuity. I always assumed that they were. That was the case anyway. I know it's also I do have a couple of questions just to clarify. So when we outlined our 169 parks, that was actually part of the presentation earlier. Are these parks included in that that scheme? In terms of actual parks and in acreage parking acreage in the city, are we accounting that already these parks? Speaker 6: Councilmember I believe all of them are included in the 169. They're on the park's website. They're considered part of our park system. It's really more of like a a cleaned up set of actions to ensure that they have all the proper designations that should go with parks to ensure they're dedicated in perpetuity and that nothing in the future would be a problem for that. Speaker 3: Great. And also, I'd like to just just piggyback on many much of the public comment that we've already heard. I think it's completely in the city's interest to have as many parks in green greenspace in our city as possible. I think it's all I think we all endeavor to have more parks, space and acreage in terms of the details. But since we last went through this exercise as a city council, I believe it was 2006, we're going to have to wait another six years to make that happen. Or. Speaker 2: You know, no one at this table, council member, can perfectly predict the future. We'd probably be working somewhere else, but our commitment to this council is to keep our general plan, our zoning, all of those documents in in better order than than has maybe always transpired in the past. And part of that commitment is not waiting until you need to do a major update, but just keeping things up to date constantly and sort of looking at everything at a minimum every five years, if not more frequently. So this is a down payment. This is most of the parks and most of the fixes that need to be done. But there are ten more that need to be done. So there's a lot of public testimony about one of those, but there's more work to be done. But we don't want the perfect to get in the way of the good. So we're getting done today in front of this council what was ready to go. And the other parks have to be surveyed by the city's land surveyor. At one point that position was vacant. For about a year or so. We've had some slowdowns on the other parks. What we wanted to bring you was what's ready to go today and then to keep things up to date better going forward and into the future. Speaker 3: And then my final question, what if we don't do this with what were the consequences or impacts of not actually declaring this park space parks in perpetuity? Speaker 2: Perpetuity. So Don can build on my answer here. But it when a park is not a park in perpetuity. A future council could consider a transaction regarding that piece of real property. It doesn't mean that will happen. It doesn't mean it would happen automatically. But it it allows for that possibility in the incredibly unlikely event of some kind of dispute between the city and a creditor. It's an asset that could be considered by a court or other judicial officer. But once the park is recorded as park in perpetuity, cannot be sold, at least not without a two for one replacement. And it generally can't be seized by a creditor. Speaker 6: And this is John. Speaker 4: I'll just add that this is really a cleanup measure. So this isn't changing anything that is currently in existence with the parks. It's just making sure the land use designations are consistent and are all in keeping with the general plan. Speaker 2: And operationally, nothing changes. All of our parks or that are parks today are all going to continue parks until they're, you know, parks in perpetuity. So from a realistic perspective of the use of those, they all stay exactly the same. Speaker 3: Well, I appreciate the clarification for myself and the public as well. I certainly hope that we all can support this. Thank you. Speaker 7: Thank you. So with no further comment, members, please cast your vote. We have a number of votes on this. That correct. How many? Speaker 4: There's four. Speaker 7: Votes. Right. Let's have skip the first vote. Speaker 1: The motion is carry. Speaker 7: Thank you. In another motion. And second. Speaker 1: As their second vote is to declare ordinance setting aside and dedicating certain lands owned by the City of Long Beach for public park purposes and uses. Speaker 7: Thank you. Members, please cast your vote. Speaker 1: The motion is carry. Speaker 7: Thank you. Next. Speaker 1: Next photos for declare ordinance amending table 35 does to to add 11 subject parks. Speaker 7: Thank you, members. Please cast your vote. Speaker 1: The motion is. Speaker 2: Carried. Speaker 7: Thank you. That's the final motion, correct? Speaker 1: Correct. Declared ordinance amending the use district map to change the zoning districts of the subject parks and remove the 1456 square foot road in park. So located at the southwest corner of East 14th Street and North or Zeba Avenue from the area dedicated as or Zaba Park City Way. Speaker 7: All right, members, please cast your vote. Speaker 1: The motion is carried. Speaker 7: Thank you. All right. So that satisfies that item. Let's now move on to item number 22, please. Speaker 1: Item 22 is a report from financial management and it does require an old recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record. Conclude the public hearing and grant an entertainment permit with conditions for entertainment with a dancing to house, a painting debate the board at 1253 East Fourth Street, District two. Please stand for those that are here to testify on this item. Raise your hand. You and each of you do solemnly state that that that the testimony you may give in the court now and pending before this body shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God. Speaker 2: I do. Speaker 7: They do. Great. Let's go ahead and start with the staff presentation. Speaker 5: I'd like to introduce. Speaker 6: Tara martinson, our business operations manager, and she'll give a brief presentation on this item. Thank you and good evening, honorable mayor and members of city council. Before you tonight is an application for entertainment with Dancing for House of Pain Inc DBA, The Bird, which is located at 1253 East Fourth Street in the second Council District. This establish operates as a bar tavern lounge. The business has a valid ABC license. It's a type 48 for on sale general public premises. This license authorizes the sale of beer, wine and distilled spirits for consumption on the licensed premises. The business met the Long Beach Municipal Code requirements to be eligible for a temporary entertainment permit and was issued one in November of 2021. All of the appropriate departments, including the Health and Human Services Department, Development Services Department, Police Department and the Financial Management Department have reviewed the application and have provided their recommended conditions as contained in

Resolution

Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude the public hearing, and adopt Negative Declaration ND 01-20; Adopt resolution amending the PlaceType map of the Land Use Element of the General Plan (GPA20-002) to change the PlaceTypes of the subject parks from their existing PlaceTypes to the Open Space (OS) PlaceType;

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Speaker 1: Adam 24 is report from Public Works recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record. Conclude the public hearing. Find that the streets and alleys within the seaport the Seaport Village Complex, located at 560 on Paramount Boulevard to be vacated, are not needed for present or prospective public use and Adobe resolution ordering the location District eight. Speaker 7: All right. It's been moved and seconded. There's no oath required. Staff report, please. Speaker 6: We'll have a staff report by Josh Hickman, our public works manager for this project. Speaker 2: Good evening, Vice Mayor and members of the City Council. What's before you tonight is a. Speaker 9: Item to vacate public right away within the Seaport Village apartment complex. The right of way is predominantly used by the complex patrons themselves and therefore not needed for a public thoroughfare. That concludes staff. Presentation available to answer any questions. Speaker 7: Thank you. Was there any public comment on this item? Speaker 1: No public comment. Speaker 7: Thank you. Back behind the rail, councilman. Them anything? Speaker 3: Yes. I'm glad to make the motion for the residents of the Seaport Village and the management makes a lot of sense for security and quality of life for the residents in that community. We've been working on this project for for a few years now. Glad to see it funded before us. I speak support. Speaker 7: Thank you. Members, please cast your vote. Speaker 1: The motion is carried. Speaker 7: All right. That satisfies all of our hearings. Now back to the regular agenda. We'll take item 29, please. Speaker 1: Item 29 is a communication from Councilman Austin. Recommendation two requires city manager to investigate the feasibility of establishing a safe passage plan and report back to the city council in 60 days.

Resolution

Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude the public hearing, find that the streets and alleys within the Seaport Village complex located at 5601 Paramount Boulevard to be vacated are not needed for present or prospective public use; and, adopt resolution ordering the vacation, based on the findings and memorializing the conditions of approval included therein. (District 8)

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Speaker 1: Item 29 is a communication from Councilman Austin. Recommendation two requires city manager to investigate the feasibility of establishing a safe passage plan and report back to the city council in 60 days. Speaker 7: Thank you, Councilman Austin. Speaker 3: Thank you so much. So, as many of you may know, last month, one of our local high school students in north London, Long Beach, was brutally attacked while walking home from Jordan High School in route to Colin Powell Elementary School. Our children, as we all know, our most valuable and vulnerable members of our community, and they should not have to endure violence or intimidation walking to and from school. Safe Passage programs are interventions designed to keep students from harm and ensure that they arrive safely to their schools and to their homes. Safe passages are also linked to decreased violence, decreased criminal activity, bullying and increased attendance among students who've been served such programs as has actually existed here in the city of Long Beach before, but most neither no longer operate or exist or on hiatus or have been on hiatus due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Our Long Beach Recovery Act dollars have been set aside some to implement some version of Safe Passage this summer. But these funds will only serve areas near Cabrillo Poly and Milliken High schools. I'd like to see this expanded, obviously, and I like to see a plan that utilizes the best practices of previous programs, along with input from our community members, local schools, obviously our police department and others to devise a manual outlining how neighborhood associations can also establish their own safe passages within their communities. Not only will this activate our communities, but it will also offer a more equitable approach to safety for middle and high school students citywide. Today, I'm asking for a feasibility study on safe passage and creating a Safe Passage plan in hopes that we can get it in our communities as soon as possible, hopefully before the start of the new school year. And in closing, I'd like to thank the community members who come out and support, as well as ask from our council colleagues and would like to open it up also for public. Speaker 7: Comment as well. Absolutely. We can go to public comment. I mean, public comment on this. Speaker 1: We have eight. Patricia Long. Dave San Jose. Charmaine SIM. Sydney. Ken Faye. Franklin SIM. Please approach the podium. Julie Jones. Carlos Valdes and Rene Ruiz. Patricia Long. Speaker 5: I'm Patricia. Speaker 6: Lang from College. Speaker 5: Triangle Neighborhood Association. And I want to really thank. Speaker 6: Councilman, our. Speaker 5: Councilman, Mr. Austin, for bringing this to the council and also to the city. This event that occurred about one month ago has really devastated our neighborhood. That and the issues that our younger students have when they walk to Colin Powell on Long Beach Boulevard, where they're approached by sex workers on a regular basis. So we really appreciate the fact and I understand that there might be some money involved with this, but this issue is paramount to trying to make safety for our neighborhood. Coolidge Triangle and also Longwood. We have the support of Teresa Gomez. She has come to our neighborhood. Speaker 6: Meeting. Speaker 5: And she has inspired us to reach out to the city council and also to the city of Long Beach to help us with these issues. We also have support from College Square, that's north. Speaker 6: Of us and. Speaker 5: Also neighborhood that would like to be involved in this for us. Thank you very much. Speaker 7: Thank you. Next picture, please. Speaker 2: Yes. I'm Dave San Jose. I want to thank you, Alison, for bringing this forward. This is probably one of the most important things we can do in the city. The children are our future of Long Beach. And so if there's any ways that we can figure out to make children safe, we live in different times now and the times we live in. I've been here since 1940. I've never seen it like this. I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly. So before anything serious happens, I'm sure you can figure out ways to make it safer for our children because they are our future. Thank you. Speaker 7: Thank you. Next week, your police. Speaker 2: So I can face extensive criticism. First, I want to thank Councilman Austin for bringing this opportunity for the city to engage in the Safe Passage plan. I'm very familiar with it. Due to the work that I've done with LAUSD and as well as with the Chicago Public School System. Um, we're in both cases, um, a lot of the racial tension in LAUSD, the example would be in Watts and in Chicago would be the South Side. It dropped a lot of the activity over 20%. So it's obviously over respect to best practices. It's a it's a method that works. I think that it's it's very tragic that, you know, a young girl leaving school, I think, and unfortunately has to, you know, have someone try to abduct them and and do God knows what with them. I think it speaks to the previous gentleman's sentiment about where the times are going. I know for a fact, just two months ago, my two nephews who go to school at a charter school on Long Beach Boulevard and 16th Street, they were there along with a few of the other black male students. They were attacked because of an incident with someone from a different ethnic group and where gang members walked onto the campus and just attacked the young black male students on the on the campus. So I think for will respect the safe passage plan. Um, you know we really have to engage with the community and not just in the sense of us that are active and, you know, come down to city hall and come to, uh, you know, speak on these things. But really, um, you know, these young men who are committing these activities that make it unsafe in the space, they are participants and, you know, organizations that don't have representatives that come down here to speak. And I think that in order for us to really facilitate a more safe requirement, I know with respect to the Safe Spaces plan and the Watts example, they hired ex-gang members to stand on guard and post within the corridors around lock in other schools. They were having a lot of these flare ups. And I think that for us to really want to see the tension to decrease, we would have to do something similar. And that involves engaging with the street culture, both on the African-American side and on the Latino side, because these are the two prime, uh, groups that a lot of these, uh, unfortunate moments are happening with. So we'll have to facilitate. I'm engaged with a group called Long Reset that was engaged in a lot of intervention work. So would love to support and thank you. Speaker 7: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 5: Hi. I'd like to thank all of you for considering this item, because it's very important for our children and our neighborhood, not just the schools that you mentioned earlier, but all of the schools need programs like this. And if there's funding involved, please try to find money for this. I know we as a community can come together and try to motivate our members to volunteer. I know it's going to take coordination with lots of organizations the police, the schools, the public, the neighborhood associations. But I think working together, it takes a village to save our community and we can come together as a village. If you as a city council can, please give us the opportunity. Thank you. Speaker 7: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 4: Hello, City Council. My name is Umar Joy, a fourth desert district resident. Darrell Supernova is my councilperson. Thank you. Councilmember Al asked him for this agenda item. Safe passage for students like me is critical. I'm a seventh grader at Stamper Middle School. My community is pretty safe, but not all students in Long Beach are that lucky. My hope is that the city manager will find solutions or find solutions in the coming weeks for all Lumbee kids to be more safe. What happened to a teenage girl in North Long Beach is unacceptable and is very frightening. One problem I would like the city manager to look at is the moms in Bear. Speaker 5: Bay. Speaker 4: At Edison Middle School. A group of moms saw a problem with gangs and drug selling sells near and indecent, so they brought walkie talkies from Circuit City, not Amazon lets and stood out on the corners with walkie talkies helping the students near. Let's find ways to bring families and communities together to fix our problems. Thank you again. Council member Austin for for bringing this agenda item. I hope all council members please approve this agenda item for students like me. Speaker 7: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 2: Good evening, counsel. Speaker 5: Thank you. Also to councilman and council member Al Austin for bringing this agenda item and for the community members that came out. I really. I, too, like my mom or dad, live in the fourth district. But I've gained an affinity for the residents in North Long Beach and what they're going through there. And I want us, if we can, to imagine, you know, the street where the robbery or abduction happened. It's actually a nice street. It's tree lined. And a lot of good people live there. And just to imagine someone coming up in a sedan getting out and grabbing your daughter. That's a tough thing. And. Some have mentioned. Speaker 2: The moms brigade and. Speaker 5: I learned about the moms brigade from a ninth District resident who came who came to Edison Middle School, which is really first district. And they were having an issue with drug sales there and with gangs. So the moms got these walkie talkies donated by Circuit City, and they would stand out and they would stand at different corners . And what it did was it created something where they didn't have to have have to engage, but they could provide as witnesses for what was happening. And they were on a radio frequency so police officers could hear what was going on. And one mom might say, oh, I saw this happening. Did you see it? And then another would say, Yes, I saw that, too. Well, now you have a coordination with officers, but it also is involving families inside of that process. And I would like Tom and the team, if they could, to look into that and see if that's something that we can do. What I loved. Speaker 2: About it is that. Speaker 5: It was at no cost to the city. And that's important because we've got we've got budget talks coming up soon. What's also great is it puts more eyes on the street. If you go to North Long Beach. Speaker 2: Or Long Beach Boulevard, what's happening with the human. Speaker 5: Trafficking and prostitution? There's not all eyes on the street. I went there recently with my wife and we were doing trying to. Speaker 2: Inform the community what was going. Speaker 5: On so they could see it. And you should have seen the cars stop and pull over and just and gawking. There's a real problem there. And we've got to we've got to get our arms around it. And I just really appreciate, again, you bringing this agenda item forth. And I really want to thank the community for coming out. Want to inspire you guys to stay engaged. And thank you so much. Speaker 7: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 2: Hi. Carlos Valdes, College Triangle. I would like to begin by thanking Councilman Al Lofton for listening to residents longstanding concerns about safety and security, and most importantly, bringing your children's safety front and center. By now, all of our council members are aware that the community is west of the 710 Freeway, and North Long Beach has been plagued by human trafficking, exposing children to the realities of what happens between prostitutes and johns. They see them in the act. They see the youth condoms left in the streets. They've been approached both by pimps and johns on the way to school and prom. And most recently, the teenager was assaulted in the failed kidnaped attempt both Coolidge Triangle and Longwood Neighborhood Associations. Choose to be proactive and not reactive. And we need your active participation. Establishing a safe passage plan built on the city's commitment to maintaining a network of strong, sustainable neighborhoods and will bring families, local partners and stakeholders together to keep our community safe. Our hope is the Safe Passage plan will focus on soliciting public participation to deter criminal activity and ensure that all children are able to walk to and from school safely as we continuously reinforce our community meetings throughout the year. The safety of our neighborhood is a collaborative effort between law enforcement and residents. By putting the power in the residents hands, we hope to increase engagement of our residents who share in vision of bringing safer neighborhoods North Long Beach or Long Beach Boulevard. Establishing a Safe Passage plan will provide an opportunity for community dialog that will continue to foster a culture of safety along the Long Beach Boulevard corridor. As our new councilman, I'd like to thank you, Austin, for your leadership championing action that is long overdue. And thank you, council members, for your consideration and partnership. And thank you to the gentleman from Long Beach. The Long Beach reset that I get that correct for serving something greater than yourself. That's all I have to say. Thank you. Speaker 7: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 4: Good evening. My name is Renee Real, along with Neighborhood Association President. Last Monday, over 25 to 30 leaders from the North Lawn meet from the eighth district and the ninth district met with commander, police commanders, the bell. We had a long discussion about how we want our communities to be safe. We talked about policing, and one of the ideas that was discussed was safe. Speaker 5: Passage for. Speaker 4: Our children walking to and from school. And we also had over we submitted what actually I submitted to Austin a or a petition from a resident that has about over 100 signatures requesting for safety. And so, again, we're here to support this agenda item, the Narnia, the North Long Beach leaders, the resident and European Council member asked him for bringing this item on to the city council. Thank you. Speaker 7: Thank you. Any further public comment? Speaker 1: That concludes the public comments. Speaker 7: Great. I'll I'll just you know, I'm happy to second this motion. Thank you, Councilman Austin, for bringing this forward. Just a few. I would say, number one, that was a tragic set of circumstances with the young lady. I had a chance to talk with her, talk with her family afterwards. And I agree. More needs to happen. I think we should also sort of highlight some of the good things that the city is doing in terms of the safe passages. And I want to ask the city manager if you can just update, because we funded a new Safe Passage program, our Jordan High School Recovery Funds. And I know that there's a LIMBERG program, but I don't know about Colin Colin Powell, if that was included. Could you could we give some updates on where we are? Speaker 2: So Kelly Collopy is here to talk through a little bit of what's currently there. And then we also have our deputy city manager, Meredith Reynolds, who can talk to some of the Recovery Act programs. Thank you. Speaker 6: Good evening, council members. Speaker 5: So we currently have a Safe Passage program at Washington Middle School through Calvert. We just received a $3.9 million grant to extend Calvert, which will include the, um, which will include the Lindbergh Middle School. Yeah. The overall grant does cover 13 different communities, of which College Triangle is one of those. And so we are looking at different opportunities to support the many communities within that space. And then the Jordan High School is funded through the Recovery Act. At this time, I'm not aware of the additional space. Speaker 7: Great. So let's make sure, you know, we get a good report on where all those sources of funding funding is. I know when we did last year, there was sort of in response to some of the crime that we saw increasing right at the height of the pandemic. We asked to identify funding sources to expand the Washington program to other neighborhoods. So what were the neighborhoods we were able to expand into? And we got we received this grant right last. Last week, correct? Speaker 5: Yeah. Speaker 7: So that give us just a general update on what are the types of activities we're going to be able to see and what are the neighborhoods included in this $3.9 million grant? Speaker 5: Yeah. So the, um, the different neighborhoods are Adams, Carmelita Coolidge, the Crow's Triangle, um, the Forest Park, uh, grant area, grant Community, Highland Park and Lindbergh and North Long Beach. And then in Central Long Beach shall be central in Rose Park, St Mary's and uh. Zafar Yeah. So lots of different, lots of different areas, lots of different communities. But the council districts are in one, two, six, eight and nine, so they are pretty spread out across the central north, um, north areas and some of the west. So the key things that will be happening is we have developed a gun violence response protocol in partnership with the police department. So if there is a violent action, then the police department will respond and then they will call our team out to respond and work in wraparound services to those impacted by the gun violence, as well as to engage and bring to do work with peacekeepers. So those peacekeepers are trained in interventions and to really those peacekeepers will be available with those within those communities, um, to support the communities after, after something, you know, some sort of violent, um, event happens and then so there will be trained intervention this. And then from there we're also going to be doing a lot of community work together. So you'll find in the Washington neighborhood right now that there are a lot of community activation. The community, the community members are very engaged in the Safe Passages program as well as a lot of other activation activities. So those are all part of this grant that is forthcoming. Speaker 7: All right. So so I'll just I'll just say it. Certainly, you know, the pandemic is hard to show sometimes all the work that's happening, but it doesn't happen overnight. You know, this was 2020 when we began talking about expanding the program in North Palm Beach. 2021 was the city council gave direction to make it happen. We went through the grant application process. We received recovery dollars. That was one part of it, and that was 3.9 million we last we announced last week. The good news is, for all the programs and the violence prevention, we want to do the funding's there. That's the big part. And and if you want to see a reference, just look at watch the neighborhood or do the event the event we did at Coolidge Triangle at Coolidge Park maybe a year ago. So more of that activity can come. So I certainly support this. I think one thing that one gap that I do see is Colin Powell. So I know Jordan is funded. I know Lindbergh is funded, but Colin Powell certainly needs to be. So we have to figure out how to either, you know, include it in recovery funds or some other way. But that area needs to be included. Okay. All right. Thank you. Next is Councilman Juvenile. Thank you. And I'd like to thank all the speakers here tonight and especially my enjoy. I'm already getting text messages and what a great. Speaker 2: Job you did. So congratulations. Speaker 7: Thank you, Councilman Austin, for bringing this very important item forward. Speaker 2: And I stand in support. I do have some comments. I've been asked to read. Speaker 7: On behalf of Councilwoman. Speaker 2: Price. I fully support this item and. Speaker 7: Thank Councilman Austin for bringing it forth. For over. Speaker 2: Ten years, I've been involved in a Safe Passage. Speaker 7: Program and activation program. I run an elementary school that is located in a high. Speaker 2: Gang activity area. I found the program to be very effective in activating the area, increasing community presence and allowing children to have a safe pathway to and from school. I think the key to the programs like this is working with local community based organizations and parents group groups to ensure that the community is represented along the pathways . Engaging the community in these efforts is critical to the success of the programs, and I encourage our city's health department. Who's overseeing this and other violence prevention prevention programs. To look for more ways to incorporate the local community based organizations. End of quote. I'd just like to add something else here, and that is our school just. Speaker 7: Ended in Long Beach Unified last week. Speaker 2: Parents have already. Speaker 7: Reached out. Speaker 2: To me about school security issues. So I'd just like to encourage any community based organization. Speaker 7: Or individuals to go ahead and. Speaker 2: Reach out to your. Speaker 7: To your council office. Speaker 2: If you don't. Speaker 7: Know that school board member and whatnot. And we can certainly connect you. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Councilman Sorrell. Speaker 4: Yes, thank you, Vice Mayor. Yes. I want to thank Councilmember Austin for bringing this forward and amplifying the ongoing concern around safety. I think that it was thank you for all of the public comments that were made today. And I think that I wanted to also make sure to share that it's something that builds upon what was brought forward back in 2021, February of 2021, and how we're able to accelerate violence prevention in addition to safe passage, but generally in our communities. And that was the, I think, request. Part of that was to look for additional funding, which was mentioned earlier. And that's where we're able to capture the additional need that was, I think, mentioned earlier. I think as well as requested. So I appreciate the conversation that happens at the neighborhood level as well as the community level for ongoing conversation and exploration to make sure that we're working to make everyone in addition to our youth, safe as well. And, you know, one of the things that I also wanted to see if we can hear a little bit more is I do hear there is concern around how do we ensure there the program is working collaboratively. Can you share again, Miss Colby, how this program, as far as this grant I think you mentioned, is it the CAO VIP? Can you share a little bit more about how that would work? You mentioned peacemakers or peace civilians. That would be key peacekeepers. Excuse me. Speaker 5: And so this is a partnership with many of our departments across the city, as well as the community members. And so, you know, included in this is workforce and the connection to employment opportunities for our youth parks and activating spaces and, you know, the library and activating those spaces as well as the response and engagement with the police department. So there are many different opportunities in the Washington neighborhood. The community members are very engaged as well in the planning in terms of, you know, the activation of spaces as well as, you know, as well as the Safe Passage program. So there are we have a strong connection and the grant is all of these are listed. And in terms of the types of those activities. Speaker 4: Can you mentioned the central Long Beach areas that you'll be also expanding to, in addition to what was mentioned in North Long Beach as well. Speaker 5: Yeah, so Center Hellmann Rose Park, Saint Mary's and Sophia Green. Speaker 4: And I just want to mention how how proud I am to have brought this item forward with Vice Mayor Richardson, as well as councilmembers and Diaz and Councilmember Allen last year, in order for us to explore the funding that the Health and Human Services Department worked hard in achieving. So I'm really grateful for all the work the department staff have done with your leadership, Ms.. Calliope in receiving that $3.9 million grant to the Health Department for us to do the violence prevention in addition to the safe passage work. Thank you so much. Speaker 7: Thank you, Councilman Austin. Speaker 3: Thank you again. I want to thank the community for coming out. We've been listening and looking at creative ways to address your concerns. But obviously there's a void and a real need to address safe passage in our our communities. I want to be really clear. It was mentioned on a couple of occasions. This actually item builds upon, you know, our violence prevention plan or healthy and safe communities. Tonight's agenda item specifies safe passage for students coming to and from school. I want to be very, very clear on that. I know our healthy communities, safe and healthy communities plan through our Recovery Act specified three high schools, Cabrillo High School, Millikan High School and Long Beach Poly High School. It did not mention Jordan. It didn't mention, you know, some of the other areas in North Long Beach. And so the item tonight, it was really to build upon the Safe and Healthy Communities Act, but to specify safe passages to and from school for our students. And I think I want to make sure that we distinguish that and be clear. I heard from public comment. It does take a village is going to take us all and everybody every adult should take on the responsibility to to defend and protect our children in the city. And so I certainly am encouraged seeing that community organizations want to be involved and engaged. And this doesn't necessarily mean that everybody's going to get paid. We can create a volunteer brigade throughout our city to ensure safe passages for our children. And so, again, one of to clarify some some points here, but again, thank you to the community for coming out and support and the support of comments from my colleagues. I look forward to getting a report back very soon from staff. Speaker 7: Thank you. Thank you, Councilman Sunday House. Speaker 4: Thank you. Thank you, Councilmember Orson, for this item. I think it's very important that we really, really take into consideration the preventative measures that we can put into place. I think that, you know, that's something that's very important. I'm so sorry about this incident that happened to this young lady. It was just heartbreaking. I'm I'm so happy that besides the fact that I do believe she's will forever be traumatized by it, because I will be I you know, I'm really glad that there was an even more severe outcome to this. But when things like this happen, they teach their teachable moments. And I think that that's when, you know, we are able to come together as a community and try to prevent further things from happening like this. So I think that it's very important. I know to me, my community is as I mentioned before, we have been working on preventative measures with with county on being able to make a safe passage to to our schools, because that's mostly where our our youth go to is, you know, to and from school. So thank you to all the incredible work, Kelly, that you and your team have done and can. He needed to do, not only in my district, but citywide. And I think that that's what we need to continue working on and protecting our children as best we can. So thank you. Speaker 7: All right. Thank you. Before we go to the vote, just again, we certainly hear you and there's a lot of activity happening and we hear very clearly safe passages is what they're looking for. Can we clarify, is Jordan included in the recovery funds? Speaker 5: Jordan is currently included. Speaker 2: In the recovery fund. Okay. Speaker 7: And Lindbergh is in the new grant, red Corvette grant. And we want to explore adding Colin Powell. Speaker 5: Yes. And so we do have within the recovery fund the opportunity for at least one other middle school. Speaker 2: That has yet to be assigned. Speaker 5: So we can be working at those different middle. Speaker 2: Schools. Speaker 7: Fantastic. And there may be some economies of scale because Jordan high students and the Colin Powell students, sometimes it's the same household, so the same route in some ways. So we just need to make sure a lot of these boulevard is covered. Okay. Thank you so much, members. Please cast your vote. Speaker 1: The motion is carried.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to request City Manager to investigate the feasibility of establishing a Safe Passage Plan in collaboration with the Long Beach Police Department, other appropriate City departments, Long Beach Unified School District, and relevant local organizations, and report back to the City Council in 60 days.

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Speaker 7: Thank you. Item 30, please. Speaker 1: Item 30 is a communication from Councilwoman Allen, Chair of the Climate Action and Environmental Committee, recommendation to inform the Harbor Department of the following City Council recommendations with the intentions of creating a green shipping corridor at support for legislation to rapidly decarbonize the maritime shipping industry and to create green shipping corridors to the cities 2022 through 2023 . State and federal legislative agendas require city attorney to draft resolution, calling on top maritime importers to Long Beach to adopt existing emissions reducing technologies and take steps toward making port calls to the San Pedro Port Complex on zero carbon ships by 2030 and pursue all the above items with a focus on incentives and provide input on incentive types. Speaker 7: All right. Great. Councilman Allen. Speaker 6: Thank you. Vice Mayor, can I kind of request that we go to public comments first? Speaker 7: Great. Is there any public comment on item 30? Speaker 1: Yes. Dave Shukla. Patricia Chen. Grace Lawrenson. Do Denuncia hinder. Anna Kristiansen, please approach podium. Speaker 7: All right, come on down. Who's first? Dave Shukla. All of you. Okay, well. Speaker 2: Every one of them first. Speaker 7: Okay, fine. Whoever is in front. Speaker 1: Chen Grace. Speaker 5: Good evening. I'm Patricia Chen, and I'm a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Long Beach. And I am here to support or to express my strong support for item number 30. Um, our faith centers around eight principles, and I'm just going to tell you, the seventh and the eighth are about focusing on respect for the environment and responsibly dismantling racism in ourselves and in our institutions. Um, I see supporting the proposed resolution and the item in general as an opportunity to support our principles in improving environmental quality and addressing harm to the many people of color who in the past had very little choice in their housing, and thus they have been in close proximity to uh, harmful emissions from the port area. And particularly, I've seen maps of cancer in the city of Long Beach and they're very tightly clustered around the port, and that makes me feel very strongly on these issues and just really want to express support for, um, asking our large major retailers to please insist on clean shipping , uh, for the goods that they're importing to sell here in Long Beach. Speaker 7: Thank you. We'll let you finish. But we I don't think we have quorum right now. When we pause. When we pause for a moment, we establish quorum. Is that councilman super over there. Does that count for quorum? Nope. No. Okay. Councilman Suber. No. We're going to need you to come back behind the rail. Sorry, buddy. Speaker 2: All right. I think we're going. Speaker 5: To end with a thank you to you for bringing this item forward. And it's very important. Thank you. Speaker 7: Certainly. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 5: Hi, I'm Bruce Lawrenson and I'm from the seventh District. And I do appreciate everything that the city has been doing to combat climate change. And the, uh, the, the part is a particularly difficult issue and it every little bit helps and decarbonizing shipping will be a big step in creating clean air and preventing disease in West Long Beach and will also help to stop global warming. Thank you. Speaker 7: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 2: Hello, Mr. Vice Mayor and members of City Council. My name is Daniel Heydari, and I am the Sheppard Zero Campaign Lead with Pacific Environment, which is a global climate NGO that focuses on serving poor communities and advocating for zero emissions ocean shipping. We possess rare consultative status at the United Nations International Maritime Organization, and I am based here in Long Beach. Pacific Environment. Cyber Monday 2021. Report Shady Root How big retail and their carriers pollute along key ocean shipping corridors can target an Amazon to be top big retail contributors to Long Beach ship congestion and pollution crisis. And these companies reliance on the dirtiest fuel in the market for ocean shipping. Heavy fuel oil is causing high rates of asthma, cancer and premature death in West Long Beach, where residents experience up to eight years shorter life expectancy than the Los Angeles County average, according to the city of Long Beach is 2019 Community Health Assessment. Indeed, Black Long Beach residents are hospitalized with asthma at eight times the rate and Latinx residents are twice the rate as white Long Beach residents. The problem has only worsened during the pandemic. In 2021, cargo ship congestion at the San Pedro Bay ports caused an increase in nitrogen oxide emissions, equivalent to adding 5.8 million passenger cars to the region and an increase in particulate matter emissions equivalent to 100,000 big rig trucks per day. Both pollutants are associated with higher risk of premature death. The global shipping industry accounts for 3% of global climate emissions, more than global air travel. If shipping were a country, it would be the world's sixth largest polluter, about the same emissions as the entirety of Germany. On its current trajectory, ocean trade is projected to grow as much as 130% by 2050. Over today's trade volume. If ships remain on fossil fuels, they will represent 17% of global carbon dioxide emissions by mid-century, as the most recent United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report warns. If we hope to limit global warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit and save our home on Earth, we must have our greenhouse gas emissions from 2019 levels by 2030. This includes demand, including industries like cargo, cargo shipping work alongside ports, governments and retailers to transition to 100% zero emission shipping this decade. Otherwise, we risk frequent power outages, deadly heat waves and uncontrollable wildfires. All life as we know it is on the line. We must do everything in our power to save everything we can before it's too late. Thank you so much. Speaker 7: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 5: And a kristensen. He had me at all. Life as we know it is on the line. Just saying. I really want to thank Cindy Allen for this, introducing this item as well as the next one, which has a lot of lines crossing it out because apparently our city attorney needs to take a harder look at it. But I think we're coming to the point here where our city, our city council, our city manager are all of our staff. We need to pull together to realize that it's racism. Environmental racism and environmental justice and environment, period are all, you know, needing an awful lot of attention here. And it's really weird how when you think like growing up, how Signal Hill got separated precisely because the oil industry didn't want to have to contribute to the well-being of all the people whose oil that they were drilling. And now we have a port that's a very wealthy port. I mean, it just grows and grows and grows. And we have the president making special effort to keep the cargo moving. Right. But what about the quality of life? It's kind of stunning that you can't it doesn't make sense. Why should Wilmington be so, so poor when the port is creating so much wealth? So this disconnect, I'm not saying anything new here. Not like the guy behind me. I mean, there is your expert. When the city outsources and looks for experts, hire that guy. I mean, pay him because this is an NGO. An NGO appeared before you today that that is government standing he government his organization has government standing before the United Nations. He knows a lot about this. You know, my son did tell me this week that one cargo ship generates an incredible amount of pollution, more than so many cars. So it's good that we try to drive electric cars and conserve and do all of that. But these are the big polluters. They're are also the big job creators. And the unions back them. And that's our other issue with workers. Workers whose lives are at risk, whose own family's lives are at risk, are showing up to support big pollution. And that's something also quite unfortunate. I just came here to say that we know in the world when the oil terminal issue came up, the room had a lot of people from out of town. I don't think we are SEAL Beach. I don't think we are suspicious of someone who didn't grow up in Long Beach. That were bigger than that. We're the largest city in California. But but I do think we should pay attention when people bother when these and I know probably a lot of people were planning on coming tonight for the next agenda item as well . I saw the list of people supporting or taking a hard look at what we're doing right here in town when it comes to ending our own pollution creators, our own oil industry. So thank you for this opportunity to speak. Speaker 7: Thank you. David, your last speaker. Speaker 2: It's okay for me to speak last. Gave me time to caught the world, so to speak. Thank you for letting me speak last. It gave me time to look up my comments on Earth Day that are not part of the comment on legislative. But it doesn't matter. Very briefly, Councilwoman Allen, thank you for bringing this forward from Earth Day to today. The issue of green shipping corridors isn't just an environmental one. It's an economic one. Being able to control these shipping corridors, being able to control where the ships are charging up, especially about 200 mile marker where we were just breathing in all that pollution over these past month. That's going to matter for competitiveness for our port. As I've explained to Director Cordero and others there, it's an important item, and it may well be that the Port of Los Angeles is as much a frenemy and competitor as it is as a partner, specifically on this issue of the offshore wind leases, because that's where you can get all the juice you need to cool down the ships. I would love to see what the incentives and some of the details are of a detailed guide. Sure. But overall, thank you so much. It's a really great idea. Happy to support it. Speaker 7: Thank you. That satisfies public comment. Take it back behind the real councilwoman Allen. Speaker 6: Yes. I just want to say thank you to all the members of the public that came here and commented and thank you to Daniel Heydari from ship at the zero four. You said it all. I agree with everything that you said. I appreciate the advocacy of all of our allies. We're fighting the good fight. So I appreciate you showing up and speaking. This is a great item that signals our city's alignment with the green shipping goals. And I want to thank the Port of Long Beach for joining the ally Shanghai Green Shipping Corridor. This was absolutely great news. And I know that we heard this in committee and it hadn't happened yet. So. So just. Thank you. It's just positive news, you know, all around. Once this agreement is finalized, I would love to see it become a playbook to work with other ports to create more green shipping corridors. The city of Los Angeles passed a green shipping resolution on October 9th, 2021. And tonight, I hope that Long Beach will do the same and approve this kit, this committee recommendation. Our two ports, one beach and alley, both represent much economic activity and also incredible opportunity to improve our local air quality. So by working together to clean up our regional air quality. Long Beach and L.A. will continue to make a very significant and big impact. So thank you all for being here. Speaker 7: And tastic. Thank you, Councilman Zoro. Speaker 4: Yes. I want to thank Councilwoman Allen for her leadership on this item. You know, I think that it's important that we really look into all avenues of ways that we can reduce climate change. And I think this is a really important item that we begin to work on. So I support this item. Speaker 7: Fantastic. I also want to just say great work to Councilwoman Allen and your committee. I've been briefed by this group and I'm happy to support the resolution today. I, I understand. Is the staff have any comments or the. Speaker 2: From a staff perspective, I think this really is something that we'd be asking the port to take the lead on, as they're kind of the experts. We would certainly added in to our legislative agenda and be able to support the concepts and we haven't had a chance yet to really have that discussion with the port yet. But it's my understanding they're prepared to start looking at this. Speaker 7: Okay, great members, please cast your vote. Speaker 1: The motion is carried. Speaker 7: Thank you. Item 32, please. Speaker 1: Item 32 is reported from Economic Development and Public Works recommendation to execute a Supplemental Agreement to Management Agreement with ASEM Global to complete various capital improvements at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center in the amount of 1.4 million. District one. Speaker 6: Mayor Can I just say something? I mean, I'm sorry, Vice Mayor. Speaker 7: Let's just get the motion cleared up. I just want to go through it, Councilman. Alan, 1/2. Speaker 6: I know I have to recuse myself because I do own two properties that are within the the FT 500 feet of the convention center. But does that lose quorum? Okay. Speaker 7: Great. All right. Is there a staff report here? Speaker 2: Yes. Johnny Vallejo can give a very brief staff report. Speaker 9: Yes. Good evening. Vice Mayor and city council decided is for a supplement supplemental agreement with ASM Global to complete various capital improvements to the Long Beach Convention Entertainment Center. These improvements would include improvements to the areas of the Beverly O'Neill Theater, Terrace, Theater, Terrace, Plaza and Promenade, among others.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to inform the Harbor Department of the following City Council recommendations and requested actions and coordinate with them as necessary to explore discussions with another major international port city with the intentions of creating a green shipping corridor similar to the one in development between the Ports of Los Angeles and Shanghai, including exploring joining the Los Angeles/Shanghai clean shipping corridor as a partner; Add support for legislation or administrative action to rapidly decarbonize the maritime shipping industry and to create green shipping corridors along the California coast, the West Coast of the United States, and across the trans-Pacific trade route to the City’s 2022-2023 State and Federal Legislative Agendas; Request City Attorney to draft resolution calling on top maritime importers to Long Beach to adopt existing emissions-reducing technologies and take steps towards making port calls to the San Pedro Port Complex on zero-carbon ships by 2030; and Pursue all the above items with a focus on incentives and provide input on incenti

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Speaker 9: Yes. Good evening. Vice Mayor and city council decided is for a supplement supplemental agreement with ASM Global to complete various capital improvements to the Long Beach Convention Entertainment Center. These improvements would include improvements to the areas of the Beverly O'Neill Theater, Terrace, Theater, Terrace, Plaza and Promenade, among others. So this is a typical in arrangement with the city and some global to complete capital improvement projects on behalf of the Public Works Department. Speaker 7: Right. Pretty straightforward. Any public comment on this item? Speaker 1: No public. Speaker 7: Comment numbers. Please cast your vote. Speaker 1: Councilwoman Sarah. Motion is carried. Speaker 7: Thank you. Item 33, please. Speaker 1: Item 33 is reported from Economic Development and Public Works recommendation to execute a hotel management agreement with Evolution Hospitality LLC for the reopening and operation of the Queen Mary District one. Speaker 7: Councilman Hassouna. Okay, great. Is there a staff report here? Speaker 2: Yes. Vice Mayor So this is a very significant item. We've been for months working on a negotiation to bring this item to you to be able to reopen the Queen Mary. It's been a strategic priority of this council is to get the ship back open again and generating revenue so we can put those revenues back into the asset. So we've worked very closely with the port, with the Harbor Commission on this item. They've been part of it, as we've been contemplating, of course, a future transaction where they would would take over this asset. And I'd like Johnny Boy here to kind of walk us through the concept here, how it would work, what some of our obligations are, and also some of the upside revenue projections that we expect to realize from this from this item. Thank you, Johnny. Speaker 9: Thank you. As Tom mentioned, this item is a recommendation for hotel management agreement with evolution, hospitality for Operations Queen Mary. I thought a really brief history of management of Queen Mary would be helpful. So as noted here, the Queen Mary was purchased by the city in 1967, opened to the public in 1972, and was operated by the city for five years. Oversight of the ship was in passing the Port of Long Beach in 1978, whereas operated by Rather Corporation, then Disney under long term lease. Disney terminated their agreement in 1992. And in that same year, the Board of Commissioners transferred control back to the city. Under city control, there have been a series of lessees, including USDA, Save the Queen, Jefferson and Urban Commons, all struggling under the long term lease structure and the debt incurred acquiring the lease. In 2020, the Queen Mary was closed due to COVID, and after several notices of default, the lessee ultimately filed for bankruptcy. Upon notification of bankruptcy by the master lessee, the city engaged evolution hospitality under a caretaker agreement to maintain the ship and former leasehold area. This agreement was minimal in scope, was only meant to provide core maintenance and security of the site. Additional. Additionally, evolution provided support for the Public Works Department and Economic Development Department through the ongoing implementation of critical projects previously approved by City Council. Evolution is also work along the fire department, developing an updated emergency response plan for the Queen Mary and implementing repairs. Improvements to the fire life safety systems. Instructed by the city council, the city the city began negotiating with evolution, hospitality for a broader hotel management agreement. Besides extensive experience with Queen Mary and its unique challenges, evolution together with their parent company, Anchorage Hospitality, is the largest hotel operator in the country. Economic Development staff have worked with staff from Public Works, Hybrid Department and the Office of Special Events and filming to develop a more comprehensive hotel management agreement. We also engage consulting services of Kaiser Master Associates to review aspects of the proposed agreement. It's important to note this is a management agreement as opposed to the former lease structure. So the city retains significantly more responsibility for the asset, such as major capital, such as major capital improvements. But the city also is entitled to a majority of net profits generated at the site. We feel we have developed a comprehensive yet flexible agreement and evolution has made concessions which reflect their commitment to the asset and belief in the viability of the Queen Mary as a hotel and attraction. To that end, we have negotiated five major terms and conditions. This agreement is for an initial five year term with two successive one year options at the discretion of the city. Evolution will be responsible for the former Queen Mary leasehold area, including the Queen Mary and adjacent parking. They will operate and manage the Queen Mary hotel attractions, retail, food and beverage parking and ship based special events. The city will reimburse evolution for reimbursable expenses in the course of the reopening and evolution as their base fee will be paid 2.5% of total operating revenue in year one and 2% in year two and beyond. This is a reduction in their standard 3% base fee. He said he will pay evolution $9,000 a month for centralized accounting and marketing support. As a performance incentive. Evolution may earn 10% of earnings before interest depreciation and amortization in excess of 7.5 million. Please note a slight change in this term as described in the written staff report. Instead, Citi would pay evolution based on an undated financials and reconcile against added financials if needed. We've obviously set a performance threshold whereby the city would have the right to terminate the agreement without penalty if certain performance measures are not met. If, though the city decides to terminate the agreement for the sale or lease of the asset or otherwise defaults within the first two years, the city would be required to pay a termination fee, which is calculated based on previous base fee and monthly operations. For reference, a simple calculation based on a second year termination would result in approximately $500,000 termination fee. For the period prior to reopening. The city will pay evolution $25,000 a month and cover documented reimbursable evolution will proceed. We'll provide a reopening budget, setting forth the proposed costs and expenses anticipated to be incurred during this reopening period. This is currently estimated at approximately 1.6 million. Also to safely reopen in limited hotel attraction and visitor services services. Approximately $1 million in improvements are needed for such items as those noted here. Boilers, piggyback repairs, elevators, etc.. All funds received by evolution in the operation of the Queen Mary, including working capital furnished by the city, will be deposited into an operating account. To the extent funds are available in the operating account, evolution shall pay all operating expenses as part of its audit rights. The city will have the right to inspect this operating account at any time. At the end of the fiscal year, evolution will distribute to the city all sums, all sums in the operating account in excess of the working capital requirements. To ensure the ability to pay for eligible operating expenses and in accordance with industry norms. The city will provide $1.5 million in working capital to be placed in the offering account upon execution of the agreement. Please note for accounting purposes, this will be booked as prepaid expense does not affect the city's net position of the City Fund and does not represent any additional compensation or expense other than that already contemplated in the agreement. Its working capital level will be maintained and anticipated to be supported by revenue generated upon reopening of the ship. 4% of total operating revenues shall be allocated and paid monthly to an FINI reserve for replacement substitution and additions to furniture, fixtures and equipment. Any funds remaining in the FFP nine reserve at the end of the fiscal year will be rolled over to the next fiscal year, and upon expiration or term termination of this agreement, evolution shall remit all remaining amounts in the FFP reserve to the city. Evolution will also be required to produce monthly financial reports and annual audited financial reports showing the results of operations of the asset throughout the fiscal year. Evolution will keep full and accurate books of account and other records reflecting the operation of the Queen Mary. And those records will be available to the city and its representatives for examination, audit and inspection. Evolution will provide an annual operating budget and capital budget prior to the beginning of each fiscal year. The capital budget will set forth in reasonable line item detail proposed capital projects and expenditures, including planned FMA opening expenditures. The city will provide approval or disapproval of these budgets within 30 days. City will be responsible for the cost of larger capital improvements to the ship and for restoration and preservation of historic items beyond maintenance of those items. Evolution will continue to engage the services of a historic resource advisor, so evolution can probably maintain and manage historic assets and identify priority projects prior to the hotel's closure in 2020. Evolution How Labor Agreements with Seafarers, International Union and International Brotherhood of Teamsters for All Hourly Associates that totaled approximately 300 staff. Evolution will continue to honor these agreements upon the hotel's reopening. Evolution will also make every effort to provide employment opportunities for those that were previously employed on the ship. Insurance Liability Terms. The proposed agreement have been reviewed by Citi's risk manager. I will note that the indemnity provisions for hotel management agreements per industry norms are unique in that the city retains much of the liability associated with operation of the ship, although this liability is typically covered by insurance. The rationale being that operator fees are relatively low and the owner in this case the city, retain a vast majority of net operating profits. His recommended. The recommended action will result in approximately $2,870,500 in estimated pre-opening and reopening costs in Foyer 22 in the Thailand Area Fund Group. This estimate includes ¥1.6 million, pre-opening costs for staffing and other approved costs. 1 million of pre-opening improvements for priority visitors serving project needed to safely reopen the ship, an 8.5% contingency and reopening service fees. These expenses will be offset to the extent possible by revenue generated from the Queen Mary. Harry Bridges Special Events Park and leases in the vicinity of the former Queen Mary leasehold. Any expense is not offset within the title injury fund group may need to be covered by Title Thailand's Operating Fund. Evolution and staff projections anticipate the ship's operations can fully offset expenses for FY 23, with net revenue to the city approaching $1,000,000. After all costs are settled for FY 24 and beyond, the net revenue projections to the city may exceed $7 million annually. This does not even include revenue generated at Harry Bridges Special Events Park or from leases in the vicinity of the Queen Mary, such as Carnival Island Express helicopters or Catalina Express. This concludes my staff report. Thank you. Speaker 7: All right. Thank you. Is there any public comment on this item?

Contract

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute any and all documents necessary for a Supplemental Agreement to Management Agreement No. 21667 with ASM Global, a Pennsylvania joint venture, to complete various capital improvements at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center, at 300 East Ocean Boulevard, in the amount of $1,429,962. (District 1)

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Speaker 1: Thank you. Hearing 21, please. Yeah. Speaker 0: Report from Development Services recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude the public hearing and extend for one year. A previously adopted urgency ordinance relating to the temporary limitation on the issuance of building or construction permits for new residential standalone construction along commercial and transportation corridors in West Long Beach. Read the first time and later the next regular meeting of City Council for final reading and declare the urgency thereof and declaring this ordinance shall take effect immediately and request City Manager to continue working with economic development to develop a plan to conduct a market study along the Santa Fe Avenue and Willow Street Corridor District seven. And there are two votes required for this item. Speaker 1: Thank you. City Manager. Speaker 3: Yes. I'd like to introduce our acting. Speaker 4: Planning manager, Allison Spindler. Speaker 3: She will do a presentation. Speaker 4: On this item. Speaker 3: Good evening, Honorable Mayor and City Council. The item before you today is a presentation on the extension of a moratorium for new construction of residential housing units on major corridors in West Long Beach. A bit of background on the moratorium. A year ago, the Council originally enacted a moratorium for new standalone residential development along Willow Street and Santa Fe Ave in West Long Beach. This was because the existing zoning code regulations for the West Willow and Santa Fe corridors predate adoption of the general plan land use element and do not allow for mixed use development. That would be consistent with the adopted land use element, which designates the aforementioned corridors as neighborhoods serving. You can see said corridors on the maps shown in blue. The moratorium was set to expire June 15th and SAFF is recommending that it be extended to allow for the requisite zoning code update and related economic study to be completed . As mentioned, staff is still working on the requisite technical work to ensure new zoning districts not only implement the land development place type guidelines, but also reflect community priorities and are informed by market research on the area. Community outreach to date, including a May 14th Virtual Open House, is being incorporated into the zoning proposal. Moving forward, staff from the Economic Development Department will begin outreach and data collection next month for economic empowerment zones in key areas of the city, including West Palm Beach. The zoning code districts are also being developed with community feedback reflected in the drafts, with the goal of preparing the zones for adoption by the end of the year . Therefore, staff is requesting an extension of the urgency ordinance to ensure the zoning and economic study work is completed. The municipal code requires an urgency ordinance extension to be a full year, but again, it's anticipated the new zones will come back at the end of 22 2022. With that staff request, the one year extension of the moratorium on the issuance of building permits and entitlements for new residential standalone construction and the project area are available to answer any questions that you might have. Speaker 1: Thank you. That concludes the staff report as any public comment on item 21. Speaker 0: There are three public comment speakers Gilbert Oliveira, Robert Bachman and Sand. I can say thank you. Speaker 1: Please come forward. Speaker 2: What? Robert Bachmann. I'm real. You know, I represent Mr. Real. I'm an attorney. Basically, Mr.. I purchased property back in June of 2020 and waited about six months to start the development process on property in this area. At the time of the first moratorium he firewall he had, it was about six months after he purchased the property . It took him time to develop a plan. And I understand the intent of the what's going on as far as a mixed use and that type of thing. He developed two duplexes and it's about a 6500 square foot property. It was an ugly parking lot and he spent quite a bit of money on the property and obtaining the necessary permits. He was well into the permitting process, including soils and architectural and civil and everything else that had to be done. He was refining his final architectural plans and the first moratorium, which was a year ago. And now we're asking for an extension with the financial situations that are in position. That would be another three quarter percent increase tomorrow in the financing cost through the Federal Reserve. It would be, you know, a great hardship for someone like him. And I don't know how many others there are in this city that had started to develop prior to the first moratorium. And we're not told anything about it. And I just it's it's his position. Well, of course, I believe the moratorium is probably going to pass, but if it could be finished within 90 to 180 days and made sure that it's at the end of the year and no longer than that, I think another year is way too long and the 90 days would even be better because then you've had 15 months and I don't know how long it takes to develop a study like this, but certainly it could have been done, I would think well within a year, which would be right now. So basically that's the situation. And we're asking if rather than getting into an adversarial situation, that the one year extension be reduced to 90 days, 280 days maximum. Thank you. I just want to say that I don't know if there's a theory for all of my fault, but I got mislead by the by the start. When I first look into the property, I was told that the property was on four apartments or a commercial property either way, and that the city wanted maximize units because the city was in need of low income housing or apartment units. So I bought the property under the information that I received from the city. You know, I spent money on blueprints, architectural drawings, soil reports. I, you know, I spent a lot of money on the property and I don't think it's fair for it not is not fair for me because I follow all the guidelines that the city gave me to follow. And I think I should be compensated for all the money that I spent on my property. I even included building permits. I mean, a blank check. You know, I was almost ready to pull the permit when when the moratorium came along. You know. Thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 2: Speaking as a property owner from the Santa Fe. I'm in the Watson area. Um, what we're finding, what a lot of these zoning, um, projects, uh, whether it's, you know, those new plan, there's, I know there's a zone in one that happened right now in the central area where I live in is there's not enough public, uh , response occurring. Um, you played was pretty good people. It was pretty good. But in other parts of the city, there's literally none zero the public response occurring. You know, you have trusted partners and nonprofits who are engaging as consultants, but little to no community feedback. And I do not think one year is is enough time. I think I think 2 to 3 years is enough time. Um, we're finding that there's a lot of concentration of capital moving into these areas that are major commercial corridor, as if this was not the west side of Long Beach. Uh, this would be a major corridor that has hundreds of millions of capital investment going into it. And I think that a lot of people, both minor, uh, and on the larger end, are very much aware of this. They're very much aware of what the Caltrans and infrastructure projects are looking like on the state side. And they're trying to, uh, catch that, you know, when investing into these areas. I think anyone buying in the COVID period is very clearly aware of that. And it's unfortunate that we don't necessarily have an inclusionary housing element connected to any of these recent developments, which is why the moratorium exists in the first place, to kind of slow down this this rash stampede, you know, all a scramble of Africa or something to invest into these areas right before all the big boys start coming in. So I think and I'm speaking as someone that owns in the area, I think that this should be maintained, it should be pushed further. And we should really involve a conversation about what this small business look like with these types of commercial corridors. How are we protecting them? And what are the the the housing protections really for for low income people? Because people can say that low income is the emphasis of them. But, you know, then if it's a new residential one, it's going to be market rate and market rate, you know, as we know today, is not appropriate to what the average per income of a per capita income is in these zip codes. So I hope that we can extend this further and really slow down over, you know, development of these areas. Uh, because with SB nine, you know, we can't really control what comes into these, into our communities. So thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you. I think that concludes public comment. So now we'll take you back behind the wheel. Speaker 5: Councilmember Iran activates marin and i want to thank the gentleman who came up in spokane to speak on this item. It's important that we get those perspectives as well in terms of what's going on here with this moratorium. Basically, the moratorium is to look at all the corridor, not just one site or two is to look at the sites from Pacific Coast Highway to Wardlow, from the border to the river. There's a lot of properties there that need to be revisited. The land use element that is currently in place does not address a lot of issues that we have with mixed use. And there are some properties there that are non-conforming that create other types of issues that are not neighborhood saving properties. So I want to ask Steph, excuse me about, you know, how if we can address the gentleman's concerns regarding his current position and the effects of the moratorium, is there something that we can work with him with? Is there something that maybe staff can address or meet with him separately to address those specific issues? Speaker 2: Councilmember. I'm glad to exchange information with the attorney for that individual and meet with them this week or next. So we're glad that those discussions I can't commit that we can resolve this issue necessarily, but we're glad to have those further discussions. And then, as Alison explained in her presentation, it's a municipal code reference to a year. But our our expectation and commitment is to have this work done by December 31st. So we'll continue to meet with you and your staff and provide monthly updates to that. Speaker 5: And I appreciate that. I think I appreciate staff for having taken this on. It's a very important item for the West Palm Beach area. We need to get some more activity out there. We need to activate those two streets. They are major corridors in West Palm Beach that need to be developed and activated in more of a way to be more neighborhood serving. So I really appreciate the work you've been doing there, and I also appreciate the fact that we're going to be having these community input meetings where we're going to have people come and and address the commission or at least the issues that they feel are important in those two corridors, so that we can come up with a plan that would be amenable not only to those developers or landowners who are interested in developing those properties. But also to the community in regards to what goes on those properties that our community serving, some neighborhood serving I'm sorry. So with that that all my comments of vice mayor. Speaker 1: Thank you. That satisfies council comment members. Please cast your vote. Speaker 0: Motion is carried eight zero. We do need a second vote for this item. Speaker 1: Great. Members, please cast your vote. Speaker 0: Motion carries eight zero.

Emergency Ordinance

Recommendation to declare ordinance amending Ordinance No. ORD-21-0020 extending for twelve (12) months interim regulations (moratorium) in accordance with Chapter 21.50 of the Long Beach Municipal Code on the issuance of building, construction, occupancy permits, or other entitlements for new stand-alone residential construction along transportation corridors in areas that are designated by the 2019 General Plan Land Use Element update as the neighborhood-serving corridors or centers placetype on Willow Street, west of the I-710 freeway to the City terminus; and Santa Fe Avenue, between Pacific Coast Highway on the south and Wardlow Road on the north, in the west Long Beach area of the City; declaring the urgency thereof; and declaring that this ordinance shall take effect immediately, read and adopted as read. (District 7)

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Speaker 1: Thank you. Let's handle fund transfer items 23 to 27. Speaker 0: Item 23 Communication from Councilman Price Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group and the City Manager Department by $621 to provide a contribution to Friends of Belmont Shore for their community concert. Item 24 Communication from Councilwoman Mongeau recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group and the City Manager Department by $2,250 to provide a donation to Cavalry School Foundation to support the I Dig Long Beach number two care closet LBC to support assisting people experiencing homelessness and three Lakewood Village Neighborhood Association to support their annual summer concert at Pan-Am Park. 25 A communication from Councilwoman Sara recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group and the City Manager Department by 3500 to support the LGBTQ center of Long Beach. Item 26 Communication from Councilwoman Zendejas recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group and the City Manager Department by $1,000 to provide a donation to Partners of Parks in support of the Long Beach Juneteenth celebration. An Item 27 Communication from Councilwoman Zendejas recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund group in the City Manager Department by 2500 to provide a donation to Carlo Creative LLC. That concludes the fund transfers. Speaker 1: Thank you. Is there any public comment? Speaker 0: No public comment on these items. Speaker 1: Thank you. Members, please cast your vote. Speaker 0: Motion is carried eight zero. Speaker 1: Thank you. Now we'll take care of public comment.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $621, offset by the Third Council District One-Time District Priority Funds transferred from the Citywide Activities Department to provide a contribution to Friends of Belmont Shore for their community concert; and Decrease appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $621 to offset by a transfer to the City Manager Department.

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Speaker 1: Thank you. So that satisfies public comment. Well, now move on to item number 28. Speaker 0: Item 28 Communication from Councilwoman Sarah. Councilwoman Allen. Recommendation to direct City Manager to work with Economic Development to request an economic impact report and report to council in 30 days regarding implementing a citywide private health care minimum wage increase and to work with the city's Economic Development Commission. Speaker 1: Thank you, Councilman Ciro. Speaker 4: Thank you, Vice Mayor. Well, I want to thank Councilwoman Allen for coauthoring this item with me. You know, COVID 19 pandemic has really highlighted the importance of our health care workers, particularly our low wage health care workers who've worked alongside our doctors and nurses who have also risked their lives in the process. Speaker 3: As. Speaker 4: Well. And all who've worked to keep our hospital and health care facility going are all our who we have called our heroes during that very difficult period. And a large percentage of those workers have left the health care industry. So increasing the minimum wage would be an important step to retaining these health care workers. And so this request to increase the health care minimum wage has come from the people, has come from those who have signed and submitted a petition for the health care workers wage ordinance. And so the purpose of this item is to request the impact economic impact report so that we're better able to understand how it impact the city, the industry, the local economy, as well as the workers. How would that also? So overall, the impact and so before I think I just want to ask a few question about the process around the petition. So I know that there's probably a lot of question, which is the point of this economic impact report. But I just wanted to at least get the basics around how many signatures are needed and, and to qualify for this to be on the November ballot. And how many have been submitted so far? Speaker 6: So I think our city clerk is coming back out. So that will be something that she would be in the best position to answer. She's been working directly with the L.A. County to do the actual vote count and can give us some more information. Monique. Speaker 0: Thank you. So the petition needs approximately 27,000 signatures, 28,000 signatures, which is 10% of the registered voters in the city of Long Beach for the petition to be successful. And they submitted their petitions and they have approximately 47,000 over 47,000 signatures that need to be verified by the county. Speaker 4: And so what happens if they're verified that they've received enough votes and. Speaker 0: If they're found sufficient, then we would come back to council and present that to the entire council. And then there is three actions that can be taken. One is just to adopt the ordinance, as is with no changes. The second option is to submit it to the voters on the November ballot, as is with no changes. And third, you can request a study to be done on the on the ordinance. And I think you are currently doing that right now. So and then after that study, when it would come back, you have ten days to then take one of the two actions again, adopt the ordinance or submit it to the vote of the people. Speaker 4: Great. Thank you very. Speaker 3: Much. Mm hmm. Speaker 7: The councilman. Councilwoman Allen? Speaker 3: Yes. Thank you, Councilman Ciro, for taking the lead on this and for allowing me to co-sponsor. I think it's important that we understand the possible impacts, both positive and negative, of broad measures like this one, especially when we're dealing with essential services like health care staffing. I understand that the county is examining the signatures that have been submitted for the petition to be eligible for the November ballot. Thank you for answering the question. 47,000. I think the last I heard we were like a fourth. They were at 41,000. So 47,000 is a significant number. So thank you for that report. It seems to me so far that the community is is ready to stand up for health care workers. And these workers have put themselves in harm's way for the rest of us. And they've endangered themselves and their family members as they're taking care of so many people in our community that were being hospitalized. I know from many of my conversations with them, they're often overworked and understaffed and often make barely more than minimum wage for their sacrifices. They have acted heroically through the last several years. And I know that so many of us are very grateful for all their efforts. So I look forward to hearing back from our staff on the estimated effects of this potential ballot measure. Speaker 2: Oh. Speaker 7: Thank you, Councilwoman. Councilman Price. Speaker 4: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And I echo the comments of the councilwoman who authored this item and brought it forth in terms of our support of health care workers and obviously all of those in the medical profession during COVID. I think that's definitely something we all agree on. As a council, I love that we're doing this report. I think that's a great idea, and I think that's more information as we move forward with this potential ballot measure. But I'm wondering if the report can also include a couple of other items and. To the city manager who would be who would be conducting the report? Would we be contracting out for that or is that internal? Speaker 6: Yes, we would certainly be contracting out. We are trying right now to get a sense from our internal contracting or groups that we have already on retainer if they are available and have the ability to do this. This is a very large report that we're asking for them in a very, very short period of time. So tonight, we'd like to really get your input on the things you'd like to get studied, but it really is going to come down to how much can we physically get done within the 30 to maybe 60 days to have this come back to you by August 9th? Speaker 4: Okay. And so what do we know how much the report is going to cost? Because. We don't have any idea how much it's going to cost. Speaker 6: We don't have a firm number. Right now, we're estimating that it's probably in the hundred thousand dollars range. Could be a little less. Could be a little more. You know, normally it's scope dependent. We already have the rate set through our internal contractors, but it's it's how much work we want them to do and how much capacity they have to do it or bring on other people to help them do that work within the compressed time frame. And then we also need to do some legal analysis as well through the city attorney's office to make sure we understand the legal implications, which would be part of this report. Speaker 4: The legal implications on the city. Speaker 6: Well, we understand just we got a lot of questions. Who does it apply to who? You know, what is the definition of worker? What is the city's role? So all those questions would be answered as well. Speaker 4: Okay. Got it. So I think some of the questions that I have then might be answered by our own city attorney as opposed to needing to go to outside. So the question I had was what the impact on the city might be, because the measure could potentially place upon the city the requirement for enforcement. I don't know if that's financial, human resources, probably both. So what would the impact to the city be? And so review should definitely include that so that we're mindful of that because obviously we're going into some difficult years financially and we want to make sure we have an understanding of what additional responsibilities we'd have to take on as a city. The second question that I would want included and again, I think again this might go to exactly what you just said to the city manager in terms of who's actually included. I just would be curious what percentage of Long Beach health care workers are excluded versus included when we consider, you know, community clinics, skilled nursing facilities, you know, other facilities that might be excluded. It's very technical. So I would like to know, you know, what percentage of Long Beach health care workers, you know, would be included ultimately? And I think that if we can include that in the report and then obviously this is a report that we had budgeted for. So where do you anticipate the money for this report? What what part is that coming out of? Speaker 6: Yeah, I'll do my best to answer those for the impact on enforcement. It certainly is written in the measure that that the city would enforce. So that means we would have to come up with a staffing model or or contract with somebody like L.A. County to do that. So that would be part of this study is trying to determine the workload. We do imagine that would be, you know, you know, several employees because we're now taking complaints and also investigating them and following up with the legal forces to to make sure that the wage is paid appropriately. The other question was. Speaker 4: And so it was about the report of the $100,000 or so to do this. Speaker 6: So normally when you we get asked for reports like this, we take the report, we come back to you with a report on what it will cost and how long it is and where we think we might find the money or ask you for direction. This is different because this is something coming directly from from proponents. We are required to put it onto the ballot potentially there you'll see will walk through the options in a little bit. But we need to if you're going to ask for a study, I do need to move forward like right away. So we would essentially make this a priority expense item that would come out of a year end fund balance. Whatever savings there are from salaries, savings or others, this would have kind of first call on those dollars. And we believe they will be there. They just, you know, it would be money we wouldn't spend on something else. Speaker 4: Okay. Well, I fully support doing an economic impact report. I think any time we have a big policy like this, whether it's on the ballot or before the city council, having that economic impact report is a very good idea because it allows us to inform voters. So thank you. Speaker 7: Thank you, Councilwoman. Councilman, Mongo. Speaker 3: Thank you. I think that this is been a a great group of people who have come forward. And I've learned a lot in talking with individuals. And I think that some of the discussions that we've had, people have learned a little bit about me and my background, and many people don't know that I worked on the nursing pay plan for L.A. County, and I'm really committed to knowing and understanding how we can best support our health care workers. I think it's really important that we talk through who's covered and who's not covered. And I really appreciate that the perspective is to do a study, and I would really find it valuable to ensure that it's a broad review of the potential health care costs as well. I know that when we in L.A. County looked at what positions needed to be adjusted back in, gosh. 0508 we really took a hard look at which additional positions needed to be included. And I, I worry that there are some people who are left out that we don't want to leave out. So I would just request that the report include the potential impacts and health care costs related to the variance. Not all hospitals are included. What does that mean on uninsured? What does it mean on disadvantaged and underserved communities? If you go to one hospital versus another hospital, how are insurance companies impacted? What does that look like for a system of care? I think I would be more supportive of a health care worker living wage where we know that it's broadly applied across all areas. I know that in talking with my colleagues today, we kind of talked even about like, what about a chiropractor? Are there workers included? What about a dentist? Are there workers included? I mean, they are part of the health care system, but they're not really included in this measure. And so who are we to pick winners and losers? We want to make sure that if we're lifting up an industry and that industry is all within the context of the purpose that we're we're doing it fairly and equitably across the board. So I would just ask that the economic analysis include a clear explanation of or a clear recommendation, I would say, on who else should be included. If we as a council want to come forward and and bring an item to have approval for the for the council to approve instead of having to go to the voters, what does that look like and who else should we include? I would also ask that we just seriously look at the impact on our uninsured and disadvantaged and underserved communities working for the fire department of L.A. County. Our statistics consistently show that individuals and you'll see in a television show that's coming out in the fall, a lot of our patients don't even want to go to the hospital because of the costs. And so if this is only going to be an additional burden on our most disadvantaged communities, I have serious concerns about that because we're already having a huge challenge getting them to take medical care. And so how can we either. Make up for that. How can we make sure that this doesn't impact it negatively? So if Councilman Soros open to it, I don't know if I need to get a friendly or if if I see City Manager Modica taking notes, are we just generally giving some feedback and ideas and the consultant will do the work? Or do we need to actually move that into the item? Speaker 4: He's an American. Speaker 7: So what would you respond to that scope? Speaker 6: So I think tonight we can hear some of the general thoughts. I think at the end of the night, it would be helpful to hear from the maker of the motion that the things discussed and generally meet the items that she's putting forward. If they don't, then I think we would need to go through some parliamentary procedure to accept friendlies. I do want to speak at the end about expectations, about how much we can actually get done. These studies could take months and months and months, and we did our own minimum wage study. We contracted with the LDC and that process took almost a year to go through all the different economic studies and get all the public input. And this is something we're trying to do in 30 days to maybe 45. So we'll have to set some expectations about what we can do. And a lot of it's going to be the capacity of our consultants to to do that work within that short time frame. Speaker 3: So since it is a short time frame, it sounds like you would pull from a consultant pool that you already have available to you. And are there any consultant pools that have already done studies like this that could be a deeper dove and applicability to Long Beach specifically? Speaker 6: We haven't come across that yet. We've already reached out to our our local pool and we've had a number declined, saying that they don't believe that they could meet the task. So we are going to have to continue to find ways to narrow the scope to give them a little bit more time. Again, we're just getting into this because we haven't gotten formal direction yet to start. But I was getting the sense that the council is going to want to have some sort of study. So after today, tonight really is going to be important to get the general idea of how much how much public involvement, how much scope the general terms. And then we really need to put our nose to the grindstone to find someone who can help us do this. Speaker 3: Well, I appreciate that. I think it's it's really important to also understand the impact on our non-covered entities, because we talk a lot about the shortages in health care right now. I know that many of you know, I've been in and out of Memorial Hospital caring for a family member. And we're borrowing nurses from all over the region. And the hospitals that we're borrowing them from are in a really tough position. And we want to be in a good position in Long Beach, but we also recognize that are part of a bigger system of care. And so I want to make sure that we know the the broader impact on. Private hospitals at a time when they're already struggling and also on the business community and what that looks like for wages of all businesses and how that will change the marketplace. Thank you. Speaker 7: Councilwoman. Councilman Allen. Speaker 3: Thank you, Mayor. So, Mr. Modoc, I heard you say that this is a large report in a short period of time and it's compressed and, you know, working with your contractor, working with the city attorney's office. So it sounds like even having your contractors say they're not interested this 30 days is 60 days. 90 days. What what are you what are you thinking? That you need to get this done? Speaker 6: So we're somewhat constrained by the the election schedule. So by 88 days before the election, the item you'll need to make a decision to move that item to the city or to the county. So really, we're looking at August 9th as the very, very last day, Tuesday before the 12th, that you're going to have time to make decisions. So that's what we're shooting for. That's a little less than 60 days, if that helps, that would help a lot if we didn't have a 30 day time frame. But we could use as much as that time as we can. Gearing up to the August 9th meeting, if we can get it done a week earlier, we'd prefer to do all this a week earlier so that you don't have all that action happening just with two or three days before the deadline. Speaker 3: Okay, so I'd like to make it friendly for a 60 day. Speaker 6: But not to exceed the the county deadline. Speaker 3: Correct. Speaker 6: Got it. Speaker 4: Yes, I said. Speaker 1: But thanks. So I'm next. Just a couple of things. I would first just acknowledge that this is, you know, a citizen driven petition process. And there are options, only a few options. And the city council even has once that process has begun. So. Mr. City Manager, could you just walk us through what you understand is those options? Speaker 6: To be sure, I can try to summarize and then I can ask the city clerk or city attorney to jump in if I missed something. Speaker 2: Sure. Speaker 6: So we understand your option. Once you get the the ballot back and knowing that it actually qualified, you have the option to just adopt it as it is. So you can say as a body, we are going to adopt it. You can't make any changes but just adopt it. And that would not go to the voters, but it would become kind of the law in Long Beach. A second option is you can forward that on to the county and put it on the ballot for the voters to decide. Again, in that scenario, you may not change any of the wording, you may not make any any adjustments. It's just passing it on and the voters vote on it as it is written that signatures were collected. You have the option that we mentioned before to study it, at which point then you have to make some decisions. And I and Monique can probably explain that a little bit better than I can. And then the fourth option is one that is sort of a hybrid. You can pass your own companion measure so you can forward on their measure, but have your own measure that you have voters consider. Or alternatively, you can propose something at the council as an ordinance, and the the proponent can actually withdraw their item if they believe that that is, you know, in their interest. But it is solely at their discretion. It is not at the city's discretion as Charlie or Mo, if I missed anything there. No, I think I think he covered it. Speaker 2: The the the council could put on a competing measure, a measure that is similar but different. And then if both items go to the ballot, the one with the most votes would control. Other than that, I think Tom covered it. Speaker 1: Okay, great. Just a just a few questions that we evaluated. How much the election would cost to add this question on the ballot. Speaker 2: Adam Clark. Speaker 0: So each additional ballot measure after the citywide office of mayor is on the ballot is approximately 100 to 150000. So if we were to add another measure, it would be approximately 100, 250,000. Speaker 1: Okay. And in I would just say, particularly after what we just went through, I think, you know, lifting up our health care workers as much as we can is incredibly important. And we also should acknowledge that a significant job driver in our region, in our city, is the health care industry. So we we need to make sure that we listen to and acknowledge that sector that we want it to be healthy. I think I've heard good and bad with the measure, but I think we need to as a council, we absolutely have to study it. I think we everything that's come forward, we've always done a study. So thank you, Councilman Ciro, for doing that. I think that's incredibly important. I think we also need to look at what our options are in terms of options for if there is an opportunity to fix some of the issues that were raised and look at option four. So I know we can't do that tonight, but that's something that I'm interested in exploring. But thank you so much. And those are my thoughts. Speaker 7: Thank you. We're going to go ahead and actually before we show a couple more comments, but without objection, I'm going to turn over for public comment that will come back to Councilwoman Sara. So if there's any public comment and Madam Clerk, please go ahead and go through those. Speaker 0: Will the following speakers people line up at the podium Suzanne Jimenez, Dave Shukla, Adina Tessler and Braden Phillips? Can you please line up at the podium? Suzanne Jimenez, Dave Shukla, Adina Tessler and Braden Phillips. Speaker 3: Good evening, counsel. Speaker 4: My name is Suzanne Jimenez. I am the. Speaker 3: Proponent of the measure that you guys are speaking about. Speaker 4: And, you know, I really. Speaker 3: Want to thank Councilmember Zero and Councilmember Allen for requesting this impact report. We think it's an important part of this process so that we can show this is desperately needed for our patients, our communities here in Long Beach. You're going to hear from health care workers today about what they've been through the last two and a half years. And it's just gut wrenching. And so, you know, I think it's important for us to do this this report. But I also want you all to really consider what health care workers have been through. And I appreciate you all. And just for the record, I am a Long Beach resident. Obviously, I'm the proponent and I live in District three. So thank you. Speaker 2: Good evening. Dave Shukla, Third District. I'd like to speak in support of the motion as well as to ask a couple of specific questions on what the report will do. Hopefully the point of the report or the study is to understand the risks, the costs, the liabilities not only to the city, but to to the workforce or to affected parts of the industry. I appreciate the staff the way the item was written, and I'd like to highlight the last sentence of the size of this. Low wage health care workforce exceeds the size of most other occupational groups and includes more people than transportation and warehousing and twice as many grocery workers. It would be helpful specifically to know if we can get good data on which employment sites, not just what types of workers, but which sites. In Long Beach, as written, the already submitted ballot measure will effect, one hopes that an alternative put forth by the city at cost 100 158 cost won't be just to compete with it or to try and confuse voters. Hopefully, a study will include not only the four scenarios laid out by the city manager just express adoption or modification or an alternative ordinance. But also. The cost of not doing some kind of wage increase. I mean, West Hollywood as of July 1st is increasing health care sorry. A hotel worker paid $18 an hour, San Francisco City and countywide $17 an hour. Santa monica as of July four, it's also $16 an hour. Health care wages, especially for the groups that were mentioned in the staff report, have not increased city wide. It would be great to see support for actually raising their wages. Thank you. Speaker 4: Hello. Speaker 3: My name is Adina Tessler and I'm here on behalf of the Hospital Association of Southern California. We are comprised of over 180 member hospitals and 35 health systems, plus numerous professional associations and associate members, all with the common goal to improve the operating environment for hospitals. Speaker 4: And the health status of. Speaker 3: The communities that we serve. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you all today on this very important matter. We've also submitted a letter to the city clerk that should be before you. We strongly urge the City Council to conduct an economic analysis prior to acting on the $25 minimum wage ordinance for certain health care workers . The $25 an hour minimum wage measure would set a standard for certain workers only at private hospitals, hospital owned facilities and dialysis clinics, but completely excludes workers who do the exact same jobs at public hospitals, community clinics and health care facilities, including all of the University of California and county hospitals, federal qualified health centers, and Planned Parenthood . In fact, the majority of health care workers throughout the city of Long Beach are excluded by this measure. We all agree health care workers are heroes. But this measure measure is not a way to show our gratitude because it is deeply flawed. Speaker 4: Inequitable. Speaker 3: And will ultimately hurt the health care workforce. It will create deep divides. There are. Speaker 4: Many unintended. Speaker 3: Consequences of the proposal, and it is vital that we understand the potential impact for the city workers, health care providers and communities. For instance, understanding which health care workers would benefit and which are excluded is central to understanding the measure. For example, at the facilities being targeted only non-clinical, workers are actually going to get a benefit. We're talking about very important members of the hospital community, like food service workers, security receptionists, not clinical workers. It also applies unequally to different types of providers. The city should understand which health care providers are required to meet the new provisions and which are not, and what the fiscal impact and staffing impact will be on both covered and non-covered facilities. This analysis should include a broader. Speaker 4: Review of the potential impact on health. Speaker 3: Care costs and access to health care in the city of Long Beach, including the impact on uninsured, disadvantaged and underserved communities. The measure requires the city to enforce its new requirements. A comprehensive analysis should be done to determine the feasibility and cost to the city for enforcement and implementation. For these reasons, we encourage the City Council to require an economic study prior to acting on this measure. Thank you for your time. Speaker 0: After Braden Phelps, if we could have Alex Mercado, Kate Gutierrez, Jessica Hondo and Gregory Shorter, thank you. Speaker 2: Good evening, Mayor Garcia and members of the City Council. My name is Brayden Phillips. I'm a third district resident. My address is on file. I'm currently the chair of the governing board of the Long Beach Memorial Medical Center and the Miller Children's Women's Hospital in Long Beach. Like many in our community, our board is both proud and appreciative of the professionalism, hard work and personal sacrifices of all our employees that they made to treat patients in our community during the COVID 19 pandemic. All essential workers, including those outside of health care, across the spectrum of services vital to our health, safety and quality of life, truly are heroes worthy of our unending gratitude and continued recognition. Unfortunately, the proposed measure to increase the minimum wage of private health care workers is not the way to go. It is deeply flawed, inequitable and would ultimately hurt access to care, especially for the disadvantaged communities. The measure picks winners and losers losers among the essential workers, even among health care workers. This initiative specifically targets only private hospitals and dialysis centers in ten California cities. At the same time, it excludes similar workers at public hospitals, community clinics, federal qualified health centers, Planned Parenthood clinics, nursing homes, medical centers, and many other health care facilities which represent the vast majority of health care workers. These arbitrary omissions are inequitable. Furthermore, this ballot measure does not does nothing for those essential workers in our city, including those who work for the city of Long Beach in every customer serving department. While I think this proposal is not in the best interest of our hospitals or community, I applaud the City Council recommendation to conduct an economic analysis to better understand the negative and inflationary impact it will have on our health care. Our city and its workers. Singling out private health care workers could have a profoundly negative impact on meeting the employment needs for similar employees throughout our local economy. I also urge the City Council to include in the proposed economic analysis the impact of the wage increase on private and public hospitals and health care facilities in our city . Thank you. Hello. Council members Mayor and Vice Mayor. My name is Greg Shorter and I have been a Long Beach resident for 30 years. Thank you to council members, sorrow and council members Allen for your leadership on this issue and requesting a report. I am an orthopedic technician and I am here to urge you to pass to health care worker minimum wage as an ordinance. For the past two years, my colleagues and I have been on the front lines of this pandemic from the beginning. We have shown up to care for patients despite high risk of infection, insufficient protective equipment and long hours of work. Now we are dealing with mental trauma and burnout. We are unpaid and too many of us struggle to afford housing and other basic needs. While our employees are sorry. While our employers are making record profits, I have seen coworkers leave from other jobs and many others are considering the same. That leaves us understaffed and overworked. This measure would actually help many health care workers be able to afford homes, be able to pay their rent, be able to pay for gas, be able to actually support their families. This measure is important to me because even as someone who is working in health care, the cost of living is so high, just paying for food, like I said, and rent is a struggle for so many workers, people like me. My daughter is also a health care worker and it is hard to see her struggle to afford an apartment, let alone a car and all the other things she needs. It's been horrible being a health care worker lately that are call that call that we are so-called heroes while we are working in hazardous condition and risking infection from COVID. At the very least, we should be paid fair wages. This minimum wage increase will help a lot of people to survive in this time of this pandemic and this crisis. I urge you to support the healthcare workers, the minimum wage, to retain and recognize outstanding health care workers in this beautiful city of Long Beach. I think each and every one of you. Speaker 3: Can I just say a correction on my name. If you record it is just a Tondo is an apple tis and Tom. Speaker 4: Oh and is a Nancy DS dog. Oh. Sorry. Speaker 3: Okay. Hi. My name is Jessica Kondo. And I have been and I have been a Long Beach resident for over seven years. Speaker 4: Thank you to Council Member Sato. Speaker 3: And Council Member Alan for all for your leadership and all your work here in the city on this issue requesting a report. I'm a health care worker and I'm here to express my support for health care workers minimum wage. I made personal sacrifices during the pandemic, working in COVID unit and worked double shifts and took the time away from my child. It saddens me to say that the last two years with my child is a blur because I was so invested in working just to make ends meet at work. We are constantly short staffed. The workload isn't as intense. Sorry. And my current rate of pay isn't enough to pay for childcare or child camp for the summer or to do any other activities. I would be working overnight and double shifts with only one N95 mask to wear for each week, regardless of how sweaty and contaminated my mask got. Health care workers were making $19 an hour, and it's absolutely not enough for food, gas, power and all of life essentials. However, at $19 an hour, I make too much to qualify for any type of public assistance. It's impossible to live in that situation and just to be in it. My daughter is starting first grade this year. At my current rate of pay. There is no opportunity to save money for a car or to pay for things my daughter needs to get for school, let alone to do the things that mothers long to exist to do with her child like to send them to any other extracurricular activities, dance, karate, whatever it may be. Health care workers deserve to be paid fair wages, especially with the conditions we work in. I'm here. Speaker 4: Because I believe it is wrong for. Speaker 3: Any working person to struggle to meet the most basic needs. That is why I urge to for you to support the health care workers minimum wage, to retain the recognition outstanding health care workers in the city because it's the right thing to do. We support an impact report. Everyone's job in the hospital. Everyone's job in the hospital is just as important and vital one cannot do. Speaker 4: Without the other. Speaker 3: I'm sure you would never put a price tag on your family member when it comes to their care. You have to take care of the ones that take. Speaker 4: Care of you. Speaker 3: Thank you. Good evening, Mayor Garcia and members of the City Council. My name is Alex Mercado and I'm here on behalf of the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. We want to urge you to complete an economic impact report concerning the private health care minimum wage increase. An economic study would numerically relay the risks and ramifications associated with the $25 an hour wage for all health care employees. We believe it's important for city council to consider the impact this measure will take on the non-covered and covered providers alike. Beyond the health care industry, the proposed measure may also impose financial burdens on the city as a whole to the strain of resources and increase the wages for all businesses. For these reasons, the Chamber believes an economic study will be an effective method of determining all the impacts the measure will take on the health care, business and underserved communities. We therefore urge you to collect further insight through the economic study. Thank you for your consideration. Speaker 0: That concludes public comment. Speaker 7: Well, thank you. Thank you very much. I'm going to turn this over to councilman. Sorry. I just got a couple of just brief comments, a question, and then I'm back to the council. First, I do want to thank everyone that spoke on this issue, particularly, of course, the health care workers. I think there's no one in this room that doesn't admire or uplift the work that our health care system, our workers have done, particularly in these last two years. And it's been incredible and heroic to see what folks have gone through and what they've done for our community and getting us past the the most difficult moments of this pandemic and are still working every single day to keep people healthy and safe. So a huge thank you to our workers. Also, one thing that's that's I think we're proud of in our community and our city is of our health care system. We have an incredible hospital system. We have an incredible group of nurses and doctors and technicians and health care workers that make up. I try to remember, but Mr. Murdoch, I think it's the second or third largest industry as it relates to jobs in the city of Long Beach. And so when you talk about any time you talk about health care in our community, you're actually talking about not just a sector of our economy and of workers. You're talking about a sector that impacts our city greatly from economic development to jobs to workforce training. And so the discussions around health care are are really important to our community and certainly have impacts in many ways across not just here, but across the region. And I think those numbers are probably correct, Mr. Murdoch. I think from if I remember from the last economic report. Speaker 6: Sounds about right. Speaker 7: And and so I want to thank everyone. I also just want to I just want to note, of course, as a as a son of a health care worker, I know. And I just wanted to to the particular healthcare workers that spoke. I just want to just thank you personally. I hear a lot of of some of the struggles my own mother went through and my own family members have gone through. And I just thank you for your courage in speaking at any time a community. And this has happened multiple times here at this body. But any time a community or a collection of workers organization is able to collect and bring forward the amount of signatures to put a petition in front of the people of the city is an important discussion that this council should have. And I do commend and thank all the members of the Council, including members of the public on all sides of the issue that want to see and want to encourage a study and to ensure that we're getting all the information that is necessary to make good decisions based on the facts in front of us. I also just want to remind the public that Mr. Modica did lay out some of the options, but at the at the end of the day, if signatures are collected and a ballot measure qualifies, if it is placed on the ballot is up to the people of Long Beach to make those those decisions. There are, of course, other options which I'm sure we will discuss as a body. But those are those are things that are important to to highlight in this process. With that, I had a question. I know there were a couple of comments about and I don't know, honestly, all the details of what's been submitted yet. I'm sure we'll all learn in the weeks ahead. Mr. Marquette, I know that there was some discussion about private versus public hospitals in Long Beach. We don't have do we have public hospitals in Long Beach? I don't think. Besides besides, we're. Speaker 6: I'm not recalling any besides the VA. Speaker 7: Okay. And so. But maybe I can get them more information. I think when the discussion about private and public at around the region. There are there are similar efforts in other cities or other communities where there, of course, are additional public hospitals or the county system in other systems. Speaker 6: So I think there'll be what are called the federally qualified health centers, which actually are more like public institutions. So those are will be ones that we would need to study of. We know which ones are they? Are they covered? Are they not covered in private versus public? So that's what we would look at in the state. Speaker 7: And that's the information that the some of the information that you would bring back to the council as far as what exactly what's covered or not covered? Speaker 6: Yes, I think we would get a legal definition from read the measure through our legal team of who is covered and who is not. And then we can start looking at what are those businesses and language, the ones that would be covered, the ones that would be not, and try to get some basic economic information from them to to get some magnitude of of who is covered, who is not, and what the impacts would be. Speaker 7: Right. Well, thank I appreciate that. Well, thank you. I do want to think, of course, councilman sorry. And Councilman Allen, for for bringing this forward for us to take a look at this. It's absolutely the right the right step for and I'm grateful the council for also weighing in on this process. So let me turn this over to Councilwoman Sara. I think the city manager is also looking for some for some direction to ensure that the study is done as presented. Mr. Monica, do you want to make some comments first? Would you want Councilman Sara to first make a comments? Speaker 6: What I'd like to hear from Councilman Bizzaro, and then I can make some comments at the end. Just I'd like to help set expectations of what we can do and can't do and get some direction from council. Speaker 2: Great, Councilman. Speaker 4: Thank you, Mayor. I just want to thank everyone for their comment, my colleague, as well as the public comments made. I just wanted to share that, you know, if we had more time, as Tom has shared, our city manager shared, I would love to have been able to include not only private, but the nonprofit, all of the health care workers possible. But because we only have such a short window, I decided to at least narrow the scope in order to be able to get something in return for us to be able to make a decision when it comes before us in August. So rather US have had something that could be narrowed, but obviously I think we're going to do our best to include others. That is my initial desire, but I just wanted to clarify that it had to be narrow based on the timeline that we had and locating somebody that could do this in such a short period of time. So I, I also agree with our city manager that we would love to be able to include so many information to be able to inform voters as well as our council members. But I know that we're going to get as much info as we can to make a decision by by August. So I just want to thank everyone. Speaker 3: For their. Speaker 4: Feedback and their comments. Speaker 7: Thank you, Councilman Mongo. Speaker 3: I just want to request I appreciate the councilman's urgency, and I think it's really important that we come back quickly because we do need information to do the analysis. But are you stating that you're excluding, including the broader impact on the business community and wages for all businesses that are in the competitive hiring market? Or are you open to that being included in the narrow scope that you have? Speaker 4: Well, I think that there are different levels of impact to be considered. I think for the purpose of how we will have to make our decision, I like to be able to make sure that we prioritize it. So, of course, I'd love to see how this would impact our local economy, how it impact our, you know, our business community. But I just want to make sure that we're able to get the crucial information that's needed for us to make a decision as a council body. Speaker 3: So does that mean that if it's possible to get it within the timeline and the vendor is able to do that, Mr. Modica would be given that direction. Speaker 4: Yes. If there's time to include all of that within 30 to 60 days, if we're able to find somebody that can do it. Speaker 3: I appreciate that because the loss of talent and the recruitment and retention issues that could become a part of this, which we're seeing in the market now with the shortage of workers, is is critical, especially on the health care side. We need to be able to provide health care in all different ways. And so I just want to, again, coming from a place of wanting to broaden the measure and recognizing that we can't really change the wording, as Mr. Modica said of their measure, unless we were to put up a different measure and then they were to withdraw their measure. I think that that could at least help us to understand and potentially broaden the measure appropriately. So I appreciate you including those two things for me. Speaker 7: Thank you. Councilman. Anything additional before I turn to Mr. Modica? Speaker 4: Yes, I just wanted to clarify that as much as I do hear Councilmember Mongo wanting to broaden the measure, that is not up to us as a council body as far as why it is at least laid out in the petition. So I was focusing the economic report in order for us to be able to make a decision around the measure that is before us. And I have you know, I agree with all the council members that we as well as others, that we'd like as much information as possible to make our most informed decision. But again, it's back to the timeline that we have. I just wanted to share earlier, the city manager share took a year to be able to get an economic analysis of their minimum wage. We have 30 to 60 days, if not less than 60 days to get a report back. So I just want to make sure we're being realistic. So I'd like to hear from the city manager what's a realistic scope of work we can get done? Speaker 6: All right. Thank you, Councilmember. So I did go back and had a chance to look a little bit about what we did back on minimum wage back in 2015, 2016, which I think will be helpful. So my memory said it was around a year. It was it probably felt like a year, but it was a little more compressed than that. So I, I want to let you know the timeline. So this was a process that the city started. So we had a different process. This is now being brought to us by an outside group. So we're reacting to their proposal. When the city did this process, it was proposed in about July or August of 2015. We got direction in August of 2015 to do the study. We hired the L.A. EDC, who is already doing studies like this for other agencies. So they were already kind of the main contractor and had a scope of work that took about four months. So we got the report back. Having them already had done this for other cities in about four months. Then we did about two and a half months of really solid community outreach and getting lots and lots of input through the Economic Development Commission. So they held multiple, multiple meetings, hours and hours in order to get that to craft recommendations that came back to the council in in January. So that process, the total was about six months. So obviously that is a different process. That's one that we were in control of and we created. So what I think what we can do, because we do have that that slightly less than 60 days in total, you will need to make decisions by August 9th at the very, very latest. So within that time, we will need to create a scope very quickly and start the work and identify the group will be looking to our internal bench that we already have qualified to do that. If at all possible. We will include a legal analysis and spend some of the dollars to get an outside firm to come in and help us really do that. Legal analysis. I do believe the questions we heard your night are the general economic data. You know, what is a wage like that, you know, due to the worker? What does a wage like that due to the business to try to get some general sense. And we would be following the metrics that we outlined in the L.A. EDC report, which I think was kind of considered by both sides, as has information that was helpful. We will do an analysis of industries covered and facilities covered and not covered so we can get a sense of of who would be in and who would be out, as well as if we have the ability and the time to do some economic data on those. We would do a study of the cities enforcement model because there is a provision in the in the in the item saying that the city would enforce it and give you some ranges there. I do think public input is is an important part of your item. We will likely, just given the timeframe, probably have the time to do one input meeting with the Economic Development Commission to have input all there that will gather. And then we'll need to schedule one for them to actually make recommendations, which, you know, maybe right before the council hears it. So in a typical system, we are giving like, you know, two weeks notice between those. In this case, it might be one or two days between some of these steps in order to stay on schedule. We then I do recommend that we keep it at $100,000 or less, because that is the extent of the city manager's purchasing authority. Anything above that, we're going to have to spend a couple of weeks to get it to council, and that's time that we will lose. So that is kind of my summary. I'll turn it to Charlie if I missed anything that he would want to add. No, I think he covered it. We would be doing a help. Speaker 2: On the legal analysis to help define who's in the legal provisions of the of the measure so that we can help the city manager under defining the scope of the of the economics. Speaker 6: And the one thing I do want to add is like the L.A. EDC report, that was not a report that really provided recommendations. That was one that provided facts. And then it was the Economic Development Commission that kind of took it and provided some of their input that would then come to the council. So we would follow that model as well. Speaker 7: Thank you. I do have a couple more council members. Council. Councilman Supernova. Speaker 2: Thank you. I do have a couple of questions because as this discussion started, we weren't in the friendly amendment mode. And I would just like clarification on whether Councilwoman Price's ideas or requests are incorporated in this. Also, I'd just like to make a comment on the concept of limiting the study. We're paying 100 grand for a study and we don't know what the impacts are going to be. That's why we're paying so much for it. For example, we don't know if this wage increase would impact home health care workers. For example, we don't know if they will be taking from that industry into, you know, an area where they will get a higher wage. I'm not speculating that. I'm just saying we have no clue what the impacts will be. So any type of limitation from this body as to the study, that doesn't work for me. So I don't know if that's where we are, but that would be my my friendly to say, look, let's not limit the study in scope because we don't know the territory we're getting into. Speaker 6: So to respond to that, councilmember. Yes. The items that Mrs. Price put out there are I had those down as what is the impact on city enforcement? Who does it cover? What are the workforces? Who's included and not? And the cost of the study. So all of that would would be included to the question of who would be included or not. I do believe we'll get a good answer from our legal analysis of who is included. What I think might be harder is the level of sufficient detail on the exact economic impact of all the different subpopulations, you know, so we will get try to cover all sectors at the same level. But the deeper we go, the more, you know, granular information you need, the longer the study actually takes. Speaker 7: I think, Councilman. Vice Mayor Richardson. Speaker 1: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So I think what I'm hearing is you can include the feedback that you got from the council. You have limited time, less than two months, and you're going to go as far as you can with whoever is going to take on this job, because so far everyone's said no. I think it's I think we should be clear, this is very, very different than when we proposed minimum wage increase at city council. It's about the path to $15. We had months to go when it's a ballot initiative. We have a very limited amount of time because we have to meet certain deadlines to place it on the on the ballot. So I think it's fair to understand that you're going to give it like Pat Wetzel, say, the good old college try. You're going to give it the college try. You're going to include everything if you heard up here. You're going to do the legal analysis. You're going to do the analysis on who you know, who does include what is the fiscal analysis, who, you know, the impact of the city, all of those things you would include? I would I would just say we have actually had a minimum wage measure in in Long Beach in recent history. Measure in now, I believe the city council did a did an economic study on measure and before it went to the ballot. And that just took a short period of time. Did I am I right? I think I seem to remember there was an economic study. The council did. Speaker 2: I don't remember, but I believe it was when we had measure in and. Speaker 1: Oh, right. I think that's more similar to this than the larger $15 minimum wage because that was targeted to one group as opposed to, you know, the entire workforce. And whatever approach we took then because we were able to get a report, I would imagine we would take that that same approach. Speaker 6: That's a great idea. I did not I can't recall one way or the other what we did on that one. So we will certainly look that up as an idea. Speaker 1: Okay. So just just clarifying, it sounds like what most folks have asked for up here. You're going to give it the you're going to try to include that in the scope of it. Is that correct? Speaker 6: That's correct. Speaker 2: Councilmember, if I could, I think the scope this evening is going to be a little bit broader because if I recall correctly, the measure in study was asked for out of the election code option that the council has when it comes before you. And in the vote there were you had a shorter periods, you had a shorter period of time and you had a more. Speaker 6: Of a limited scope because. Speaker 2: Of that code section. Tonight's item is not limited by that, so it. Speaker 6: Will be a little bit broader than. Speaker 2: That. But it's a good point. Speaker 1: Thank you. I just want to clarify. Thank you. Speaker 7: Thank you, Councilman Mongo. Speaker 3: Thank you. I want to appreciate Councilmember Supernova's comment. $100,000 is a lot of money. I don't know what it takes to ensure that all of our questions are answered because it is a very serious question and we are spending this amount of money. We want to make sure to get everything that we need. Is there a way to make an amendment on the floor tonight to give you the discretion that's necessary to make sure that all of our questions are answered, and if a little bit more money needed to be spent because whether it's 100, 110 and obviously everyone who wants to potentially bid on this contract is then. Seeing this meeting tonight and knowing what's available to bid. So it's a it's a very uncomfortable potential situation for that. Thoughts, Mr. Manager. Speaker 6: Anything over 100 and 100,000 is going to be is going to just take time to get to your will. We could make that as fast as possible, but you're going to have to declare, you know, a sole source. You're going to have to get that on an item. Speaker 3: Couldn't even do it tonight if we want to do. Speaker 6: Yeah. And I think we're going to our our consultants who had already bid on fixed prices. So it's really just more of time and materials, how long it takes them to do that rather than, you know, and then putting in a competitor like just adding in profit, that type of thing. Speaker 3: I would just say that if it's necessary and I would obviously yield to Council Member zero if it needs to be broken into two pieces and sourced out at lower amounts to each of them that get put together at the end because you have to use two different vendors or whatever. That's not allowed either. Okay, good to know. Thank you. I see the I see the head shakes over there just trying to come up with solutions, less barriers. Speaker 7: Thank you, Councilman Price. Speaker 4: So just for the record, I think spending $100,000 on an economic impact report is a significant amount of money. I think it's important that we're doing the report. I want to do the report, but we have so many competing interests right now at the city. I'm just thinking about the hundreds of projects that residents bring to our attention with potholes and street paving and sidewalk repairs. And I mean, we're having to say no to people for $5,000 as Ali repair. So I'm not in favor of spending more than $100,000 on on this economic impact report. So I'm hoping we can get it done for $100,000, which I believe is already way significant. But if it goes beyond that, I would like it to come to council for approval, because we we just this is we're not just talking about the economic impact report. We're also talking about the analysis of what our future costs and commitments will be if the measure passes and couple all of that up. That's a significant amount of money. And I just think we need to be very mindful of that. Speaker 6: Yes. And what it would have to come to council so it would not be more than 100,000. And if again, if we can do it less, we would. The the study with L.A. EDC was about 65,000 and that was in 2015. So we're we're using that as a as a benchmark. It may be a slightly less complicated study. If we can do it for less, we would do it for less. Speaker 7: Thank you very much. I think that concludes council comments. There is a motion and a second. We did public comment already. I think, Mr. Murdoch, I think you're aware of where this landed as far as the requests. Mr. Murdoch, any of the final questions? Are we ready to vote? Speaker 6: No. Thank you. That's very helpful. Speaker 7: Thank you. Members, please cast your votes on the motion. Speaker 0: Motion is carried out through.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to direct City Manager to work with Economic Development to request an Economic Impact Report and report to Council in 30 days regarding the 1) feasibility of and potential benefits and risks of implementing a citywide private healthcare minimum wage increase in Long Beach; and 2) to work with the City's Economic Development Commission to take public input and review the study's findings and make recommendations to the City Council.

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Speaker 7: Okay. Thank you. Next up is item 29. Speaker 2: Adam 29. Report from City Manager Recommendation to Authorize City Attorney to prepare ordinance amending Section 5.24 of the Long Beach Municipal Code. So the city manager is authorized to grant permission for certain professional or amateur boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and similar events within the city of Long Beach citywide. I mean, I'm quick. Speaker 1: That's been moved the second. Any public comment on item 29? Speaker 0: There's no public comment. Speaker 1: Members, please cast your vote. Speaker 0: Motion is carried eight zero.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to authorize City Attorney to prepare ordinance amending Section 5.24 of the Long Beach Municipal Code so the City Manager, or designee, is authorized to grant permission for certain professional or amateur boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and similar events within the Long Beach without the need for specific approval by the City Council. (Citywide)

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Speaker 0: Come on, Mango. Motion is carried. Security zero. Speaker 1: Thank you. 31, please. Speaker 0: Report from Health and Human Services recommendation to adopt a resolution authorizing city manager to execute a contract with how mediocre? I'm not even going to attempt the Second Corp for the purchase of power, medical journeys and a total contract amount not to exceed 724,481 citywide. Speaker 1: I think is how medical it's been moved in second is any public comment. Speaker 0: There's no public comment. Speaker 1: Members Ecclesiastes wrote. Speaker 0: Motion carries it through. Speaker 1: Thank you. I think that we just have public comment number two. Is that correct? Speaker 0: Correct. We have three public speakers. Speaker 1: All right, let's have public comment. Speaker 0: Cameron, Javier and Zaki. Speaker 2: You'll be happy to know that even though my comment relates to outdoor dining, I won't be mentioning Parklets. Three months ago, this council voted in support of street vendor law reforms both at the state and city level that would finally allow street vendors to achieve a pathway to permitting, giving them the ability to participate in the formal economy at the state level. Our own state senator, Lena Gonzalez, is fighting for this reform effort to make a few minor modifications to the California retail food code recently passed the Senate Health Committee. Yet health departments up and down the state are resisting. Why? Not because of any serious threat to public health, but because it's more work for their staffs to approach this issue with the nuance it requires rather than enforcing a blanket ban. Unfortunately, our own health department seems to be no exception to this disappointing pushback.

Resolution

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including any subsequent amendments, with Howmedica Osteonics Corp, of Chicago, IL, for the purchase of power medical gurneys, in an amount of $658,619, with a 10 percent contingency in the amount of $65,862, for a total contract amount not to exceed $724,481. (Citywide)

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Speaker 0: We want to do all of the fund transfer items. Item 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 35, I mean 34, 35, 36 and 37. And I guess to turn it over to the clerk to read them off. Speaker 1: Item 18 is communication from counsel mentioned they has a recommendation to increase appropriations by $1,000 to provide a donation to project Welcome Home Trips. Item 19 is a communication from Councilwoman Allen recommendation to increase appropriation by $1,000 to provide a donation to the Long Beach Panther partners. Parks in support of the Long Beach Juneteenth celebration. And increase appropriations by $1,000 to provide a donation to Wild West Woman Inc in support of a screening of Still Working 9 to 5 on July 24, 2022. Item 21 is a communication from Councilwoman Praise recommendation to increase appropriation by $250 to provide a contribution to the Long Beach Unified School District for the Woodrow Wilson High School Senior Celebration 2022. Item 23 is communication from Councilmember Muranga recommendation to increase appropriation by $1,000 to provide a donation to partners at Parks to support the Long Beach Juneteenth celebration. Item 34 is a communication from Councilman Super now councilwoman price recommendation to increase appropriations by $1,000 to provide a contribution to the Tickner Clinic for Children for the seventh Annual Super Heroes Carnival and Resource Fair. Item 35 is a communication from Councilwoman Price recommendation to increase appropriations by $350 to provide a contribution to the Center Long Beach in support of the black and white ball. Item 36 is a communication from Councilwoman Sara recommendation to reallocate $5,000 to provide a donation to Love Beyond Limits for the 2022 Juneteenth celebration at MLK Junior Park. Item 37 is communication from Councilwoman Sarah recommendation to reallocate $5,000 to provide a donation to partners at Parks for the 2022 Juneteenth celebration at Rainbow and at Rainbow Lagoon Park. Speaker 0: Okay. Those are all the items. It's been moved to the second it. Is there any public comment on the. Consent for fund transfers. Speaker 1: There's no public comment. Speaker 0: Here and none on anything from buying the real. Okay, members, please cast your votes. I'm sorry. Councilmembers in Dallas. Speaker 2: I just have a brief statement. Councilwoman Allen actually sent me a brief statement that she wanted me to read in regards to this item since she could MP here tonight. Councilwoman Palin says that she is proud to support two important events that highlight gains one in two civic civic rights struggles that continue on today. She is proud to support Juneteenth for the second year and wants to thank the organizers for ensuring that this wonderful event is free to all attendees. Juneteenth is a chance for all of us to come together, and Councilwoman Allen is excited to join residents and from across the city and the region to celebrate our diversity and heritage together. Councilwoman Allen is also proud to support the free screening of still working nine to 9 to 5 at the Arts Theater on July 21st, put on by Zoe Nicholson at Wild West Women. This film is educational and inspirational, and she wants to thank the organizers for holding the screening at the evening hours when families may be able to attend. Thank you, Zoe, for your timeless advocacy and efforts educating us on. Thank you. Speaker 0: Great. Any other comments? Harry Nunn, please vote. Speaker 2: Emotions carry. Speaker 0: Thank you. So our next item is the general public comments from Clark. Is there any public comment?

Agenda Item

Recommendation to reallocate $5,000 of funding within the Special Advertising and Promotions Fund Group in the City Manager Department from the current allocation for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade to instead be utilized to provide a donation to Partners of Parks for the 2022 Juneteenth Celebration at Rainbow Lagoon Park.

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Speaker 0: Thank you. That concludes public comment. So we have a pretty lengthy agenda tonight. I've been asked to move up a couple of items. And so I'm going to ask two hear item number, new business number 38. To start. Speaker 1: Adam 38 is report from City Manager. Recommendation to refer to hearing officer the special event Application Denial Appeal by Roz Walley of the Southern California Speedboat Club for the 2022 Long Beach Sprint Nationals event District three. Speaker 0: Okay, thank you, Councilmember Price of Motion. Speaker 4: I have made the motion and I know staff is here. I know there's also a speaker at the podium. So before we go to the speaker, I just wanted to just ask staff very briefly. It's staff's recommendation that this matter go before a hearing officer so that there can be testimony which which is anticipated to last several hours, possibly multiple days, to talk about some of the safety concerns as a result of prior years in this particular incident. So I just wanted to make sure that that was correct and maybe have staff give us a brief reason why they're making this recommendation tonight. Speaker 2: Thank you. Councilwoman, I'd like to introduce our city attorney, Art Sanchez, as well as our our fire department staff here to address this matter. Speaker 6: Good Morning America Council. I'm Robbie Griego, Deputy Fire Marshal, Mesquite Fire Marshal, Deputy Fire Chief. The City Manager Department determined it was appropriate as well as required for our duty given by the Columbia's Municipal Code 5.60 to deny a special event permit for the 2022 Appleton beachfront Nationals. An investigation team comprised of staff from multiple city and Long Beach city departments, including the Fire Department, Police Departments, Marine Safety, Risk Management, City Safety Office and Special Events was assembled to review the findings of the Spirit Nationals boat racing event during the 2018 and 2021 event. Similar accidents occurred both resulting in driver fatalities for the 2021 fatality. Video and other evidence from the investigation provided confirmation that the speed of the vessels and the size of the venue contributed to the cause of the accident. The racing vessels involved in the fatal accident were traveling at over a hundred miles per hour. The report also states that the combination of speed, proximity of the vessels and unstable water environment and limited steering ability made the accident difficult to avoid in that particular moment in time. Video footage shows the wake created by the vessels hitting against the rocks and being pushed back into the vessel's path of travel. The wakes in the high rate of speed caused one of the boat races to lose control of the vessel, which collided with another boat and overturned. The driver of the overturned vessel was ejected and died from his injuries. Based on the firsthand public safety personnel accounts and the video, the unattended vessel continued at a high rate of speed, only overturning after it hit awake had the vessel not overturn. It may have continued forward toward the spectator public with inadequate physical barriers preventing impact. The applicant did follow the process afforded within the limits vessel code to appeal. The action for you is for the City Council to either refer the case to the hearing officer or hear the entire case at a later date. Also allowed within the limits of this code is the staff's recommendation to refer the item to the hearing officer selected by the city clerk's office. That concludes my port myself. Deputy Attorney Art Sanchez. Police Commander Ryan LeBaron, a manager of special events and Feel Me Talk today, are available for questions. Speaker 4: I do have a question for the city attorney. The hearing officer's selection process, I understand it's by the city clerk, but I'm assuming this hearing is akin to like an arbitration type hearing. Is there any process whereby both parties get to weigh in on who the hearing officer might be and what are the qualifications of the hearing officer? Speaker 3: So, Councilwoman Price, to answer your question, the the hearing is selected randomly by the court clerk pursuant to the city's internal process. There is a list of hearing officers that is compiled. I believe that the and the qualifications are there to be an attorney for five years and have a background in, I think, litigation experience. And those candidates are placed on the list by the city clerk's office, and they are chosen randomly to hear or serve as a hearing officer for administrative hearings that are referred to them by the various departments of the city. Speaker 5: But that that process is determined and managed by the clerk's office, not the city attorney's office. Speaker 2: Okay. Speaker 4: I understand, but I just wanted some clarification on who the hearing officer is and what their qualifications are. So thank you for that. And then I just I mean, I think. You know, I've had an opportunity to meet with the appellants. Of course, we haven't had any substantive conversations, but ensuring them and promising and committing to them that they would have a fair process and expectations of them would be made clear through this process. And I'm hoping that that remains the case. But I do just want, for clarification purposes for anyone that is watching this meeting, writing about this meeting. I do want to just clarify. From staff prior to staff's recommendation, was any input sought from any council person or any recommendations made that formed the basis of staff's recommendation? Speaker 6: No. Speaker 4: So staff's recommendations based on your own independent analysis and experience with prior incidents of safety concerns? Speaker 3: That's correct. Speaker 4: Thank you. I appreciate that. Speaker 0: Thank you. Any other comment behind the wheel? If not, we'll go to public comment. Thank you. Please introduce yourself. Speaker 3: I'm Ernie Algore. I am here as an attorney on behalf of the Southern California Speedboat Club. Just preliminarily, I'd like to thank the members of the council for hearing us tonight and also Councilmember Price and also members of staff for hearing us last week. That was very kind of you to afford us an opportunity. I'm coming to you not only as the attorney for the Southern California Speedboat Club, but I've also been a practicing attorney for 35 years where I specialize in the defense of various sanctioning bodies, including the Southern California Speedboat Club. I am counsel for Irwindale Speedway. I also maintain a practice in Pasadena with a with about ten lawyers. And I want to just reaffirm that we are here to welcome the opportunity for the hearing. We think that's an appropriate venue, and it's certainly a good use of resources in order to iron out the questions and issues that have arisen, especially given the historical, cultural and economic significance to the community. This annual regatta has sought here at the outset to thank you and welcome this referral to a hearing officer. We also come to you knowing that this event brings thousands of spectators into your fine city. It draws racers and a crowd from across the United States. We like to think that we're a contributing constructor, member of your community that brings a good light and a good reputation and a good venue for an appropriate sport that's been part of this community for 76 years. And so we are here to let you know that we are we have open mind, open eyes and open ears. We welcome suggestions. We welcome the input of staff. We continue to do that. We look upon you as a partner to this process by no means an adversary. Because, again, our point here is family entertainment that has existed for a long time in this community. Now I know now is not the time to litigate the applicability of or I should say, the appeal ability of our of our of our appeal of overturning the denial of the permit. I'll save that for a later date, but I just want to let it be known that we are here with open, open eyes and open mind. I was brought into this case to make sure that there was protocols and procedures in place. And Mr. Ross Wallach, who is the person in charge of the CSC, reached out to me and I looked at their safety protocol. I looked at their safety committee. I met with the board of directors. I looked at their rulebook, looked at all their procedures. We have a good faith basis to go for this appeal. I wish to thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Okay. Speaker 4: It's been awesome. Just one more thing. I just wanted to highlight for our staff. I understand that the hearing is going to afford all sides to present evidence and be heard. My hope through the process is that whatever expectations the city has in terms of safety concerns or remedial actions to address the safety concerns are made clear to the appellants so that they can have the opportunity to meet the expectations to the extent that that's possible. So I just want to what I have promised them is that there will be a process where they'll have some reasonable expectations of what can be done in terms of remedial measures. And so that's my only request as we move through this, is that obviously that the hearing be fair and afford everyone the opportunity to meet the MITA recommendations of the hearing officer. Speaker 6: That's a fair request. Speaker 4: Thank you. Speaker 0: Okay with that? We have public comments. Members, please cast your votes. Speaker 1: The motion is carried. Speaker 0: All right. So we're going out of order here again. We're going to take item number 22 next.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to refer to Hearing Officer the special event application denial appeal by Ross Wallach (applicant) of the Southern California Speedboat Club for the 2022 Long Beach Sprint Nationals event requested to be held at Marine Stadium, 5255 Paoli Way, Long Beach, CA 90803. (District 3)

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Speaker 0: All right. So we're going out of order here again. We're going to take item number 22 next. Speaker 1: Item 22. Communication from Councilwoman Allen. Recommendation to prepare an update on the temporary PARKLET program and return to council prior to the June 30th sunset date for the program. Speaker 0: Okay. It's been moved and seconded. Councilmember Mongo. Speaker 2: Thank you. Councilman Allen asked that I read a short statement on her behalf. This item is about increasing public information and clarity about the effects of this program and getting more information about how it will wind down. I've heard comments from residents in my district who live near Parklets sharing concerns about ADA accessibility, noise and uncertainty about whether specific Parklets are applying for permanence or not. Councilman Allen supports flexible public spaces and initiatives that support small businesses and also supports attractive and vibrant business corridors and community centers. She thinks the staff for their hard work on this. Throughout the program. Speaker 0: Thank you. Councilman Rosindell has any comment. Speaker 2: Supportive of this item. Speaker 0: Great. Is there any public comment on this particular item? Speaker 1: We have six on the list Alex Sheeran, Ceren Gold Snake and FE, Brian Cochrane, Estella Tjader and Julie Deane. Please approach the podium. Speaker 0: Great. Speaker 3: Great. Thank you, Councilman Austin. And on behalf of the Long Beach Restaurant Association, we want to thank Councilwoman Allen for bringing this item forward. Elvira sent a letter to the mayor and city council members and staff earlier this month expressing our support for continuing the Parklet program. Elvira serves as a resource to you and to staff. We want to make sure that the PARKLET program is made permanent, but in a responsible manner with consistent desired guidelines. Feedback from the Restaurant Community. An overwhelming majority of our members all support the program, and we thank you very much for your engagement. I know Karen Ga, the president of the library, is here to give some comments on behalf of the association as well. So thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you and welcome. Speaker 3: Hey, everybody. My name's Karen Goff. I'm a partner in the 908 over L.B. Zozo Automotive Pizzeria over in Stacey's district. I'm also the president of the Long Beach Restaurant Association Association that was born in the pandemic. So a lot of it was Stacey and Susie's guidance on how to get together as an organization. As restaurateurs, you're usually pretty singular in how you think. But the pandemic brought us all together, and it's been a great resource for all of us. I want to add a little bit of color to how the restaurant industry is doing. Like currently, since about middle of January, sales have definitely come back in almost every district, which has been great. There has been a lot of headwinds that come with that minimum wage increases, shortages of a lot of product. Everybody's dealing with it. Commodities going up significantly. Forks are the bane of my life right now. At four different forks in my restaurant. I only want one, but you've got to go on the open market when your vendors can't get them, and quite often you're paying double and triple the price. So there's a lot of different things that we're dealing with and all of that can get captured and price. The guests just aren't going to pay it. So although sales are good, it's it's a struggle right now. Why should we extend parklets? People still want to sit outside. So that's I would tell you that most our patios fill up first, whether it's an actual parklet or your actual patio, that's even when the weather's not great. So there's still a demand for that. State of California is still in an emergency situation, so that shouldn't really change. A lot of you guys have been super supportive of having Parklets, which we greatly appreciate. If you didn't have that feeling, a lot of restaurants would go out of business. That's just the reality of it. For a lot of them, it's added to their seating and there's no doubt about it. That's absolutely helped, but it still is. If they don't have that seating, they're not going to make it. We know there's a lot of pushback as well on having parklets and there's a lot of things we need to work on esthetically, how they look, whether they are safe, all of those things. What we're asking for is the opportunity to help improve some of that and that we can work together with the city in order to make those parklets permanent. The parking the permanent parking process is challenging for a lot of restaurateurs. I think we're asking for the opportunity to work on that as well, because right now you need architects to be able to draw all of those, which is expensive. A lot of restaurants can't afford that. And you also need to have a Ph.D. in how to fill out the paperwork. So if we could get some help on that, that would be awesome as well. And that is about it. I appreciate everybody's time. Speaker 0: Great. Thank you so much. Welcome. Speaker 3: Before I begin, Chairman Austin, I wanted to ask if I might be able to cede any leftover time I have to the following speakers. Speaker 0: We're going to give everybody 3 minutes. Speaker 3: Understood. Thank you. Good evening, council members. And thank you, Chairman Austin. My neighbors and I are here on behalf of hundreds, likely thousands, of similarly concerned residents of Beaumont Shaw across the city who feel it's time and vital for you to understand and appreciate the data, observations and insights gathered around the issue of Parklets APIs and APIs . You are here in a moment of time. Try striving to make the best decisions on behalf of your residents and the city as a whole. But none of you were in these roles when the Parklets issue first arose almost a decade ago. There were the conditions that arose at the time have not been met or mitigated at all in the time since then. The concerns are even exasperated, especially in Belmont, Shaw and the pier areas. You have before you a detailed presentation encompassing many of the facets that our group has gathered over time. We're going to spotlight just a few of those for you tonight. During COVID, the need for a lifeline for businesses was very clear and supported by everyone. It's been two years plus and that time has passed. Not one restaurant or bar in Belmont Shaw has closed due to the pandemic. Historically, you should be aware of that. Georges Greek Cafe in 2012 applied for and sought a parklet. At the time they were denied flatly, citing parking concerns, loss of meter revenue, safety concerns, walkability along the shore. Similarly, on that same front, many business owners at the time even weighed in, quote, You're taking a public space and making it private. That was a business owner on Second Street at the time. Quote, I would never want to take parking spaces away. I can just not imagine carrying food across the sidewalk of a restaurant owner. I don't see it because of safety concerns, movement of traffic and even a greater sense of parking. Curt Schneider, business owner of multiple properties on Second Street. In 2010, the Belmont Shore Athletic Club was denied a simple parklet like space to put a bike rack. Similar similar needs were cited for that. The unique geography, the unique character of Belmont Shore and the Pier makes it a unique area that is not possible to sustain parklets on a permanent basis in any form. The congestion, the geography mitigate against that, and nothing has been done to alleviate those concerns from 2010 to now. One thing that's that's cited often by business owners and residents and desiring to go to a parklet is that they want the feel of an outside outdoor dining opportunity like Europe. This is not close to that. European dining opportunities are based around plazas and street walks and simple things that are isolated from vehicles and hazards of those sorts. Finally, I just want to underscore the key stakeholders in this. The actual residents of Bar Shaw in the Pier were never effectively involved in the input of city leaders from 2020 on the November 2021 survey started with and focused on input from businesses and their customers. Outreach to actual residents was minimal and so many of our fellow residents have engaged since then and to say that the program is not a fit for the area. I thank you for your consideration. Speaker 1: Cynic can say. Estella and Julie. Speaker 3: Yeah. Well. Speaker 2: Hi. I'm still a hider. This is a re. Speaker 1: Tabulation of a. Speaker 2: Survey that was undertaken by public works at the end of last year and presented to City Council December 7th. The survey was poorly constructed with unclear objectives, and the only meaningful inquiry was one open ended question. Regrettably, this was used as an indication of the public's interest in permanent parklets, although the specific question was never asked. So lucky for me, I had a market research class in grad school, so I requested the raw data. All 584 responses to start. The original survey included responses from several districts, not just Belmont Shore, as was presented. There were 130 responses from other districts with comments pertaining to parklets in those areas, namely downtown Bixby and Fourth Street . The re tabulated data shows a 37% support for parklets by respondents in the third District, and one fifth of those respondents support with restrictions that may or may not be addressed in a permanent parklet program. This is much lower than the 49% that was presented by public works. The city's presentation stated that those who opposed the parklets had, quote, concerns. This is not accurate. Comments against the Parklets expressed very strong opposition. There's a marked vigor, a marked difference in the vigor of responses regarding the parklets. Those that support the Parklets had short answers. Those who oppose had lengthy, detailed explanations for the opposition. Although the city attributed one reason for each respondent who opposed the Parklets, the reality is that those who opposed the parklets cited several reasons for not wanting them. So let me summarize the notable conclusions. The majority of respondents, 61%, do not want parklets. Those who oppose have strong feelings against the Parklets and they have multiple, multiple reasons for not wanting the parklets. I'd like to read a verbatim. Reduced safety pedestrian visibility. Lost increased traffic. Parking impacts. Vermin increase difficult to walk second street now tables patrons servers block pedestrians ADA issues lost parking for residents. Businesses already had sidewalk dining. In my opinion, this is the very opposite of Open Street. And one more thing that came forward is lack of utilization. The parklets are utilized mostly on warm weekend evenings, but otherwise they are empty. The impact on parking and traffic is 24 seven. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 2: I'm going to try and stand. Speaker 3: What? Speaker 2: Hi, my name is Julie Deane and I've been a resident in Beaumont, Shaw for 25 years and I've been on the board of the Belmont Shore Residents Association for 13 years, and I'm currently the President. So lack of suitability Belmont Shores population density is not conducive to parklets or laps. The shore has only 2% of the city's population, yet 37% of the city's Parklets statistics show that traffic accidents with injuries increased on Second Street between Bayshore and Livingston from the year prior to the installation of Parklets to the first year of Parklets from 18.9% to 47.8%. So who gains a couple dozen bars and restaurants and who loses next door businesses that are hidden behind umbrellas and parklet walls that are topped with planters and their customers and residents who cannot find parking parklets are very busy for a very short period of time and they're extremely underutilized. The vast majority of the time. Parking has been an issue in the shore for many, many years. In fact, we have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on parking studies that now we are sorry on parking studies, but now we are okay with eliminating 50, 60, 100 spaces. That doesn't make sense. Turning right from Second Street onto a side street where there's a parklet near the corner is quite dangerous. Anyone with a low profile, including children, are in danger. A friend of mine with cerebral palsy asked me when the last time was that I saw someone in a wheelchair on Second Street, she explained. They don't come because it's no longer welcoming to them. They've been shut out. If permanent Parklets were to move forward and make sure parts of the main public thoroughfare would be given to the to the for profit businesses. And that just doesn't seem right. Residents quality of life has been impacted with increased trash, noise, vermin destroyed, parklet walls that stay that way for months and standing water moving to the pier area. There are three businesses in the pier area that are extensively encroaching on public space within the coastal zone against their permit, Belmont Brewing Company put in permanent anchors and railings to create an additional outdoor dining space. Iconix Fitness got a public street turned into a one way street for their OSP, with an elimination of 21 beach and business parking spaces, which goes against Coastal Commission rather than parking in their own parking space. Primal Alchemy Catering often parks in the public plaza, blocking pedestrian access. So what is our goal? What's our ask? What's the necessity? Belmont Shore is not fit for parklets apps or apps, whether temporary or permanent, whether at the pier or on Second Street. Our large group of residents cares about our quality of life and our community and wants our quaint, safer neighborhood back. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Speaker 3: The 1966 residents speaking as a small business owner. I manage a storefront on Fourth Street just adjacent to a restaurant, and I would have to say that that has. Speaker 6: A parklet in. Speaker 3: It probably has been one of the worst experiences as a business owner. We've essentially lost three parking spots because of the congestion that ensues with the Parklet being there. You know, it's completely recalibrated the delivery time and system of all the other businesses in the area because the parklet that's connected to my shop, there's an alley that runs in between it. So now everyone is incapable of getting their mail. You know, there's always it's not just with the parklets. What I've noticed is that because people aren't coming in and I don't necessarily want to blame restaurants for this, but because there's a preponderance of people in these restaurants now, a lot of people are doing delivery. So that means that the alley which connects to the parking behind for my shop is always being blocked by some delivery ubereats or whatever. And, you know, it's just I feel like as someone who has proximity to a restaurant, that I run a business that's not a restaurant. I'm getting the short end of the stick. So if this was ever to come up on a ballot, I would definitely vote against making this permanent. I think that if they want to pay more money with their business license in order to make it permanent, I still wouldn't agree with that. But I think that that would be more equitable because at the end of the day, all of the other businesses on the street have to realign how we do business because of the parklet. And so, you know, it gets tagged up a lot and there's the homeless people who sleep in it when it's not being maintained. And there's a lot of residue from the people who are eating it. You know, these are the creature comforts that I think some of the previous speakers were describing that we didn't necessarily sign up for when we wanted to help our local restaurants survive this epidemic and so pandemic. And so, yeah, as a ten, 20, 94th Street, you know, you can fairly see that there's a next to impossible amount of people coming in and out of the restaurant in the Parklet area. And I just don't really agree to continue on that. So I hope it sunsets. Thank you. Speaker 1: That concludes the public comment. Speaker 0: Okay. That concludes public comment. Councilmember Supernova. Speaker 3: Thank you, chair Austin. I would like to request a friendly to the motion and that is I'm assuming public works is not here tonight to respond to some of the statements made by the speakers. So I'd like to ask that we add to this a report from Public Works to address the suggestion that the the data do not sync with the presentation. So I'd like it public works a chance to either alter their presentation or tell us how they arrived at their conclusions. Speaker 2: Well, except. Speaker 0: Okay. So the friendly has been accepted. Councilmember Price. Speaker 4: Yeah. And along those lines, the data that was cited tonight is from a very long time ago, a lot of circumstances have changed. I know it's probably not. Reasonable within the short turnaround time of this to have any new surveys done. But I know that I had requested the last time this item came to the council that we have an exception for Belmont Shore so that we could do a survey and a further audit. And to me, when this item does come back, I'd like to know kind of where we are point in time now. So I know, for example, we've closed down a lot of Parklets in Belmont Shore because they just weren't being used. And what we did was have staff go and ask the owners whether or not they wanted to continue their parklets and many did not. So I think we need to incorporate that into the analysis as well, so that the data that we're relying on or we get feedback on is based on the information and the status of the situation now as opposed to when we first passed the Open Streets Initiative and when we chose to extend it the first time. I think it's really important that we have up to date information. So things. Speaker 0: Thank you. And I'll just add, I think, you know, I think it was a good presentation, very, very enlightening from public comment. When we passed the Open Streets Initiative, we were under emergency kind of orders and doing all we could to support small businesses who were who were really dying on the vine. And not all parklets or business corridors were were the same. Right? I mean, we had k rails and and stanchions and you know, ah in Bixby, those in my in my district did look like some some folks said it looked like a controlled construction zone. Right. We went through great measures to to make sure that restaurants were surviving, but also that people were safe. And so, um, I do like your suggestion of, of getting a point in time, kind of. Information back because when this survey was taken, I believe a lot of those structures were still up across the city. And so. Duly noted. Great comments tonight. Look forward to getting this item back. Members, please vote. Speaker 1: Motion is. Speaker 2: Carried. Speaker 0: Okay. We're going to go back to our normal order. Item 20, please.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to request City Manager to prepare an update on the temporary parklet program and return to council prior to the June 30 sunset date for the program.

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Speaker 0: Okay. We're going to go back to our normal order. Item 20, please. Speaker 1: I am 20 is the communication from Councilman Austin recommendation to request a resolution providing for a 60 day temporary amnesty program, waiving late penalty and new pet license fees, and investigate the feasibility of utilizing available funding sources as potential offset for any loss of revenues resulting from the temporary amnesty program and pet license fee waiver. Speaker 0: Thank you. So I'll go ahead. Move forward. So the COVID 19 pandemic has brought upon many increased new furry family members for many Long Beach residents. Municipal code currently requires that all cats and dogs older than four months be licensed by the city to ensure local pets are vaccinated against rabies and spayed or neutered. Further pet licensing helps. Our Animal Care Services team more easily reunite lost pets with their owners, creating better outcomes for animals and their families as the 4th of July approaches. Residents should expect an uptick in lost pets and be prepared if their owners become or their own pets become lost. However, for residents in CDBG designated areas, costs associated with pet licensing and license renewal can act as a barrier to registering animals comprised of low to moderate income individuals and families. These federally recognized communities have also been hit hardest by the COVID 19 pandemic to remove financial hurdles and promote increased pet licensing in our most vulnerable communities . I'm proposing a 60 day amnesty program for late license renewal fees and a waiver of new pet license fees in all CDBG zones. And I think this is pretty straightforward. I would ask that my colleagues support me on this item and support our communities. Councilmember Urunga. Speaker 5: I support the. Speaker 3: Motion and applauded. Speaker 0: The second did no further comment behind the council dais. Are there any public comment on this item? Speaker 1: No public comment. Speaker 0: Wow. We're going to go ahead and take a vote. Members, please vote. Speaker 1: The motion is carried. Speaker 0: Like how this meeting is moving right along. Item 24, please.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to request City Attorney to draft a resolution providing for a 60-day temporary amnesty program waiving late penalty fees for pet licenses for residents of Community Development Block Grant-designated areas; Request City Attorney to draft a resolution providing for a 60-day temporary waiver on new pet license fees for residents of Community Development Block Grant-designated areas; and Request City Manager to work with City staff to investigate the feasibility of utilizing available funding sources as potential offsets for any loss of revenue resulting from the temporary amnesty program and pet license fee waiver.

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Speaker 0: Like how this meeting is moving right along. Item 24, please. Speaker 1: Adam, 24, is Communication from Council Member Oranga, Chair of the State Legislation Committee recommendation to approve the 2022 State Legislative Agenda as recommended by the State Legislation Committee. Write a letter of support of opposition to the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act. Write a letter of support for Senate Bill 1226 and write letters of support for Senate Bill 1281 and Assembly Bill 2792 related to state cannabis taxes and add language to the state legislative agenda. Speaker 7: We want to. Speaker 5: Thank you, Chair Ives. And I think that we had a robust discussion over these bills earlier this month or last month. And I think that I would like to move this forward through the support of the city council. Thank you. Speaker 0: I second the motion. Any other public comment by in a real hearing? None. Any public comment on this item. Speaker 1: They've sugar. Speaker 3: Good evening again. Dave Chappelle, Third District. I'd like to speak in favor of support of one particular aspect of this, and that's writing a letter of support for SB 1226 related Joint Powers Authorities with the zero emissions vehicle and zero emissions vehicle infrastructure development. I think it's a great way for governments to use their direct procurement authority throughout the state. Thank you. Speaker 1: That concludes public comment. Speaker 0: Great members, please vote. Speaker 1: Moshinsky. Speaker 0: Thank you. Item 25, please.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to respectfully request City Council approval of the 2022 State Legislative Agenda as recommended by the State Legislation Committee; Request City Manager to write a letter of opposition to the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act; Request City Manager to write a letter of support for Senate Bill 1226 (Durazo) related to Joint Powers Authorities; and Request City Manager to write letters of support for Senate Bill 1281 (Bradford) and Assembly Bill 2792 (Rubio and Garcia) related to State cannabis taxes and add language to the State Legislative Agenda.

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Speaker 0: Thank you. Item 25, please. Speaker 1: Item 25 A report from Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Communications. Fire and Police Recommendation to execute a contract with the Department of Homeland Security for the 2021 Port Security Grant program for a total amount not to exceed 1.2 million citywide. Speaker 0: Emotion. They moved in second it. Is there any public comment on this? Speaker 1: No public comment. Speaker 0: We have a brief staff report. Oh. Speaker 2: Yes. We can have a brief staff report from. Who's Commander Dowd? Speaker 3: Oh. Speaker 2: Deputy Chief LeBaron. Speaker 6: Good evening, members of Council. Thank you for considering this item. Recommend the US Department of Homeland Security administers the Port Security Grant Program and prioritizes funding on infrastructure protection, and they reflect the DHS overall investment strategy in which two priorities have been paramount in risk based funding and regional security cooperation or Port Security Grant Program Finds support increased port wide risk management, enhanced domain awareness, training and exercise, and further capabilities to prevent, detect, respond to and recover from attacks involving improvised explosive devices and other non-conventional weapons. The Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Communications Department administers the SGP grant for the city. The police and fire departments can both be awarded funding for activities and equipment, meeting grant focus areas. The city has been awarded SGP funds for many years since at least 28 and the Port of Long Beach has provided the 25% percent cost match for these funds for grant year 2021. The grant being accepted was which was the last the grant was accepted. DHS has approved the grant proposal submitted by the Police Department under the FY 21 Port Security Grant Program for a total grant award of $500,000. Inclusive of the cost match provided by the Port of Long Beach, the grant project will fund one project to support port security, equipment, maintenance and once again, Harbor Department has agreed to contribute the 25% cost match requirement. So there is no hit to the general fund. The total cost share required from the PD portion of the grant is $125,000, which will be transferred to PD as revenue. And the cost matches budgeted in the Port of Long Beach for a 23 security division operating budget. The grant performance period is for September 1st, 2021 to August 31st, 2024. This concludes the report. Speaker 0: All right. Thank you. Is there any public comment on this? No public comment or public comment has been moved and seconded. Thank you for the report. In questions Hearing none, please vote. Speaker 1: The motion is. Speaker 2: Carried.

Contract

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and all necessary amendments including term extensions, with the Department of Homeland Security to receive and expend grant funding for the 2021 Port Security Grant Program, in an amount of $942,000, with a Port of Long Beach cost match of $314,000, for a total amount not to exceed $1,256,000, for a period ending August 31, 2024; and Increase appropriations in the General Grants Fund Group in the Fire Department by $756,000, and the Police Department by $500,000, offset by federal and Port of Long Beach grant funds. (Citywide)

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Speaker 1: The motion is carried. Speaker 0: Item 27, please. Speaker 1: Item 27 is a report from Economic Development. Recommendation to Adobe Resolution of Intention to Renew the Midtown Business Improvement District. Set the date of hearing July 19, 2022 for public hearing receipt petition, authorize the city's ballot and designate the Owners Association's District six. Speaker 0: Grant has been moved by Councilmember Baraga, seconded by myself and comments. Speaker 5: Yes. Thank you, Chairman Austin. I have a comment here from consumer to District six. Thank you. To the Middle Business Improvement District Board of Directors and the Economic Development Team, property and business owners of the midterm bid for all their hard work to renew the Midtown be the Midtown bid. The Midtown bid spans along the Anaheim corridor from Richmond to Alamitos Avenues. The mission that the bid is to bring diverse people together and to help businesses succeed. There are a lot of improvements needed along the Anaheim corridor. The Midtown bid will contribute to fulfilling the needs of cleanliness, safety and increased business activity and support. Overall, this will improve the quality of life in the business corridor and the neighborhoods. I am 100% committed to supporting the Midtown pivot, supporting the renewal of the people it will support and promote our minority owned legacy businesses, providing opportunities , increase goods and services for residents, and will build stronger community and business partnerships in addition to economic development. I look forward to seeing the mid-term bid host and sponsor several important events year round to promote and uplift our small businesses along this area. Our spirit of solidarity keeps us striving to make our community safer, cleaner and better for businesses, residents and visitors. I ask my colleagues for their support to adopt this item and move the motion. Speaker 0: Thank you. Thank you. Councilmember, is there any public comment. Speaker 1: Suzanne, as you. Speaker 2: Welcome you. Hi. My name's Susanna. Kim and I serve as the chair of the Midtown Property and Business Improvement District Board. Thank you to Councilwoman for her leadership and also to the City of Miami Economic Development Staff for your support. Midtown is located in Cambodia town and has approximately 183 businesses majority who are minority owned, small businesses whose revenues are less than $1 million. Our mission is to enhance Midtown business community by investing in safety, beautification and economic development. Midtown Bird provides cleaning services, private security, marketing and community and business events. The Midtown bid is even more critical now. During the pandemic last year, we provided to the small businesses over eight that $80,000 in micro grants to our small businesses. During the pandemic. About 50% of our small businesses are at risk for closing and are 85% of the businesses have permanently closed. I urge you to support the renewal of the Midtown bid to continue to provide economic recovery resources and to activate our neighborhood. Thank you. Speaker 1: That concludes the public comment. Speaker 0: Okay. Taking it back behind the rails, seeing no one else cued. Please vote. Speaker 1: The motion is carried.

Resolution

Recommendation to adopt Resolution of Intention to renew the Midtown Business Improvement District; set the date of July 19, 2022 for public hearing, receive petitions, authorize City Manager, or designee, to sign in favor and return the City’s ballot, and designate the Owners’ Association. (District 6)

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Speaker 0: Thank you. Item number 28, please. Speaker 1: Adam 28 Report from Economic Development. Recommendation to award a contract to fund for guarantee income to implement and administer the Long Beach Guaranteed Income Pilot Program in a total amount not to exceed four than 60,000 for a period of two years citywide. Speaker 0: Okay. So I'd like to get a staff report on this, please. Speaker 2: Yes, Councilman. We have Nick Schultz here who will give a presentation of this proposed program. Speaker 0: Thank you. Speaker 6: Good evening, council members. It's my pleasure to give you a brief staff report regarding the guaranteed income pilot program. Clickers not. So on March 16th of 2021, the council approved the Long Beach Recovery Act to support COVID 19 recovery for residents and businesses, economic recovery, health and safety, as well as securing our city's future. This specific program that the Long Beach Guaranteed Income Program is part of the economic recovery category, and it is funded at just over $2 million. Overarching themes of guaranteed income pilots are to lift residents out of poverty, reduce economic inequalities that exist in communities where people live and work together. And to provide payments that stimulate the local economy by boosting access to discretionary income, the spend on goods and services in the surrounding community. Some findings of recent GI pilots, specifically the Compton Pledge. Some folks use the funds to buy groceries. Pay rent. Start small businesses. And three participants in the Compton pledge actually started their own nonprofit. The Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration Project, or Seed, found that overall participants were healthier, showed less depression, anxiety and attained enhanced well-being based on the opportunity to receive a guaranteed income payment. Languages gives foundation started with a community working group in April 2021, the established group had representative selected for their diverse background in nonprofit administration, academic achievement and prior service to residents. The group reviewed dozens of historical GI related programs, including those already launched and those that were in a pre-launch status. The group concluded that a Long Beach pilot would have the most impact on our residents who have been hit hardest by the COVID 19 pandemic and are living in poverty with it in one concentrated geographic area. The Select the GI selection criteria became focused on single head of households that are living in poverty in ZIP code 90813 . That's the highest concentration of poverty in the city of Long Beach. One out of every four families in 90813 lives below the federal poverty line. These residents were also hit the hardest by the pandemic, and the predominant occupation was within hospitality, retail and tourism sectors, where unemployment rates peaked at over 25% of residents at the time of our research also had the highest concentration of COVID positive positivity rates and the lowest percentage of vaccinations in the city. Community impacts anticipated from pilots. 250 households randomly selected to participate in the treatment group. Yet a yet undetermined. Set to participate in the control somewhere between 2250 to 300. The program would provide 500 a month for 12 months to those participating. The actual number of beneficiaries when you count the number of folks in households should exceed 1000. Efforts are ongoing to identify additional grant or indoor matching funds to expand our pilot and research results from the pilot will actually be added to regional, state and national dialog on the value of guaranteed income. So the item before you tonight presents for GI as our recommendation to administer the pilot. There are Los Angeles County based nonprofit that administers and implements guaranteed income programs. Their current experience includes the Compton Pledge and two efforts in Chicago. At for GI is led by Nica Soon-Shiong, who is the founder and executive director of f0f for GI staff are based in Southern California, many with family roots in Long Beach, and a few actually do reside here in the city. F for GI is also connected with over two dozen endowments who invest in GI programs and they were selected through a competitive RFP and review process. I'll stop there and take any questions you might have. Speaker 0: Thank you, Mr. Schulz, for the very detailed presentation. Well, I will I'll start with a motion. Obviously, this is a program that will provide a unique opportunity to help a lot of families. And in our city, in terms of the $2 million, is as set aside from our Recovery Act to do that. What opportunities are there to get any sort of private or endowment donations to to bolster this fund? Or is there anything available today? Speaker 6: So it's interesting that you asked that. Today, the state had a call about a $35 million matching fund that that's available. We we are not, in terms of their criteria, a priority applicant for that. However, we can we can still apply. There is the opportunity to grab $2 million through the state program with $1 million of match. Also tell you that one of the strengths of effort by our recommended administrator today was the amount of private or other funding that they've secured in support of the Compton pledge. Speaker 0: Okay. And a question that we always get is, are there any restrictions on the funds provided to to the families in terms of what they can spend those funds on? Speaker 6: There there are no restrictions. Okay. Speaker 0: Councilmember, you want to. Speaker 5: Thank you, Charleston. In regards to the actual payments to the individuals. How did what form with that take place would be a voucher or a a check, a direct deposit? What is the way of payment with the immediate. Speaker 6: So the recommended administrator has a platform. That platform interacts with direct deposit or or checking accounts. There's the ability to put it on a similar to to a debit card and utilize it that way. The participant has a variety of choices. Speaker 5: Are there any restrictions on the types of merchandise you can buy? I know you have your groceries, rent, small business. Any other any restrictions at all for the types of of purchases you can make with with these vouchers? Speaker 6: No, councilmember, there are there are zero restrictions. It is their income once received. Speaker 5: Okay. Thank you. Speaker 0: I can't remember the days. Speaker 3: You do. Speaker 2: Thank you, Nick, for all that great information in regards to the recommended administrative administrator. I'm really excited about this. I know we've been working on this for months together. And so finally, to, you know, get to a point where we have an administrator that comes with highly recommendations, I think is very, very important. I really, really like that you brought up, you know, their success stories of their other pilots. And it really excites me to what our success stories will be here in the city of Long Beach, 9813 is in my district, and I can already see all the positive impacts that it's going to bring to all those single parents that we're addressing. So I just wanted to say thank you and I look forward to continuing working on this project with you. Thank you so much. Speaker 0: Thank you. Councilmember, is there any public comment on this item? Speaker 1: There's no public comment. Speaker 0: Public comment then please, members, cast your vote on this. Speaker 1: The motion is carry great.

Contract

Recommendation to adopt Specifications No. RFP ED22-023 and award a contract to Fund for Guaranteed Income, of El Segundo, CA, to implement and administer the Long Beach Guaranteed Income Pilot Program, in a total amount not to exceed $460,915 for a period of two years, with the option to renew for three additional one-year periods, at the discretion of the City Manager; and, authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to enter into the contract, including any necessary subsequent amendments. (Citywide)

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Speaker 0: Great. Item 32. Speaker 1: Item 32. Report from Public Works. Recommendation to Adopt Resolution Approving a list of projects citywide for repaving and resurfacing in a total estimated amount. Not an amount of 10.6 million. In the fiscal year 2023 paving program. C2 I. Speaker 0: So customer mongo. Speaker 2: Is one to thank the public works team for working hard to expand our capabilities and capacity. This is a big step forward. It's not enough. We need to give you more money. We need more streets to be fixed. I specifically am looking forward to, as I know, Councilwoman Prices, Studebaker and the residents are still looking forward to Wardlow and Canaan, which isn't on the list. But thank you for all that you're doing. And I overwhelmingly support $10 million of additional streets. Speaker 0: Good news, Councilmember Price, I'm going to turn it over just briefly to our public works director, just to kind of I think this is a significant item that is going to bring a lot of good to a lot of neighborhoods throughout the city. Just give us a brief report. Speaker 5: Sure. Councilmember um. Members of the council this we bring this out every year as one of the requirements from our state funding source. We identify projects that are going to be part of the pavement plan for the coming year. Although all of the projects are outlined in the staff report are part of the current citywide infrastructure investment program that we put together as part of the measure a plan. So these streets are some that our residents have been waiting for. Some of them about five years. So we're happy to be able to get into this next set of streets and to have more money to be able to do so. So we are making more investments on streets. We are doing more to maintain our current streets with our crack and slurry SEAL program. And we continue to do that with both a combination of in-house staff and contractors support. So we are really excited about this this funding source. I do hope it gets bigger, but it does allow us to repave quite a bit of streets. Speaker 0: And thank you. And I just announced to all to my residents in the eighth District there a total of eight residential streets in the eighth District in North Long Beach that we'll be getting some tender, loving care. We appreciate that, Councilmember Price. Speaker 4: Yes, only because I know I will get asked why I didn't ask what is the status of Studebaker? Speaker 5: We're working hard on the design for Studebaker. Studebaker is one of our four major arterial streets that we're committed to putting in the funding together and and getting that project off the ground. So it is in design. There is some additional funds that are required. We are diligently working to put that put that funding together. We're applying for federal funding opportunities, state funding opportunities, in addition to Priscilla, to to allocated some of our own local funds to be able to make that happen. So it's one of the priority on side that that will be coming. And we are we are hoping to have that fully resolved and funded in this coming fiscal year so that we can have our implementation plan and to communicate to the public for that. Speaker 4: How short are we? If you now. Speaker 5: I don't know from the top of my head, councilman, I know where I know we're a few million off, but I don't have the exact number. I'll had to follow up when she gets. Speaker 2: Between that information. So if. Speaker 5: That sounds about right, I gather. Speaker 2: More than eight already and the project is going to be around 16. Speaker 4: There's some money. Speaker 5: It's yeah, we have we have about 16 I believe are already allocated and we need a few we need a few more. Speaker 2: Five more. Speaker 5: Give or take. I need to verify that number. Speaker 4: So one of the things that I've been telling residents and I just want to make sure that it's accurate, is that before we're in a position where we can apply for any grant funding, our local or county or state dollars or federal dollars, we need to have the project be designed, fully designed and shovel ready. So you said that we're in the design process. How far away from us are we from having us be competitive for grant? For that project? Speaker 5: I believe we're approaching the 60, 70% design point, which makes us very competitive. So we're at the point now where we were I believe we already we were able we obtained an $8 million grant from Metro. Yeah. So it was about an $8 million grant. So we have some grant funding on hand and we're pursuing additional funds. Speaker 2: Okay, thank you. Speaker 0: Council member of Super Nine. Speaker 3: In case the point wasn't made, I'd like to just put it in my bid to get Studebaker to speak on behalf of the residents between Seventh Street and Wardlow. Thank you. Speaker 4: My my favorite quote as chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee was it was definitely not a talking point that was written down. It just came out. And I said, what is a girl got to do to get Studebaker paved around here? And I think Mr. Lopez took that to heart and is working on it. But it affects multiple council districts. And we have we get asked about it a lot. Speaker 0: So that half of the council tonight. Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely. Speaker 2: Thank you, Chair. Speaker 0: All right. Well, thank you. And thank you for that that report. This is good news. SB one that has provided a lot of resources and for for us to do a lot of good work in our city. So hearing that, is there any public comment on this? Speaker 1: No public comment. Speaker 0: Hearing. No public comment. Members list, vote on this item, please. Speaker 1: In this case. Speaker 0: Thank you. Thank you so much. Let's go to item number 33.

Resolution

Recommendation to adopt resolution approving a list of projects citywide for repaving and resurfacing that are proposed to receive Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account funding in a total estimated amount of $10,661,747 in the Fiscal Year 2023 Paving Program. (Citywide)

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Speaker 1: Item 33 is a report from City Attorney Recommendation to declare ordinance amending the Long Beach Municipal Code relating to the regulation of cannabis, retail, storefront business licenses and the cannabis social equity program read and adopted as read. Speaker 0: City Grade has been moved and seconded. Is there any public comment on this? Speaker 1: We have Rena McLendon and Edgar Cruz. Please approach the podium. Speaker 7: Reports must be. Speaker 2: Hello. My name is Raina McLendon, and I'm a social equity applicant. First of all, I want to thank you all for allowing me to speak, to express my situation. I think it's unfair to disqualify me from the social equity program because another member of my household is also a social equity applicant. When I first applied, I was told by the campus oversight that I would be able to apply for a dispensary and delivery license. I have fully participate in the program. I was awarded the location grant. I attended the Entrepreneurship Academy classes and was given a certificate from the mayor's office. I do understand that I'm not going to be able to receive any more grant funding due to the state's new policies. But if I have my own investor and put my own money into the licensing process and the property buildout, I should at least be able to have the opportunity to present to the RFP and apply for dispensary and delivery license. I just want to say I just want the same opportunity as all the other equity applicants to go forward and put in a proposal to the RFP. I have spent a lot of time and money getting ready for the the cannabis dispensary license to be available. I have hired a consultant and spend long hours on my business plans and supplies. So what I'm asking today is for the City Council to change the ordinance from only one equity applicant per household. That is on page 147 and to proposal number three. A proposal may only be submitted by one equity applicant per household as defined in BMC Chapter 5.92 to all equity applicants can apply for dispensary license me and the other applicant in my household when I joined at the hip and I just want equal opportunity. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 3: Good evening, Catherine. Steph. My name is Attica Cruz, social equity recipient and founder of the Cannabis Companies Council of Long Beach, where we focus on cannabis, social equity, community redevelopment within our jurisdiction. For the past two weeks, I have seen transparency within Council City staff as well as divisions that focus and handle the equity program to ensure retail opportunities move forward in a timely manner. Within the past couple of years, I've also witnessed and been part of the creation and achievements of new growth initiatives for equity entrepreneurs and the community within the City of Long Beach to provide accessibility within the cannabis space. What I ask, what I have also seen within these past recent council meetings is frustration, raise concerns and anger from our community, social equity advocates and recipients within the program. As we are moving forward with eight wonderful opportunities for individuals like myself, I also would like to address that we continue our work and create new initiatives beyond the retail aspect and also focus on licensing opportunities. Equity applicants already have and still find many barriers to reach those opportunities, such as Green Zone expansion for all license types of suitability for equity. There are many initiatives we as a city can introduce to establish a more solid foundation for the equity program. As we see, unfortunately, Emily Armstrong will no longer be with us effective May 27th. I would challenge our councilmembers and staff members to continue to provide transparency and dedication to the progression of our social equity program. I would also like to add, while some unintentionally impede on our programs progression, I share that there are some that will continue to do the work and continue to make obligations ensuring that we can move forward, understanding that accountability, transparency is our focus. I would like to point out and appreciate the work and efforts cannabis oversight has done within these past couple of months, as well as city and staff and economic development. On behalf of L.B. Tripathy, we would like to personally thank Emily Armstrong for being part of this journey. Thank you guys for your time. Speaker 0: Thank you, Mr. Crews. So that that public comment. Speaker 1: Conclude the public comment. Speaker 0: That concludes public comment. I'm taking it back behind the rail. Any comments from the council? This is our opportunity. This is the last reading, final reading of this ordinance that will pass members less vote this. Speaker 1: The motion is carried. Speaker 0: Great. Moving on to the next item. 39.

Ordinance

Recommendation to declare ordinance amending Long Beach Municipal Code by amending Sections 5.90.030 and 5.90.060, by adding Section 5.90.310; and, by amending and restating chapter 5.92, all relating to the regulation of cannabis retail storefront (dispensary) business licenses and the Cannabis Social Equity Program, read and adopted as read. (Citywide)

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Speaker 1: Item 39 is a report from City Manager. Recommendation to convene the Charter Amendment Committee of the City Council within 30 days to discuss placing a charter amendment. City Charter Amendment before the voters to establish a Police Oversight Commission and add a director police oversight position citywide. Speaker 0: Great. I'd like to get a staff report on this particular item. Speaker 2: Sure. I will give a really brief overview, but I'd like to introduce Patrick Leathers and from the Citizen Police Complaint Commission. He's the manager of that program, as well as Anita Lakhani, who worked out of the city attorney's office to prepare the draft language for the charter amendment. Looks like. Oh, thank you. So just to give a little bit more background on this, I think you're aware that in May of last year, an independent consulting firm did a an in-depth study of the current Citizen Police Complaint Commission process, and they came back with a report and a series of recommendations back to this commission or to the council here in February of this year. The city council considered that report and directed staff and the city attorney to begin the charter amendment process that essentially had two, two steps to it to, number one, draft the charter amendment language and number two, to initiate the meeting come for process. So I'd like to just walk through briefly what has happened since that time. As I mentioned before, the city attorney has prepared draft charter language, charter amendment language that would amend Article one eight of the city charter, that would fundamentally establish a director of police oversight, as well as a restructured police oversight commission. And that that effort, the draft language has been completed. The next step that was required was for the city team to to start the the labor negotiations with the affected labor groups, essentially regarding that restructuring that has been proposed, the restructuring of the Citizen Police Complaint Commission and the action that is being requested tonight is for the City Council to approve directing or referring this matter to the citizen, to the Charter Amendment Committee. And that is what is being asked of the city council tonight. Next slide. And I'd just like to briefly walk you through if the charter amendment is passed, there is a series of actions that would still need to be done in order for that this change to occur. Number one, the city council would need to appoint a police oversight director. We would need to establish and appoint a new a police oversight commission. The current charter language proposes to amend the number and the term of the citizen police complaint. The third, I should call it the right term Police Oversight Commission. And the that changes essentially to be consistent with other charter commissions in the city. The other action would be to move forward with the staffing and the administrative management functions of the Commission, and that would be laid out in the municipal code. The other two actions would be authorizing the city council would need to authorize a budget for the Commission, for their administrative and management operations and a budget and the amount that will be sufficient for them to conduct the duties that are outlined in the Charter amendment. And lastly, the other item that would need to occur would be for the meeting confer process. Should that charter amendment pass, we would need to continue those meet and confer discussions in order to address any of the affected labor impacts to the affected bargaining groups. So with that action, if the Council refers this tonight to the charter committee, there would be three hearings of the charter committee between June 14th and August 9th. And then there is another series of steps that all of the other all charter amendments would be subject to. That is getting direct arguments and impartial analysis of the of the language in the charter and of course, submitting rebuttals to the clerk and lastly, mailing the sample ballots out to the electorate. And of course, the election in November 8th. So that's a really brief overview of the process between now and the final election. I'm available to answer any questions. Speaker 0: So I'll take the privilege to ask the first question. Obviously, the item before us is referring it to the charter commission. What what authority does the charter commission have when they when we when they meet? And if you could just for those paying attention here in the audience and those at home, you just outlined who the charter commission is. Speaker 5: Yes. Chair Austin, thank you. The Charter Amendment Committee is a committee of the whole. It is the members of the city council as a whole, as a body sit on that committee. This the three meetings, as identified by Linda Tatum, would then be joint meetings of the Charter Amendment Committee and the City Council. So your discussion at those three meetings will determine what this final item will look like. And then at that final third meeting, council will be asked to take a vote on whether to place that item on the ballot or not. Speaker 0: So so the charter amendment committee would have the ability to to tweak what has been presented to me. Speaker 5: Correct. They they could tweak it. They could decide not to move forward with it. They have a wide range of authority to decide what they would like to place on the ballot, if anything. Speaker 0: Okay. And so this action tonight, voting on this tonight actually just moves the process to the charter amendment committee. Speaker 5: That's correct. It would allow you to begin those discussions at that first meeting. Speaker 0: I just wanted to get that clarification. Thank you. Councilmember You're not going to Germany. Speaker 5: No, but thank you for that clarification. Speaker 0: Councilmember Super. No. Speaker 3: I think this was answered with the chair's question. But if we go back to that slide where it has IT director position listed and for those who didn't follow this previously, I think there was a discussion in this body that it would be a director and even a salary was suggested. So this position would kind of take the place of what the city manager's function is now with the current. Speaker 2: That is that is generally correct. If you go back to the the report, it very specifically lays out the role, but it is roughly the equivalent of a director in any other city department. And yes, it would essentially replace that role currently that's in the city manager's office. Speaker 3: So to Councilman Austin's question, approval of this tonight does not lock in that position or does it? Speaker 5: It does not. It is. We have a draft for discussion prepared for the Charter Amendment Committee to consider and discuss and based upon the direction we receive can be changed. Speaker 3: Okay. Thank you. As I said, Councilman Austin asked the question it was answered. But I just want to clarify that specific point. Thank you. Speaker 0: Is there any public comment on this item? Speaker 1: No public comment. Speaker 0: No public comment. See no other queued up behind the real members less well. Speaker 1: The motion is. Speaker 2: Carried. Speaker 0: Great. The next item is item new business number 40.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to request the Mayor to convene the Charter Amendment Committee of the City Council within 30 days to discuss placing a City Charter amendment before the voters to amend and restate Article XIA of the City Charter to establish a Police Oversight Commission and add a Director of Police Oversight position. (Citywide)

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Speaker 0: This is our final item of the evening. Item number 41. Speaker 1: Item 41 is a report from Public Works Recommendation to award a contract to raise Construction Inc for construction of the Colorado Lagoon Open Channel Phase two A project for total contract amount not to exceed 24 million. Amanda And will you between the public works and harbor departments and increase appropriations by 5.7 million District three. Speaker 0: Understand this is a very big project. It's been moved by Councilmember Price before. Would you like to. Speaker 4: I'd like to ask for a brief staff report, please. Speaker 2: We'll have Eric Lopez, the public works director, give a brief staff overview. Speaker 5: Thank you, Linda. Council members at the now we we are in a very exciting place. We're ready to award a construction contract for the final phase of the Colorado Lagoon Restoration Project. This is a project that's been decades in the making, and this is a project that's had countless community volunteers and residents that have both advocated and helped with various parts of the restoration efforts. And now we're ready to kickoff the last phase, which is to reconnect the lagoon with a more natural open channel and reconnect the to alum, Marine Stadium and Alamitos Bay. This project that's possible through the creation of a mitigation bank, we were able to successfully work with the resource agencies at the state and federal level and create a mitigation bank proposal that was approved that allows us to create credits that harbor department are our partners at the Port of Long Beach have agreed to purchase. So it's the project is funded primarily through that through the ad revenue sourced from the sale of those credits. That's why we have a memorandum of understanding and it and it allows us to move forward with what this project were. We also got a good partner with Reyes Construction and we're ready to work with them and the community on the details for construction, which we anticipate will start sometime in the fall. So we will not be impacting any summer related activities at Marina Vista Park. So with that, I'm here to answer any questions, if you have any. Thank you. Speaker 4: So I don't have any questions because I did receive a briefing on this earlier in the week. And of course, today I just want to thank staff for their amazing work and collaboration just within the city team and also with the harbor department. I want to thank the harbor commissioners who have considered this project and been tremendous partners to the city on it, allowing us to create this first coastal mitigation bank in the state, which has been a huge opportunity for reinvestment into this environmental habitat by the Port of Long Beach. This is going to be an incredible project and it's a necessary project. A lot of people don't realize that for the long term benefits of this particular lagoon, we're going to need to have open access to the open channel so that we can have ongoing water circulation to allow for good water quality in this lagoon for for generations to come. And so this is a huge project. Staff has been working on it for a very long period of time. I want to thank the community who's also been involved and especially the friends of the Colorado Lagoon for being incredible partners on this project. We're getting a lot of calls from residents regarding the project and when it's going to start. I'm grateful that it's not going to start until after the summer because I know we already have a lot of programing for the youth and for the communities in the park space surrounding the lagoon and Marina Vista Park. And I look forward to the project's starting and I have committed to the residents and of course confirmed with our staff today in our Tidelands meeting that we are going to stay in consistent communication so that we can let residents know at every opportunity what is coming next in terms of the project and the construction so that everyone can get ready for it. And this is an amazing environmental project for the city and I'm grateful for the work the staff has done. So Mr. Lopez and the entire Tidelands team, thank you for your work. Speaker 0: Great. Thank you for those comments. Thank you for the report, Councilwoman. Your Honor. Speaker 5: Yes, if I recall correctly, this project came before the Coastal Commission a few years ago and I was very happy to see the project going forward. I think we approved it and it's finally coming to fruition. If I remember correctly, it's it's quite a project that offers a lot of opportunity to activate a lot of the play areas and a lot of opportunities for for kids or for summer programing as well as throughout the year. So looking forward to this project being completed and to a ribbon cutting eventually some day early. Speaker 3: I. Speaker 0: Is in. And I'm told that this is one of a kind in terms of this is the only project that was happening in the state of California. So kudos, Councilmember Price, kudos, public works and Coastal Commission and everyone who had anything to do with this, any public comment. Speaker 1: Dave Shukla and David. Speaker 2: Paretsky. Speaker 1: Wonderful piece approached the podium. Speaker 4: Someone asked, and while they're walking up, I would be remiss to say I am the closer on this project. But Congressman Lowenthal, Gary DeLong, Frank Colonna and our mayor have had a tremendous role in this. I am just literally the closer of a project they all started, and I'm grateful to have been in that seat when the project came forth. Speaker 1: Dave Shukla. Speaker 3: Quickly walk all the way back home using this very route. And it's. In the past 25 years improved, but especially in the past couple of years really improved. And this is a great project I'm fully in support of. It would be helpful if we already owned and operated all of our own utilities to be able to move projects like this one along faster. But that notwithstanding, there is a considerable amount of. Redoing of the natural landscape that was done in a very short amount of time to develop it. And this is one of the very few projects, not the only one actually in the state, just the only one that is coastal, but with a few projects in the state that's designed to actually increase and restore some of the natural capacity of from previously urbanized areas. With respect to the utility. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 3: Good evening. Dave Peraza, board member with Friends of Colorado Lagoon. I've got so much to say that it would take 30 minutes, but I'm just going to say a couple of things. First of all, I want to thank the council and particularly Councilmember Price's leadership. It would have been easy to, at the beginning of her last term to say, you know what, we made great progress. Let's let's call it done. But she really made a priority of getting this last step done. And we are forever thankful for that work. I also really want to thank Public Works. We've been fortunate over this 20 year process to have had some incredible people to work with in public works, and we've had a lot of curves along the way. Obstacles came up in not just funding, but technical obstacles and things like that. And every single time, city staff, particularly in public works, has found a way to make this work. We've done this. Mr. LOPEZ. Correct. Can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe we've completed every single step that was identified in our restoration feasibility study except for this open channel. And we've done so without using any general funds from the city of Long Beach. It's all been done by bringing grants into the city of Long Beach, federal, state and and even the original restoration feasibility study was paid for by a grant from the California Coastal Conservancy. So my hat's off to Mr. Lopez and his staff. Truly incredible work. And lastly, I'd like to thank the Port of Long Beach. They've been great partners throughout this process. They've saved our bacon multiple times. They have supported us financially. They have provided technical expertize, and they even bring their port volunteers down to events we have at the lagoon. They have been truly great partners. And this is one of the great things about Long Beach, if you ask me, is we've got a port, we've got great city departments, we have a wonderful city council that can see these visions. And this is how over 25 years since we first started that we have arrived here today. So obviously I urge your consideration to approve this. We're very excited as the whole community is, to get this project going. There have been some wonderful renderings that have come out of the design documents, and when people in the community see these renderings, they get very excited. It's really going to be beautiful. Hope to see all of you down there when it's complete in what may be a year or 18 months. And again, I thank you all and please support this next. Speaker 1: That concludes the public comment. Speaker 0: Okay. Thank you. Is there any other comments from behind the rail with not let's vote on this momentous occasion. Members, please vote. Speaker 1: The carry.

Contract

Recommendation to adopt Plans and Specifications No. 3002120001 REBID and award a contract to Reyes Construction, Inc., of Pomona, CA, for construction of the Colorado Lagoon Open Channel Phase 2A Project (Project), in the amount of $20,817,600, authorize an 18 percent contingency in the amount of $3,747,168, for a total contract amount not to exceed $24,564,768, and authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to enter into the contract, including any necessary amendments; Authorize City Manager, or designee, to amend the Memorandum of Understanding between the Public Works and Harbor Departments to accept an additional contribution of $5,700,000 for the Project; and Increase appropriations in the Tidelands Operating Fund Group in the Public Works Department by $5,700,000, offset by a transfer from the Harbor Fund Group in the Harbor Department. (District 3)

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Speaker 1: Thank you. Next, we're going to do item 21, please. Speaker 0: Report from City Manager Recommendation to authorize City Manager to disburse direct relief grants for the Long Beach Recovery Act program citywide. Speaker 1: We have a motion in a second, but I want to let this staff give us a presentation on this. Meredith Reynolds are especially happy the city manager can give a presentation. Speaker 0: Community. Mayor, Member City Council. Tonight's item for you is an administrative item really focused on the ability to distribute our direct grants as a part of the Long Beach Recovery Act. The Long Beach Recovery Act that was adopted by city council in March 16th of 2021, provided for a variety of these programs that allow for direct relief grants for businesses, for arts groups and several others at that particular time. That did not include the adoption of that plan, did not include some of the administrative actions necessary to actually physically distribute those grants. So that is what is before you this evening in particular, the directory of grants were posted in previous months and the some of the business grants just closed on Monday. And we have some additional nonprofit grants that are closing in a month. And so this provides the opportunity to be able to distribute those swiftly to those who have who have been applied and who have been selected. So there's no fiscal impact associated with this action. This is an administrative action allowing us to distribute those grants. I'm here for any questions. Should you have them? Thanks very much. Speaker 1: Let's move, Richardson. Speaker 2: Thank you. This is an incredibly important I know a number of folks have signed up for these relief grants. Congratulations to the whole team and the economic development team for going out and doing the outreach so that people can get these grants in their hands. So are we talking about all of the grants are finally ready to direct relief, like the restaurant, the personal service and fitness, the small business relief grants? Speaker 0: Vice Mayor That's correct. So the direct relief grants include a variety of those that you mentioned, and shortly they will also include the nonprofit grants as well as the arts grants. Speaker 2: Okay. So the small business are ready to go, the restaurants and the bars, and then afterward will be the nonprofits and some of the others. How far along is the the difference in time. Speaker 0: From the difference in time? The nonprofit grants were just extended by a month to give folks more time to those close. June 15th and the arts grants have a variety of deadlines here and the coming month. Speaker 2: Thank you. Well, this is certainly well received. We look forward to getting these resources out to help support our recovery. Thanks. Speaker 1: Councilman. Speaker 0: Screw you, Mayor. I just want to thank Miss Reynolds for going into this role so quickly and being able to get this process set up and disbursing it as quickly and as organized as possible, given the time limit and the amount of process it takes. So and I look forward and receiving an update because we know this is a special one time fund that we don't get and we look to seeing. I look forward to seeing the impact that we have in our recovery efforts. Thank you very much. Speaker 1: Thank you. You're probably coming here. Speaker 4: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on item 21 in person, please line up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine now in person. Your time begins now. Speaker 3: Soon I can face six district residents. I would love to know what respect to the nonprofits. What are the current deliverables for one, and what does the audit look like? Because to my understanding, I have no disrespect intended, but you know, I don't necessarily agree as a taxpayer that the federal war chest should be distributed out to people who aren't doing work in the communities. And a lot of these nonprofits, when COVID happened, suddenly emerging communities and speaking towards a neighborhood that they weren't president up until, you know, billions of dollars of federal money became available. So I'm just lacking the understanding of how can we as a city discern who is doing the work and who is and how can they prove it? And the second part that I would like to ask, especially with respect to nonprofits, is, you know, the fiscal language. A lot of people are familiar with people who are doing service in communities and as a result, they get left behind. I'm speaking specifically towards people who don't have five own fees, who operate in community. So I just would like to understand how is the city bridging the gap of disbursing funds that makes no impact on our general fund to these types of providers who are operating in a community who don't have five agencies, because there's a lot of organizations in neighborhoods and communities that don't have the fiscal sponsor who's going to tax you ten, 15% in hand. And everyone else goes through or they don't have access to these right in these rooms. And as a result, they they miss out on doing more impactful work work that they are already doing anyways just for the fact that they don't have capital investment from the federal government. So if it's possible, is there, is there some opportunity that we can just create some type of small pipeline towards the communities that organizations in community that aren't? 501c certified? That would be great because if we can if we can have thousands of people working as food vendors with no paperwork, I'm sure we can figure out a way to do something similar towards our community providers. Thank you. Speaker 4: That concludes public comment. Speaker 1: Thank you. Just for also wanted just to thank the staff. I know this has been a lot of work in putting this all together and just grateful this money's been been organized well and going out. There's emotion and a second. Please do the roll call vote. Speaker 0: District one. Speaker 5: I'm. Speaker 0: District two I. District three. Speaker 5: I. Speaker 0: District four. All right. District five. District six, i. District seven. Speaker 3: I. Speaker 0: District eight. Speaker 7: High. Speaker 0: District nine. Speaker 2: High. Speaker 0: Motion is carried. Eight zero.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to disburse direct relief grants for the Long Beach Recovery Act (LB Recovery Act) programs, consistent with City Council approval of the LB Recovery Act. (Citywide)

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Speaker 1: Thank you. Now we'll move to the first reading of the equity social equity piece, cannabis. Speaker 0: Item 25 Report from City Manager Recommendation to declare the ordinance amending the Long Beach Municipal Code relating to the regulation of cannabis, retail, storefront business licenses and the cannabis social equity program. Read the first time and later for the next regular meeting of City Council for Final Reading and adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to establish a request for proposals for cannabis retail storefront business licenses for the cannabis social equity program citywide. Speaker 1: Thank you. There's a motion in a second, Councilmember Austin. Speaker 7: I'd just like to get up, make sure that. That the changes that were incorporated last week are in here and hear from the city attorney on those. Those are changes of the city manager. Speaker 1: Yes, we can have Emily Armstrong and Art Sanchez go through in a. Speaker 3: Summary of what those major changes are that. Speaker 1: We got from the council at the last meeting. Speaker 0: Yeah. Good evening, Mayor. Members of the city council. So tonight we're bringing back the equity dispensary ordinance and resolution. So council at the May 10th meeting, directed staff to amend the ordinance to include restricting the equity dispensary RFP process to equity applicants verified on or before May 10th of 2022. Prioritizing any equity applicant that had previously been awarded to move forward with obtaining a dispensary license back in the 2010 and or 2017 lottery process, and requiring that all equity businesses maintain equity ownership for a minimum of ten years before they can transfer ownership to a non equity business. So that is the summary of the changes before you tonight, and I'm happy to answer any questions. Thank you. Speaker 7: Thank you. So last week, I think we were poised to pass a pretty, pretty significant item in terms of one that we've been working on for for quite some time. We heard from the public and we incorporated some changes based on public comment and thoughts from the council. I'd like to have Mr. Mayor hear from my colleagues and in public comment. I'm inclined to support this and move this item forward. I think is it's time. You know, we've spent a lot of time on this. We've had a robust community process. And, you know, we met the mark in terms of expanding. I think this item meets the mark in terms of spanning retail cannabis establishments for social equity specific candidates in our city. So with that, I'd like to hear from my colleagues and from public comment, but encourage us to support this item tonight, same time. Speaker 1: Thank you, Councilwoman Allen. Speaker 6: I yes. I also just want to say thank you for all of your hard work on this. When I read this, you did just an amazing job and incorporating all the conversations and everything we asked for in this item. So I just want to say thank you. I think it's important that we stand by all of the applicants in the process that are already in the process. And I think that this program is going to be stronger for the changes that we made. And I look forward to seeing equity operators operating the city real quickly. So thank you very much. Speaker 1: Thank you. Is there any public comment. Speaker 4: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on item 22 and person, please line up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine. Now I'm sorry, this is item 25. In person. You'll have 3 minutes. Speaker 3: My name is James Mark. I've been in a situation to see what has been occurring from both sides of the field. I mean, I've been working with the ABC for a few years now and the past 18 months, the two years, and creating their recommendations of what social equity looks like and being from the community most impacted by the war on drugs, most definitely working with my community to receive social equity. And for the past year, says Emily, Armstrong has been the city's new cannabis program manager. She's been nothing short of devious, mischievous and misleading. And from far from equitable, in her dealings with the black community, I was a part of the creation of the social equity presentations that were presented to you on Ms.. Emily with the ABC over the past 20 months to two years, and she has not given the black social equity entrepreneur the same grace and courtesy again. Your recent hirings that Ms.. Ebony has just hired in the Office of Equity speaks great volumes that cannot be expressed in the form of words, but as a real life, real time testament again to her lack of cultural competency for the most harmed and impacted by the war on drugs in the city of Long Beach. Emily's episode ways have been very conniving and again misleading to the city council. Last week she made representations to the council and the city itself that there is a $3 million come from social equity, which she's not disclosing that house path funds have been dispersed in the in the past where administration and consulting agencies hired by the city have served no purpose to not one black social equity article world, but they were able to siphon funds away for services that were not rendered. Again, we are requesting a full audit towards every means of funding that was appointed or supposed to be allotted to assist black social equity entrepreneurs in moving this process forward. Also, we want a fully drawn out report of how those funds, the $3 million in the pipeline for social equity planning on being expended also for the records. I'm not a social equity applicant, but I remain fully engaged and will continue to support to finances with the attainment of legal council, outside social equity experts, resources, the foremost power of influence and every effort to receive just that equity along with the dismissal of Emily Armstrong from their position as someone who represents the black social equity entrepreneurs and its interests and its entirety. Thank you, Counsel. Speaker 5: Well, great evening, everyone, with giving all glory and honor to God. My name is Marian Burrell and I am a social equity applicant within this program. I'm equity applicant number seven. So that means that I've been here for quite some time. Speaker 0: I can tell you that I have helped the city. Speaker 5: To implement different programs in place as seeing where the disconnect is and where we are now. I can tell you that I'm not too happy with where we are. I'm one of the applicants who were awarded one of the location grants to be able to get a facility. But I can tell you that I've been begging the city for years, though they had millions sitting in their bank. My facility now is in your district, District six, and I'm looking to operate a dispensary, but there's a 200 gap within the buffer of other dispensaries. And so I would like that buffer to be set down so that. Speaker 0: Equity. Speaker 5: Applicants can have an opportunity to participate within this industry. As you may have read from something that she wrote, there's only about two square miles that we have within the city to erect an equity dispensary. And so that doesn't give us much opportunity to actually participate. Now, for the money that actually was awarded the grant funding, it wasn't easy, as I said, to get the city to do it. And glory to God. It was only because of him and him forcing their arm to have to give out $1.6 million within months. And were we able to recommend to her that she give it to us so that we actually have an opportunity to participate in this game? Prior to us receiving our locations, there was only one applicant throughout years of this program being in place that has actually received licensing. So that speaks volumes. So I do back what James and Mark's ask and removing Emily from her position now because after conversations I see that she lacks the empathy and the understanding regarding social equity, regarding the war on drugs and what it has done to our people. Thank you. I'm Jillian Xavier. And to echo what LBC says, LBC stands for a land based social equity entrepreneur. Here's what's happening. Going forward. Anything happening with social equity? We want to be at the table. You have to have us here. We've been here since 2018. Emily Armstrong is trying to strong arm us manipulators, tie us with these invisible chains. Slave free days is over. You're supposed to help us get into the business. You're not supposed to strong arm us and tell us where we supposed to sell our business. I want to recommend that you immediately dismiss her. I'll have an investigation done on her because, you know, we have emails from other equity applicants where you're telling them nobody is above me. I make the decisions on who gets the grants. The very cocky. Right. You make the decisions. You're not for us. Look at her. She doesn't. Social equity. Nothing says she's privileged. You need to bring somebody that look like me. Look like you. You know, indigenous person, a Latina. Valencia. Anybody besides somebody that has no empathy for us. You can't do that. Listen, you're going to D.C. today where you're not going to D.C. because we're not going to give you your vote because we've been here since 2018 and we can't get into business because this woman has our hands on us. It's racism. Your ancestors. Speaker 3: That. Speaker 5: Walk in behind you, too, like Robert. They had a knee in our neck as well. They killed us still. How are you going to put her in charge of social equity? She doesn't understand the struggle. You hear what I'm telling you. So you're not going nowhere when I vote for you. Get rid of her. And then we got your back. Speaker 1: Next week, replace. Speaker 3: Gavin. Good evening, Mayor and City Council. I've been a social equity applicant. November 2018, I believe. I want to start off. I just want to elaborate on my five year residency point from last week. Currently, what is being proposed is a five year residency requirement. I believe this does not take into account the gentrification that has occurred in the city over the last 5 to 15 years. Ten years of residency is a better indicator of who has actually lived in disproportionate areas in the city of Long Beach. Just for your information, the City of Los Angeles has DCR social equity applicant eligibility criteria includes a ten year residency requirement to determine who is a social equity applicant. If the ordinance is not going to reflect the ten year residency requirement, at least the scoring system for the eight social equity dispensaries should provide additional points for those individuals that have lived in these areas for ten years or more. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Demetrius Woodard. Once again, the original lottery winner back in 2010 with my brother Christopher. Our work to Larry Balls. Back then, the fees were 14,000, 14,000 plus per per application. So it was roughly around $28,000 back when our very own mayor was confident of District one Rec for the chief of staff for Steve Neal. I talked my brother, my family into doing this back in 2010. To be is a good opportunity. You know, if it's legal, there's some that the city was offering, you know, let's do this thing right. But it was when we did this right is when everything took a turn for the worse for me and my family. We were raided. We were arrested. We were jailed. We were prosecuted. We were name drug kingpins of the city of Long Beach for participating in a legal marijuana operation. So we thought until the council decided to change their mind and changed the changed the law on that 5.87 back in those days, I am excited that the process will move forward for people that was in these lotteries and move forward in 2010 and 2017. A Lotteries, they are like what? I said I'm I'm kind of emotional. I took a toll on my family when it came raided my brother's house. It was nothing but my sisters and my nieces there. Not one male, not one boy. You get a welcome with guns pointed at women and children. My brother's a black man. He the gun collector. I collect cars, he collects guns. But when you are a person of not of color and you have two guns, you have the right to bear arms. When a black man has more than one gun. If child endangerment, that's what we get charged with. We get charged with child endangerment for guns that was never even open and out of the box. Once again, my name is Demetrius Woodard you may know me at the major incredible Woodard are original lottery winners back in 2010 and we remain to be moral citizens and love and the city of Long Beach my name is Dimitri Garwood Witter and I am Long Beach. Yeah. Hi. My name is Spencer Cruz, and I was a part of your Long Beach Collective Association back in 2017, and I felt like you guys had directly attacked a bunch of people after the lottery came about. And one of my my delivery was pretty much set down, and I had to sell because of the ongoing issues that I had, which were court case after court, case after court, case after police officer pulling me over as a police officer and pulled over, pulled over constantly. And I had damages with the city that I've failed to get any type of, uh, reciprocation from, from Charles Parkin's office directly, which I have asked numerous times for. And I just feel like it's like you guys keep doing this ongoing bias towards the city, people who have lived here for 20 years plus, and it's like constantly just stealing money from us. So I really hope you guys get this together because I'm really sick and tired of spending money here for no reason. Speaker 4: That continues. That concludes public comment. Speaker 1: That concludes public comment. I have a motion and the second I have any more comments from the council. Then we can have the roll call, please, Madam Clerk. Speaker 0: District one and District two by district three i. District four. I District five. I. District six. I. District seven. By District eight. District nine. Speaker 2: All. Speaker 0: Motion is carried. Speaker 1: Okay. We're now moving on to review the two new business items. Next, which will be 30 and 32. Item 30, please.

Ordinance

Recommendation to declare ordinance amending Long Beach Municipal Code by amending Sections 5.90.030 and 5.90.060, by adding Section 5.90.310; and, by amending and restating chapter 5.92, all relating to the regulation of cannabis retail storefront (dispensary) business licenses and the Cannabis Social Equity Program, read and adopted as read. (Citywide)

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Speaker 0: Motion is carried. Speaker 1: Thank you. Next up is item 32. Speaker 0: Communication from Vice Mayor Richardson, Councilman Diaz, Councilwoman Allen, recommendation to request city manager to execute all documents to accept funds from the South Coast Air Quality Management District and increase appropriations in the General Fund Group and the Legislative Department by five $5,026.25 to fund board support offset by the FY22 revenue received. Speaker 1: Vice vaccinate Richardson. Speaker 2: Sure. Thanks. So annually there's a transfer from HMV to the City of Long Beach to account for the cost of my board. A And this is. This represents that transfer. Thank you. Speaker 1: Is there a second on this motion? Councilman Ringo. Speaker 3: All this support. Speaker 1: In any public comment on this item? Speaker 4: If there is any members of the public that would like to speak on this item in person, please sign up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the race hand feature or dial star nine now. See none that conclude by becoming. Speaker 1: Thank you. We'll do a roll call vote, please. Speaker 0: District one. I District two i. District three. Speaker 5: I. Speaker 0: District for. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: District five. High District six. High District seven. High District eight. High District nine. High ocean is carried. Speaker 1: Thank you. We're going to go ahead and go back now to item 29.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to request City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents and agreements to accept funds from the South Coast Air Quality Management District; and increase appropriation in the General Fund Group in the Legislative Department by $5,026.25 to fund Board support, offset by the FY 22 revenue received.

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Speaker 1: Thank you. We're going to go ahead and go back now to item 29. Speaker 0: Communication from Councilwoman Allen, Councilwoman and has Vice Mayor Richardson recommendation to request city attorney to prepare a resolution to support fair and free union elections for Starbucks workers in Long Beach. Speaker 1: Councilman Allen. Speaker 6: Yes. Thank you, Mayor. I want to start by clarifying that we submitted this item on Friday prior prior to the vote totals being announced. And the Starbucks and Belmont Shore is still in the process now are preparing a union election. And we want to support them and we want to support all the workers across our great city. So now to get now to the to the good part, I want to say congratulations to the Starbucks at Seventh and Redondo on their unanimous ballot last Friday. Just great job. I know that we have Mads and Taylor here and some others are here. So thank you for being here tonight. I just want to say that your courage in defying an international corporation who has already deployed harmful and possible illegal union busting tactics is commendable. Our community and our council stand up for workers and for local protections. And your example will hopefully inspire workers across the city and across the region. I just want to say thank you to Vice Mayor Richardson and Councilwoman Zendejas for joining me on this item. I know both of you have always supported a worker empowerment. I also want to challenge our entire council to support the fundamental rights of workers to organize. With the unanimous vote on this item. I'm happy when we get to support people empowering themselves, empowering their families, and empowering their communities. And I am definitely personally energized by all the work that's been done by the organizers and this item. I submitted covers, but everything I submitted covers most of my thoughts. And. But it doesn't start here. A union is a tool by which workers can directly hold their distant corporate leaders accountable for good working conditions, equitable pay and treatment. And it directly is a tool of democracy and the empowerment of people locally. So to the brave Starbucks workers from Long Beach and Lakewood in the audience tonight, thank you for your courage and thank you for your example. Speaker 1: Thank you, Councilwoman. Vice Mayor Richardson. Speaker 2: Sure. Thank you. That was beautifully said, Councilwoman. I agree. I think all work has dignity and something I believe. You know, I've seen what it's like to have, you know, a parent, you know, raising a household parent with a good union job while still seeing what it's like to have a parent who works fast food. My mom worked at Arby's when I was in high school, and it's a big difference. And the reality is, you know, that job my mom had earlier in life as a welder on the assembly line, that job, those exist to the same sort to the same extent. You know, my mom had a GED when she got that job. And so there is a shift into service based work. That's the majority of our workforce now. And for someone, you know, we think of these Starbucks jobs as, hey, these are just college students are going to work here for a few months or work through a summer. It's just not the reality. You know, folks are baristas for for, you know, quite some time until they find a better circumstance or some people do it because they love it. But if you believe that all work has dignity and you believe that we have fundamental rights of organizing and this is a no brainer, this is you know, when you're down in your economy, one of the things that's always worked is being able to form a union and advocate for yourself, particularly in a downturn in the environment of an economy. And that's what this is really about. So I'm proud of those workers for stepping up. I know that there was, you know, a lot of controversy and pressure, but you stepped up and you advocate it for yourself and you have improved the profession and the industry because of your courage and leadership. And so I personally just want to say thank you. There's a Starbucks in every council district in Long Beach. And I'll tell you, you know, I like independent coffee, but I like it to be the coffee. But when you open up a Starbucks and I know those are good union jobs, I'm going to support that Starbucks as well. So you actually help Starbucks as well by taking this step. And so thank you so much. And I encourage and I vote. Speaker 1: Thank you, Councilwoman Sato. Speaker 0: Yes. I want to just thank Councilwoman Allen for uplifting our Starbucks workers who've been is the firs who are really the trailblazer in forming a union at Starbucks. You know, as a former labor organizer, I can certainly attest to how scary and how much courage and faith it takes to know that not only do your coworkers, you have to have your coworkers support, but the public support, too. And so this is a great item to show that the council also stand with them and they stand for work and that we stand for workers. Right. And the ability for everyone to have a safe working condition or condition, equitable treatment and fair pay. So I ask and I agree with Vice Mayor Richards and I have a Starbucks. No way. They don't have a Starbucks in my district anymore. Yeah, it's in the council district seven now, but there is one that does happen in my district. I do hope that it leads. They follow the path as well. So thank you. That's great. Thank you. Speaker 1: Councilman Austin. Speaker 7: Thank you so much. Certainly support this. This is a very easy item to get behind. For the last three decades or more, I've committed my my work, my professional work, but also my activism to organizing and supporting collective bargaining. And so in this particular day and age, Starbucks and other industries are now going to be unionized because people recognize the importance of having collective strength and a collective voice in a democratic process. And so I am very, very elated for the workers at Starbucks. I salute you, the brave individuals who stepped forth to do this. And I believe that you'll see a bold wave of support and other organizing efforts happening throughout Southern California as a result of the work that's happening here at our Starbucks here in Long Beach. So congratulations and certainly support this. I support, you know, fair elections and the opportunity for workers to organize without interference or reprisal or any sort of coercion from from from management. Thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you. Come to me, Ringo. Speaker 3: Thank you. And thank you, Councilmember Allen, for bringing this forward. And congratulations to the store workers at the store in Redondo and Seventh. I had an. Speaker 7: Opportunity to meet with them before they. Speaker 3: Took the vote. Certainly I was there to encourage them and thank them for their courage. It's not easy to take that type of a chance while you're still employed. We know what the ramifications have been in the past and that certainly is a bold. Speaker 7: Move on their part. Speaker 3: There now appears to be a groundswell of other stores trying to get that kind of union representation. And I wish them all well. And with my new Starbucks in my new seventh District, I am certainly hopeful that they will also follow suit. Thank you very much. Speaker 1: Thank you, Councilman Price. Speaker 5: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I appreciate all the comments tonight. And this item. I especially like the comment by Councilwoman Allen and Councilman Austin regarding a free, fair and just election process and free from any retaliation or retribution. I've been public employee union member for over 20 years. My mother retired as a 40 year member, as a union employed with L.A. Unified School District. And I think the process should always be fair. It should not be interfered with, and people should have a right to advocate for better conditions. So thank you for bringing this item and for the update regarding the Belmont Shore location. Thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you, Councilwoman Mongo. I'm sorry customers that they have said. Did you have your are you queued through the system? Okay. Just just cue on the on the phone system if you can, ideally. But that's okay. Go ahead. Councilman's in the house and then Councilman Mongo. Speaker 5: Thank you, Mayor. I just also want to lend my congratulations to the Starbucks workers. So very proud of you. I really do believe that it is essential for us as city leaders to unite and work to ensure that folks are guaranteed safe working conditions and a living wage. Equitable pay and treatment should no longer be an exception, but rather the standard for everyone. I applaud all the brave workers who have united to have United in this effort. And in their workplace to make sure that they give them better and better working conditions. I strongly support this item and I strongly support all workers who wish to uphold their right to unionize. So I'm with all of my colleagues here today to say congratulations and keep up the good work. I know that that particular Starbucks has a special place in my heart because I used to live right around the corner from it. And I'm really, really hoping that the three Starbucks that are in my district will follow suit. That will be a very good day for me. So thank you very much. And congratulations again. Speaker 1: Thank you, Councilman Mongo. Speaker 5: Thank you. I want to echo the comments of my colleagues, especially about a fair and just election process. And then I also just want to shed some light on a particular but already gives that may not be of real value to a majority of Starbucks employees, but I hope that should they move forward with the unionization, that they don't just advocate for the needs of the many, but the few that work there as well. As an older mom, I've been in many support groups with moms who have tried to get pregnant. And one of the things that they talk about is the extreme, the high costs of the in-vitro fertilization process. And a lot of the costs are out of reach for families. And so moms have chosen to go back to work at Starbucks part time because Starbucks gives a very, very robust and supportive mother program for IVF and they pay for it. For those moms that I know, that's not typically something unions really push for because there are so few women that it is a value to. But I know that to the women who have had that opportunity, it's just something that I hope that the employees keep in mind as they move forward, that that there are very unique benefits that they've received through the years. And I hope they continue to advocate for those unique benefits in addition to or not at the risk of the bigger picture. Thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you. Before I call public comment, let me just go ahead and just add first. I think, you know, I think the election that just happened obviously here in Long Beach in Lakewood are just incredible testament. Most importantly and almost completely fully to all the workers at these stores and the workers that are organizing across across the country. There's no question that the organizing that's happened has, I think, just been very inspiring to the community for certainly has been to me just to witness how the organizing happened, the backup and support they got from so many members of the community and really being able to also share kind of the experiences that led the workers to really demand the dignity in the workplace and benefits and fair pay and the conversation that's happening across the country, particularly around Starbucks and so many other large corporations in the country. I'll also just add as a reminder that if we want to continue to improve any workplace, the best way to do so is to form a union. If you want to make sure that you move forward rights at the workplace, whether they're for LGBTQ people, whether they're for women, whether they're for for folks of all ages. The best way to do so is for the workers to form a union. And so any time you have an organized workforce in place, you almost always have a more just workplace for those that are there. And so a huge congratulations to the workers. I look forward to this being an inspiration. The work that the workers have have started across the city and more broadly across the country. And I just want to congratulate them as well. And if there's any public comment, we'll take that as well. Speaker 4: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on item 29 and person, please line up at the podium. 30 members of the public that would like to speak in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine. In person. You have 3 minutes. Speaker 3: Bay District six resident I appreciate the comments of the Council, Mayor. With respect to unionization, efforts for Starbucks and the fight for workers is a fight for all. I think we all can recognize that for the most part. However, I would be remiss if, as both as a taxpayer in the city and as a worker in this city, that I couldn't use this very odd opportunity to reference the ongoing workers fights with the city of Lumberton itself. I'm speaking specifically towards the court case of the black city workers. What Medina or Twine represent representing them? I mean, it's kind of odd the idea that, you know, we're in support of workers in the private sector, but not in support of workers in the public sector. Black city workers are for those that are watching. You know, they have a class action lawsuit against the city of Long Beach right now. You know, I'm related to one of those people connected in that lawsuit right now. And so, you know, there's the L.A. Times wrote an exposé about this just last year. And this is an ongoing lawsuit I'm sure everyone in this room is very familiar with. And, you know, just as much as we want you guys to come out and support in the private sector the efforts of unionization and that work, we also want to see the support going on with the fact that black workers in the city have been under, looked at, overlooked in promotion efforts and haven't been allowed to rise in the ranks as their white counterparts. You know, 58% are sorry. 65% of all black city workers and the city of Long Beach make under $60,000. There's there's there are price unions that are racial, not just gender rights, but racial. And until it's reflective of more positivity, relation to black advancement in the city, I mean, it's, it's, it's highly hypocritical to hear from the city as a whole. And so I just hope that we can do better for, you know, workers in the private sector. And I hope that we can do better for black workers here in the public sector. Thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you. Speaker, please. Speaker 3: Hi there. My name's Tyler. I'm the lead organizer from the legal location and a resident here in Long Beach. I, first of all, want to thank you all for your kind words around this resolution. It means a lot to me as somebody who has had to face an extreme amount of union busting in my store while also supporting little Long Beach location. I really need the to pass. This has to go. We need it because it needs to stand as the shining example, both for Lakewood, for when we start organizing other stores, as well as every other store in the rest of the state, as well as the rest of the country. Starbucks has spent an uncanny amount of money hiring littler Mendelson, an absolutely terrible lawyer firm with a long history of union busting. And they have sidestepped the law as many times as they've been possible and have been met, obviously, with the resistance to that. However, the company has refused to obviously sign the fair and free election principles that we very, very need them to sign. It is integral. So again, thank you for your kind words, but this fight needs to go as big as we can make it as well. So passing this is integral. Thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 5: Good afternoon, honorable mayor and City Council. I'm Natalie Gonzalez, president of the Long Beach City Employees Union. I am a local Long Beach, 1930 and District two resident. I want to thank Councilwoman Allen and Vice Mayor Rex Richardson and Councilwoman Sun has for championing this resolution and supporting workers rights to organize here in Long Beach and the right to fair and free union elections. Organizing is a very work of democracy. We know that unions play a pivotal role in our communities, economy and in the quality of life for working families. Unions help workers and their communities retain the value of their labor, set boundaries with their employers, and maintain worker protections and safety. Quite frankly, it pays to have a union in your workplace. And so with that, a mighty congratulations to Starbucks Workers United who organize their workplace in the face of an employer who has not hesitated to retaliate against union organizers again and again. And yet they persisted. They succeeded. Their efforts will reverberate through our Long Beach community. I want to wish Starbucks workers united good luck in negotiating your first contract. It is a grueling process, and so I encourage you to stay vigilant and to fight for every inch Long Beach City leadership and your city employees stand behind you. I am excited that Long Beach City Council supports our workers so strongly. It matters. I, for one, look forward to the same kind of energy as we enter our union contract negotiations next year. But for now, this moment is for the workers. Congratulations. Starbucks workers throughout Long Beach and the surrounding communities to the amazing baristas fighting the good fight. Keep it up. Keep going. And we're with you in solidarity. Thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you. Speaker, please. Speaker 3: Once again, good evening, mayor garcia. Members of the council. Rob no tough policy director, los angeles county federation of labor. And I'm here to speak on behalf of President Ron Herrera. When we just say that Long Beach is a union town and nobody who works full time should have to live in poverty or close to it. And that's what today is really about. When we talk about these brave baristas like Tyler and everybody else that he works with, they should be commended for what they're doing because it's a historic and heroic effort that they're really taking part on. And let me explain why. When we talk about baristas and we talk about service sector workers in general, the public oftentimes abides by allowing, assuming that they should be receiving low wages, barely above minimum wage. And despite this body really fighting to raise the minimum wage several years ago, which should be obviously commended, it's still not enough . And what Tyler and their coworkers are doing is to make sure that they are really making forcing all of us to really challenge and rethink norms about why shouldn't a barista be able to have a living wage job? Why shouldn't they be able to have life saving benefits? And why shouldn't they be able to have a dignified job? So again, we applaud them for challenging norms because they're making us think beyond this. And it doesn't just start with Starbucks, but it actually moves beyond to Amazon workers and to other workers in our service sectors who we vitally depend on. As everybody here said, all work has dignity. So why shouldn't they receive dignified wages and a dignified lifestyle on the job? So with that said, the work is still going to be challenging. I appreciate everybody, everybody's support for a fair and free election, but we're already seeing a lot of dirty tactics being played by Starbucks, where they're offering new raises and benefits to the nonunion sites and saying, we can't do that for our union sites. It's already happening. So we would as we venture into the next grueling part of this, which is actually securing a real contract, that's where the rubber is going to hit the road. And we look forward to the support of this body because when we talk about equity and we talk about trying to transform society, it all begins in the workplace. If you want to see immigrants rights, join a union negotiating or collective bargaining agreement, if you want to see racial justice, join a union, negotiate it in the workplace , and negotiate a collective bargaining agreement in your workplace. It all comes full circle in the workplace. So we appreciate everybody's support. We urge you all, obviously, to vote yes on this item and to the workers at Starbucks. Welcome to Union Town. Speaker 1: Thank you. Before we take a vote, we just need one minute because we've lost audio or the connection with our three members that are calling in. Is that right? Speaker 0: Yes. Our team is working right now to establish a connection. I believe people can hear us in the zoom. I'm not sure if we can hear them. Mary, can you still. I think we need to reestablish the audio connection if we can. Speaker 1: Justin So we're going to reestablish the connection, then we'll go to the vote as soon as we get that established. Can any of the council women hear or speak right now? Not yet. Okay. So I'm just being I'm being told that the reconnection might take a minute or two. And so per the attorney, we actually have to pause until we get the connection on the audio. Is that correct? That is correct. Under the new. Speaker 3: Rules for three, maybe 361, we were required to suspend the meeting until it's. Speaker 1: Restored. Okay. So we'll go ahead and suspend the meeting till it's restored. And maybe, maybe what we'll do is we'll just take a two minute recess, apologize, everyone, but we'll take the vote as soon as it's restored. Speaker 5: All right, Mary. When you think about the. Speaker 1: If any other council women can hear us, can you please acknowledge? Speaker 5: Yes, I can hear you. Speaker 3: Thank you, Mary. Speaker 5: Thank you. Speaker 1: I think that we have restored the connection. Is that right? Okay. We're going to go ahead and restart the meeting. We've restored connection. And so with that, I'm calling the meeting back to order. I believe we first need to do a roll call of the meeting and then we'll go into the roll call of the vote. Speaker 0: Madam Clerk councilman's in Dallas. I sent Councilwoman Allen a present. Councilman Price. And then councilman super now. Councilwoman Mango. Speaker 5: Here. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Sara present. Councilmember Durango. Speaker 3: Present. Speaker 0: Councilman Austin. Your Vice Mayor Richardson. Mayor Yeah. Speaker 1: Thank you. And now we will take the vote, which will also be a roll call. Speaker 0: District one, district two I. District three. Speaker 5: I. Speaker 0: District four. District five. Speaker 5: By. Speaker 0: District six. I. District seven. I. District eight. By District nine. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Motion is carried. Eight zero. Speaker 1: Thank you. Now we're moving on to item 22, which is the charter committee recommendation.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to request City Attorney to prepare resolution to support fair and free union elections for Starbucks workers in Long Beach.

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Speaker 1: Thank you. Now we're moving on to item 22, which is the charter committee recommendation. Speaker 0: Report from city manager recommendation or request the mayor to convene the Charter Amendment Committee of the City Council within 30 days to discuss placing a city charter amendment before the voters to merge the existing water, sewer and gas utilities into a single publicly owned utility citywide. Speaker 1: Mr. Modica. Yes. So this is the very start of a process that's going to have a lot of discussion. We are proposing that you begin the process of a charter amendment to explore this concept of moving together to a different utilities that are in two different departments into one consolidated. We have a short presentation for you. We will be getting much more into the detail on this when we start having the Charter Amendment Committee hearings. But I will turn it over to Chris Gardner to walk us through it. Speaker 2: Thank you, Tom. What we're proposing tonight is a concept that the leaders of the utilities have contemplated for over 75 years the consolidation of the water, sewer and natural gas utilities within one city department. Tonight's vote would formally start the lengthy public process to consider putting this concept before the Long Beach voters in November of this year . Today, the city charter separates the operation, management and oversight of the natural gas utility from that of the water and sewer utilities. Article 14 governs the water utility and Article 15 governs the gas utility. In California, Long Beach is the only large city with multiple utilities that separately operates, manages and oversees the utilities. Some examples of cities with consolidated utilities taking full advantage of economies of scale and flexibility. Resource sharing include. Los Angeles. San Francisco. San Diego. Pasadena. Glendale, Burbank. Anaheim, Riverside and Palo Alto. Two important actions that brought us to this point tonight. The Board of Water Commissioners last week unanimously approved a request of the city, the city council, to consider seeking voter approval of a charter amendment to consolidate the city's utilities. Secondly, the staff has successfully completed the necessary meet and confer process with the impacted labor associations. If eventually approved by the voters in November, the charter would be changed to create a single article in the charter governing water, sewer and natural gas service. It would move the gas references of Article 15 into Article 14, which governs the water department, and would thirdly provide that the utilities would be all overseen by the existing five member Board of Water Commissioners, likely renamed as the Board of Utilities Commission. As mentioned earlier, tonight's vote would be only the first step of several before any final decision is made to place this concept on the November ballot. Tonight is an action to refer this to the Charter Amendment Committee for consideration. The committee would convene two public hearings, one in mid-June and one in mid-July, at which time staff will provide a much more detailed presentation and at which time the public can participate and provide input. After the second hearing, the City Council would then vote in August regarding the possible placement of the utility consolidation on the November 8th ballot for the voters to make the final determination. That concludes my report. I'll be happy to answer any questions. Thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you. I need a motion in a second on this item, please. I do have Councilman Pryce. Speaker 5: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I'm happy to motion it. And I do have a couple of questions for Mr. Gardner. So, you know, we've gotten a lot of public input over the last week on this item. And can you talk a little bit about the cost? Are there efficiencies to be had with this? And can you expand on those? Speaker 2: Certainly, there's any time you could mine the utilities. What you have to do is respect the differences because there's obviously differences between water and natural gas. But you also want to take full advantage of the like services and operations that we have. So we both have many operations that are duplicative. We have pipeline replacement. We have engineering. We have accounting, admin, human resources, payroll, all duplicated between the two different departments. And so the idea, as with every other major city in California that has dual utilities, we combine the two under one roof and take advantage of those economies of scale. And with that, you would save money and do things much more efficiently. We would have similar policies to that. We have different policies between gas and water. You would have the and I'll talk a little bit more about this later on when we go through the process, but you'll have much more transparency with the board of Commissioners taking a look at a utility focused take on everything related to the utilities. Speaker 5: Okay. So is there going to be a cost saving? Speaker 2: We had an independent study done in 2020. It was done by a company called Beebe, and he headed by Marci Edwards, who you may be familiar with. She was the city manager of the city of Anaheim. She also led the utilities, the consolidated utilities in Anaheim and Los Angeles. Her group did a study, and they estimated the first year about two and a half million dollars in savings escalating to about six and a half million by year five. Now, obviously, that that there's a lot of work has to be done before those savings can be materialized. But it was very encouraging. Speaker 5: We increase that? Do we expect any increase in costs in while we build up the process to have cost efficiencies realized. Speaker 2: We shouldn't from the standpoint that the the demand for services stays the same between the gas and water and sewer utilities. But we would certainly try and resource things. So we would be taking a look at doing what water does. Will we do? I'll make sure that gas follow suit and vice versa. And so there may be areas where we could expand, if appropriate, is a way that we could improve services to the customers. We would expand, but for the most part, we'd be looking at being more efficient and trying to reduce costs. Speaker 5: Okay. Are there any job losses associated with this consolidation? Speaker 2: No. What we've promised to the labor unions is that no one would lose their job. Any current city employee through this consolidation, what we'd be looking at doing is reducing any positions over time through through normal attrition. So just like today, when we have a vacancy that materializes because of a retirement or a transfer or someone goes to another job, we take a look at that position. We decide whether to fill it as it was filled before, repurpose it or eliminate the position. And so we would do the same thing over time, but no one would regard. Speaker 5: Okay. Thank you. And in regards to the timing of this, you know, some folks have reached out, whether accurate or not, but but tying this proposal and the timing of it to the measure and lawsuit, is there any correlation at all between the two? Speaker 2: No. As as I've said, we've looked at this and talked about it for at least four years. Seriously. It was looked at probably about ten years ago. I know it was looked at 20 years ago. Has been talked about for 75 years. This is something that we've wanted to do for many, many years. It's just a quirk that the city charter has it under two different governance. And so it made it much more difficult to combine the two. But we've been working with the city manager and his team to try and make this happen. So it has absolutely nothing to do with the measure in lawsuit. Speaker 5: Okay. And then just finally, I know it's mentioned in the agenda item itself, but what are we exactly voting on tonight so that it's clear? Speaker 2: So this would just be an item for the city council to refer this to the Charter Amendment Committee for consideration. And then the Charter Amendment Committee would take it up and decide whether to have the two public hearings in June and July. And then from that point, the amendment committee would take it to the city council in August for a final determination whether to place it on the ballot in November. So this is tonight's really just the first step. Speaker 5: Okay. And so ultimately the consolidation issue is not going to be decided by this council. Ultimately, if it goes through the process, it'll be decided on by the voters. Speaker 2: Absolutely. It's a charter amendment. Speaker 5: Great. Thank you so much, Mr. Gardner. Appreciate it. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you for having motion by Councilwoman Pryce. And consider your anger comes from your anger. Speaker 3: Thank you, Mary. And I want to thank you, Chris, for bringing this forward. It's been a long time coming. As a former city employee who used to work in civil service, I was always wondering why did I have to conduct two different tests, which is basically the same for two different departments? And that really brings up the issue about consolidation re necessary and where they both basically do cross each other in regards to the work that they do. You left off customer services, the service reps who do the exact same work. So I see that the time is well, there's never a good time. I mean, timing is everything. But, you know, there's always an opportunity for bringing this forward. And I think it is about time that we are looking at this consolidation. I'm glad to support it. Thank you. Speaker 2: Thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you. Vice Mayor Richardson. Speaker 2: Thanks. I just want to note and thanks for brief my office a number of times and I got the answers to a number of my questions. I'm glad to hear that the current workforce won't be laid off as a part of this process. That's important and I think efficiencies are certainly important. I will raise today what I raised with you in our discussion is that as we do see savings, it's important to understand how you plan to reinvest those savings. Are we going to put more money into ensuring that our our infrastructure is strong in the utilities? Are we going to put money back into the pockets of ratepayers? Are we going to invest in community benefits? San Francisco does the community benefits program and their utility and the number of other municipal utilities sort of reimagine what their commitment to the community is. And it's not just providing utilities. Sometimes it's job pipelines, training pipelines into STEM jobs for schools and education. So if we have savings, we should think about how we can completely re-imagine the role of this this new department. So I look forward to additional conversations at the charter committee. Thank you. Thank you. All right. So is there any public comment on this item. Speaker 3: At this time, if you'd like. On this item, Governor Richardson. Speaker 5: I could as well, but I didn't do that. Speaker 2: Okay. Yeah, you just got to hand it over to me right now. Council Member. Speaker 5: No, I actually want to add to the comments that you made about the event that I spoke with Chris Gardner last week. And one of the areas I see of opportunity is that with this consolidation, when development is happening in our city and any user added or new construction is added. I would love to see a program where now that gas and water are consolidated. We want people to conserve water and we want people in low income communities to have low gas and water bills. And one of the ways that we can support that is by metering every unit. When you meet your every unit, you're incentivizing everyone to. Be be cautious of the utilization and usage. And so with that, I just hope that when we find these things, we'll find those apexes where it makes a lot of sense to reinvest in our low income communities and in the renter population and invest in so that the landlords are really in a position to make those allowances available, to add those additional opportunities at each facility so that renters can own their own destiny and not be on the food, water and fuel meter. So I look forward to that opportunity as well and I'm very supportive of that. I'm glad we're finding a way to save money and save resources while still maintaining our workforce and reducing the burden on our employees of overtime so they can spend quality time with their families. Speaker 2: Fantastic. Thank you. Councilmember Sugano, I think you just said one question for Mr. Garner. An article over the weekend stated that the commission would be called the Public Utilities Commission, and that's not what was indicated in your presentation. Has that decision been made or is that still up for grabs or what's the latest that's still up for grabs? I think there may be some confusion with the California Public Utilities Commission, so we want to be careful about that. So we have to consider that when we do the naming of the commission. So that's certainly up in the air and open for suggestions. Okay. Thank thank you. Thank you. That satisfies council comment. Is there any public comment. Speaker 3: At this time? If you'd like to speak on this item, please line up and from the podium. And if you're in the Zoom meeting, please use the recent feature or they'll start now and that will begin with in person. You have 3 minutes so I can face six district residents with respect to Mr. Garner's presentation of the three cities that he mentioned. There is not a single study that statistically proves what he's talking about. Consolidation and economies of scale do not. There is no proof that a consolidated public utilities has been led to cost saving, and there's no studies in the public, to my knowledge. We don't want monopolization of our public utilities. There needs to be an independence and disconnect between them. There's a reason that that was in the charter. When this comes to the ballot, I will vote against it just like many people will. If we live literally 20 miles away from the DWP gangsters and the transparency, the countless tens of millions and hundreds of millions of dollars that they've cost the city of Los Angeles and countless lawsuits, I don't know why we would see the model of that Chinatown and Cadillac Desert and all the pop culture references to why this is a bad idea and then say, hey, let's do that here. Like it. It doesn't work. It doesn't work. The stats the statistics show that it doesn't work. There is no proof that it leads to cost saving. When you consolidate in this in this had this hybridization of the utilities, when you consolidate them in, it actually works against, you know, there's momentary cost increases that then become perpetual.

Agenda Item

Supplemental Memorandum - Corrections and/or additions to the City Council Agenda as of 12:00 noon, Friday, May 13, 2022.

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Speaker 2: Thank you as the emotions are second here. You know this isn't the item on the screen. Can we pull up item 26 on the screen? There is motions that can police. Thank you. Any public comment on this? Speaker 4: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on item 26 in person, please line up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine now. See none. That concludes public comment. Speaker 2: Thank you. No staff report is requested here. Councilman Austin, Miranda, anything? Speaker 7: Well, I want a staff report. I think this is very good news that we need to make sure that our public knows about. Speaker 2: Mr. Gardner, will the staff report? Certainly. So as you know, with Measure M in the court settlement, there were three components. One was a refunding of $9 million within 30 days to the water fund. Our water board took the action to return that money to the ratepayers as quickly as possible. We did that through a approval of a $100 per customer credit. Another component of that is we were told to we will receive $21.8 million back from the general fund within six months, hopefully sooner. And our board last week approved returning that money also to the rate payers. And so that will be done on the basis of meter size. And so larger customers will receive a larger credit. Smaller customers will receive a smaller credit. That will probably take place sometime in the July time period. The third and final component of the settlement or the lawsuit was we need to remove from our budget in error rates anything related to measure. M So right now in our rates, we collect money that goes towards the measure. AM Transfer to the general fund. With the lawsuit, we that has to stop. And so we're taking that component out of our rates going forward. And so that would be the equivalent of reducing our rates by 2.54% going forward. So that will be from I think it's April 25th. It'll go into effect June 1st and it will go through the end of the year. Then when we do our budget for FY 23, we will obviously have no measure m costs associated in our revenue collection. So the rates will reflect that. Great. Thank you. Can't say enough. Speaker 7: Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Gardner, for that detailed explanation of this item. You know, obviously, we come to the to this with mixed emotions, but we're doing, I think, the right thing by my returning. Turning the money back to the ratepayers. And so, you know, the courts have decided and we're moving forward accordingly. I think this is a responsible move on behalf of the water commission. Thank you. Speaker 2: Thank you. Councilmember, you want to go further? All right. I don't see any hands, virtually anything. Okay. I'll just say I concur here, and I think timing is incredibly important. And at least we have resolution to this controversy before we move forward with a major change to both of the utility departments. So I think I think timing is key here. Thank you so much. And may public comment on this. Speaker 4: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on this item in person, please line up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine now. See. Now, that concludes public comment. Speaker 2: Thank you. Let's have a roll call vote. Speaker 0: District one, district two I, district three. Speaker 5: I. Speaker 0: District four. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: District five I. District six I. District seven I. District eight. Speaker 7: Hi. Speaker 0: District nine. Speaker 2: Hi. Speaker 0: Motion is carried. Speaker 2: All right. Now we'll move to general public comment. Any members of the public would like to address the city council. Now be the time. All right. Seeing none. Right here. Okay. Come on. Forward. All right. Thank you. You have 3 minutes.

Emergency Ordinance

Recommendation to declare ordinance approving approving Resolution No. WD-1441A, A Resolution of the City of Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners Establishing the Rates and Charges to be Charged For Water and Sewer Service and declaring the urgency thereof, and providing that this ordinance shall take effect at 12:01 a.m. on June 1, 2022, read and adopted as read. (Citywide)

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Speaker 0: Thank you. We do have some funds transfer items that were in the consent calendar item. Those were 16, 18, 20, 32 and 34. Believe with those. We take those separate to traditionally and so just want to motion in a second for those. Did you want to read those? Speaker 2: Madam Court Item 16 is a communication from Councilwoman Manga recommendation to increase appropriations by 3000 to provide a donation to the La Cerritos Neighborhood Association to support their annual summer concert series at Los Reedus Park. Item 18 is a communication from Vice Mayor Richardson recommendation to increase appropriations by $500 to provide a donation to City Heart. Item 20 is a communication from Councilman Austin. Recommendation to increase appropriations by $5,000 to provide a donation to the Long Beach Partners of Parks in support of the Long Beach Juneteenth celebration. Item 32. Is a communication from Councilman Super, not Councilwoman Price recommendation to increase appropriations by $2,000 to provide a contribution to the Rancho Los Alamitos for the Cottonwood Awards luncheon. And item 34 is a communication from Councilwoman Sauro recommendation to increase appropriations by $2,000 to support the Buddhist temple for the Long Beach. The Scar de. That concludes the funds transfers and there's no public comment on these items. Speaker 0: Thank you. I do have a comment by Councilman Mongo. Speaker 7: Thank you. Specifically, my agenda item related to an opportunity to do a concert in the park on a Friday at La Cerritos Park is part of a continued effort to build up and better, better understand the demographics and volume of attendance that we could receive if we move the municipal band to Fridays. And so in a partnership with the Low Cerritos Neighborhood Association, we're putting forward these funds to explore what a Friday night concert would look like versus the typical Wednesdays, and to see if that has a better following so that if that is the case, we would be able to potentially bring in additional funding for the municipal band on a long term basis. This has been a priority of understanding how to best fund and maintain the municipal band into eternity. And to be able to do that, we have to take some risks. And so I appreciate the listeners Neighborhood Association for joining me in this great opportunity. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilwoman Sara. Speaker 8: Thank you. I wanted to speak on the Long Beach for Saturday. This is the first time we're doing it in Long Beach. And this is a sacred day to Buddhists, millions of Buddhists all over the world. And we'll be doing it here on the terrace on May 15 to bring together all of the Buddhists in the city of Long Beach, to honor the day, to commemorate the birth of Buddha and birth enlightenment, death and his passing into Nirvana. And this has been recognized by the United Nations as an important day. Thank you very much. Speaker 0: Thank you. Councilmember Austin. Speaker 3: Thank you. I've also have a transfer item up. To celebrate or to help us celebrate the Juneteenth celebration. As many of you know, last year I brought forward the resolution that was unanimously passed by the council to identify, celebrate Juneteenth as a day of celebration in the city of Long Beach. I had the opportunity of working with Connie Olden, who was no longer with us, and John Malvo and many folks in the central area. When we first started the Juneteenth celebration here in the city of Long Beach, Juneteenth celebration and MLK celebration were always the vision was always to to grow that celebration and to expand to two areas where the entire city could enjoy. And so the downtown this year, the Juneteenth celebration is going to be at Rainbow Lagoon that I think fulfills a dream and a vision of many years ago. And I expect that to be a great celebration. So thank you very, very much and ask for your approval. Speaker 0: Thank you. There's no other comment on these items. And so we will I believe there was no public comment. And so we will go ahead and cast her votes. Speaker 2: Motion is carried.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $2,000 offset by the Sixth Council District One-Time District Priority Funds transferred from the Citywide Activities Department to support the Khemara Buddhikaram Buddhist Temple for the Long Beach Vesakha Day; and Decrease appropriations of the Sixth Council District One-time District Priority Funds in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $2,000 to offset a transfer to the City Manager Department.

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Speaker 0: Thank you. We're going to go ahead and go right into item 23, please. Speaker 2: Report from Economic Development. Recommendation to execute an agreement with ASEM Global for Management of the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center, District one. Speaker 0: Thank you. And before we begin, Councilwoman Allen, I. Speaker 4: Yes, I have to recuse myself with this item. I live within 500 feet of the convention center. Speaker 0: Thank you. There is a motion in a second, but I want to start off, of course, by doing the staff report. Speaker 1: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. We do have a staff report. This is a very significant item. The council has been really involved in this through some closed session negotiations, and we're really happy to be here for an open presentation on a lease amendment. We have been for the past several months looking to really reposition our convention center, our arena, our theater, and really, you know, take even more steps beyond the amazing facility that it is today, modernizing the agreement and achieving some key goals. So we're really happy to be here. It's been a very good negotiation and I think it's been beneficial for both parties. And we're looking for a long term, ten year agreement for your approval tonight. So I will turn it over to Gianni Vallejo, our acting director of economic development, to walk us through the details. Speaker 9: Thank you. Good evening. Honorable Mayor and council members. Simon is intended to provide details. As Tom noted, I've negotiated terms for the management of the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center. Start off with a little background. The original agreement from 1991 was a spectacle management group, which subsequently became SMG. In 2019, AG Facilities and SMG merged to become ASEM Global, the largest convention and entertainment venue management company in the world. The current agreement is set to expire September of next year, and while the original agreement has served the center well, it's provided for expansion, improvement and flexibility. Many of the existing terms and fee structure are outdated. The agreement lacks incentive for key priorities and lacks performance measures more consistent with modern center management agreements. In June of 2021, Edison Global submitted an unsolicited proposal to, among other things, extend the term of the existing agreement with direction from council staff of engage with Anthem RSM Global to update and modernize the agreement. First, we negotiated with ASM Global for a relatively short term, a seven year extension through 2029 with a three year option to extend. This gets us through the Olympic Games but does not overextend and provides the city the opportunity to reevaluate the agreement at that time. These revised terms would commence on October 1st, 2022, to accommodate the fiscal year. The base management fee will be set at $500,000 annually with CPI increases. This is an almost $1.5 million reduction in the current base fee. A committee consisting of City, ASEM, Global and CVB representatives will convene annually to develop an annual operating plan to assist in establishing benchmarks, capital improvement priorities and key performance indicators. RSM Global will provide $7 million immediately in direct funding to Citi for urgent capital improvement items and another 3 million if a three year option is exercised. ESM Global will incorporate the use of a mobile based survey tool to measure visitor and user experiences across all venues and event spaces. Annually and prior to each fiscal year, the committee will meet to assess and recommend weightings for financial and performance based benchmarks for a fixed pool incentive program. The purpose here is to incentivize the city's financial, operational and booking priorities. A special revenue incentive provision would provide financial incentive for new and special revenue generation. This would only be paid after city receives 100% of established financial benchmarks. This incentive is only available for new revenue and goes away if and when revenue is established as an ongoing revenue source. This may include development of new food and beverage or special events outlets. It's m global will continue its commitment to labor relations through labor, peace and collective bargaining agreements. And the city will be afforded the opportunity to review and provide input on key facilities. Staffing changes. In addition to already established to the already established City Free Youth Program supporting large citywide events, ASM Global will now provide a Community Free Youth Program providing up to 100 hours of free youth for small community based meetings and gatherings. ASEM Global will establish a $350,000 annual marketing fund to increase by 5% annually, which will include diversity, specific outreach and marketing efforts. And finally, the city retains the option to develop the elephant lot during the term of the amended agreement, and ASEM Global is committed to working with the city to accommodate preparations for the upcoming Olympic Games . Here we have a brief summary of the proposed benchmarks, KPIs that would be tracked and measure to ensure city priorities are structural lies and that performance standards are set for ASM Global. There are also these are also the goals ASEM Global would need to meet to access the fixed pool incentive. Broadly, these categories would include operational and financial performance, community benefit and venue activation goals, and they would include priorities such as revenue in revenue achievement, visitor satisfaction, energy efficiency, diversity, equity, inclusion, and venue booking goals, among others. One area of distinct interest from council was looking at the possibility of utilizing venues for more commercial and entertainment uses . In particular, the Arena Pacific Ballroom has been majority utilized to support conventions and trade shows. The city here would provide a booking plan for ASM Global to work towards as part of its fixed pool incentive as the venue requires updating to Bette to better accommodate entertainment functions. These goals would be developed pre and post capital investment. The proposed initial arena booking goals would be in years. One through four city would set a goal of 30% or more for commercial and entertainment bookings for years five through ten after improvements are made, such as updated seating and concessions at the arena. That booking goal would increase to 50% or more for commercial and entertainment bookings. It's some global has continued to work on programs to benefit the center even during the prolonged COVID closure. Some of the new special revenue programs at the center include participation in the ASEM Global Sponsorship Network, estimated to result in $200,000 in new revenue annually . And a new Ticketmaster exclusive agreement estimated to result in $400,000 in new revenue annually. Even during COVID as and Global has continued to develop revenue opportunities for the center. And despite the uncertainty of the industry, they are willing to make substantial investment to continue as our partner at the Long Beach Convention Entertainment Center. And lastly. Just a brief reminder that the center has substantial facility investment needs and there is a potential to utilize ASM Global's capital investment payment, along with any stronger net position resulting from this agreement to fund a broader capital investment effort. Any consideration of financing or debt service would be evaluated with the Council at a later date. So we believe these terms represent an updated agreement that provides for increased revenue to the city, more accountability for the operator, and incorporation of city council priorities. Thank you. And this concludes my staff report. Speaker 0: Thank you very much. Let's go ahead and do public comment first and then we will go back to the council. And then we have four members that have signed up. And Madam, quickly want to read those four names and then we'll go from there. Speaker 2: Can the following people please line up? Bob McClintock said Ramani. Nikki Claire and Todd Lummis. Speaker 5: Right. Speaker 2: You have 3 minutes. Speaker 1: Mr. Mayor. Members of the council, I want to thank you very much. My name is Bob McLintock and executive vice president of Convention Service, Race and Global. And I'm here on behalf of the entire company. And Ron Benson, our president. I'm here to actually direct three. Thank you. First, I want to thank this body here. We are so fortunate in Long Beach to have an engaged council and mayor and what we do and the thousands of people who make their living in the hospitality industry. Thank you for that. Because without that, we could not have the lives that we have. The second group of people I want to take a moment to thank are the men and women who work at the Convention Center itself. Their work over the past two years has been unbelievable. The challenges they face, the way they've stepped up. And and I know that they are excited to be able to continue to serve the customers that come to Long Beach. In particular, I want to take a moment to thank Charlie Byrne. Some of you may know Charlie and I go way back to our days in the city. He came here on what I call the Gilligan's Island tour. I asked him to come here for six months to help me. That was 11 years ago. He has agreed to take a promotion with us to move to Fort Lauderdale. He's going to take on two very important jobs there. One, of course, is being the regional vice regional general manager of the convention center there and in Fort Lauderdale. And the second is to be closer to his impending grandchild. The last person I want to thank and I have to do this is Steve Goodling. I'm very fortunate and blessed in my career to be able to travel the world and work with convention centers and destinations all around the world. Nowhere do I see a partnership with our destination marketing organization and the vision and commitment that Steve has brought to this and his willingness to work with us to create that unique product that is Long Beach is really, I think, what makes this community so special. So thank you all and thank you for your time. Good evening, Mr. Mayor and council members. My name is Sid Romani and I'm the area general manager for Hyatt Hotels overseeing the Hyatt centric and the Hyatt Regency. Thank you for supporting the Convention Center. It is such a big part of our local community and the center of our hospitality hospitality community. As you know, the Hyatt Regency is connected to the convention center. In my 24 years of working with Hyatt. I have never seen a strong and effective relationship between the Convention Center and CVB, as I have here in Long Beach. I think through the site inspections around Bryan Brothers, the ACP site, and to see all the stakeholders and the community come together to try and attract this business to Long Beach is truly phenomenal. Their hard work and collaboration bring thousands of guests to our hotels every year. Thank you for keeping our award winning teams at the Center and CVB together for succeeding Long Beach. I also have some friends in the audience that would like to stand up and show their appreciation. So thank you so much for your support. Speaker 7: Good afternoon, Mayor Garcia and council members. My name is Nikki. Eloise, Iris Claire. I am the owner of George's Greek Café, along with my family. We have been in the Long Beach community for over 42 years and have been in business in Long Beach for over 22 years. First, I want to thank you for your support for the team at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center. These events are a huge part of our business and I know we've always realized it, but didn't realize how much until this pandemic hit us and saw how significantly this affected our business. Actually, since the pandemic, these past couple of months are the first that we've had, two that are in the positive. So thank you to the convention center. It's a big, big part of it. I just want to reinforce how important the center is to our organization, to our businesses, to our local businesses, to our restaurants, to our hotels. The CVB and convention teams have been an integral part of our success, and they have been incredibly supportive of us. And thank you for your continued support as well. Speaker 1: Good afternoon, mayor garcia and members of the council. I'm todd limits. I am a founding partner of pacific six enterprises as well as Ocean Center and Breakers Development. But today, I stand before you as the chairman of the Board of the Convention and Visitors Bureau. In that position, I've had a unique front row seat to see how Steve Goodling and the CVB interact in a truly symbiotic relationship with the three legs of the stool that is the convention industry. It's the CVB, the Convention and Entertainment Center, and the the hospitality community in general. I say it's a symbiotic relationship. As. As somebody who's. Who's been around the block a few times, you never see such an unbelievably good relationship with any member of that that triumvirate of entities. No one ever says no. We all work together. No one no one comes at this self-interested. We regularly win conventions from from larger and fancier convention areas San Francisco, Las Vegas, San Diego, Anaheim. And we do it by all coming out together, rallies, the troops, the folks from the Convention and Entertainment Center from SMG Global. All come together. We get we get community members together. We had a gathering recently for the NAACP council members. Mayor Garcia showed up. And it's really just a winning, winning combination. So I say as the as the the chair of the CVB and as a community member and a very eminent member of the of the hospitality and hotel industry, we couldn't be more grateful and more supportive of of keeping the band together and keeping this wonderful relationship continuing. Thank you all very much. Speaker 2: That concludes public comment. Speaker 0: Thank you. That concludes our our comment. We will come back to the council. Let me just go ahead and go to the council. Then I'll close and say some comments. Compliments in the house. Speaker 6: Thank you, Mayor. I am so excited and so pleased with this agreement, with this contract with an ASEM Global. I think it's just been amazing all the work that you do, all the highlight that you bring to our city, you just shine a light on Long Beach so beautifully and you bring so many wonderful people to experience Long Beach. And that's something that we are so appreciative to, to you for. And it it works. It trickles down. And so, you know, I know I hear a lot of my small businesses in the community really, really embrace it when when they know that there's conventions in town because they are able to benefit from that. So thank you. Thank you for doing all the amazing work that you do all all of your workers. From the top to the bottom, from the bottom to the top. Everybody feels so special being part of this wonderful family. And so I'm just really excited to have you in my district, in District one, and really look forward to a really great relationship moving forward even better than we already have if you if that can even happen. But I'm really, really excited to do this and to be in this in this space with you guys. And again, thank you. Thank you. Thank you for bringing so many, so many people here to Long Beach. And really, you are one of our most valuable economic engines in the city and that we can't thank you enough for the wonderful way that you represent the city and the wonderful way that you treat people when once they get here. And I think that that's very, very important. Your your customer service is outstanding. And I'm just so, so very proud of you and so very proud to have you in our city. We are very lucky to have you. Speaker 0: Thank you, Vice Mayor Richardson. Speaker 1: Sure. I just want to chime in and, you know, thank our convention center, our CVB, RSM, really for being there for us. Over these past few years, it's been difficult time. Our downtown, our convention center, our tourism district was impacted by the pandemic. But you showed leadership despite that. Helping organize convention centers across the state to establish rules for reopening. When we saw a crisis on our border. You all stepped up and provided shelter to migrant children. And now, as we're charting our recovery and you're now presenting an agreement that you've come to terms with that positions us to explore new opportunities. That puts our city in a better position to slingshot out of this recovery. And so as we think back on this moment in our city and our city's history, you can't you can't think about this moment without acknowledging the incredible work that all of you did to help position our city for strong recovery. So I'm enthusiastic about this agreement. I look forward to the additional economic opportunities this will present of conventions and entertainment in our downtown. So congratulations, and I'm happy to support this motion. Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilman Mongo. Speaker 7: I was going to take the opportunity to thank each and every one of you for all that you're doing. Many of you who are downtown are still helping out the hotels that are downtown with your overflow and your support. And that's really important that we're a city as a whole working together. And I also want to thank how not just within one specific area, we have hotels and restaurants and the community all coming together. And that means a lot. It means a lot to the residents. And we appreciate you and being so inclusive. Thank you so much. Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilman Austin. Speaker 3: Thank you. I would like to just join in the chorus in congratulating our ACM and CVB for this agreement. I think this is going to definitely move us forward. This is a little bittersweet. It is sweet in that we are celebrating an agreement. It's a little bitter because we're losing a great asset and Charlie Burn. And so I want to just ask Charlie to stand up, put him on the spot. I know he's here somewhere. He's been an amazing partner for four years here. He's made our convention center a success. And the big part of that is because of the operations there. And I wish him the very best. And as he moves on to his next venture in sunny Florida, very nice. And you all are our best ambassadors to our city for our city here, the face of our city to conventions. I wish you many years of continued success. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Councilman Sorrell. Speaker 8: Yeah, it's just. I also want to add my support for the this item as well as renew the contract and just want to thank everyone so much for your hard work as we are entering this phase of important recovery and as we start to make sure people bring their business and activity to Long Beach and that we continue to demonstrate what we have to offer. And I think you do that well, and I hope that we can continue to diversify the kind of opportunities that people can have to do their events here. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. I think that's all the comments from the council. I'm just going to say a few comments. First is, I do want to, before we take the vote, just to congratulate everyone that's been involved in this incredible process. It's been actually quite a process, a lot of negotiation, a lot of really great conversation, great proposal. And I want to also just think our team at the city who, you know, oftentimes are the unsung heroes in getting this done. And I think, you know, Mr. Modica, you in the team did a great job of really getting this thing across the finish line. And I just want to thank thank them. I do want to also say, you know, to to just to some global to the whole team there. Of course, Bob, and thank you for being here. And you've been a phenomenal partner already. So this isn't this isn't a risk. This isn't some unknown, you know, new, new era we're going into. But this is a continuation and expansion of something that's already going really, really well. We're just very fortunate to have you all as part of the city team, our convention bureau business, our tourism business, our hotel and restaurant business is an incredibly important part of the success, not just of Long Beach, but the state of California and the entire region. We are blessed to have a great team. You're all here. Many of you were here. Thank you for all your hard work to bring folks to our city and and to allow folks an inside look at what makes a city so great and so special. I also just want to note, you know, these these votes and these decisions to go into these this new contract is actually a very significant deal. This is a huge contract. And it should be because it is essentially picking a partner that is going to be with us as we make investments, bring you folks and really lead tourism into the future. So it's a very big decision and I think we have the absolute right partner for us to do so and do this work in the future. You know, I'm looking forward to the investments into the facility. I'm looking forward to the investments that this contract makes into marketing, into making sure that our hotels are well resourced and have folks coming in to them, that the contract really focuses on bringing incredible events and experiences into Long Beach, into the spaces that we're going to reimagine, many of our spaces that is going to support our already thriving tourism and convention business. I'm particularly excited about the what's in this in this agreement to enhance the Terrace Theater and being able to bring the best shows, the best Broadway musicals, the best theater experience to folks in Long Beach. And a lot of us don't want to drive out to the Pantages every every few weeks that enjoy going to the theater. And so I think that those are things that I'm really looking forward to that I think are all in this agreement. I mean, and make the agreement really strong. We? We pushed really hard to get the best agreement for the people of Palm Beach. And I think this agreement reflects that. And so I just want to thank Bob, you again and your and your team, because I feel very confident that that we're going to be able to enhance an already stellar relationship with with with ASEM Global. And so thank you to all of you, especially to our man Charlie back there, who's been so phenomenal to us. And we've already shared with you that we'll miss you greatly, but we're really excited about the future. So thank you all for being here. We have a motion on the floor which by councilman's and day house invites me. Richardson. And please go ahead and cast your votes. Speaker 2: Motion is carried. Speaker 0: Great. Well, thank you all very much. We're going to move on now to thank you. I know that will be exiting. Thank you so much to everybody. We do have we're going to transition to our cannabis items now. So not a lot of folks here for that as well. I do have, I believe, three general public comments. Why don't we do those for those three folks and then we'll go right into item 28.

Contract

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute any and all documents necessary to enter into an agreement with ASM Global, of Conshohocken, PA, for management of the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center, located at 300 East Ocean Boulevard. (District 1)

LongBeachCC

LongBeachCC_05102022_22-0515

Speaker 0: Thank you very much. That concludes the Open General Comment section. So we're going to move on to item 28, which is an ordinance and I know there's a staff presentation on it. So we will go ahead and have the item read and then move on to staff. Speaker 2: Report from City Manager Recommendation to clear ordinance relating to the regulation of Cannabis Retail, Storefront Business License and the Cannabis Social Equity Program. Read the first time and later to the next regular meeting of the City Council for Final Reading and to adopt a resolution to establish a request for proposals for cannabis retail storefronts citywide. Speaker 1: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. This is an item that came from the Council to provide direction to bring additional dispensaries for equity applicants to the Council for consideration. There's been a lot of work, a lot of research and a lot of outreach. And I will turn it over to Emily Armstrong to walk us through this fairly complex presentation of a very important subject. Thank you, Emily. Speaker 2: Thank you. All right. So good evening, honorable mayor and members of the city council. Tonight, I'm happy to present to you the equity dispensary ordinance and resolution for your approval. So to provide some history on this item. In October of last year, the City Council directed staff to prepare an ordinance allowing up to eight new dispensary licenses to be issued to verified equity applicants. The City Council directed staff to focus on a merit based RFP process that did not include a lottery to select the eight applicants eligible for a license, as well as expand the Green Zone for dispensaries in Long Beach by reducing certain sensitive use buffers. In addition, the City Council also directed staff to prepare an ordinance to allow equity delivery businesses in the city. That ordinance will be presented to the City Council after the zoning amendment has been approved by the Planning Commission in the next few months. So to start, I will be providing an overview of the key provisions in the Equity Dispensary Ordinance. To prepare the ordinance and resolutions staff researched best practices and consulted other cities, as well as held discussions internally and with equity applicants in the program. The outreach to equity applicants included an online survey, an in-person interactive workshop and an in-person town hall meeting. The key pieces of the ordinance include adding up to eight new dispensary licenses issued to equity applicants, which will be selected through a competitive RFP process. These dispensary licenses will be able to hold both a medical and adult use license, similar to the existing 32 dispensary licenses. Lastly, to expand the Green Zone for these dispensaries, staff has identified buffer amendments to certain sensitive uses as part of the expansion. Staff is recommending a six month moratorium on the existing 32 dispensaries being able to move locations into a newly expanded Green Zone area to allow the equity dispensaries time to find a viable location without additional potential competition. The buffers that are being reduced in the ordinance include buffers for schools, parks and beaches. However, these will be replaced by buffers for playgrounds and community centers, which will continue to buffer cannabis dispensaries from some parks and beaches in the city. Continuing our focus on the equity dispensaries, I would now like to discuss the resolution which establishes the guidelines and procedures for how the eight equity dispensary applicants will be selected through the RFP process. The intent of the RFP process is to create a fair and equitable process that utilizes criteria that evaluates the ability for the applicant or applicants to successfully apply for and operate a dispensary in Long Beach. To be eligible for the RFP process, you must either be a current verified equity applicant in the equity program or you must qualify for the equity program under the eligibility criteria that is in place as of the date that the RFP is advertised. Individuals that are not currently in the program will be able to submit their verification application documents along with their proposal for the dispensary license. If an individual meets the equity program eligibility criteria, they will be verified as an equity applicant during the RFP process by staff from the Office of Cannabis Oversight. If an individual does not meet the equity program eligibility requirements, their proposal will be deemed non-responsive and they will be disqualified from the RFP. Proposals may be submitted by one applicant or a group of equity applicants. However, no individual may be identified in more than one proposal. In addition, only one equity applicant per household may submit a proposal. The RFP will be reviewed and scored by a panel similar to a traditional RFP. However, members of the panel will be voluntary, anonymous and will not consist of panelists from Long Beach. Panelists will consist of individuals who have expertize in economic or business development, involvement in social equity matters, and or cannabis business regulators in another jurisdiction. The panelists will be selected by members of the Economic Development Department to reduce any bias in the process. The proposals will be evaluated by the panelists based on the categories you see on the screen. The specific evaluation criteria is currently being developed by staff from the Office of Cannabis Oversight, Financial Management and Economic Development and will not be made public until after the RFP process has concluded. As part of the RFP, applicants must also certify in their proposals that they will remain equity owned and will not transfer ownership to a non equity business for a period of five years from the issuance of the dispensary business license, as well as certify that they will obtain the license within three years from the date they are selected to move forward in the licensing process. Now that we've gone through the guidelines, I would like to walk through the steps of the RFP process. So first staff will conduct a stakeholder meeting to provide details on the RFP process, go over how to submit proposals and answer any questions applicants may have about the process. Next, the RFP will be posted on the city's procurement portal for 30 days, where applicants can submit their proposals. Unlike a traditional RFP, this RFP will pose questions and include response fields to make it easier for equity applicants to submit their proposals. Then once all proposals have been submitted and the submission period is closed, staff from OCA will evaluate the applicant's eligibility in the equity program. Individuals that do not provide the appropriate documents and who do not meet the eligibility criteria will be disqualified from the process. Anybody who does qualify will be able to move forward. For those that are deemed eligible, their proposal will be forwarded to the panelists for review and scoring, using the evaluation criteria and rubric established by staff. Scores will be compiled by OCO staff and the 16 proposals with the highest scores will move on to the interview phase of the RFP. They will be interviewed by the RFP panel using standardized questions to gauge their fitness to open and operate a dispensary. The RFP panel will then select the top eight equity applicants using a forest ranking process. Once the top eight are selected, the city will post the intent to award at least ten days before the award is made. Applicants who are not selected are able to submit a protest with the city's purchasing agent, who will evaluate the protest to verify if there is merit. Once the protest period has concluded, the eight equity applicants awarded will be able to move forward in the dispensary licensing process. During the RFP process, the equity applicant will not be required to have a property identified. Staff will assist and provide resources to the eight equity applicants to help find a viable location for their dispensary business. Once they have been awarded to move forward. This slide outlines the proposed timeline for the process. Staff anticipates releasing the RFP shortly after the ordinance takes effect in July, and the process is anticipated to take approximately 4 to 6 months to complete. The eight equity applicants will likely be selected around November to begin the licensing process. In addition to the equity dispensary process, the ordinance also outlined some updates to the equity program. So first off, is proposing to strengthen the equity program criteria to ensure the grants and assistance are provided to individuals most impacted by the war on drugs. Currently, individuals must have a family income below 80% of the area median income, and they either have to have lived in an eligible language census tract for at least three years or have a personal cannabis arrest or conviction. And up until July of last year, individuals could also qualify if they were currently receiving unemployment benefits in addition to meeting the income requirement. As you can see on the screen, under the current criteria, the majority of equity applicants have qualified under the residency criteria and or the unemployment criteria, and very few have qualified under the cannabis arrest or conviction requirement. Therefore, Staff is proposing to amend the equity program eligibility criteria to require individuals to have a family income below 80% of the army and to have lived in an eligible Long Beach census tract for at least five years. And to either have a personal cannabis arrest or conviction or have an immediate family member with a cannabis arrest or conviction. In addition to the eligibility criteria, the ordinance also includes a requirement that all equity businesses remain equity owned for a period of five years from the time they submit an application before they can transfer ownership to a non equity business as well as a one member per household policy. So that grant funds and assistance can be evenly distributed to applicants across the equity program. That concludes my report and I'm happy to answer any questions. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. And I just want to also just thank you and the staff for the presentation and the work to get us here. Another still council discussion and we want to hear from the public. Unless there is any objection, I'm going to have public comment and then we'll go back to the council. So we will read the first five members of the public who are set to speak, and then we'll do the next set. Just as a reminder for council rules, if ever we hit over ten people on any specific item, the 90 seconds gets gets gets hit because of the length of items. So as a reminder, I think there's there's a more than ten on this item as it probably will be for a few others. And so I'll turn it over to the clerk to get us through public comment. Speaker 2: Well, the first. Speaker 7: Five speakers, please line up first. Anthony Souza. Jovi. Davis. Eliot Lewes Sinai campaign and Tamika Boyce. You have 90. Speaker 5: Seconds. Speaker 1: Mr. Mayor, city council members, staff does a great job. You put together I know you guys been working really, really hard on it. We've been following it and it feels like we're getting a lot closer. First of all, my name is Anthony Souza, and I've been part of the city of Long Beach my whole life. I went graduated here from St Anthony's High School. I own businesses here. I own commercial, retail and residential properties here. My my kids live here. My grandkids live here. My nieces and nephews live here. So I've been part of this. I'm also currently an owner of a dispensary here in the city of Long Beach. I'm here today to briefly talk about the social equity program that's being considered. I have four points and that's it, I think. And the criteria should be as objective as possibly can. I feel is very important that the criteria as objective there should be not be a subjective inherent bias and be an objective that the applicant should have requirements which would include a minimum site location along with the business plan. I feel that it's hard and I went through the last application. Yeah, it's hard to qualify everybody and rank everybody. And I think the lottery is a very subjective way to process after. And so basically my second point is a lottery. If the applicants meet the requirements or applications would be eligible for a lottery when the eligible applicant. Speaker 7: Thank you. Speaker 1: What? I'm done. Okay. I didn't realize it so quick. Okay. Two more points and all. I won't. I won't go buffer zones. I think it should be a thousand feet from Kate K to 12 and 15, 1500 feet from dispensary. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Okay. Speaker 7: Jodi Davis. Hi, everyone. My name is Jovi. I am a social equity applicant that you're speaking about. I just want to bring to the council's attention the obstacles facing social equity applicants in the city when it pertains to lack of capital and obtaining in a location. There's currently 32 dispensaries in the city, and most of them are multi-location or multistate operators with deep pockets, and they have all of the prime locations in our city. And what I'm asking is for the city's assistance with helping social equity applicants differentiate ourselves from these other competitions. I'm asking that you grant us the exclusivity to host consumption events. I feel that there is a demand for that. I feel that people are asking for these things, and I feel that this is a way for us to connect with our community. I feel that it would bring in a lot of the tourism that you're looking for, for coming in the city. And I feel that this should be exclusive to social equity applicants. We oftentimes when we're looking to investors and we're asking them for money, they're asking us, well, how are you different from the competition? How are you different from the other 32 dispensaries in the city that have money? They had the location that have all of the the brand deals. And I think that being able to host events and connect with our community would be a great way for us to boost our businesses. So thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you. Speaker 7: Elliot Lewis. Speaker 1: Elliott Lewis, owner of Cannabis Cannabis Co. Look, you know, I can't get it all in a minute. Throw. Everybody who knows knows. Cannabis has been supporting this item since day one. So we're glad to see City Council move it through. I'm also really happy that we're moving on the tax issue. Great job. In addition to that, the letter to the state. I do want to say one thing. The cities are starting to move and that's great. And we're moving on social equity and we're moving on taxes. But at the end of the day, who's really sticking it to us is the state. And if we want to make any progress in this fight for cannabis businesses, not just social equity businesses get equal treatment under the law. We need to go down and chase down our state representatives. Senator Gonzalez needs to step up and get into this fight. Patrick O'Donnell needs to step up and get into this fight. The letter is a first step. I appreciate it. But if we move taxes from 8 to 6, we're going to take that entire hit. The state is the one that's oppressively taxing us. They have a $60 billion surplus and the taxes on cannabis is less than $1,000,000,000. It doesn't make any sense. We need equal treatment under the law. We need you guys to put the pressure on the state representatives. All this is great. I love Long Beach being progressive on cannabis. I tip my cap to everybody who's been involved that move this issue along. As you know, we support social equity. But none of this is going to work if we don't do the work at the state. They're the ones sticking it to the industry. Speaker 7: Will the next few speakers please line up? James Marx, Julien Xavier, Muriel Burrill, Nate Boles and Dmitri Woodard Sunday Campaign. Speaker 1: Um, I think a great staff presentation. I have to say respectfully, I don't know if the office of cannabis oversize appropriate administrator for this program. Um. Respectfully I think that it should be a DTI certified firm that is going to be run in that RFP panel. Um, economic development has some great people on the team, but I don't necessarily know if there's an equity lens inherent within that body. So if there is to be an emphasis on, you know, creating more opportunities for people that were being afflicted by the war on drugs, then I think we we as a city have to do a better job in actually facilitating that. We just had an applicant just so eloquently. She she, you know, brought forward the adversities that a lot of these businesses are dealing with. I would be curious to see or know how many people who have gone through the social equity program here in the city of Long Beach, who are a dispensary owner today or even in remaining in the cannabis space. I know for me in the six district we have a we already have a buffer zone being impacted by on the on the Pacific Avenue cultivation, people who are just across the street from YMCA. So I just think that if equity is to be taken serious, the city has to step up. Thank you. Speaker 2: To meet the. Speaker 7: Voice. Good evening, City Council. One of the things that I needed to get up and speak about after watching the resolution that Emily just presented is that we have to note one of the key points in it is that people will be allowed to enter into the RFP and the dispensary application process without being a verified social equity applicant on the front end. That absolutely flies in the face of every other social equity applicant who has been in this process since 2018, two current that have gone through the process and been waiting and trying to find the barriers and to lower the barriers to entry into to get into the business. I think it's absolutely ridiculous to even consider letting other people come and just jump the line. Now that there's an opportunity for retail dispensaries, additional retail dispensaries within the city, please reconsider that piece of the resolution. Thank you. James Marks. Speaker 5: The. Speaker 1: 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is an amendment to the United States Constitution that was adopted in 1868, granted citizenship, an equal set of civil and legal rights to African-Americans and enslaved people who have been emancipated after the Civil War. And it read Section one. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which celebrates abridge. The synonym is curtailed to less and reduce or decrease the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States. Nor shall any state deprive any persons of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor denied to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. So what we are asking under the Constitution of the United States, under the 14th Amendment, is an opportunity to play on an equal playing field, along with the immediate dismissal of Emily Armstrong, who was in Office of Inequity, due to her continued guardianship of past institutionalized racism and our current recent implementation of practices that are blatantly racist . And her disregard for the impact that the war jurors have had and still had on black communities in the city of Long Beach. We request someone who fully innocence the devastation of the war on black people in the black community here in the city of Long Beach. By removing Emily Armstrong from that office. We can surely start the journey of writing many wrongs by remaining true to the spirit of the unanimous City Council vote and other departments citywide acknowledging racism as a public health crisis. We can begin. And then can we? Only your time. Speaker 7: Thank you. Speaker 1: It all starts with accountability. With that comes a great deal of responsibility, which is the ability to respond. Speaker 5: Also, yes. The responsibility for. Speaker 0: Thank you very much, sir. Speaker 7: Gillian Merry. Jillian Xavier is next. Mary Ellen, speak first and then I'll go. Joanne, I'll go next. Thank you. Great evening, everyone, with giving all glory and honor to God. I have a letter here written by the LBC, which is a Long Beach social equity entrepreneurs, and that would be who was standing behind me this letter to notify the city of Long Beach and other authorities responsible for the licensing and regulation of social equity cannabis businesses in the city, that they are not in compliance with the previously written policies or the framework for reconciliation. We seek accountability and amendments to recent policies enacted by the Office of Cannabis Oversight regarding cannabis technical assistance, funding the regulation regarding who is eligible to apply, and privacy protection for the intellectual property of each applicant in the form of an NDA signed agreement. The US and the City of Long Beach have a history of racist policies and practices that have hurt black residents and other communities of color. The city of Long Beach is currently guilty of this ongoing practice. We are requesting a full independent investigation into the aforesaid and requesting additional amendments to your current policies and procedures that further exacerbate the progression of black people. Systemic racism occurs when institutions and organizations such as municipalities and government agencies and their officials adopt and maintain policies that routinely produce inequitable outcomes for people of color and advantages for white people such as past redlining and the current policies and procedures that are in place by the Office of Equity, which is also the Office of Inequity . Before I continue this letter, I want to address an elephant in the room. So we were at the town hall meeting and you guys said, Well, we're going to do changes to the equity grant program. We're going to go from 445 to 80000. Right. The question was asked them as Emily Armstrong, any applicant put in the application prior to April 1st, would they be grandfathered in? The woman repeated. The question that we asked disappeared for a week and came back and said, Oh, Jillian, you know, I misunderstood the question, but you repeated the question. You can't just insult us. We've been here since 2018, and you bring in other people to come. And do what? The application process for our dispensaries is closed. You've got more than enough. You got 40 people in the room. 32 people not going to make it. You got to give us a chance to make it. Give us what we need, and here's what we'll do in exchange. You give us the funding. In exchange, we will donate back into the program to help the next person. That's an even exchange of services, right? That makes more sense than having $1,000,000, giving ten people a hundred thousand and half a million to get into the business to a million. So ten people failed. That's ridiculous. That's a failing grade. That's a f. Speaker 5: You lied. Speaker 7: Thank you. Your tongue said get rid of her. For the next few speakers, line up. Jose Hernandez. Danielle Lopez. Carlos Cepeda. Speaker 1: Good evening. City Council members. My name is enables. I'm a social equity applicant here in the city of Long Beach and owner of the Good Smoke Company Cannabis brand based out of Long Beach. The city needs to get it together as far as social equity and creating a process to see these licenses through. We need to create a common sense approach and to continue the letter from my colleagues in the Long Beach. Social equity entrepreneurs matters such as current policies passed or not passed funding invested or not invested directly affect the quality of life in Long Beach neighborhoods that have been and are still being grievously targeted and impacted by such policies. Overpolicing and racism. All one has to do is a data check, a fact checked on the arrest and convictions when it comes to neighborhoods of color. Although cannabis is legal, it's almost as though being black is not, according to citywide data and statistics. On June nine, 2020, the Long Beach City Council engaged in earnest conversations about racism and unanimously declared racism as a public health crisis with the need to restore public trust in the city government and how to reconcile a gap in the experiences of impacted around black people within the current city policies, especially the black community. The City Council called upon city staff to prepare a report that would put the City Council in a position to enact policy and make decisions to change the system. The palpable, disrespected presented recently in city public meetings, city officials, especially those in the Office of Cannabis Oversight and a staff, is ethically and morally unacceptable. Speaker 0: Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir. Speaker 2: Demetrius. Speaker 1: Hi. My name is Demetrius Woodard, an original lottery winner back in 2010. And I can write a book. What Happened to us? We would like for you to open share use manufacturing of paper for equity applicants in addition to social equity delivery licenses. Immediately please revise grant application process to be less redundant and simplified for equity applicants as previously done to receive your funding without any delays, setbacks and or unnecessary repudiation while ensuring applicant protection with necessary privacy policies and NDAs in place if not a book. The City of Long Beach and its council in all other municipalities with its jurisdictional metropolis, are supposed to be aligned under these three key goals, according to the Framework for Reconciliation Goal number one within systemic racism in City of Long Beach and all local government and partner agencies to internal transformation, go to design and invest in community safety and violence prevention. GOAL three Improve health and wellness in the city by eliminating social and economic disparities in the communities most impacted by racism. The above goals and recommendations represent the LPC believes can be reasonably accomplished within the existing power and the governing authority of the City of Long Beach. Please make a motion to discuss and adopt and approve the above recommendations. Thank you. Speaker 7: You'll see. Speaker 1: Good evening, Mayor. Council members my name is Jay-Z Mendes. I'm the political director for Catalyst Care, which is the Community Service and Policy Advocacy Branch of Catalyst Cannabis Co. And I'm here to speak in favor of the three items that are here tonight. We've spoken about this issue before, folks. Many folks have spoken about this for months and years. And so I'm very happy to hear that this council is in unison in support of the three items, of course, lowering local cannabis taxes, making sure that we have a chance to fight against the black market and really have a chance to thrive. But of course, as was mentioned, the state taxes are really what's holding us under. They don't tax liquor like they do us. They don't tax oil like they do us. But for whatever reason, we're, you know, overtaxed. And so our rallying cry is this lowered taxes, higher access. And so I would definitely want to uplift Mary and the council members and their House and Councilmember Cindy Allen for championing these issues. You know, you're on the right side of this, and we thank you. And most importantly, the social equity applicant situation, our communities, Latino, black, brown communities, minority communities we would think were impacted by years and years. Folks are still in prison for something that affluent folks are benefiting from. So people that are in the game that are supporting social equity applicants, as we've been building up for this moment, to pass the ordinance to allow for more people to benefit from this, that's who we want to be with and that's what we uplift. And thank you so much. And please do the right thing. Thank you. Speaker 2: Carlos. Speaker 1: Oh. Good evening. Mayor and City Council. The city's slow action has contributed to the social equity dilemma by restricting the competition in line. Most of the non social equity dispensaries to build and protect the market power illegally. Current city ordinance aims at maintaining an operational footprint primarily, primarily limited licenses with high natural barriers to entry, resulting in a limited market participation which benefits, you guessed it, those resources. And again, we start in the back of the line. Given the significant diversity of the city's population, it is appalling that out of the 32 operating dispensaries in the city, not one is owned by a black, brown or Southeast Asian individual. We are better than that. This is not indicative of who we are as a city. Collectively, minorities are the backbone, foundation, soul, seasoning and energy of the city. While delivery licenses and social equity dispensaries are an acceptable start, it is far from equitable. A disparity will still exist. We must push ourselves and talk about licenses for cannabis consumption lounges and special events for social equity applicants. My only concern is who we deem Long Beach residents. Let's be more selective about who we consider. Three years of living in the city does not make you a Long Beach resident. I use myself as an example. Horace Mann. Jefferson Middle School. Wilson Reed. A continuation and to Cal State Universities to complete an undergraduate and graduate degree all while remaining a resident and active member. Speaker 7: Thank you. Speaker 1: All right. Thank you. Speaker 8: The last speaker is Danielle. Hello. My name is Danielle Lopez and I live. Speaker 2: In District one. I am a community and digital organizer for Catalyst Cares from Catalyst Cannabis Company. And like you, I'm here to work to help enrich the lives of our community. That's what Catalyst for Change is. I support Agenda Item 17, 28 and 33. Outrageous and unfair. State and local taxes are driving the cannabis industry to fall before it's given the chance to rise. Speaker 7: Because of high taxes, thousands of. Speaker 2: Union paying jobs with benefits will be gone. I support the social equity applicant program. There are hundreds of folks who are victims of the war on drugs. For years, when cannabis was illegal, that could have built generational wealth by creating and owning a stake in the legal cannabis industry. Speaker 7: Long Beach must move to right the wrongs of the past by giving more licenses. Speaker 2: To bipoc groups in retail for retail ownership. I once again call on my city to action and have lower taxes and higher access support social equity applicant ordinance and urge the state to lower the state cannabis tax. And thank you, Councilmember Cindy Allen and marrieds in the House for leading these initiatives for the people. Speaker 0: Thank you very much. I want to thank everyone that spoke on this item on on this, particularly on the social equity ordinance. And we also have two other additional cannabis items that we'll be hearing as well. But I just want to thank you for for those that made comments. We do have a motion and a second on this item. So go through the folks that have that are to send it to Q and I'll make some comment as well, but I'll let the council go first. I will start with Councilman Austin. Speaker 3: Thank you very much, Mr. Mayor. And I want to thank all of the those in the public who came out to speak today on this particular item. This is a, I think, a great day for the city to move social equity forward in cannabis industry. This is a long time coming, and I'm glad we're finally here at this critical point. It's not perfect, but I for the sake of moving the agenda forward, I think it's important that we move in, vote on something tonight to get social equity. I'll make that a reality in our in our city. Today, we are again moving the bar toward a more equitable future for cannabis retail in our city. Eight new licenses will represent at least 20% of the retail market in the city, and that could be as soon as within, within months from now. In a feedback from this process, I want to just say compliment staff and command everybody in the public who participated, because much of what you have seen before you has been a result of comment from city council coming from subject matter experts, comment from folks in the industry and the public who helped really frame this process. I know one of the the when we when we brought this item forward, when I brought this item for several months ago, it was, hey, we want to make sure that the process is fair. And so I kind of want to ask a couple of questions regarding the fairness of the process. You know, there was there was conversation about, you know, potentially making it more subjective and going toward a lottery. Can you tell us why why we didn't move forward and make that a recommendation? Why was staff hasn't made that a recommendation. Speaker 2: Yeah. So back in October when we released the feasibility study, that was an option and that was actually the recommendation by staff was to include a merit based process similar to an RFP. But at the very end, select those who kind of meet the top using a lottery. And at that meeting in October, it was clear from community input that the lottery was not the way to go and that you should really just focus on the merits of the business and the application. So I believe Council at that time decided to take away the lottery aspect. Speaker 3: Thank you for clarifying that. And also so we heard from a number of people who said, hey, you know what, we've been in the system for many years and now we are going to, you know, number one, how many applications do we have? If you could tell us that? And and is there a cutoff is there a moratorium on new applications during this process? Speaker 2: So we have currently today 156 verified equity applicants. The the involvement is unclear. But for this process, we don't have a cap and we don't have a cap on the number that we're allowing into the program. Speaker 3: Okay. Well, I'll just tell you from my concern that that's a high number. I would I understand the apprehension of anybody who has been waiting for four years in the process to get there. And if there is a way to, you know, to put a moratorium on on on on applications, I'd be happy to to support something like that. Is that something that we could do tonight? Mr. City attorney. Speaker 1: We can, and it would have to come back again for a new first reading, but we could change it and make that change. Speaker 3: Okay. Or we could bring an item next week to do that as well. Right. Speaker 1: We. I'm sorry, I think but we can we can make the change a required and bring it back next week if that would be how we would do it. It's it is a substantive change to what's before. Speaker 3: It's a substantive, substantial change. Yes. But if we were to bring it back as an individual item next week and layer it on top of this, we could pass something tonight. Is that correct? Speaker 1: You could you could start that process. You could request us to prepare it next week. Then it'd be another week for us to bring it back for a first reading to amend what we're doing. So you couldn't you couldn't do it next week. Okay, you have to request it. Then it would come back for first reading and a second reading. So it wouldn't it wouldn't be able to happen next week. Speaker 3: No, there's a second on his motion, but would you be open to supporting that as well? Speaker 4: Council Member Yes, I would. Speaker 3: Okay. Well, that is an amendment that I like to put in. Speaker 2: And just to be clear. Councilmember Orson, are are you putting a moratorium on the program as a whole, allowing new or just the dispensary process. Speaker 3: The dispensary, the retail applications? Speaker 5: Okay. Speaker 3: To ensure that, you know, we're talking about 156 and only eight people are going to get get applications tomorrow. Once we this is announced, you probably get another 50 more applications. I want to say, hey, you know, the people that have already been in this process should should be awarded the given the opportunities. Speaker 2: Okay. Speaker 3: And then and then I did decide I gave a significant amount of my time to a staff here. But there was also something that was very, very interesting to me, because I heard from one applicant that said that they won in the original lottery process. Right. That to me, that should be a priority in terms of an award as well. And, you know, and I'd be interested, I did 150 cents applicants. How many of them were awarded in the original lottery process? Speaker 2: Yeah. I don't have that data, but we can look into that. Speaker 3: Okay. Because that shouldn't be an extreme number. And again, we we have folks who went through the process, got the lottery award to begin with, lost their their businesses for whatever reason. And now they're coming back to to to be in the back of the line for. For an application process, I think is is a little counterproductive and unfair as well. And so I'd like to give some priority to any social equity or applicant who had previously been awarded a business license through a lottery process here in the city of Long Beach. Those are my comments. And I would ask my colleague support on those two items. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Councilman Allen? Speaker 4: Yes. I definitely like to think staff on all of your hard work on these ordinances. I know that we requested some changes, and it's great to see that our social equity program is expanding today. I do appreciate the expansion of the Green Zone and updates to the eligibility criteria. I think that was really helpful. I do have some concerns about the ownership requirements in this ordinance. It says that applicants must certify 51% ownership for a period of five years. And it is my understanding that after five years, the business can be sold to a non-equity entity. I understand that these folks may want to sell the business at some point in time, but I am concerned that immediately allowing non equity businesses to buy these licenses after five years will compromise the viability of our equity program. I also like to make a note. This is not a motion that my office is exploring innovative ownership structures and will be working with staff to bring these ideas to council when it's appropriate. But I would like to make a motion at this time that applicants submit a ten year business plan instead of a five year business plan, and that staff. Bring back a report to Council on the Status of our equity businesses in five years to determine if these entities should be sold to non equity owners after the completion of the submitted ten year business plan. Also. I appreciate Councilman Austin. I agree with everything that you said. I I do believe that people, you know, already in the process should get those licenses. So I support all all of the the items that that you that you recommended. Thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you, Mayor. May I ask a question? Speaker 0: I'm sorry. The city attorney. I wasn't actually going to ask to make sure that those were accepted by the maker of the motion as part of a master motion. Okay. And the city attorney. Did you have a comment? Speaker 1: Just a question. Councilmember Allen. On your motion for the five year plan, you've asked to amend the ordinance to make that a ten year plan and a ten years before it could be sold. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilman Sorrell. Speaker 8: Thank you, Mayor. I'll add my support to both amendments and also add that, you know, I just want to make sure there's a little more clarity around the review panel as far as the criteria in participating it to ensure that there is fairness and impartiality, impartiality, excuse me, impartiality in how it's scored. So when it asks that if they are scoring the applicants, that maybe the name is not shown, but everything else can be as far as their description, so that there isn't kind of this kind of set up with, you know, because it's hard to tell if there's a relationship connected to the applicants. So that's one request I like to make as we maybe get a little more clarity about what that that would be the process. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you, Vice Mayor Richardson. Speaker 1: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. First, I want to thank and acknowledge staff for bringing this back and thank all the community advocates for being at the table for this entire process. Some things stood out to me from what I heard today. One that stood out was lower taxes, higher access. I think the package of things that are on the agenda today certainly speak to that. I think it's we just have to acknowledge that it's an economic imperative that we continue to invest in this industry. And we've seen, particularly at a time when sales tax has gone down, transit occupancy tax has gone down during the pandemic that we were able to continue services because cannabis demonstrated its resiliency at a very difficult time during the pandemic. And so it's an economic imperative, I think, in order to continue to provide services and come out of this recovery, that we double down on what works. And so this step, adding eight additional dispensaries, is actually smart business for the city. We've shown and we've learned from the beginning of the cannabis process how to refine it, make it better on the cannabis equity process. You know, hasn't it hasn't worked. And I think what we see here are some examples of how we've learned on what doesn't work and made it better. I think even looking at like I remember the first lottery when the balls didn't even fit in the machine when I was working for a previous councilman, Steve Neal. And now we have a it looks like an evaluation process that really built on independence, a panel where no one's from Long Beach. And it's all people who don't have a, you know, any bias and are going to look at the merit of the process. I think that's good. One other thing that I heard today was someone talked about the barrier of the lack of capital to enter the market. And, you know, I was you know, I was curious and I know we got a big grant to help with this. But if you could walk us through the resources that are that are actually available today to help people, I think that's important to make sure local folks actually have support and capital to get into the marketplace Speaker 2: . Yeah. So just to give an update on kind of where we're at with the grant funding that we have, we have two grants. One has not yet been received. That's the latest round of GOPers funding, which was $3.2 million. So we're just waiting for that check to come from the state. But right now for round two, we have about $50,000 remaining in that fund and that's supposed to last through October of this year. So we're trying to space it out and make it more equitable and be able to give funding. And I'm looking forward to getting that 3.2 million. Speaker 1: Okay. I mean, 3.2 million is is definitely good when you spread it out across applicants. You know, we certainly are going to need to do better and identify more resources to help people make it through. I like the idea of figuring out how to make sure that, you know, there's some longevity with the program, that it doesn't disappear in three years. I think there may be other ways to achieve that. You know, I'm supportive of, you know, what's in front of us today, but maybe a covenant on the licenses. People can sell it, but they need to sell it to a cannabis offering. So it continues to be a cannabis person. That's something to explore. But what's in front of us, I think makes sense. I'm happy to support it. I think we need to again. I think it's just an economic imperative that we continue, you know, to invest in this market so we can continue to get resources and revenue from this market, particularly so we can invest in homelessness and some of the quality of life issues that are really impacting our city right now. And so I want to see those revenues continue to grow. So this has my support today and I encourage the council to support it. Thanks. Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilman Mongo. Speaker 7: Thank you. I want to thank everyone for coming tonight. I really appreciate all the input. I want to acknowledge that this has been a long process, but I do want to also acknowledge that when we were prioritizing a lot of these different components of equity applicants, I'm really a councilmember Austin championed pushing forward a a parallel track so we would be where we are today. And so I know that that is difficult on the staff when you have multiple things going on. And I know there was a little bit of frustration for the lack of resources, but I want you to know that everyone here tonight and those of us on the dais really appreciate the extra hours that it took to make sure that both of those things came forward at the same time. Because really, the standalone dispensaries is where there's a lot of opportunity at this time. I'd also like to state that sometimes people want to come and bring an item to council and not have any changes. And I think that listening to the community and really thinking about the things that you've said can change things in a meaningful way. And so I appreciate sometimes when we make changes, there's a lot of frustration and the audience because they want it right now. And I hear something different from all of you. You want to get it right. And I really, really appreciate that. And so for that and because we do have great relationships, I'm just going to throw something out there. Councilwoman Allen and Councilmember Austin, I know that you're really committed to finding a way to maintain equity in the city. As someone who has been involved in investments in the past and sometimes found out that I'm the person that I was in an investment with, might not have been the right partner at the time. I never want to lock someone into something that they can never get out of. So I'd love to add something where, if you would like to sell your share in advance of the ten years, it would need to be to another equity partner. Therefore, we maintain the equity, but we really talk about you and your freedom. If you have an opportunity to capitalize earlier than ten years, we don't want you to have to wait for ten years to realize that that that revenue. We want you to be able to have that flexibility and bring that forward at any time as long as it still benefits another equity member. Is that something you'd be open to? Speaker 4: I'm absolutely. Speaker 7: Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Councilman in the house. Speaker 6: Thank you very much. I think we've come a long way in this council since since I first got on this council. And thank you council member Austin and council member Allen for bringing this very important item forward. I love it when we create policy and draft policy and launch policy that is guided with the community's input and listening to the community because they are the ones that are living it every day, day in and day out. And so I want to thank the staff for being so flexible and so open and so willing to really work and really try to make this equity program work. I feel that we are not there yet, but we're headed in the right direction and it's all because we all come together and work together. So for that, I'm very thankful. Thank you. Very happy to support this item. Speaker 0: Think it, Councilwoman. So I'm just going to just say a few. I think I think most has already been already been said. I just want to first really think of just the team. I know this has actually been a very difficult process to kind of get where we are today. This is a actually significant amount of work that has gone into creating not just this city's first social equity program related to cannabis, but really one of the first that is happening across this city and across the country in a way that actually is going to make an impact and is meaningful. So I just want to thank the city for leading on this issue and acknowledge that we wouldn't be here had it not been for the folks that are actually here in the audience. And I've actually been pushing not just this issue, but organizing, working with elected officials, uplifting the issue at the council and in the community, and keeping folks accountable every step of the way to ensure that the city adopts a program that is really centered on equity, on access, and one that we can be walk away and be proud of to have developed in this in the city. I it's important to recognize I mean, any time that we have a discussion or debate about about particular about cannabis or cannabis policy or or tax regulations, I'm reminded that we have we have figured so much of this out together in a process that has been in many ways two so still very new as a legal economy in the city, in the state. And so to get here and going through this process has been difficult. But I am also really proud to be in a city where so many folks are fighting for equity and on this issue especially, that has damaged so much of our black community, of people of color and the injustices that have happened and the racial inequities that have happened around the drug war, around marijuana convictions, has has damaged so much of our community today, and especially the dialog around around cannabis. And so I think that what we're doing today is such a great and positive step. I agree. It's not a perfect policy. I don't think anything we've done around cannabis has been perfect the first time we've done it, whether it's our tax structure or the regulations or the buffers, it's we have we have tried to fix things as we go because we're actually this is the first time that we're actually doing this type of this level of work on this issue. And so I'm glad that we're doing it and I'm glad along which is leading the way and things that aren't working. We're going to have to tweak and we're going to have to fix and we have to improve as we go along like we have on every other issue related to cannabis and and the marijuana economy. I also just want to note, and I know we're going to talk about this soon on the on the tax side, but I do want to thank folks who have brought this issue up that it's pretty clear to to to most of us that in the development of whether it's been social equity policy or whether it's been our own marijuana ordinance that was on the ballot that voters voted for, whether it was the initial tax structure that was put on the ballot that voters voted for. You know, we have learned along the way, and I think tonight is a great reflection of the city on making adjustments to be better and to hopefully center more more equity, to support more people and to really shine a light on just the the misconceptions and the prejudice that still exists out there around cannabis and around what I think all of you are trying to do in trying to uplift to the community and to the country. So I just want to thank you for your work. And with that, we do have a motion and a second in front of us. That's by Councilman Ashton and Councilman Allen. We have all of the amendments that are in place. Again, a big thank you to Emily and the. And the team. I know it's a lot of hard work and no, not everything is perfect. But I just want to thank everyone and what that will do, we will do a vote. Speaker 2: Motion is carried. Speaker 0: Great. Thank you very much. We're going to move right into item 17, which is the tax reduction report.

Ordinance

Recommendation to declare ordinance amending Long Beach Municipal Code by amending Sections 5.90.030 and 5.90.060, by adding Section 5.90.310; and, by amending and restating chapter 5.92, all relating to the regulation of cannabis retail storefront (dispensary) business licenses and the Cannabis Social Equity Program, read and adopted as read. (Citywide)

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Speaker 2: Communication from Councilwoman Allen, Councilmember Younger Vice Mayor Richardson recommendation to request the State Legislation Committee to review and consider supporting SB. Speaker 8: 1281. Speaker 2: And AB 2792 and consider adding an item to the state legislative agenda advocating for lowering the state cannabis cultivation tax. Speaker 0: Thank you. I'm going to turn to Councilman Allen to be. Speaker 4: Thank you, Mayor. I want to start by recognizing council member your Ranger and Vice Mayor Richardson for their support on this item. Our state cannabis laws were designed to regulate cannabis, protect public health, and help sells out of the illegal market. But I mentioned earlier tonight the cannabis industry is over, taxed and burdened by various regulations. There is no industry taxed as much as the cannabis industry. While this certainly benefits towards the state and local budgets, it's just flat out unfair to the industry. And this structure is also a factor and how strong the illicit cannabis market is throughout the state as this existing state laws imposes a weight based tax, the cultivation tax and a 15% excise tax on cannabis operators. Local taxes are then imposed in addition to these state taxes, the cultivation tax of $161 per pound. This is a flat tax, meaning that the impact of this tax will vary depending on the market price for per pound of the cannabis. If the market price of cannabis is low, the tax is a greater burden on legal cannabis operators, often leading businesses to cut jobs, cut, lost or lose their doors altogether. Or like the lady who just spoke. You can add janitors if you need them. The structure makes it very difficult for legal cannabis businesses to be successful and earn a profit. This is a result. And displace workers. Close cannabis entities to seek other, more low cost avenues for business, such as the illicit market, which does not face the operating and regulatory cost of the legal market. If legal cannabis businesses struggle to operate, the illicit market will continue to grow and be even more persuasive. The state is working on cannabis tax reform and it's important that the city demonstrate strong support for its current and future legislative items. Both SB 1281 and AB two 2792 address these tax issues. These bills will help the legal cannabis industry market compete against the the illicit cannabis markets, which in turn will help create more jobs, increase government revenues and community benefits from local business owners. So I ask the State Legislation Committee support these bills and add an item advocating for lower state cannabis cultivation tax on the committee agenda. Thank you very much. Speaker 0: Thank you. Can I get the motion in the second, please? On record. The second, please. There you go. Counselor, we want to thank you. Speaker 1: Councilmember Allen, for bringing this forward. More than happy support. I think that when we look at our legislative agenda for this coming year, this is a very important item that should be included in there. And I think we should have some real robust discussion on this because obviously, as we've discussed tonight, the cannabis industry is is being I'm not going to say attacked, but it is under scrutiny and it needs in support. It needs help. And I think one of the most progressive things that we can do in the city council is to support that in support of our cannabis industry partners here. So more than happy to agenda, is it we will discuss it and I'm sure that we will support it and send it forward to our legislation committee as well and then to the City Council for full support later on in the in the process. So thank you for bringing this forward. Happy to support. Thank you. Speaker 0: Councilman Austin. Speaker 3: Thank you, Councilmember Allen and Your Honor, for bringing this forward. I certainly want to support this item before us this evening. And I've already written letters of support on both SB 1281 and maybe to 279 to to the sponsoring legislators in Sacramento and noting that two of the three state legislative committee members are agendas in this particular item. I just want to ask from a from a form kind of perspective, what's going to be the process? As I understand this, this will go back to the state merge committee where we. Speaker 1: Will. Speaker 3: Possibly get a report from staff and support this. Because I just heard our chair say that he he wants to support this. My question is, can't we just cut the process and and support it tonight as a as a body and women that. Speaker 1: So you do have some options. I think you with the consent of the chair of the state large committee, you can actually amend that and bring it. If there's support of doing this, we are going to be bringing the state legislature agenda, I think, next week. It just got heard in committee. And so, you know, this could be then added in as a as a supplemental to that and bring back to your to your consideration or if you really wanted to delve into it and get additional testimony and information, you could do that in committee and then bring it back. Speaker 3: Okay. Like I said, I'm I'm inclined to support it tonight. But, you know, if the maker of the motion and the senator one to continue with this process, I'm I'm okay with that to support it as is. Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm absolutely in favor of getting this done. So if you if the colleagues are amenable to supporting this tonight, I'm all for it. Speaker 1: It's a matter of the advice of our attorney. But we can do it tonight. Let's do it. Let's get it. Let's get out of the way. So. So, if I understand, the amendment to the motion would be to add it to the supplemental state led agenda that will come back in a week to the council. There you go. Stupid teacher. Okay. Speaker 0: Yeah. I mean, I think I think the the the from the perspective would be, I think adding it to the state let's committees for approval next week which I think is set to be approved next week in skipping the committee process, I think meets Councilmember Austin's needs as well as the councilwoman. I'm sure it comes from for. Is that you're amenable to that. Okay, Councilwoman. Okay. So then the adjusted motion is then to just fold the support into the seat ledge. Official agenda, which it needs to be anyways. And that way our, you know, our lobbying team and our, our, our folks and also get engaged on the city side to push this issue in Sacramento. So that is the motion. Vice Mayor Richardson Giovanni, there's no comment. Speaker 1: I like where this is headed. I'm support. Speaker 0: Thank you. Then with that, please cast your votes. We're actually I'm sorry about that. We actually have public comment on this one as well. Madam Quirk. Speaker 2: Well, Elliot Lewis, Jose Hernandez, Daniel Lopez, Jordan, Wilbert and Edgar Cruz. Please line up at the podium. Elliot, Jose, Danielle, Jordan and Edgar. Speaker 0: I think some of them are saying that they don't want to speak up. Okay. So I think we're I think we're good because anyone comes forward, we're going to go out and take a is there someone that's speaking or please come forward. Speaker 1: Good evening, counsel and staff. As you may know, my name is Edgar Cruz, Social Security recipient, and I am the founder of the Cannabis Concert Complex of Long Beach, where we focus on social equity and community redevelopment in our jurisdiction. I'd like to start off by thanking counsel, cannabis oversight and economic development for their hard work and support. In regards to Agenda Item 17, 28 and 33 and October, the Office of Cannabis Oversight presented a proposed map that would amend Green Zone for dispensaries but made no mention of the other license. Types are in desperate need of relief. Even after the state has revived their location requirements, the city has done little to catch up. Property owners and realtors are well aware of what this means and for them to be valued, their property is 2 to 3 times higher than those not in the Green Zone. While it is unknown how the market will respond to this expansion of the buffers, the initial response will, we hope, will level devise and force them to offer more competitive pricing. Another issue facing the cannabis industry is federal legalization, with the banking industry threatening property owners to foreclose a property if leased to any cannabis businesses. This again limits competition and the valuable properties, so any guidance you can offer would be appreciated. A solution could be to promote property ownership. They are also has stated that they currently do not support ownership through the grant program, instead encouraging leases that increase the likelihood that the lease would enter into a predatory or financial unstable agreement . Property ownership will not only provide location for the business, but a real asset that may outlast the business. What does it mean to truly support equity businesses? If we look at other cities that have done that have done to bring parity to the marketplace, the answer is really simple Give equity applicants exclusive access to a licensing process . Equity businesses are not essential because anyone can do it, and if anybody can do it, they're going to do it without us. From the property owner to the investor, all seeking ways to control or cut out the equity owner. But if equity is the only point of entry, equity is vital to the industry. The city has taken many steps to support equity businesses, with the exception of building equity businesses to support equity businesses. The collective power of a group of like minded business owners will ensure the success of all incubating, training, learning as a whole towards the mutual success of each with the collective buying power and resources to have a fair shot in an industry that is locking them out, facing regulations that are more punitive than any other similar business or industry. At the October Council meeting, it was made clear that new licenses, delivery dispensaries, shared manufacturing would be exclusive to equity applicants . And I would also encourage you to go further and expand licensing to include events and onsite consumption. Denver recently approved the first social equity onsite consumption loan, and I hope that you take cue from 2015 when Long Beach went to complete with the other cities at the forefront of this new industry. I really thank you guys for your time in industry and I know it's been a frustrating and long process in regards to creating the social equity program and making it more substantial. And I think it takes all of us, we are learning as we are going and is very grateful for you guys to have this process. A lot of people that I know don't have the opportunity to speak to their council members. Mr. Speaker, murder, economic development. So for us to have that opportunity is very grateful. So thank you, guys. Speaker 0: Thank you very much. That concludes public comment. We have a motion in a second on the floor, please. Members, cast your vote. Speaker 2: Motion is carried. Speaker 0: Great. Thank you very much. We are we're going to continue the regular agenda. I know the cannabis items are over. If I can ask everyone to exit as as quiet as possible so we can continue the meeting. That would be great.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to request the State Legislation Committee to review and consider supporting SB 1281 and AB 2792; and consider adding an item to the State Legislative Agenda generally advocating for lowering the state cannabis cultivation tax.

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Speaker 0: Great. Thank you very much. We are we're going to continue the regular agenda. I know the cannabis items are over. If I can ask everyone to exit as as quiet as possible so we can continue the meeting. That would be great. Thank you so much. We're going to hear item 31, please. And then after 31, we're going to hear 19. Speaker 2: Item 31 communication from Councilwoman Price, Councilwoman Allen, Councilwoman Sara recommendation to draft a letter of support for the California State Legislatures. Proposal to place permanent protections for abortion rights into the California Constitution. Speaker 0: Okay. We're going to go ahead and move on to item 31. So I know that Councilman Price is is not able to be here, but we have a motion and a second. But Councilman Taro and Councilwoman Allen, Councilman Sorrell. Speaker 8: Thank you, Mayor. I think that many of us have heard the potential of return of Roe versus Wade. And I actually want to thank the mayor, actually the county supervisor, President Mitchell, for bringing forward an item at the county level to ensure there's protection and that the mayor had offer to bring forward an item so that we as a city will work as a county to ensure we continue to protect women's reproductive health and their rights and to ensure there's justice for all women. And so I want to make sure that we thank our governor, as well as our Senate Pro Tem Atkins and Assembly Speaker Rendon for proposing at the state level. This, despite what may happen federally, that we will ensure there is protection permanently of women's reproductive rights and their right to abortion by making it permanent at the California state constitutional level. And more recently, I just want to thank Senator Gonzales for hosting a press conference with Attorney General California Attorney General Rob Bonta. And that was joined by my colleague, by our mayor, as well as Councilmember Sandia and Councilmember Urunga, that we will continue that that uplifted what our state leadership is committed to do. And so we want to thank Planned Parenthood as well, our advocacy group, for ensuring that we keep women's reproductive justice at the forefront. And, you know, and as well as having many of the advocates. So there it's just absolutely I want to reiterate our support at the city level that we continue to want to make sure that women here in Long Beach feel safe, it's a safe haven and that we continue to ensure all levels of resources provided for women to continue to have access to health care, abortion and whatever it is they need to ensure they can make the decision that is right for them and their family. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilman Allen. Speaker 4: Thank you, Mayor. I can tell you that this item is very important to all of us on council, and it's also very important to our community. I also want to thank Councilmember Yarrawonga for already working on this through the State Ledge Committee. I know that means a lot to so many of us. The protection of woman's body and their right to choose is under attack at the highest level. Long Beach can and should lead in pushing for a codification of women's rights to choose and our Constitution. I have faith in the voters of our state to pass such a measure if the legislature places it on the ballot. I know that Supervisor Hahn is working on an abortion safe haven pilot program that will safeguard patient access to abortions regardless of residency. Senator Gonzalez offered S.B. 245 the Abortion Accessibility Act, which removes barriers to accessing abortion care. Our leaders at the county and the state level. Supervisor Janice Hahn and Senator Lena Gonzalez are are just such strong women leaders. And and I just personally want to just say thank you, thank you, thank you for all that you are doing to protect the women in our community and also protect those women who are coming here to seek refuge. Now I think it's time for our city to formally support further protections. Thank you very much. Speaker 0: Thank you very much, Richardson. Speaker 1: Thank you. I think it's important that our city speak out loud and clearly in this moment. You know, we're in a state where people will, you know, come to our state to seek safe haven. And I think we need to show leadership in this moment because the reality is you you can't dictate free will. What people what's happening is and is an erosion of a protection of of health opportunity to have safe access to women's reproductive rights. And so we have to protect that. And I think cities have a responsibility of stepping up. I want to thank everyone who's shown leadership in this moment, Governor Newsom, on proposing the proposal for the state constitutional amendment. Senator Gonzalez, for showing leadership in Attorney General Bonta for coming to Long Beach locally. Mayor Garcia, Janice Hahn for leading at the county level. Councilman Durango for taking this action last week at the state led committee to for the city of Long Beach to formally support taking this step. I think Long Beach needs to be on the right side here. And so, you know, I think all of our council members, everybody has been on the right side. And we need to speak clearly as a city and show our show solidarity. And so I'm happy to support this. Three. Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilman Austin. Speaker 3: Thank you, ma'am. I would like to add my unequivocal support to this item as well. Obviously, we need to speak with a unified, collective voice to stand up for women's reproductive rights. Not only for our city, but our state and our entire country. I'm going to read a statement prepared on behalf of Councilmember Price, who couldn't be here because she obviously has tested positive for COVID and we give her our very best wishes. Her statement reads as follows. Unfortunately, I'm not able to join the city council meeting tonight after testing positive yesterday. However, I still want to speak on this item. I would like to thank my colleagues for signing on to the item with me. Tonight, we seek to take action in support of women's rights to choose reports proposing that the Supreme Court are planning to undo 50 years of legal precedent are why I put this issue on the city council agenda tonight. We must ensure Long Beach is doing everything it can for vulnerable women and to support protecting the rights of women in California. As women, we must support others and raise up the voices and experiences of overlooked women. We owe it to one another to stand up, not just for ourselves before our fellow women who deserve to have their rights protected and have their access to safe reproductive health care. These are my values and the values we should defend for women here in Long Beach and all across America. If we stand together, our rights can be protected. Speaker 1: Thank you. Speaker 3: So that's a Councilmember Price's comments. And this item has my full support as well. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Councilman's in the house. Speaker 6: Thank you. I just want to deter all the comments that have been made by my colleagues. I think that this is a very important time for us to unite and to. Just be able to support women all over. It's also very important that we stand strong because we really need to protect this because I could see a down downfall from this. And it's it's really important for us to stay together and stay on message and make sure that we we come united and that we stand strong together on this. And I'm just very thankful that we're all like it's been said before here tonight on the same side. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Let me just say a few comments and then we'll go to public comment. One is I just want to just echo what everyone has said. When we had a chance to gather a few days ago, I wanted to reiterate that abortion care is health care. It's incredibly important that at this moment that the city takes a formal position to support this incredibly important constitutional amendment. I want to commend the governor and the pro tem and the speaker for move this forward to the legislature. I do want to thank Councilwoman Price for bringing this forward today to Councilwoman Sorrow, to Councilwoman Allen for bringing this forward today and for their, you know, unified support for abortion, access for for partners at Planned Parenthood, and to ensuring that all women that all people have access to care, that is support, and really to to being able to to live in a community and in a country that supports them and their and their freedom to make those choices. I want to also just add that I'm really thankful. Mr. Modica, you had released an update to the request that we had made a few months ago. It's no secret that we've been anticipating this moment, unfortunately, for for many months. And so with our Planned Parenthood partners, the city partnered with L.A. County as well, because we have our own health department to put in place a series of of measures that we're working on to better prepare and assist women that are going to be looking to do these services, and that we need to do a better job as a city to prepare for this moment. And so we've put in place and are working towards enhanced medical training for the community. Budgetary improvements and and expansions work for additional workforce training for, for our partners and a unit for our referral system. And these are all programs that we're working with, with Planned Parenthood compared to Los Angeles, who our partners are here. And I want to just thank them for their advocacy, but also, most importantly, just for operating a incredibly important clinic and center that they have here in Long Beach, which is widely used by the community and that we're very, very supportive of and grateful that they're here in the city. And finally, I just want to say that the city taking this position puts us, I think, in the in the in the category of of of early action on any cities in the state to formally endorse this constitutional amendment. And so I'm really proud of that. And I'm hopeful that we can continue our advocacy and then as a city, lean in on what will be a very important effort to to codify this into our Constitution and more broadly, work into codifying Roe. Of course, at the at the federal level, which which needs, of course, in this moment to happen more than ever. And with that, we have a motion in a second. I want to turn this over to public comment. So I'm going to ask the following speakers or please come forward. We have Jacob O'Donnell, Dave Shukla, Jamie Kinnock and Kathleen Puder. Speaker 1: Good evening. My name is Jacob O'Donnell, field representative to State Senator Lina Gonzales as Senator Gonzales, thanks Mayor Garcia and the City Council for your collective support for reproductive justice. As you know, in response to the Supreme Court's draft decision to overturn Roe v Wade, the state legislature is working to codify the right to an abortion within our state constitution. This legislative action will strengthen California's health care access to safe and legal abortions, which are among the strongest in our nation, including SB 245, the Abortion Accessibility Act, authored by Senator Gonzalez, which was enacted this year. And it requires all state licensed health care plans to cover the cost of abortion services without a co-payment deductible or any type of cost sharing agreement, effectively eliminating the cost barrier. Senator Gonzales urges your support on item 31. And thank you. Thanks you for your advocacy to ensure California remains a reproductive freedom state. Thank you. Good evening. I'd just like to thank the three council women who brought this item forward and urge you to support it and pass it. Um, it's important that this city, uh, take early action to defend, uh, these, uh, very basic and fundamental rights. This is an issue of considerable importance and concern to me and my family. And I'm grateful in this moment to live in Long Beach. Thank you. Speaker 7: Hi all. Jamie Kinetic, public affairs specialist with the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project. Great to see a lot of you. Again, I'm here in support of item 31. I just wanted to say thank you all to this council for your active role in protecting reproductive justice. And most recently, with your action declaring Long Beach a haven city for reproductive health care. Thank you to Councilmembers Price, Allard and Farrow for authoring this motion. It is deeply appreciated. And just as we see these rights eroded at a national level, it's really important that we at a state and local level are here to step up and to really meet this moment. So very excited to be here, very excited for your partnership, and thank you again for your support on this motion. Speaker 1: Hello, Mr. Mayor. Members of the council. My name is Kate Improver. I am the president of Stonewall Young Democrats for Los Angeles County, and I'm also a volunteer for the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project. Perhaps strong supports agenda item 31. California cannot and will not stand idly by as women. People who can get pregnant are stripped of their rights, and progress is erased that so many have fought for as a result of this leaked opinion. California must work to protect this right and enshrine it in our state constitution to further affirm to all people across the country that California will remain a safe haven state for reproductive rights. I want to thank council members Pryce, Allen and Sara for your support on this and to all of you for your continued support. Thank you for your time. Speaker 0: Thank you very much. I'm thinking especially especially to our Planned Parenthood partners and friends. I appreciate your especially in this moment. We do have a motion in a second. Please cast your votes. Speaker 2: Motion is carried. Speaker 0: Thank you very much. We will now move to item 19.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to request City Manager to work with City Attorney to draft a letter of support for the California state legislature’s proposal to place permanent protections for abortion rights into the California Constitution.

LongBeachCC

LongBeachCC_05102022_22-0511

Speaker 0: Thank you very much. We will now move to item 19. Speaker 2: Communication from Vice Mayor Richardson, Councilwoman Island Councilwoman Sara recommendation to provide an update on the city's Nuisance Motel Regulation and Alcohol Nuisance Abatement Ordinance. Ordinances including options to strengthen the ordinances within 90 days. Identify resources to support efforts to address the issue of human trafficking along the Long Beach Boulevard corridor in coordination with the City of Compton , and coordinate outreach and education pipelines through the Long Beach, My Sister's Keeper Initiative. Speaker 1: Thank you so much. Let's go ahead and cue up the presentation we have. All right. I want to thank the residents and everyone who stayed out and a lot of discussion on cannabis tonight. But right now we're going to talk about quality of life. And I want to thank the Public Safety Committee members who signed on to this item. Tonight, we're talking about Long Beach Beat 23. This is a map with meet 23. It covers a number of North Libby's neighborhoods, College Square, Starr, King, Hamilton, Coolidge Triangle and along with neighborhood. Major, major landmarks within this area include Uptown Commons, Pools of Hope, the North Long Beach Community Garden, Golden State, Humane Society, Hamilton Middle School, Jordan Plus. Colin Powell Elementary School Start King Elementary School, Sal's Gumbo Shack, Atlantic Bridge Community and Organic Harvest Gardens. So it's a lot of community landmarks in history on this corridor. There's also a history of chronic, chronic issues that have lasted for decades, literally decades, that involve human trafficking, nuisance motels, nuisance liquor stores, all of which are sort of anchored along Long Beach Boulevard, which is in red. Now, I believe if patterns of disparity exist for generations, then that means this is systemic and the system is doing what it's designed to do. So we have to commit to systems thinking, and a lot of the chronic issues are really related to policies we have and land use that hasn't been updated in decades. And so let's walk through a little bit of history here. So in July 24, July of 2012, Councilman Neal in the City Council began to talk about alcohol nuisance abatement ordinance. I remember I was around because I worked for Councilman Neal at the time, and it was based on looking at nonconforming grandfathered liquor stores to see which stores reside on places that are not zoned for those anymore or don't have modern standards like a cup. These stores had no requirements like addressing lighting and landscaping and, you know, graffiti standards and signage in the window and safety standards. And so this new program would set requirements on these liquor stores, including security cameras, lighting removal of payphones, stopping the practice of using ads and signs to block the windows. The following year, a draft ordinance was prepared and submitted to the Planning Commission. The result of the pilot program was passed that August. A year later. A little bit. A little bit later. In May of 2014, 11 of the 26 stores were identified that were identified in the pilot area of North Long Beach had reached compliance. And then by 20 by two years later, 26 of all 26 of the liquor stores were brought into compliance. Now, this ordinance was a big success story. It expanded citywide. And ultimately, at the last report, 51 liquor stores received an update. Well, a lot of that was driven because of the nuisances in this place. It started there and sort of expanded citywide. The ordinance received awards from the American Planning Association of Los Angeles and Statewide American Planning Association in California. Now, the next step was nuisance motels after addressing liquor stores. Motels. So, you know, I'll tell you, nuisance motels have had a real, meaningful, real impact on many of our lives. I can think when I, you know, tell the story often I was driving my two year old well, my my for my five year old was just born in Long Beach Memorial and I lived in the Coolidge Triangle neighborhood. So the day she was coming home from the hospital, the neighborhood was quarantined off. Why? Because there was a homicide at a neighboring motel and we couldn't get into the neighborhood our very first day bringing her home. And, you know, I talked to, you know, the police officers and SWAT team. They said, well, there was a homicide and somebody ran into the neighborhood and had to do a house by house search. I checked my security cameras. Sure enough, there were five SWAT team members in my backyard. You know, I just, you know, thought this is systemic. How much, you know, resources in our police department do we use on this incident? And so nuisance motels continue to be a focus. And so inspired by the alcohol nuisance abatement ordinance we began, we engaged with Long Beach Police Department Development Services, the Human Trafficking Task Force, to develop a program that would apply a similar approach to liquor stores to the motels. We passed the pilot program and also began discussing that council, a permanent ordinance. And so we received an update on the progress of that. And there were significant program results. The results it resulted in 30% drop in calls for service. A number of motels have received 1500 calls for service in one year, and that was significantly reduced and that's a big improvement. The next step was to codify this into an ordinance. That ordinance finally went into went into effect at the beginning of the pandemic in. 2020, however, has never been implemented because the pandemic hit. And so there are tools available that have not been implemented. Now, here we are at the beginning of the pandemic. We've seen we've heard from the community all across the entire police beat of additional issues. You know, and the reality is, is with all the progress, it's a bit disheartening to see all of that sort of come back during the pandemic. And so today, 80% of the prostitution reports and human trafficking related calls for service in the entire city exist in Beat 23 because the issue of justice is an issue of priorities . North Division as a whole deals with 85% of the citywide human trafficking calls. On the bright side, there's some new opportunities on hand. Number one, this area post redistricting. It now has two council members. That's doubled the eyes, doubled the attention, double the support, double the love. And so we're excited to see that we have we should be able to put more eyes and attention on this issue. And so I think in the spirit of double, let's redouble our efforts. That means the following. We know that North Division is preparing an event action plan to order and receive an additional $50,000 in the Neighborhood Safe Streets Fund to connect, conduct additional operations to get more eyes on the corridor. That's a good thing we want to look for continue to look for funding for motel conversions and acquisitions, a step that we're proud to see tonight. We're exploring this, particularly with a nuisance motel. So that's item 24. So make sure you take a look at that. Updated zoning plan is a process we've been going through to look at the fact that this corridor hasn't been zoned in decades or the last three or four years. We've been going through the updated zoning process to address all the corridors in North Palm Beach. It's time to get an update on where we are. I believe that's supposed to come back this year, so now's the time to get an update on zoning so we can see how we're preparing the corridor for the future. It also looks like we need we need to continue to explore partnerships between Long Beach, L.A. County and the city of Compton, even the city of Lynwood, because historically these issues have bounced across court, jurisdictional lines, and so they need to be a part of the solution. We've had discussions with them in the past. I think it's time to redouble. There's also opportunities right next door at the Ronald Arias Center. Now that's open. We have resources, particularly the My Sister's Keeper program, which is a preventative, preventative program for at risk women and girls between the ages of ten and 24. Utilizing our Development Services Department to take a look at strengthening our existing resources, we have to protect them. There's also opportunities in terms of continuing invest in the corridor. Before redistricting, there were a number of projects P.B. and I, as well as a project along these boulevard that seem to have stalled. Sure, we got we ended up getting a decorative crosswalk, but there were other things that we talked about investing in. You know, we were in discussions with, you know, developers, Starbucks, 7-Eleven that have been stalled along that corridor. There's time to get an update on where those projects are. At the end of the day, the council, the community needs to speak with one voice on this, particularly because we all want the same things. We want to make sure we have a safe, viable, vibrant, a walkable corridor and Long Beach Boulevard. And this is a greater issue of the entire beat 23. All of our neighborhoods are impacted. So it's it's not about one or two neighborhoods. This is about the entire beat 23. And so I'm proud to introduce this item today with support from our city council colleagues, Cindy Allen, Sally Sara I want to acknowledge and recognize letter of support from Assembly member Mike Gibson and our local neighborhood associations who submitted a joint letter as well. I look forward to hearing feedback from the community tonight and I would love to see what staff comes back with a new comprehensive approach to redouble our efforts, efforts to improve safety and beat 23. Thank you so much. Okay. Next, we have Councilwoman Allen. Speaker 4: Yes. Thank you, Vice Mayor, for bringing this item forward and just for so often leading on on comprehensive community safety items. Appreciate that. I'm proud to partner with you on this item. We know that human trafficking doesn't discriminate and victims can be anyone. I'm really glad as I was watching this presentation to see how I thought how how well you thought this out. And by asking the city staff to work with My Sister's Keeper program and the City of Compton, we'll be tackling the root of this problem for permanent solutions. Our most vulnerable youth would be protected and met with intervention and intervention while we work with neighbor neighboring regions to ensure that the issue does not come back to Long Beach through the Long Beach Boulevard Neighborhood Safety Initiative. We will also make use of our existing resources, such as the Nuisance Motel and liquor store ordinances and the Ronald are areas health equity center to combat human trafficking. This is a problem concentrated in one area and I am told that 80% of all calls for human trafficking are in this beat and that level of concentration demands increased attention. I'd like to hear more from departments about how they are breaking down silos and working together on a solution for this issue. Thank you again, Vice Mayor Richardson, for taking the lead on this very complex issue. I appreciate it. Speaker 1: Fantastic. Thank you, Councilwoman Ciro. Speaker 8: Thank you, vice Mayor, for bringing this item forward as well as Councilwoman Allen for supporting as well. You know, I think that this can be a great model. I'd love to get an update because I think that this area of North Lombard, just similar to Central Long Beach in that Pacific Coast Highway corridor, very similar issues around our hotel, our motels, as well as alcohol, liquor stores along that corridor. And I look forward to seeing in ways that this can be used as a model for how we can address the issue in that as well. And and I think that this is important to ensure that we're not only approaching those who are victim of human trafficking from a criminalization standpoint, which I know we've come a long way in providing holistic services. And so that's important to make sure we have this program and that we use it. So great job. Thank you. Speaker 1: Fantastic. Thank you, Councilman Austin. Speaker 3: Thank you so much. So this is a, I think, a great item to bring to the attention of our city staff and our city as a whole. The challenges are facing North Long Beach, particularly the North Long Beach, the Long Beach Boulevard corridor, and neighbors who have to deal with, you know, many of those those are unsightly nuisance issues that if they were in other any other neighborhood or lots of other neighborhoods in our city, it would be an outrage. It would be a crisis. This is these conditions have had and been standing for for far too long. So I appreciate the assistance in bringing forth this item. As you all know, the redistricting process occurred and my office has been engaged with this particular community since January, since actually before the redistricting process was final, we began reaching out and engaging with the neighborhood groups and trying to come up with collaborative ways to develop solutions. I just want to be very clear. This item reiterates every point here, reiterates work that is already being done in the city, right. I think it's amplifying some of the areas that we need to focus a little bit more on, but it reiterates work that is already being done. The nuisance alcohol nuisance abatement order is already law should already be enforced. The the motel registry regulation, obviously that that's a that's an area where we need to improve upon. And I think it was mentioned that we are working and have been working on acquiring and looking at potentially acquiring properties along that space through the project homekey . Also and resources that we have, which could change the dynamic there. But there are another number of other issues, economic development challenges that we are rolling our sleeves up and getting involved in, trying to get new businesses, trying to make that corridor vibrant, inclusive, livable for the residents there, as well as infrastructure challenges. And so the the the issues there, they're not brand new. They didn't come up six months ago. Councilmember Richardson alluded to them. This is decades of of neglect that we need to work on. And certainly I will be supporting this item tonight, because I think some of this is, again, common sense and it really. Rehashes and amplifies many of the tools that we already have in the toolbox to work on these issues. We just need to be more deliberate and city manager stuff about focusing on the North Long Beach Boulevard corridor. And yes, I think the PD here, anyone from PD can come forward because I want to be clear, because we , I think, put a euphemism on one on one, the oldest profession in that known the man, and we call it human trafficking. And when I was talking to our police chief just the other day, particularly about this area, there was a there was a breakdown in communication. Speaker 0: A little bit. Speaker 3: And you tell me the difference between human how you would interpret human trafficking and what we should be calling the activity that are going on on that corridor. Speaker 0: So thank you, Councilmember. Speaker 1: And just for clarification and referring to Councilmember Allen's stats as well, the 80% is for something called the 6647 B call is you will remember that that's a prostitution call and a prostitution issue can be tied to human trafficking. Human trafficking is specific to commercial sex workers, minors and adults. The exploitation of those individuals where their victims. And that does happen in North Long Beach. 647 B activity is really a lower level of prostitution that. Speaker 0: Can involve individuals. Speaker 1: Who are abusing and addicted to drugs that are homeless, that are living on the street. And that's a bit different than that's a quality of life issue. So there are two separate areas. Both can be tied to the same location or the same crime. But human trafficking is at a much higher level. Speaker 3: Thank you. So so what's occurring and what the complaints that we're getting on Long Beach Boulevard are not human trafficking complaints. That's correct. Speaker 0: So most of the. Speaker 1: Complaints start as a 647 B. Speaker 0: Call. Speaker 1: But those could lead to human trafficking cases as well. So the 647 B is a prostitution call. And then through investigation, you can find that it's the exploitation of an individual and can become a human trafficking call. And we also do proactive effort with the L.A. County Human Trafficking Task Force and a bunch of things that were mentioned tonight in terms of collaboration and outreach and trying to address the human trafficking issue. Speaker 3: I see. I'm out of time. I'll recue and I do look forward to hearing from the public as well. Speaker 1: Thank you. Councilman's in the house. Speaker 6: Thank you very much, Vice Mayor, for bringing this up. Of course, I'm a strong, strong, super strong supporter of this because nuisance liquor stores have been a great concern for my residents throughout the district, but in particularly within our Washington neighborhood, which seems to have a high concentration of them. In most recent District one check ins, a number of of parents raised concerns about liquor stores too close to their children's schools. And therefore, it is incredibly important to be able to receive updates for residents to know that this city is doing what the city is doing to address these issues. One of my things and I just had a meeting on this this week, and I know that we have some of these programs right now, but I would I would like to know why they are in existence, what is you know, what is happening right now? Because I know that we have a lot of liquor store news, new nuances in our liquor stores, in our neighborhood. And I know that from what I understand, there hasn't been too much too much done in that area. And maybe staff can allude to that, please. Speaker 1: So Council member Christopher comes from Development Services. As was mentioned in the discussion, the Alcohol Nuisance Abatement Ordinance is on the books. It was. There were over 70 different inspections around the city that were conducted prior to the pandemic. More limited work was done during the pandemic. When we talk about motels and when we talk about alcohol, those are multi-disciplined efforts. So those involve staff not just from planning but from other parts of DV, our code enforcement staff, our building staff, our partners at the fire department, our partners, that police department, our partners at the Health Department. It's really important work. But some of the motel visits, you know, it's a it's a nine person team. So that has not always been possible to pull together for a number of reasons during COVID. But we have continued to operate the program at a modified, more complaint driven fashion. And as we resume staffing in a more normalized way, many of these programs are coming back online, and we hope to be a sort of a more normal operating range this coming October. But we'll be glad to get into more detail in the report back. And then we'll also be able in the report back to be able to talk about what these programs do and what they don't do. So the ANAO program, which is for liquor stores, is a great program. It's unique. There's a few places in San Diego County that have a program similar, but most cities don't do this, and it's great at getting liquor stores cleaned up, getting them, you know, nicer looking, which helps with loitering, which helps with the appearance, but it doesn't close the liquor store. So it doesn't deal with a related issue that we talked that I heard the council discussed this evening, which is just the sheer number of liquor stores in certain areas of the city or in the city at large. So so it takes different policy tools to address different issues. So I want to assure you, we have been working. It's not that we forgot about this issue, but it has been a modified approach during the pandemic. Speaker 6: Thank you, Mr. Quince. And I know that, you know, we've been working on certain areas in my district, so I do appreciate that. From what I understand, there was also a shortage and staff in that area. Is that so? Speaker 1: So we have the position that the staff program has been vacant for some time prior to it being vacant. That individual. Well, I can't get into the employee issue, but that we could not send that individual into the field during the COVID pandemic for a specific reason, which created an operational problem. And then the position was vacant. So we're going through a process of filling that position. That position was recently filled and that person is training. And then when we are in front of you, or when the city manager and the finance director are in front of you during budget season, we'll be talking about stopping within that department , including staffing scenarios that better address this and other needs in the department. Speaker 6: Wonderful things. Thank you, Mr. Kunze, for for addressing that. And again, thank you, Vice Mayor, for bringing this up. This seems to be a very, very important item. And so I'm very happy to support this item. Speaker 1: Fantastic. And we'll go to public comment. But I think some of the discussion here is just to refocus that quality of life on particularly on the issue that's, you know, sort of attached to this area for so long has to be multi-pronged. It's got to be short term and long term. The short term is what's been impacted by the pandemic, the staffing, the availability to have bodies out there addressing issues. But the long term is still ongoing. Long term is addressing the zoning, updating the zoning up plan, making sure investment is happening over there. That's incredibly important. That continues to move forward. And addressing the new nuisance liquor stores through acquisition, that focus has continue. You're not going to see a significant difference long term if we keep coming back to the same issue unless we change the corridor. You have to change some of the uses in PD 23 or are you going to continue coming back to the very same issue? So let's go ahead and go to public comment. We have ten speakers up, so I'm going to call the first five so I can say David San Jose, Patricia Long, Carlos Valdez, Rene Rios, come on forward. First this night. There's a night out here. Okay. Next is Dave, San Jose. And you guys can come on up and line up because it's going to go back to back. The next after Rene is Lynda Wilson, Lynda Campbell, Annette Mather, Monica Keller and Steve Neal. If everybody can make their way, that would be helpful. Go ahead, baby. I'm for. I remember that year. Councilor, thank you for this opportunity. Uh, this. There was a program of five years ago. They came in and were working on the same situation with the motels, the prostitution. And it was working. Then all of a sudden, it went by the wayside. I don't know what happened, but I know in the last four or five years, my neighbors don't feel safe. I think we need some help and maybe trying to fix this thing. My community by not feeling safe is I think maybe the problem is we don't have enough police to protect our city. I don't know how many it takes. I don't think it takes the same amount. I think it takes more than it did five years ago. So I all the officers that I know are really doing their duty. I really appreciate them. But this here really needs to be fixed and we don't know what to do. I think you guys know what to do, but I think the first thing we've got to do is make our city safe without law and order in our city. We don't really have a city. Thank you. Thank you. Next is Patricia Lang. Speaker 5: Hi, everybody. Thank you for inviting me here. And this issue has three stages to it, as you can see on your agenda. My name is Patricia. I live at 202 Eastport for 40 years. I'm the president of Coolidge Triangle Neighborhood Association, and I represent 550 homes in my neighborhood. The first part of this is about the motels. The motels bring some of the problems to our neighborhood. And as Rex mentioned, he was a victim of that about four or five years ago. Things seemed to get better. But as you say, the pandemic created that. What we have now is a problem with prostitution, and the prostitution is out of hand. And I've done my best to work with the police commander that we have. We meet on Zoom meetings to try to find out what we can do. We call and report the situation on the boulevard, but it doesn't seem to make much difference. And, you know, it has now come into the neighborhood. It's not just on Long Beach Boulevard. It's in the neighborhood. When I go out to take my dog for a walk, I have to look and see the paraphernalia after sexual activity in the gutters, in my street, by my house, my neighbors are just frantic because this is happening. The children are having to go to school. The Colin Powell, they are being approached by prostitutes. And a couple of weeks ago on a Sunday, I hate to tell you this, but there was a young woman standing in the street totally naked. And we call the police like we've been instructed to do. The police came and I thought this would be an opportunity for us to engage because I know what the sex trafficking rules sort of are. We're trying to help these ladies. So. They put the lady in the car. A second car came with a woman officer. They gave her clothes to wear and then they sent her on her way. So now she was back in the neighborhood. The part that I can't understand is because as a nurse, this seems to be like a perfect opportunity to get that person help. But she did not go anyplace except on back on the street. I don't know if that was because it was on a weekend. Speaker 7: Your time is up. Thank you. Speaker 5: I think that this issue is so severe that we really need to work on this. And we have been trying as hard as we can, and we need your help. Speaker 1: Thank you. Next is Carlos Valdes, then Rene Rios. Good evening. Carlos Ordaz from Coolidge Triangle and former president of Coolidge Triangle Neighborhood Association. I remember Rex when he first started with Steve Neil. We had prostitution issues. We spoke of decades, not just one decade, decades of human trafficking. Think you've been in office in the ninth for about ten years, so that contributed to one of those decades. Just get perspective. I think there's a decorum that we've all tried to maintain of patients that is evolved to rage because you run into other parts of our city. And as many of you said, you would never accept this. Office of Equity. Where is the equity for us? And he lived in that neighborhood. You were one of us. We voted you in and you turned away. You moved to a different district, and the problem became deeper and more pervasive. Now we're looking at creating hotel turnkey. I don't think any of us were approached in the community about that. Like, one of many things, it's just a surprise. Just like landing settlement when you didn't tell us about that. And we had Robert Foxx show up at our neighborhood association meeting. There has to be transparency and clarity in everything we do. It's our neighborhood. We're homeowners. We're vested there. And I just don't want us to continue with status quo. There's a lot of promises, a lot of marketing, and it's right before election time. You know, this is what I've done, but I think we've waited too long. And you know, I surely hope that we get away from all the talk and more action. It's for that very reason. We decided to leave the ninth District because we had no more confidence and we were really looking forward to working with you and helping us transform it along with Susie Price. It's not just something personal. I think as some have said, this is personal. Know it when it comes to my home, my my neighbors here. Pat You see here. Dave, they've been there for decades. If it's happening to my neighbors, I feel like it's happening to me. And maybe, perhaps some don't care because they're looking for other aspirations. But we cannot continue with the status quo. And I really hope that we just don't use our neighborhood that we're vested in as a platform to say, well, look what else I have on my political resumé. You know, I take a look at how endorsements are made, pay for play, and we need to stop it because we're real people who have real interests and we're going to continue fighting. That's all I have to say. Next speaker is Rene reals. Speaker 8: I'm going to wait for the last speaker. Speaker 1: You have to actually go in order. Speaker 8: I can't wait to announce. Speaker 1: Madam Clerk. Speaker 7: We do have her. Next up. Speaker 2: It's your discretion as the chair. Speaker 1: Then I think we're going to go in order. Speaker 2: Renee, if you going to refuse. Speaker 7: Me. Speaker 8: Putting on record, I want to be left. Speaker 1: Okay. Linda Wilson. And then Linda Campbell. And then Annette Mazur. Speaker 7: Good afternoon. Mayor In his absence. Vice Mayor Although the city council representative that's here. Thank you for being here tonight and thank you for hearing this very important issue and concern. First of all, I want to say that we want to urge you to please take this this problem that we're having, which is a very serious problem , which has been going on for a long time. But we are asking for your help. We want to thank the fact that we have been working with the North Division police commander. Speaker 1: On. Speaker 7: Several conference calls. And so the main things that she is trying to get to implement the program that she suggests that she would do. We'd like to make sure that she gets that money and in all of the resources that she needs and any additional monies that she might need to make that happen. Prostitution. Sex trafficking is a serious matter. It comes out of Compton. We're in the north corridor of Long Beach. It comes out of Compton, comes down Long Beach Boulevard. It affects our youth. It affects our senior citizens. So we have our eyes affected, all age groups affected by what's going on here. We urge you and earnestly plead with you to make sure that this proposal is accepted and put forward in the most expeditious manner. Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you. Next is Linda Campbell. Speaker 7: Good evening, fellow Long Beach citizens. I live in the ninth district. I've lived there for 42 plus years. The Long Beach corridor is. A problem, and it's been a problem for a very long time. It's time to step up and. Enforce the ordinances and the police protection, whether it be prostitution or sex trafficking or the. Outrageous number of liquor stores that are in that corridor. It all contributes to a negative quality of life for the citizens, for the children who have to walk past that to go to school. For the teachers. Who have to drive into the neighborhood. To do the job to educate our. Speaker 1: Future. Speaker 7: Citizens. We need you to. Do what the ordinance asks of the city to make our city. A more vibrant. Space for all of us to live, and thank you in advance for the support you're going to give. Speaker 1: Thank you. Next to his mother, then Monica Keller. And our last speaker is Steve Neal. Thank you. Speaker 7: Hello. My name is Ron at Mars. I'm with the Hamilton Neighborhood Association co-chair. I'm also here representing the North Long Beach Neighborhood Alliance, all of the neighborhood leaders in North Long Beach. We're in support of this agenda item and we would urge that you do approve it. The only difference I would like to make is that time is of the essence. And I'm going to give you the following statistics to prove why a victim of sex trafficking is, on the average, raped 6000 times in seven years. In 2019, one in six children reported missing in the US was likely a victim of sex trafficking and most were in the welfare system when they disappeared. The average victim of sex trafficking. The life expectancy is 3 to 7 years. Sex trafficking accounts for 77% of human trafficking cases. California and Texas consistently have the highest number of reports of human trafficking cases. The odds of escaping a human trafficking situation are 1%. 95% of girls born in a red light district will be sex trafficked and die in captivity. One in 40 million slaves in the world. One in four of those is a child. Please do not wait for reports to come back. To take action. Thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you. Monica Geller. Speaker 7: Good evening. My name is Monica Keller. Thank you, city council members for addressing this this initiative. And I am the starting neighborhood president. And on behalf of my neighborhood, I stand with this agenda item and ask that you support it. And just to let you know, as long as I've lived there, that is been one of the main things that I hear, especially during my encounters with my fellow neighbors. That is one of the biggest frustrations that they have regarding the human trafficking issue. So I think that it is really important that we support this initiative and that we bring all the resources that we can bring to the area as soon as possible. We have, like all the leaders have said, met with our commander, Megan Sable, and we really are thankful to her for listening to our concerns and working with us to make sure that we address this issue, which is, as we've heard, is getting out of control. And again, the human trafficking issue is one that we really want to solve. It affects everyone, especially our children in our neighborhood. We have to start being elementary and to and from school. These children are witnessing things that they are too young and should not be seeing and that they may be exposed or become victims of. As my fellow colleague has stated. So, as I said during our cleanups, we're fighting paraphernalia and before any kind of event in the neighborhood, we have to kind of go through it to make sure that we don't find some of this stuff out there. I don't know of any other neighborhoods experiences, but it's kind of frustrating. It's kind of sad that we have to deal with this on a daily basis. So I really ask and I think of Vice Mayor Rex Richardson for bringing this forth. And I ask that you all support this and not only like you said in the short term, but the long term. I think this has been a generational issue. And I think all the generations that have lived there and are still there are ready for change. And it is a step in the right direction. So I ask for your support on this. Thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you. Councilman Steve Neal. Good evening Vice Mayor as the council members and the community. Steve Neal My address on file. I'd really like to thank Vice Mayor and Council member Sorrell and Allen for bringing this forward. As you've heard from our residents in the north Long Beach, this is an issue that has plagued the north Long Beach area, as we've said, for decades. I had the distinct honor of representing that district. It was a problem when I got there. It was a problem when my predecessor got there. But we are moving in the right direction to address it now. I think the attention that you're putting on it and I'd like to I'd like to phrase the wri, the I'm sure a council member, Austin, who now represents this area and is going to be inundated with this. The two focuses on that, knowing that we've got to make a difference up here. The I think you hear the frustration in the residents. It's just that this has been going on for so long. And I will say that it has been a lot of progress that was being made. And just like everything else, the pandemic throws everything off. But to re-address your focus to this particular part of town, Ms.. Wilson talked about the the Long Beach corridor, and really it starts here in Long Beach and it goes all the way to South Gate. You know, these these type of motels are common throughout the Long Beach corridor from Long Beach to South Gate. So you will find that's part of that that sex trafficking, the prostitution area. But a dedicated focus here in North Long Beach, I think would be greatly appreciated. And just by hearing my fellow residents concerns now, it's always been a problem, but it seems to be bubbling to a much greater intensity now. So I urge your support. I thank all of you guys for bringing this item forward. Thank you. Thank you so much, Renay. And to everybody here, thank you so much for coming out because you. I didn't say that. Hang on. You all waited. You heard multiple cannabis items. I know it's frustrating to wait this late. Everyone took their time to speak at the right time. But I do understand you've waited a long time, and it's a frustrating issue. So we're going to depart from the standard practice and go ahead and deliver your public comment. Speaker 8: You're going to want now. Speaker 1: You can deliver your public comment. Speaker 8: Good evening. My name is Rene REO at the president in Language Neighborhood Association. Now I'm in the district. I have been a longtime advocate for my community. I actually go every month, door by door, passing out fliers about our community events and issues. And on behalf of many residents and many leaders that I have spoken to, they ask, why now? Why? We've been plagued by this for years. We had multiple meetings and meetings with you and your staff about this issue. And we're so frustrated. So what happened? Eight years in office. I have personal conversations with you about this issue and just blow me off to the side. Just like, you. Speaker 2: Know, council members. Speaker 8: We have children walking down this corridor, being approached by pimps and prostitutes. We even the johns who don't even get service by the prostitutes, are now reaching out to our neighbors, young neighbors, following them to their homes. They're not feeling safe. Now again, Rex. Many residents in my neighborhood and leaders are asking, you know, why? Is it because there's an election coming up? It's perfect timing. You have this type of behavior. So I am here since a part of this agenda item because I'm an advocate for my community and I ask the council, please stand by us and move this forward, because this is going to be an item that's going to help our streets to be safe for our children and for our residents. So I just. Speaker 7: Want you to. Speaker 8: Understand how important this for all of us. And thank God now we're with us. And hopefully you can pick up from all the mess that reckless behind. Speaker 1: Thank you, Councilman Austin. You know, pick up the ball. Speaker 3: Well, thank you. I just want to thank all of the residents who came out in support of this particular item. I, I understand. I feel I think this council feels and understands your passion. I was we were we were just all together, particularly with the Longwood and Coolidge Park neighborhood groups just a few weeks ago, where we had a capacity crowd of, you know, I want to say 50 or 60 people coming together. And we had a community conversation around some of these issues. And my office has been in contact, constant contact, working on issues as they come up, but also working on long term solutions with our staff, with our police department, with our economic development department, with our Development Services Department, our public works department. We're going to put a full court press on this particular community and give it the attention that it deserves. And that's my commitment to you. I would just ask that and thank you for coming to City Hall today and bringing light to these issues, because oftentimes the rest of the city staff don't don't hear and don't hear from the residents, hear the frustrations or feel the frustrations. And so tonight, you all endured a long meeting. You stayed tonight. You spoke your piece. And and I think this this entire council understands what we need to do to support you. And again, we'll be engaging with our city staff to to make sure that this area gets the focus and attention it deserves. Again, I think there are a number of remedies that that haven't even come up and aren't even addressed in this particular item that we can work together to to to get to solutions. But some require us all working together. And I ask that you not retreat, that you not abandon your ideas and your convictions, and let's work together to make it happen. Those are my comments and I look forward to voting to support this. Thank you, Mr. Richardson. Speaker 1: Thank you. I'll just add some final thoughts. So thank everybody for coming out. I think, you know, we've known each other for a very long time and we've made some meaningful progress together. But the reality is the pandemic is impacting all of us. It's not an easy issue. I appreciate Councilman Neal highlighting. He dealt with this issue, Velarde dealt with this issue, and the next council member is going to deal with this issue unless we break the cycle. We have to commit to systems thinking. We have to rezone the corridor. We have to address the nuisance uses on those corridors. That takes time. But we've been working every year, some would say. Why now? 2014 Alcohol Nuisance Abatement Ordinance. 2015 It was implemented. 2017 Motel Task Force. 2018 The Motion to Create the Motel Ordinance 2020 The Moratorium Ordinance went into effect. I've been to all of your homes. I've worked with you along the way. You all know the story. It's systemic issues that we have to change the policy. The pandemic happened in 2020. That set us off track. Today's focus, people say, why now? It's because we're trying to get our economy, trying to get our communities back on track. And it's only going to happen if we work together. So I look forward to the spirit of collaboration Councilman often mentioned. I look forward to new ideas. If there are new ideas, we certainly need them. This was framed in the context of the entire Beat Beat 23 because there's progress happening across that beat. But, you know, there are some significant issues on Long Beach Boulevard, both sides of Long Beach Boulevard. And so the pathway forward is unity. But we have to think about systemic changes. We don't want to pass this on to wear continues to go for generations and generations. So thank you all for coming forward. Thank you to the city council and let's go ahead and have our vote. Speaker 2: Councilwoman to the house. Motion is carried. Speaker 1: All right. I think we have item 21 now. Right. Thank you so much. Item 21.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to direct City Manager to work with City Attorney and Development Services Department to provide an update to City Council on the City’s Nuisance Motel Regulation and Alcohol Nuisance Abatement ordinances, including options to strengthen the ordinances, within 90 days; Direct City Manager to work with Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) to identify resources to support efforts to address the issue of human trafficking along the Long Beach Boulevard Corridor in coordination with the City of Compton; and Direct City Manager and Health Department to coordinate outreach and education pipelines through the Long Beach “My Sister’s Keeper Initiative” for individuals impacted by human trafficking along the Long Beach Boulevard Corridor.

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Speaker 1: All right. I think we have item 21 now. Right. Thank you so much. Item 21. Speaker 2: Report from City Attorney Recommendation to adopt a resolution in support of legislation to enact changes to the California retail code related to sidewalk food vending, and adopt a resolution to implement a citywide enforcement model that prioritizes education and outreach for operating without a health permit. Speaker 1: All right. Councilman's and they just want to make this motion. I think this is a response to your item. All right. Is there a staff report for this? It's not necessary. It's fine during public comment on item 21. Speaker 2: No public comment on item 21. Speaker 1: All right, members, please cast your vote. Speaker 2: Motion is carried.

Resolution

Recommendation to adopt resolution in support of legislation to enact changes to the California Retail Code related to sidewalk food vending to address barriers to legal operation by small-scale operators; and

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Speaker 1: Thank you. Next is 22. Speaker 2: Report from Development Services recommendation to adopt a resolution to allow the City of Long Beach Emergency Rental Assistance Program to continue assisting eligible renters and execute all necessary documents with the California Department of Housing and Community Development to implement and comply with related state regulations citywide. Speaker 1: Thank you. I think there's a staff report on this. Yes, there is. I'll turn it over to, of course, he and his team. Speaker 0: Thank you. Council mayor and council members. Speaker 1: Tonight, you'll hear a longer presentation, but I'd like to introduce this item. We've had a. Speaker 0: Phenomenal success with the implementation of the Long Beach Emergency. Speaker 1: Rental Assistance. Speaker 0: Program. To date, we have issued over $50 million. Speaker 1: In assistance and assisted over. Speaker 0: 6500 applicants for this program. We are now winding down the program and. Speaker 1: Are asking the Council to adopt a resolution to request and accept the state rental assistance cash for loan program, which will allow us to continue this effort and help assist those that we still have not been able to. And with that, I'd like to have hand this over to Patrick. You're our Housing and Neighborhood Services Bureau manager. Thank you. Speaker 3: Thank you, Oscar. Good evening, Mayor, vice mayor and City Council. In 2020, the Federal Consolidated Appropriation Act authorized the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, known as ERAP, followed by the state's SB 91, which established the state's program for administering its share of funds. The state offered to run a rental assistance program on behalf of the city, which was called Option A, or to provide funding to the city for it to run the program itself. That was option B and the city of Long Beach chose option B. The city received $30.2 million in combined federal and state grants referred to as ERA one, ERA one. And in March 2021, the American Rescue Plan established an expansion of Erap, which is referred to as ERA two and was administered similar to ERA one. With that program, the city received $34.3 million and ERA two funds. In total, $64.5 million in the city is expected to fully obligate these funds by the end of June 2022. The Federal Government. The Treasury has allowed us to apply for funds that were clawed back from agencies that did not do as well as we have done with our program. And those are called recapture funds. So we're working on that. But in the meantime, the State Senate Bill 115 established the State Rental Assistance Cash Loan Program, providing short term cash flow loans for eligible option B jurisdictions participating in the ERAP program. Option B's and cities, including Long Beach, will be able to receive cash flow loan payments in monthly installments. The amount of the state loan program will be determined by the amount indicated in the request for reallocated funds from ERA one submitted to the Treasury. The city has submitted three separate requests totaling $28 million to the Treasury for estimated access obligations based on prior erap monthly expenditure averages and using a formula that the Treasury provided to us. If approved, the loan funds will allow the city to continue to provide rental and utility arrears payments to eligible applicants that submitted an ERAP application before the March 31st, 2022 deadline. Speaker 1: Thank. Balloon is available to. Speaker 3: All option B cities, including Long Beach, who have obligated and or spent all allocated federal funds down to a zero balance and can prove a need for additional funds if the city does not receive the full amount of reallocated funds that was requested. Speaker 0: By June 30th. Speaker 1: 2023. The sister state will. Speaker 3: Forgive the city's loan amount up to the amount not covered by the federal funds. Amounts allocated to the State Department of Housing and Community Development under SB 15 will not accrue interest. A sorry program. Expenditures must be for complete eligible applications submitted by households that were received on or before March 31st, 2022, and includes an administrative cost to run the program. No future rents can be paid through this program. So here again, we're here seeking the council's approval to adopt a resolution to request and accept state rental assistance cashflow loan program funds. That's a mouthful to allow the Long Beach Erap program to continue and authorize the city manager to execute all necessary documents with the State Department of Housing and Community Development. That concludes my presentation. Thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you, Councilman Ranga. Just for support of this. I think it's a good program that we need to support, and I'm very glad to be on the on the second of the motion. Thank you, Councilman Ciro. Speaker 8: Yeah. Thank you for the presentation. I just had a question about I think it's really important that we continue to get the assistance we need from the state. And I was just wondering, how about how much are we trying to recover to ensure that we're able to fulfill all of the applicants that submitted their application? Speaker 3: Councilwoman were we're applying for $28 million through this round, but we will have another opportunity to apply for additional funding equal to or even greater to that amount. So we could end up with another 50 to $60 million to use for the program. Speaker 8: Yeah, but I think that one of the things I'm a little I needed clarity is that this is for only exist for those who have submitted. There's no new applicants that are now accepted. Right. It's to fulfill in this program. Speaker 0: That is correct. The program was sunset. Speaker 1: On the end of March. Speaker 0: And we are trying to get. Speaker 1: Those that have already applied to assist them. Speaker 0: Potential future programs may. Speaker 1: Allow us. Speaker 0: To reopen the program and allow others to to apply. Speaker 8: Okay. Thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you. I'll just add, I want to just thank and congratulate staff on continuing to figure out how to deploy more resources, keep people in their homes. That's what this is about. We know that significant population in our city are feeling increased impacts from COVID 19, particularly families that make below 70,000 a year. They're the ones that are impacted by inflation, rising costs of housing, rising cost of fuel prices, all of those things. And so whatever we can do to deploy more resources to keep people in their homes, I think is good for our city. And so is there any public comment on this item saying, nonmembers, please cast your vote? Speaker 2: Motion is carried.

Resolution

Recommendation to adopt resolution to request and accept State Rental Assistance Cashflow Loan Program funds to allow the City of Long Beach Emergency Rental Assistance Program to continue, without interruption, assisting eligible renters who have experienced economic impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and Authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all necessary documents with the California Department of Housing and Community Development to receive State Rental Assistance Cashflow Loan funds, and execute the Standard Agreement necessary to implement and comply with related State regulations. (Citywide)

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Speaker 2: Motion is carried. Speaker 1: Item number 30 Please. Speaker 2: Report from City Attorney Recommendation as clear ordinance approving resolution number WD 14418. A resolution of the City of Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners establishing the rates and charges to be changed for water and sewer service and declaring the urgency thereof, and providing that this ordinance shall take effect at 12:01 a.m. on June 1st, 2022. Speaker 7: Citywide. Speaker 1: Thank you. It's been moved in. Seconded. Any public comment on item 30? Speaker 2: There is Mr. Dave Shukla and this requires two votes, one for the urgency and one for the ordinance. Speaker 1: Right. Mr. Shukla, you're up. Okay. He declined. Okay, let's go ahead and have our first vote. Speaker 2: Motion is carried. Speaker 1: Thank you. We need a motion to second on the second vote. Thank you. Please cast your vote. Speaker 2: Motion is carried. Speaker 1: Thank you. That satisfies the agenda. Now we have our second public comment. General public comment in a member of the public would like to address the council. Now would be the time.

Emergency Ordinance

Recommendation to declare ordinance approving approving Resolution No. WD-1441A, A Resolution of the City of Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners Establishing the Rates and Charges to be Charged For Water and Sewer Service and declaring the urgency thereof, and providing that this ordinance shall take effect at 12:01 a.m. on June 1, 2022, read and adopted as read. (Citywide)

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Speaker 0: Thank you. Let's go ahead and do the front transfer items. Which are 13, 14, 16 and 17. Banking in motion in a second on those. Speaker 1: Item 13 Communication from Councilwoman Allen Recommendation to Increase Appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $1,000 to provide a donation to City Heart to support Heart of the City 2022 Communication from Councilwoman Sara Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department by $15,000 to support the Long Beach Cambodian Cultural Center Feasibility Study. Item number 16 Communication from Councilwoman Allen. Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager department by $1,000 to provide a contribution to the support the Mayor's Fund for Education and increase appropriations in the General Fund and the City Manager Department by 1500 to provide a contribution to the Long Beach Museum of Art. An Item 17 Communication Councilwoman Price recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $1,000 to provide a donation to support the Long Beach Juneteenth celebration. Speaker 0: Let's see, there's a motion in a second. Is there any public comment on these? Speaker 1: No public comment. Speaker 0: Okay. I think the council have any comments you want to add to any of these. So seeing none members, please cast your votes. Speaker 1: I'm sorry. Is there public comment? On Item 13, 14, 16 and 17, item 17, there is a proposal. Speaker 0: Is there a public comment? Okay. Yes, please come forward. Speaker 4: Snake I can face resident. Thank you Council for bringing this item to the agenda today. I want to thank the Third District Office for giving a, you know, a luxurious amount to our Juneteenth celebration. That's upcoming just in a month. That was the 17 number 17. Just wanted to say thank you and hope to see everyone come out. And there was a lot of officials and delegates and elected officials at the last one last year. So I'm sure as soon to come, everyone else will be just so generous. Thank you. See you soon. Speaker 0: Thank you. And please cast your votes. Speaker 1: Motion is carried. Speaker 0: We do have a presentation tonight and that is going to be done by Councilman and Day House if we want to read the presentation.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $1,000, offset by the Second Council District One-time District Priority Funds, transferred from the Citywide Activities Department, to provide a donation to CityHeART to support HeART of the City 2022, which was held on April 28, 2022; and Decrease appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $1,000, to offset a transfer to the City Manager Department.

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Speaker 0: I think it's our only hearing tonight, and that's hearing 12, which is a Bamboo Club entertainment permit. So let the clerk read that item. Speaker 1: Report from Financial Management Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude the public hearing and grant an entertainment permit with conditions for entertainment without dancing to the Bamboo Club District three. Speaker 0: Thank you. We're going to go ahead and turn this. Speaker 4: Over to. Speaker 0: Our city staff. Speaker 3: Good evening, Mayor and members of the council. We'll have a presentation on this item from Mala Camerino, our business license analyst. Speaker 5: If the clerk could administer the oath on this one. I think this needs an oath. Speaker 1: If you can raise your right hand to you and each of you solemnly state that the testimony you may give in the cause now and pending before this body shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God. Thank you. Speaker 2: Good evening, honorable mayor and members of city council. Before you tonight as an application for entertainment permit without dancing for Long Beach Tiki LLC, DBA, the Bamboo Club located at 3522 through 24 East Anaheim Street in the third Council District, operating as a restaurant slash spa. The business has a valid ABC line has valid ABC licenses as follows Type 47 on sale, general eating place, type 58 Caterer Permit and Type 77 event permit. These authorize the sale of beer, wine and distilled spirits for consumption at the licensed premises. Among other things, all of the appropriate departments, Health and Human Services, Development Services, Police and Financial Management have reviewed the application and provided their recommended conditions as contained in the hearing packet. The following conditions should be noted, such from section two of the additional conditions section. Condition one Entertainment activities shall be restricted to no later than 10 p.m.. Sunday through Thursday 11 p.m.. Fridays and Saturdays entertainment can begin at 12 p.m. every day. The business applied to requesting entertainment to be permitted from 11 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week. And the Long Beach Police Department recommended the restricted conditions. Condition five to permit the permit has been requested to develop and maintain a plan to address neighborhood concerns related to the operation of the business. Business, for example, meetings and attending. Attending meetings and adding information on two newsletters. Condition eight The Speaker Volume in the patio area shall be kept at a low level so as not to disturb any other businesses or residents. If any noise or disturbance complaints can be attributed to the speaker volume in the patio area, the committee shall modify or remove existing existing speakers at the direction of the Chief of Police. Along with Tara moore, I, along with Tara mortensen, business service bureau manager, logged in virtually and Commander Lance from the Long Beach Police Department are available to answer questions that you may have. This concludes my staff report. Speaker 0: Thank you. We're going to we do have some public comments before I turn this over to Councilman Price, one of your public comment first. Okay. So I'm Clark and we have two members of the public. Speaker 1: Two members of the public are signed up to speak, Eric Verdasco, and said, I can faith you can line up at the podium. Eric Verdasco And so and I can say. Speaker 4: Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor. Members of the council. My name is Eric Produce CO and this is my business partner, Brett Gallo. We are the very proud owners and operators of the Bamboo Club at 3522 East Anaheim Street. We are here to answer any questions that you may have for us. Additionally, we would also, as was read on the record, would like to respectfully ask that one of our conditions be changed, and that's a condition related to 2 hours. As was mentioned, we we respectfully ask that we be allowed to provide entertainment until midnight, seven days a week. But we do want to clarify that that request is only for indoor entertainment. That is, with all the doors closed, all the windows closed so that we don't bother neighbors, you know, in ways that are detrimental to to our surroundings where we're. Collectively between three business partners. We have probably over 20 years of restaurant and bar operation experience, so we know how important it is to make sure that we're always aligned with the needs and of our neighbors, that we be respectful and mindful and address any issues there that that may come up immediately so that, you know, everyone's happy. We are here again. If you have any questions, we'd be happy to answer them. Thank you. Next speaker, please. It's the 1960s for president. I'm here in support of this entertainment license coming for the Bamboo Club. Speaking of respect, as a musician and creative myself, I think it's imperative in order for Long Beach to elevate and transcend our small town origin story into a major metropolitan city. We we have to comfortably come to an agreement and compromise with, you know, our residential spaces and our our emerging nightlife. And I think this is a great example of such as the previous gentleman just stated. I think the conditional agreement with respect to what the staff report says about the midnight, uh, time, time slot, I think that that should be raised to midnight and not 10 p.m. because just holistically speaking with respect to the Anaheim corridor there, there's already five other businesses operating in that space that are open later. So it wouldn't be too egregious of a thing to ask. Also, you know, just with respect to maintaining businesses in the area, uh, this is a, this is a restaurant as well as a, uh, an entertainment space. And so there's a lot of jobs and potential hours that could be increase with respect to a later hour and later timeline being instead of 10 p.m.. So just thinking about as residents, younger people are more and more, uh, operating in this and this part of the Anaheim corridor. I don't use the term zafira. I do say Anaheim Court or. I think that this would be a boon to the area as a whole, both on the tax element and respect to residents, because these types of businesses bring younger residents into the area not just to spend their disposable income, but also, most importantly, to live in, you know, potentially become greater, um, tax revenue. Uh, uh, I don't know, you got to take the money from this, but whatever that term is called at the moment, I can't think of. So I'm a I'm a fan. I've, I've operated for many years with respect to Mr. Jim Ritz and and others have been since he's had. And so and my father was a big fan of Liquid Lounge. And so, you know, I think that this is just a continuation of such it's good business so here in support. Thank you. Speaker 1: That concludes public comment. Speaker 0: Thank you. Let me turn this over to Councilman Price. Speaker 3: Thank you. And thank you staff for your presentation. And I know you guys have worked really hard on this and we did put it over till tonight and we were going to do it earlier. So I really appreciate the presentation. I really appreciate it. So a couple of questions. What are the measures that we have in place to address some of the noise complaints from the patio? Speaker 6: Good evening, Mayor, and members of City Council. My name is Tara mortensen and I'm the Business Services Bureau manager for the Police Department, have put in measures associated with the patio to ensure that there is discretion from the chief to be able to address any noise complaints that come in and to be able to take immediate action without having to return to council. We also have the the restricted hours also as an additional measure, but specifically from the patio, it's the chief of police discretion to be able to address the complaints and to be able to either remove the speakers or address other measures. Speaker 3: Okay. So what could could we can we have a requirement that the speakers on the outside be pointed away from the residents and towards Anaheim St? Is that something that we can work with the business on? Speaker 6: Yes, ma'am. Speaker 3: Okay, perfect. I think that would go a long way. So I am supportive of this application. I read and considered the letters that we received in opposition. I've also read and considered the letters that we have received in support and I do support this application. I do not at this time feel comfortable accepting the modification that the business owner shared with us tonight at the podium to go until midnight, seven nights a week. What I would like to do is approve the application with the hours that have sufficed, recommending approval on and be open to revisiting this in a year and assessing whether there has been calls for service an increase in nuisance activity. Hopefully not anything of that nature. But it is my understanding that this is a business owner that is responsive, especially to neighborhood impacts given where they're located. We want to make sure that the Zafira business district continues to thrive and that they that they support the operations of the various businesses that are operating within that corridor. And I very much support that effort. But I do want to be very sensitive to neighborhood impacts, and I just want to let the business owners know and I know they're here, that, you know, nothing impacts people's quality of life more than the impacts of the surrounding neighborhood. So I know you guys are going to be good business partners to one another, but also to the community. And I think that's really important. And we want to make sure that we stay vigilant on that given given the potential quality of life impacts that could come from a business that has extended hours like this. So wishing them the best. And I would ask my colleagues to support the staff's recommendation tonight. Thank you. Speaker 0: Councilman. Super now. Speaker 4: I stand in support of the councilman's parameters as stated. Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilwoman Zendejas. Speaker 2: Just to just some clarification. So what we're voting on tonight is see what Councilmember Price said. And also we won't be modifying but actually reducing the hours, am I correct for the business? Is that what we're. Speaker 6: Sorry. I was waiting to see if Tara was going to speak again. Oh, sorry. Yes. Uh, what we're modifying is the original application. So the item before you tonight is. Is exactly what you're going to have to go ahead and vote on, which is the hours that are provided and the conditions that are within the packet. And those are the hours that that were presented where. Sunday through Thursday, entertainment will end at 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday entertainment will end at 11 p.m.. And so that's what's been approved by the Long Beach Police Department. Speaker 2: Okay. So we're not really changing that. It's the original application. Speaker 6: No, the what the Long Beach Police Department has has recommended is reduced from the original application. And then this evening, the business owner has requested an additional change to the recommendation that's been provided to you tonight. And I believe Councilmember Price has said that she is not supporting that and won't be entering that additional item. Speaker 2: Okay. I just you know, one is to be very fair, I know that I've had a, you know, a lot of, you know, upset residents in my district to really address a business that has been completely a nuisance in our business. I mean, in our district. And that the community feels very, very against that business. So I just wanted to ask that because we want to make sure that we're uplifting good business owners and those that are not such good business owners, that we don't let them, you know, continue doing their bad behavior. So I just wanted to make sure that we keep an eye on this and and that we are fair with everybody across the board. Thank you. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Allen. Speaker 7: I yes. I just want to say, I'm very familiar with your business. You guys are great operators. I would support absolutely support it going to midnight. It sounds like that my colleagues and it's not my district are 211. But I think this is a good compromise. Let's see how you guys do. And I'm sure you guys are going to do great and you can extend those hours indoors. So thank you for being a good business and our community. Appreciate you guys. Speaker 0: Councilman Mongo. Speaker 1: I go to the comments of my colleagues on the dais and excellent business owner, great partner. Thanks for being here and thanks for taking on this location. Speaker 6: It takes a lot to be a business in today's environment. And we really appreciate you. Speaker 0: Thank you very much, Richardson. Speaker 8: Just want to take a moment. Just thank Eric and your team for continuing to just care and invest in our city. You have a great establishment and look forward. I wish you much success in the future and that you're you're able to continue to build, you know, support with the community because we want to see you be successful. Thank you so much. Speaker 0: Thank you. I'm going to I'm also just going to add, I think I think everyone has said really nice things about both of you and Bret Eric as business owners. And I just want to add also, I think you're you both are stellar business owners, not just at the Bamboo Club, which for those that don't know is really have become really one of the premier tiki bar and restaurant locations in the entire region. I know that you both have folks that are coming from pretty long distances in some cases to come visit and spend a week tonight, night with with all of you. You've done a phenomenal job at the space. And I want to congratulate both not not just on this business, but the other restaurants and bars that you have in Long Beach. You have chosen to invest in Long Beach and you've chosen to open up multiple locations in Long Beach. And I think that says a lot about your commitment to the city, which I know you both have immensely invested in the city in a variety of other ways. And so just thank you both for your your commitment. And I'm happy to see that you'll be acquiring this entertainment permit to expand the already great entertainment you're providing folks who are coming to your to your locations. I want to just I'm going to add one thing that I had learned recently in a conversation I had with both of you, that a lot of folks are now , you know, Eric Brown have been such responsible business owners that they purposely during the pandemic, when a lot of restaurants were opening up restrictions and filling the restaurants back up completely full, the two of them chose at their businesses to keep pretty significant distancing in place. And even when they were allowed to bring a lot of folks in into the bars area, they kept more of a restaurant floor plan, how to folks sit down, try to keep their customers and most importantly, I think their staff safe. I know you and I, both of you put a lot of thought into how you would operate in many and oftentimes at a loss. I mean, you could have filled your your bars and restaurants with a lot more people and you chose not to do so for the sake of your employees. I know that that's very appreciated by a lot of folks. So thank you both for all you do. And with that, I want to turn this back over to vote. So members, there is there is a motion and a second for the hearing. Please cast your votes. Speaker 1: Motion is carried. Speaker 0: Thank you. And next up, we have, I think was one member of the public for general public comment.

Public Hearing

Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude the public hearing, and grant an Entertainment Permit with conditions for Entertainment without Dancing to Long Beach Tiki, LLC, dba The Bamboo Club, at 3522-24 East Anaheim Street. (District 3)

LongBeachCC

LongBeachCC_05032022_22-0442

Speaker 0: Thank you. We are now going to item 18, please. Speaker 1: Report from Economic Development Recommendation to authorize city manager to accept and expend grant funding up to 6,300,000 for the creation of Long Beach Youth Climate Corps Citywide. Speaker 0: Mr. Monica. Speaker 4: Yes. We're very excited to be here tonight for this item. We do have a presentation as this is a significant amount. Speaker 5: Of new resources that Mayor Garcia and a number of large city mayors were able to secure in the last year's budget for cities to really address youth hiring and youth employment. And also with the focus on the Climate Corps. Speaker 4: So I will turn this over to our team. I think it's next team to give a presentation. Speaker 5: Good evening, honorable mayor and members of the Council. I'd like to take a few minutes and walk you through the Californians for our award to the city of Long Beach that's going to help us implement the city's vision for for the Youth Climate Corps. So the governor's office made available through the through the last state budget surplus, $150 million in youth workforce development funds and. You got. Speaker 9: One more? You want to go ahead. Speaker 0: And just everyone. Just. I know it's hard, but it's as quiet as possible on the exit, please. That would be appreciated. Speaker 4: Exactly. Speaker 0: Nick, why don't you. Why are you going to start over? Speaker 5: Gwen's sort of. Good evening, honorable mayor and members of the council. I am going to give you a short staff report on the Californians from Grant Award to the city of Long Beach that is going to help them implement the city's vision for the Youth Climate Corps. So I'm going to go through the background program development program design. The job placements that we're looking at and next steps for the program. The money came available through a $150 million that the governor designated through the through the last state budget surplus. The 13 largest California cities got a carve out of that based on population or size. And Long Beach being the 77th largest city in the state, received $6.3 million in in cost reimbursement funds. And the funds are there to support activities that increase youth employment, develop youth interest and experience toward careers in public service, and strengthen the capacity to act to address education, climate change and food insecurity. Participants in the program are aged 16 to 30. Many of you will recognize that this is an expansion of the age for eligible youth. Most of our funding, core funding and other competitive grants recognize youth up to about 24. This is going to expand our service delivery. Our folks are going to be low income, unemployed or out of school. Justice involved transitioning from foster care or engaged with the mental health or substance abuse system. In addition to that. All 75% of the program participants must have a multiple barrier. So two out of the three things mentioned above. And this is a very specific program. It's focused really on two things paid youth, job placement and all the placement must be in public agencies or nonprofits. And after the program concludes, the successful outcome, according to the grant funds are permanent, placing permanent placement in employment or continuous education. So as we put the program together, we reviewed many existing models, including our own blueprint for economic development, our youth strategic plan, our Climate Action Plan, our Long Beach Racial Equity Toolkit, the Racial Equity and Rec Iraqi Reconciliation Plan, excuse me, as well as the everyone in plan, the work we've done around boys and men of color in the city of Long Beach, and also the local hire provisions that were put in our project labor agreement and. Speaker 4: This is. Speaker 5: Right. This is out of order in in your presentation, but not in the slide deck is actually a crosswalk between some of those existing plans and our grant and the objectives there. So to ensure we meet the required outcomes, there are some key strategies that we put in place. So placement in existing city, nonprofit and crime, climate related programs that meet all grant requirements as well as timing. The ability to map the transferable skills of those placements into real world experiences and post labor market attachment. And foster stewardship by providing resources and diverse learning opportunities to the students. So as the budget is comprised over a two year period, we're looking at approximately 380 youth placements. Again, because we're going to 16 through 30 and some of the youth will have had experiences, whether successful or not. We're looking at everything from entry level to more technical and advanced occupations and that the youth will earn a subsidized wage in the program somewhere between 16 to $27 an hour. And most of our placements will encompass roughly 450 to 500 hours, that the placements will be determined in conjunction with open, open availability with with our partner departments and nonprofits. And it'll be determined during the intake at Pacific Gateway. Some of our partnerships that we're highlighting tonight for the program are in both the Long Beach Office of Sustainability, as well as the Conservation Corps in the city, and other CBOs that are concentrating on the highlighted areas of urban greening and natural systems services, urban agriculture in waste reduction and energy. And then we've also worked and had conversations with various departments around their opportunity to provide relevant placement to the participants. And we've spoken with development services. Our own department in economic development, of course, Health and Human Services, the Legislative Department. Library Services. Parks, Recreation. Marine and Public Works. So a few of the particulars to wrap this up will accept the grant funding here in May and immediately begin convening with our partner entities to engage around the placements. Program will kick off in the summer with actual actual placement and work for a good portion of our participants. And excuse me, the activities will be tracked and reported by Pacific Gateway through implementation using the same ID and mass and administrative tools that we use to track and report on all of our federal grant programs and abhors there and take any questions you might have. Speaker 0: Thank you. I'm just going to make a few comments and then I'm turning it over to the to the council. I just want to first thank staff just the team at Economic Development and our workforce team. This is a great really presentation and then a nice job of kind of taking everything that we put forward to build this program. I want to just again, thank Governor Newsom, who deliberately put this program into the budget. That was a request that a group of us had made to try to focus and put more resources into youth jobs, especially for, you know, youth that are that are either struggling or have, you know, additional needs could be, you know, could be unemployed or justice involved. And so that that whole, you know, group of young people in a community they're going to benefit from these climate opportunities is going to be pretty significant. This is actually a pretty significant amount of money for a youth program. And I was I was trying to think of Mr. Modica. I was trying to think back, but I don't remember how long as I've been here, us investing this amount of money into a specific kind of sector of, of, of work for, for young people. And I think unless I was trying to look back and I just I don't remember that we've ever done that before in Long Beach as far back as I can remember. And so this is going to be a significant investment that the city is making, of course, thanks to the work at the state level. But I'm just really, really proud that we're going to be able to launch this program and good and get so many young people placed in some of these kind of green jobs and working with our partners. I wanted to ask, I know that we are partnering with our Sustainability Office, with the Conservation Corps, which was a request of the council, which I think is a really great opportunity and step forward. And I'm just really hoping that as we move forward that we're really doing a great job of outreach and that we're going into neighborhoods and communities where we're reaching out to young people. I think it's important for us to recognize that oftentimes the issue of climate is not accessible to lower income communities. And while we're low and community are the most impacted, it's oftentimes not not top of mind as far as as a as an issue that young folks they can be involved in and make a difference in. And so it's really important that the outreach component that we're working with, with with organizations on the ground, with faith communities, with our with with of course, with our schools, to just reach as many young people as possible to participate in these programs. Did you want to expand on how the outreach component might work or how we're going to actually reach young people? Speaker 5: Yes. Thank you, Mayor. And I can confirm that, at least in terms of my tenure here as well, that this is the single largest grant award related to a specific focus area for workforce development, regardless whether it be youth, adult or disconnected workers. The outreach component is of critical importance for us. This is a program, again, where your entire cadre of participants are disconnected folks, disconnected from traditional systems. And also you're dealing with the challenge of the not using the for profit community for placement. So on both fronts, getting to community groups that there are trusted brokers for our youth to access information about entering the program is a part of the significant part of the plan moving forward, as well as engaging those groups around opportunities, they have to provide a meaningful work experience that aligns with with the program goals. So the outreach is is twofold in that respect. Speaker 0: That's really great. I want to also just highlight when we talk about kind of job placements and possible opportunities, you I think you listed some, which is really great. I mean, a lot of these are also opportunities within the city to help on action climate action activities and you know, whether it's on the health side or on the library side, but I'm especially interested in this idea that we could have so many young people involved, particularly on the urban greening and park ambassadorship side, at this idea that we can have young people as park ambassadors in our parks across the city doing doing that level of work and ensuring that that, you know, teaching and learning about park stewardship and clean parks and and access to green space. And that's something also that's really unique from a workforce perspective. And so I'm just very interested in how that is going to develop. We have incredible parks space across the city. I also, you know, when you think about places like Eldorado Park or the Nature Center, especially in some of these larger areas, Drake and others, you do have an opportunity to to put some really great programing in place, especially, I think, in some of the larger kind of more urban forests that we have, you know, within the city. So anything else you want to expand on as far as like the park ambassador program and how that will work? Speaker 5: I think you're right on with with the things that you've said in terms of the discussion we had. So we were we were convened cross-departmental before the application was developed by our DCM, uh, Theresa Chandler. And we had an opportunity to discuss the potential for departments to, to think through their plans for employment. We have had conversations with again all the departments that we mentioned. The Parks Department has had an ambassador program, I think, on the table for some time. This is this is a vehicle to activate it for them. So we look forward to being able to do that. And I think there are some some instances where with some other forms of specific gateway funding, we've started that out at a smaller scale to get people involved and engaged in the parks. And this is an opportunity, again, to open this up to more of the community and scale to the need here in Long Beach. Speaker 0: In my last last two comments. One is just want to uplift the also the urban farming and food insecurity piece that that you note in your presentation. Obviously that is a lot of really incredible opportunity there and the already established kind of urban farms and food programs that we have in the city as it relates to this program, I think could be really, really special. And then finally, I just want to make sure that we're keeping an eye out. I didn't explicitly see it here and maybe just missed it, but I think one of the requests that I made and when we discussed the program was making sure that we're just keeping an eye on , you know, the conversation around the National Climate Corps program that is not fully gotten through Congress, but is there the framework there? And I know that when we had initially had discussions with the governor, that we were having conversations about that program and how could there could be some relationship between the two. And so as long as we're just kind of keeping an eye on that, I think that would be that would be beneficial. Speaker 5: I think there's a few things to your point. So certainly the implementation implementation of SB 1383 in the city provides an opportunity for some relevant work experience around food waste, insecurity, the sorting of it, those, those types of things. The Climate Corps model that was provided, that was proposed in the President Biden's build back better legislation was a model we looked at while building up for this. And we certainly see some of the opportunity that is going to come forward to cities through the states RFP related to Community Economic Resilience Fund as opportunities for a longer term placement and employment and related type activities through the Corps to prepare students for that moving forward. Great. Speaker 0: Well, thank you. This is going to be a, I think, a transformational program for so many young people. I'm really proud that we're going at this launch here in Long Beach. And do you want to do you wanted to share finally just the timeline as far as when the when you look at the next steps on the on the last on the last sheet here. We are sure you are feeling confident that this summer is when we're actually going to start the the placements, correct? Speaker 5: We are going to begin engaging with the the individual departments and entities referenced in the presentation later this week and not later this month. And we do hope to have the first set of placements in place in the month of June. Speaker 0: Great. And I would encourage you know, the team could also consider or think about how we're going to kind of brand the program. And, you know, is there going to be, you know, some type of logo for the program or, you know, are the are the are the youth going to get some kind of kind of T-shirt or some type of uniform that kind of brings them together. And that, you know, shows the breadth of the program, I think is at least something to consider for for for all of you as you're developing this. It would be great. And with that, actually, Vice Mayor Richardson. Speaker 8: Thanks so much, Mr. Mayor. Thank you for walking us through the program. Nick, I think this is incredible to see almost 400 youth be able to engage directly in a program like this. I think what's what's really great is that these youth, who in many ways are more susceptible to pitfalls in society, are given an opportunity that will create a pipeline, a pathway for them to actually have career opportunities in the future. I think that says a lot about our city and the way we're thinking about how we're engaging opportunity youth. And I look at some of these criteria low income, unemployed out of school, unemployed out of school. We've done a lot. We talked a lot during My Brother's Keeper about disconnected youth, how you can make a meaningful difference in their lives by simply connecting them to the institutions that we already have, like workforce institutions. And if you're less if you're more likely to connect with an educational institution or workforce institution or get a job that pays a good salary, you're less likely to be connected to the criminal justice system. So I love that. I also love the crosswalk. I looked at it here. I know it was in the presentation, but it is here. The Strategic Plan Alignment. You know, this is a best practice braiding together the ways in which systems and programs work for an outcome. You're aligning our youth plan or climate plan, sustainability plan, equity plans, youth plans, racial reconciliation initiative plans to have a desired outcome. I think that's smart. That's a best practice that I think we should continue to follow as a city. I'm interested in seeing, I think, coming out of the pandemic. We certainly have some some need for some extra expertize and some extra help. I'm thinking about, you know, the garden at the Michelle Obama neighborhood library, which used to be a community group that helped manage. There's an irrigation system there. I think that was really a great project for them to take on. I'm thinking about coordination with Conservation Corps, who's doing more work at the wetlands, and they should be opening up at the end of the summer. Their Environmental Stewardship Center at the Forest Park. So I see an opportunity there to do more work along the river. I would love to better understand if there will be some alignment with some of our recovery efforts. We're investing significant resources in the food security and other things through our recovery efforts. I would love to see some alignment, some alignment there if we could. And then the last thing is really there's really a question I would love to see. I would love to see some real pipeline or certification that if if some of these youth are on a certain track, it could land them into jobs that actually do climate resiliency, installing solar or even some some of the climate resiliency work we have. There's going to be significant work on electric vehicle charging stations, electrification of our ports. If there could be a direct alignment of, you know, these youth, when they get out, somehow they land a job with some of the infrastructure work that that we have to, you know, have to undergo in Long Beach. And so I would love to hear how you're thinking about the strategic alignment there. Speaker 5: That's a great question. And we have thought about it. So so we know some of the programs and or opportunities that that some of the partners you mentioned in some you didn't actually actually create. And I think I referenced the the local higher provisions of the project labor agreement. We know, at least in terms of the grand scale of this in Long Beach, it's going to be built by the trades. That's an agreement we signed and we're committed to for ten years. That agreement also opens up an ongoing dialog. So how do we how do we work with our partners in the trades to say, here's the experiences for your pipeline that are available right now? Can can you look at these skills? Can you can you look at these competencies that are gained within these programs? And can we start to brand some of this as legitimate through apprenticeship? And can we give those folks consideration related to our local hire provision? So there's a direct pathway from this to the, you know, the capital infrastructure projects that are that are going to occur in here in Long Beach and all of the other work in the region that the infrastructure bill and the like are going to provide. So we have thought about that and we think it's it's a direct connection to the signatory relationships we have with organizations like the building trades yet. Speaker 8: Yeah. This could be considered a pre apprenticeship that gets them directly in. That would be a huge slam dunk. Thank you so much. Speaker 0: Thank you. Councilman's in Dallas. Speaker 2: Thank you, Mayor. First. Thank you very much for that wonderful presentation. I'm so excited about this program. One thing in particular that I'm excited about is not only will we be equipping and empowering our youth to address climate change, but it will also be a way for us, the city, to establish a model for the city that moves us forward in also offering more paid experience to our youth. And I think that the key word right there is paid experience for so many of these types of opportunities where we were only able to afford a couple and now will be able to give it to more youth. And I think that that's really what what really excites me. Having paid work opportunity helps in reducing barriers and increasing civic engagement for young people. The bottom line is that this program will be changing the life of so many of our youth. It is going to be so impactful on their on their confidence, self-confidence, and that's going to propel them to seek other future opportunities. And, you know, I'm just super excited about that. I also want to make sure that we you know, that we recognize that this program also comes with mentorship. And I don't think we put enough emphasis on how important mentorship is in the in the building of a youth. You know, like it's just so life changing. So I really want to acknowledge that. And I welcome those opportunities where our youth are going to be mentored and they're going to be taught and in particularly they're going to be paid. And so I think that's going to help in so many ways. And I agree with the comments that have been said here before. And I can't wait till till we get this program on the road. And I really want to be connected with you because I know that outreach is going to be important, especially to those individuals that qualify for this program. So I'm looking forward to connecting our offices and making sure that we reach all of the young students and individuals that will be able to to benefit from this program. Speaker 5: I think we can make that commitment across the dias that will share the outreach plan with with all of you related to other folks who you believe we should be in contact with in your district. So we will do that. Speaker 2: Thank you very much. Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilwoman Allen. Speaker 7: Yes, thank you, Mayor. Just a huge thanks to all your team, to Nick and Oscar and Meredith and Larry and Teresa. I know I'm missing some, but all of your team that has done so much, you know, that got us to this point. The amount of funding for this program is absolutely astonishing. It's transformational. So I'm just really excited. It's also been a privilege for me to work with your staff on designing this program for the city, and a chance to create youth employment and career pathways is just an absolutely huge blessing for so many of our of our youth . And I look forward to hosting as many as possible the Climate Action Fellows that are that are loud in our legislation department and I absolutely agree with the mayor. We should have, you know. Badges or are collateral or something. I'm just really proud of this program, so I hopefully that you can incorporate that as well. But thank you so much. Great work, you guys. Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilman Sarno. Speaker 3: Thank you, Mayor. So, yeah, I just want to add to my excitement as well as given what was said by my colleagues and the mayor, you know, I just kind of calculated it is a lot of money that is being invested in a youth program. But I calculated that if we're going to have 380 youth, it's really about with 450 to 500 hours. It's about 12.5 weeks, which is about two and a half months. So just enough to get a taste and maybe what it's like to be in these placements. Right? Because some of us, it takes us a minimum a year to acclimate into a job. And so I'm just curious about, in addition to mentorship, what will be additional workforce training or transitional opportunity and where they're learning to build their resume? Because we're working with many of the youth that would be in my district, which are low income, are unemployed, are just as involved, or so they have all these other challenges where they may have needs, services on top of making sure that they have and pretty much be job ready after their they've been in place. So just curious about that. Speaker 5: Yeah, I think I think that's a great observation. I would say related to youth participants, given all the other factors in in a complex life, especially those of out of school youth, we find that most of them average somewhere between 20 to 30 hours a week at most. They won't burn through that at a full time clip. With that said, all the other supportive services that workforce offers will be wrapped around these participants. They'll be co enrollments with other programs that they're eligible for. Child care, transportation, other types of equipment or clothing related to the occupation will be made available to them. And then all this all of this off skill and other development workshops that we put on will be there. They'll also have the opportunity, if they're not ready for for full time sustainable employment, for them to go into a training or continuing education program will equip them around the suite of tools we have to increase their digital access and if they're so inclined to earn, why that why they learn. We have a couple of platforms where they can engage in training while they're actually simultaneously in the work experience. But we plan to deploy all of that. Speaker 3: Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilwoman Price. Thank. Speaker 3: So a couple of questions and the presentation was excellent. So thanks to both of you. How did we come up with the number 380? Speaker 5: Then number 380 was were and the the wage ranges and the anticipated hours worked was a look at our our existing caseload of opportunity youth what it usually takes for them to have a meaningful work experience. Adding in that some of the folks who are now eligible under this program are in our adult caseload currently. So we factored in what the typical experience were for an adult was came up with a calculus in terms of. How people disconnect from the labor market and what they need to reattach. Just wrap that around. A total number that came out at 380 tried to average close to 500 hours of work experience and pay them somewhere around market value, which for what we would hope would be the next step in the labor market for them. Speaker 3: So we we do think we'll be able to fill all 380 of these spots like we think there's enough capacity there. Speaker 5: We think there's capacity and there's demand. I think we think about the the generation that we're going to serve as as very, very connected. But the pandemic actually had. Set an amazing effect on that. You know, they like to be online. They like to be chatting electronically. But there's there's a demand like we haven't seen from youth this age to to be in person, get in-person service, interact with individuals, know that they have a safe space and someone who cares about them to be with and look at their future employment journey with. So we're we're excited to offer this and we think the demands and the uptake is going to be so great. Speaker 3: And then what is the term out of school mean? Is it somebody like is the age. Speaker 1: 16 to 30? Speaker 5: It is 16 to 30 out of school means not currently enrolled in a formal educational program. Speaker 3: So would like summer vacation qualify for the 16 to 18 year olds? Speaker 5: It does not. Speaker 3: It does not. Speaker 5: It does not. Speaker 1: Okay. Speaker 5: So so these are these in in terms of a term we used last week, these are opportunity youth. Speaker 3: I see. So 16, 16 to 18 year olds would be the ones that are no longer going to school. Speaker 4: That's correct. Speaker 3: Okay. That would be that population. And then have we found some of the ideas for the projects to be awesome? But I was just curious on some of these like for example, on urban agriculture. Operating public orchards and fruit tree programs. Do we have a public orchard in Long Beach or are we going to create one, for example? Speaker 5: I'd have to defer that that that answer. I'm not I'm not sure on that. I think that's an example Lynch lifted out of the Grant text. Speaker 3: I think Linda's raising her, yes. Speaker 2: Council members. We do currently in the City Sustainability Program, working with Larry Rich. Speaker 3: There are some agricultural programs. Speaker 1: And I think. Speaker 6: The hope is that with this. Speaker 2: Program that can be expanded to include. Speaker 1: That that type. Speaker 6: More robust type of urban agricultural program. Speaker 3: Oh, great. Good. I wasn't aware of that, but I think that's a really great idea. And then the projects that we have. The city projects that we have, some of those will be eligible for these. Opportunities, correct? City projects? Speaker 5: 100%. And we actually related to the number we need to serve, how we look at the city departments as our biggest asset and partner in providing these job opportunities for the youth. Speaker 3: And good. And then how are we going to advertise this so that we can make sure we get the, you know, a high number of applicants and also CBOs that want to partner with us. Speaker 5: Yep. So that there there has been some, some surveying done related to, um, interest in the program, uh, post the presentation to, uh, the, the sustainability committee. Uh, we're going to go through our channels, uh, with our partners in the workforce development ecosystem as well as working through, um, the Office of Youth Development, the Youth Service Network . Again, we've made the commitment to work through all your offices. So we're going to push this out through as many networks as as possible. We have strong relationships with the Ministers Alliance and the faith based network as far as sourcing for our other workforce programs. It's really the same approach, but amplifying it to ensure that related to sustainability and climate, that there aren't organizations who we haven't engaged with before that we're missing. Speaker 3: And I would recommend also that we reach out to the Long Beach nonprofit partnership, because there's a lot of CBOs there that might do this kind of work. And also, we have a lot of sober living homes with people that are looking for jobs right now. That might be a good place to reach out to as well. Those are just my recommendations, but it's a great program and I thank you for the presentation. Speaker 0: Thank you. There is a motion in seconds for public comment on this. Speaker 1: There is Dave Shukla. Speaker 4: Good evening. It's good to see that the terms of this agreement have evolved and are subject to further iteration. The areas of education, climate change and food security can either be co extensive integrated programs of immediate economic recovery, as a couple of the council members have already stated. Or they can be compartmentalized and at cross-purposes and of little benefit, practical benefit for the increasingly critical and time limited goals that the State of California have set on climate, including SB 1383. You should note that these are goals that have fiscal requirements broadly reducing pollution and climate forcing activities that are principally responsible for them across space and time at scale. I encourage all of you to check out a webinar by the Climate seven Climate Center that was given on the 27th of April titled Investing in Workers for a World Beyond Fossil Fuels. It's 80 minutes. You can find it on YouTube. As many people have noted throughout the process for the development of this Long Beach Youth Employment Corps. These two need to be real jobs, paid jobs, and they do need to lead to real career paths. Especially considering that the Biden administration has just requested $33 billion for what can only really be read as a down payment on World War Three and potentially making all of our efforts here moot. But City Manager Tom Modica, you said more than once that. This city's budget document each year is the principal expression of the city's values. So I do hope you hear me that this is perhaps a once in a lifetime opportunity for this city to shape what took years to build out in the dirty energy economy here. Mm hmm. In the novel. In many cases, in American human history. In the 1920s, 1980s, 2000, whenever it was 1940. These are things that are going to have to be rebuilt, reconstituted, reconstructed for climate resiliency in months. And the timeline is more than one other leader mentioned is pretty critical. Admit I was looking forward to that cross seeing what that crossed with most. But the one last thing I'd like to say is. You know, if this just goes into things like anaerobic digestion or helping the reef centralize the grid for their own interests. You're going to fail these kids and you're going to feel what limited time there is left to do something realistic for all of our future. Thank you. Speaker 0: I conclude from a comment, I believe. So we have a motion in a second. Please cast your votes. Speaker 1: I'm super not. Thank you. Motion is carried. Speaker 0: Thank you. Item number 19 Please.

Contract

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute an agreement, and any necessary documents, subcontracts, and subsequent amendments, including amendments to the award amount or agreement term, with the CaliforniansForAll Youth Workforce Development Program to accept and expend grant funding up to $6,300,000 in California Volunteers - Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery funds, to provide the Economic Development Department, Pacific Gateway Workforce Innovation Network, in the creation of Long Beach Youth Climate Corps, a paid work experience program, for the period of December 6, 2021 through June 30, 2024. (Citywide)

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Speaker 1: Motion is carried. Speaker 0: Out in 20. Speaker 1: A report from Health and Human Services recommendation to adopt specifications and award multiple contracts to provide temporary shelters for households experiencing homelessness and or program participants who are homeless and in need of temporary motel lodging within Long Beach and a total annual aggregate amount not to exceed 2,912,000 districts one, two and six. Speaker 0: The motion is a motion in a second or any public comment. CNN Members Please cast your votes. Speaker 1: Motion is carried. Speaker 0: 21. Speaker 1: Report from Human Resources Recommendation to authorize City Manager to execute a Third Amendment with Mission Square retirement for recordkeeping services on behalf of the city's Retirement Savings Program. And adopt a resolution authorizing an amendment to the Memorandum of Understanding for Long Beach Lifeguard Associations. Long Beach Association of Confidential Employees. Long Beach. City Attorneys Association. Long Beach. City Prosecutors Association. And Long Beach Management Association. Citywide. Speaker 0: There's a motion in a Second Avenue public comment. Speaker 8: Mr. Mayor, that's not what's on the screen. There's something going on. There it is.

Contract

Recommendation to adopt Specifications No. RFP HE21-089 and award contracts to Aris Hospitality, Inc., dba the Pine Avenue Inn Motel, Shree Ganesh, Inc., dba the Colonial Motel, and the Coast Motel, all of Long Beach, CA, to provide temporary shelters for households experiencing homelessness and/or program participants who are homeless and in need of temporary motel lodging within Long Beach, in a total annual aggregate amount not to exceed $2,912,000, for a period of one year, with the option to renew for one additional one-year period, at the discretion of the City Manager; and, authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to enter into contracts, including any necessary subsequent amendments. (Districts 1,2,6)

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Speaker 1: Motion is carried. 23 Report from Human Resources Recommendation to adopt a resolution amending the fiscal year 2020 to City Salary Resolution to include a lateral police officer incentive program citywide. Speaker 0: There's a motion and a second is for public comment on this. A public comment. Mr. Murdoch added, You need to give any update here or. Speaker 4: Just that we have two items in front of you tonight. Both are to able to attract. Speaker 5: Individuals coming from other agencies into our city. We are doing everything we can to try to increase hiring. And so this is one of our items. Speaker 4: This one in particular. Speaker 5: Is a an incentive to bring over lateral police officers. Speaker 4: It takes about a year and a half to almost two years from the time you train and recruit a police officer to the time that they can serve on the streets. And so if you do a lateral where you're bringing. Speaker 5: Someone in from another agency, that can be done in a matter of, you know, of weeks, essentially. So this is a $15,000 incentive. And it's also structured to make sure that that employee stays with us at least a year and try to make sure they have a long career here in Long Beach. So we're very supportive of this and ask for your approval. Speaker 0: We have a motion in a second. Councilman Austin, did you have a question? Speaker 8: I just had a really quick question regarding the the benefit of the lateral. Can you explain what it costs to to go through a police academy and to train an officer? Speaker 5: We don't have those exact costs right now. But I think it's a it's pretty costly and timely to put somebody from the beginning of the academy through the process. And so I think this would be a way to really expedite the process, like Mr. Modica said, and give us another tool in the tool chest for recruit recruiting experience candidates. Speaker 4: Well, I don't have costs. Speaker 5: I can talk a little. Speaker 4: Bit about the process. It takes about a year for you to go through a recruitment. Speaker 5: Process, through civil service, to create the tests. Speaker 4: To create the list. Speaker 5: We then do an extensive, extensive background on anybody who's coming into our to our organization, which includes going out and talking to anyone who, you know, they've had contact with and really understanding that person's history. Speaker 4: You do that as well when you do laterals. Speaker 5: But you can do it in a in a more compressed. Speaker 4: Timeframe. You don't have the long. Speaker 5: Recruitment and then you put them through an actual academy. And then after the academy, you also have field training. And so that person goes does not go out by themselves into the field. They actually work with an officer to train them and they do that for an extended period of time. And so altogether that is a very expensive model that we have. And this actually is a very efficient way to bring on officers quickly. Speaker 8: And my follow up question is, what do you say to someone who says that we may be getting somebody else's discarded officer or somebody who didn't cut it in another department? What kind of provisions are we putting in place to ensure that we're getting quality? Speaker 4: Yes. So we would put every officer that's. Speaker 5: Doing a lateral through an intense review process. Speaker 4: Just like we would any new employee. But in this case, you're actually able to really. Speaker 5: Delve into their background because they've been an experienced police officer. And so we have a number of tools that we use through our process to make sure that we understand that person's background. And then we are able to make selections based on, you know, what, what type of officer we're going to want to have in our in our in our organization. Speaker 4: We still put them through training. We still do things in language. You want to make sure they know about our culture. Speaker 5: We want to know that they know our training programs. And so a lot of officers also get trained as they come on so that we make sure that they're consistent with our policies and practices. Speaker 0: Thank you very much, Senator. Second, there is no public comment, so please cast your votes.

Resolution

Recommendation to adopt resolution amending the Fiscal Year 2022 City Salary Resolution to include a Lateral Police Officer Incentive Program. (Citywide)

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Speaker 1: Motion is carried. Speaker 0: Item 24. Speaker 1: Report from City Attorney Recommendation of Declare Ordinance Amending the Long Beach Municipal Code relating to prohibiting adults not accompanying children under the age of 12 from park playgrounds. Read the first time and later over the next regular meeting of the City Council for Final Reading City Wide. Speaker 0: Mr. City Attorney, do you need to give any updates on this before I turn it over to Councilman Allen? Speaker 5: We can give an update, if you like, but this is an ordinance that was requested by the council to come back for I think Councilmember Allen brought this forward and we're just bringing it back. Speaker 0: I just wasn't sure if there was an update to Councilman Allen. Any comments? Speaker 7: Yes. Thank you, Mayor. I want to thank you. And the city attorney's office and the Parks Recreation and Marine Department and over there for their work on this ordinance at one of my first neighborhood community meetings after being sworn in. There was a resident and her name was Sandy Nair, who reached out with an idea about kids zones. And she talked about the issues like adults misusing the playgrounds or engaging in activities that discourages children from using playgrounds. And this issue was not just at her park near her house on the promenade, but citywide. And she shared the idea of marrying San Francisco's No Adult with a child in the playground program. In the following months, more residents shared similar ideas. I spoke with the Parks Recreation, Marine Department and Animal Care Services Department about checking out what other cities are doing and how we can model and look at that. And I know this has taken a little while since March of 2021, but, you know, good policy takes a little time. And I know that we've had a chance to work with other neighborhoods, parent groups, other council offices to make sure that this ordinance is balanced and representative of our entire city. Throughout the city, we've seen that these spaces designed for children have been misused, vandalized, and even just outright destroyed. And I think we've listened to our residents who use these spaces, and we're taking the steps to protect them so that our young people can enjoy the outdoors and enjoy the parks. And by establishing kid zones, we can ensure that the city playground equipment in these play areas, specifically designed for children, remain safe, open and accessible spaces for their use. Parks in my district, like Miracle on Fourth and then the Promenade Square Park, which is now as my colleague wonderful Mary's and de has this district are you know are still impacted by ongoing loitering issues which discourage park usage by shot by children and by their their guardians. So this ordinance today establishes protections and guidelines for public spaces. And I hope this policy makes our parks safer for our residents and our families. The one element that I have some concerns about is the is the enforcement. And I did get this question. So if there's someone that can answer this, I know a resident ask specifically the language about 12 year olds prohibited youth older than 12 for from enjoying these amenities. So if you can clarify, because one of the things and I thought this was a good question, I have a nephew who's Pacific Islander and he's, you know, 12 years old, but he looks like he's 20, a linebacker getting ready to are the NFL draft or something. So. So I just just want to I just want you to address that constituent, whoever is here on those concerns. If someone can do that, that would be great. Speaker 5: Yes. Thank you, Councilwoman. This is Brant Dennis, the director for Parks Recreation Marine. That's a very good question. I know. Typically, when we are designing our playgrounds and working closely with public works, we have, you know, the youth, the top lots that are, I guess, zero through age five and then the older children, which is traditionally five through 12. And that's kind of how we define youth in a lot of our programing. Also, I think the intent of this is really just to have a watchful eye over the type of use or abuse of our playground spaces. And I don't think it's going to be the custom that we're checking IDs. Actually, a lot of youth probably don't have forms of identification on them, but I think the intent of it really is to, as best we can, just keep a watchful eye on our playground spaces that are designed for for younger people. But we have had some examples where. Speaker 4: Adults have. Speaker 5: Actually caused a lot of damage by aggressively using or abusing our playground equipment. So I think it's all for the good of the child, of the children, of our community and young families in particular, that we want our play areas to be safe, welcoming and respected. Speaker 7: I just want to say thank you so much for all your hard work. And also thank you to my colleague, Councilmember Yaw Ranga, who's also been a champion of this. I really appreciate all your support. Speaker 0: Thank you, country, Renko. Speaker 4: Thank you, Mayor. And thank you, Councilmember Allen, for also bringing this forward. Very happy to sign on to this. As you probably remember, about a year ago, our playground at Admiral Kidd Park was totally destroyed, probably because someone just abused the playground. I would also another playground in my district at Silverado Park also went through a lot of damage. And fortunately, through funding and fundraising, we're able to replace those two big playgrounds again and make them state of the art. So I think in order to ensure that these playgrounds remain safe for kids and last a long time and have a nice, long shelf life, I think that this ordinance would be would go a long way in helping protect that. So I'm very happy to support this, and I hope that I can get the support of my colleagues as well. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilwoman Price. Speaker 3: Thank you. I do have a question for the city attorney because I received several emails today. I know there's other cities that have similar ordinances and Councilman Allen touched upon them. Has this type of ordinance been through any sort of litigation to determine whether there's any access or constitutional violations? Speaker 5: I'm going to ask Anita to respond. Speaker 2: Good evening. Speaker 3: There has not been any constitutional challenge or litigation on these particular ordinances. Specifically the city of Santa monica, which this is modeled after. Great. Thank you. And then the other question that I had is, what's our enforcement mechanism? I imagine it's going to be a calls for service type of reactive response. And then is our approach going to be outreach or or citation? Speaker 4: I thank you, Councilwoman. Speaker 5: In speaking to my colleagues in both Santa monica and also the city of Las Vegas has had a very similar ordinance in place. They both pursued a very broad community awareness campaign. And I know with our army of community recreation services team members, it'll be out and about all of our community centers and our parks that happen . To have the playgrounds that's going to be on their task list is to engage with the park users and in particular, I think more watchful eyes with our young families so that they're aware of that and also will be posting kids zone ordinances with the municipal code clearly stated. Speaker 4: At each of our I think we have. Speaker 5: 82 playground sites that they'll have the kids own signage posted. So it will be an awareness campaign and I think it's going to be a kinder, gentler approach. I don't think we're going to be hard, fast and and keep people from enjoying all of our play spaces again are intended for kids. Thank you. Speaker 3: Okay. And then I just want to clarify one of the things I think there was some misinformation and some of the correspondence I got. This is definitely not prohibiting people from going to the park. It's just literally the playground space, which a lot of times is delineated by sand or some sort of a safe landing floor space or ground cover. Speaker 5: Yes, Councilman, that's correct. Most of our place spaces by design have have curbs and accessible walkways surrounding them. So I guess the optics are to be fairly easy to see once there's a kids on signposted what would be perceived as the play area. Speaker 4: Great. Speaker 3: Thank you. I appreciate that. Speaker 0: Councilman Austin. Speaker 8: Thank you. And I think a couple of my questions were answered already, but I want to get back to the the issue of equipment and and its design. Can you explain go a little bit deeper in terms of the playground equipment that we have throughout the city? And who specifically is it designed for? Because I did receive some comments from adults stating that they like to utilize playground equipment or that their their special needs adult children may need to utilize playground equipment. What sort of provisions have we made or are we taken for that? Speaker 4: And to your. Speaker 5: Councilman, that's a good question. So essentially, when we develop playground concepts and I think our signature playgrounds are kind of the flagship of quality. But we work closely with our colleagues at Public Works. They actually will bring on board a consultant. A lot of times it's a landscape architect to look at. Speaker 4: The. Speaker 5: Design of the play space. And most of the manufacturer products have tried and proven specifications for durability and longevity and ease of maintenance. But I think going back to the premise of the the ordinance proposal, it really is not. Speaker 4: Prohibiting an. Speaker 5: Individual to engage in the play as long as they're supervised, supervised from someone. It's really just that individual who wants to just hang out and maybe interfere with the play actions of kids. And that's really the intent. So I think we'll be very, I think, empathetic towards certain cases. And again, we just really want to create an environment in and around our play areas that are welcoming, safe and respected. Speaker 8: So and today, if, if, if we go out and we see an adult creepy person hanging out at the park or at play at a playground and, you know, we asked that individual to leave. Is are we out of line? Speaker 5: Well, once the ordinance is passed. Speaker 4: And signage is. Speaker 5: Posted with the municipal code listed, there's a stronger basis to inform them. And usually the awareness they'll find another. Speaker 8: Place to hide. So this ordinance gives us a tool to. Speaker 4: It's a tool in the toolbox. Speaker 8: Yes. I just want to be clear on that, because there's, I think, a lot of confusion as to too the intent and what we are trying to accomplish. I know, you know, there was a measure, a playground that we worked really hard to get put in place in one park in my district in Jackson Park. And I received a number of complaints over, you know, a couple of weeks period of time from residents who said that there is somebody here who's kind of taken over the the equipment. And, you know, I'm afraid to take my my children there. Other complaints that we've received at other parks are paraphernalia used, condoms, things of that nature on playground equipment, which is really appalling. And so my my take on this is I think that playground equipment should be almost a sanctuary space for our children and for our kids. And for that, I'm going to happily support this item. Thank you. Speaker 4: And thank you. Speaker 0: Again, Councilman Zendejas. Speaker 2: Thank you, Mayor. As a person who's has had fire in her district at one of the playgrounds, I am very, very supportive of this. And thank you, Councilwoman Allen, for all the work that you've done along with Councilmember Muranga and the team. I think that this is very, very important. Our little ones deserve to have a safe space for them to enjoy safe playgrounds. And the parents also deserve to have a place where they can take their children to the playground and feel safe. I'm very supportive of this new ordinance that places the safety of our kids at the forefront of our park policy. So for that, thank you. I also wanted to clarify, this policy will be applied to all parks in our city, correct? That is correct. To all parks that have a playground. Thank you. I think end and the signage that will be going on, you know, what will that see? Speaker 5: Yes, councilwoman. That's a good question for details. So there will be graphics run by the P-I or Kevin Lees, because we do have graphics standards for tape, font and colors and all that. But essentially it'll be a 24 by 24 inch metal sign orange field in the background with black lettering that will say kid zone. And that beneath it will be the municipal code that cites this ordinance once its chips are passed. Speaker 2: And will it be posted in different languages as well? Speaker 4: You know, that's a good question. Speaker 5: The term kid zone, I don't know if that's a universal term. It may not be. Speaker 4: Well, we always do go through. Speaker 5: Our language access step, but that's a very good question. We'll make sure that that's addressed. Speaker 2: Thank you. Thank you very much. Very supportive of this item. Speaker 0: Thank you, Vice Mayor Richardson. Speaker 8: Thanks, Mr. Mayor. Just just a few things. So as a dad of little ones, we go to the playground all the time. So I completely understand the need to keep your playgrounds safe and kid friendly. And so for that reason, I'm happy to support it tonight. I think also, you know, there are playgrounds that we like to frequent and sometimes there's a lot of broken equipment. And it's because, you know, sometimes people mistreat the equipment. And I know how hard it is to identify resources to replace that equipment, you know. So I think we definitely need to need to think about that. I am empathetic about the circumstance around someone with my son. Someone has special needs and they're above that age. Or sometimes, you know, a 16 year old, a 19 year old may not be, as you know, they may be maybe smaller or have mental health issues . I figure out we're going to need to be empathetic in how we deal with how we make this policy developmentally appropriate and sensitive. I also think I think about real examples of high school kids from Jordan High School that go next door to out in part and sometimes hang out on the equipment. I don't want to see those kids getting tickets or caught up in the criminal justice system. But I think we need to just work with our park staff because it doesn't happen often. But kids do from Jordan High, go over, hang out when no one's using the playground. I think once the playground is invested in, more little kids will use it, more parents will be there. And that will kind of sort of self-police itself. So I would say, you know, when we have some funding for design, the sooner we get that program, that playground designed and built, I think the better it is. But I just want to say, I understand the sentiment of what we're trying to do here. Let's make sure that we are developmentally sensitive in how we implement and that we're looking out for the circumstances of teenagers, high school students who just are being high school students. And so those are things that I just want to be mindful of. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you for your public comment on this. Then we have a motion and a second was cast our votes. Speaker 1: Motion is carried.

Ordinance

Recommendation to declare ordinance amending Chapter 16.16 of the Long Beach Municipal Code by adding Section 16.16.140 relating to Prohibiting Adults Not Accompanying Children Under The Age of 12 From Park Playgrounds, read and adopted as read. (Citywide)

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Speaker 0: Thank you. And let's move on to I believe it's new business 26. Speaker 1: Report from City Manager Recommendation to Authorize City Manager to grant permission to ACE and Global to operate a professional boxing contest at the Long Beach Convention Center on May 21st, 2022. Speaker 0: District one was in motion and a second is your public comment on this. No customers. And I'm sorry, Councilmember Superhot, did you have any comments? Speaker 4: Yes, I do. Thank you, Mayor. I would just like to commend staff for bringing this item forward so quickly. It's also kind of a version of it takes a village in. Speaker 8: Terms of council process as well. That is. Speaker 4: It takes a village within total compliance. Speaker 8: Of the Brown Act. Speaker 4: So it's interesting that this involves Jack Rabbit, boxing from District six, the Convention Center and District one. The supplemental item to bring it here tonight was signed on to by districts two, five and eight, and it originated in District four with a call to myself from Pastor Gregory Sanders, who said the applicant had approached him needing to get something passed at the convention center. And Pastor Sanders didn't know exactly who to turn to. I said, Well, the applicant probably did the right thing because to get this scheduled when you want it scheduled might require divine intervention. And I would just like and so I told the pastor to have the applicant contact our office. Speaker 5: And. Speaker 4: Barbara moore shepherded the applicant through the process. And I'd also like to commend the applicant for really doing the legwork to get this forward and for that effort. I think we should pass this unanimously tonight. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Can I get a seconder on this motion? Vice Mayor Richardson generally comments? No. And Councilman Nelson. Speaker 8: Yes, I think. Council Member Supernova thank you for for motioning this. Thank you to the city manager's office for for bringing this forward. This is an archaic piece of ordinance that really needs to be cleaned up. And I'm looking forward to hopefully getting something back very soon before it is council because events like this can be very positive for the, I think the image of our city but also for for economic development and just just celebrating particularly our young talent here in our city. This this particular event will will feature a young up and coming boxer who is really the pride of Long Beach today. He's a Polish student. I met his father many years ago and have been trying to coach him into bringing his gym up into the north Long Beach area. But he reached out to me with this this issue, and it didn't seem like a big challenge to to to fix. And so I'm glad to see this being moved as quickly as it is. I'm looking forward to attending this event and supporting other events like this because I think really Long Beach is long overdue to have in May. Boxing is entertainment events and us to be able to showcase our city on a broader level. So I'm happy to support this and encourage my colleagues to as well. Speaker 0: There's emotion and a second, there's no public comment, you mentioned. So we will go ahead and cast her votes. Speaker 1: Motion is carried. Speaker 0: Thank you. We're now down to the second public comment period. I think you have a couple of people and I'm quick.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to grant permission to ASM Global to operate a professional boxing contest at the Long Beach Convention Center on May 21, 2022. (District 1)

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Speaker 0: The motion is carried nine zero. Speaker 3: Thank you. And then we'll hear item 13, please. Speaker 0: Item 13 is a report from technology and innovation. Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing the manager to execute a contract with Tavira. Business solution for the creation of the Resident ID Management Pilot System for residents to access multiple services at no cost to the city citywide. Speaker 3: If a motion by councilmembers in Dallas and Councilwoman SA councilman's in Dallas. Speaker 1: Thank you, Mia. I would like a brief staff presentation on this, if possible. Speaker 5: Yes. I'd like to introduce Lia Eriksen, our new Our Tide director, to make a brief staff report on this item. Speaker 2: Thank you, honorable mayor and members of the City Council. With the approval of the City Council, the Technology and Innovation Department will be engaging in a small pilot project to enable single find on access for two or more of the city's public facing applications. The ultimate goal is to create a community friendly, web based portal for accessing resident facing applications and to provide the one beach community with the ability to sign into multiple city applications while eliminating the need for a separate login information for different city services. This initiative stemmed from a city council action in late 2019 to explore opportunities to streamline resident connectivity and access to city services. In the aftermath of the COVID 19 pandemic. Speaker 5: Providing simple and accessible digital. Speaker 2: Services is critical for all Long Beach stakeholders and residents. This pilot opportunity is part of the city's 2021 Smart City Challenge, which follows the principles of a challenge based procurement, where city staff articulate their challenge without prescribing how they want to solve, and interested submitters have the opportunity to respond with a proposed solution. City staff reviewed submissions from. Speaker 5: Multiple vendors before landing. Speaker 2: On to More Business Solutions, which is an established leader in cybersecurity and identity and access management. Tibor is partnering with OCTA, an industry leader in identity management solutions for the pilot. The pilot services by two board business solutions will be provided to the city at no cost. The pilot period will last 4 to 6 months, at which point the city will make a determination based on pilot success and IDs of funds available with how to proceed. With that, I conclude my report and I'm happy to take any questions. Speaker 1: Thank you very much for that staff report. Leon. That was very helpful. I know I've been getting calls about this item in my office, so I really appreciate the staff report. Speaker 3: Thank you. Councilman, sorry. When you think. Speaker 2: That I just support the item. Speaker 3: Any public comment? Speaker 2: Mayor Garcia? Speaker 3: Yes. Speaker 2: Thank you. Speaker 3: Yes, absolutely, councilman. Speaker 2: Thank you. This comes from a couple of community input things that happened back before the pandemic, where we discussed the challenges for residents when they have so many different systems. I think that this, along with the potential to merge other systems into one, is really a way for us to have one footprint moving towards what I know the mayor was very, very supportive of, which is a 24 seven online city hall available to residents at any time to make requests and recommendations and reports. So I really want to thank the tie department and all of their work. I think that we are moving forward and making it more accessible for residents to interact with the city and the more accessible that we can be, the better we can provide service. Thank you. Speaker 3: Thank you so much, Councilwoman. Attorney public comment. Speaker 5: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on item 13, please line up at the podium. If you were in the zoom, please use the raise hand feature now. In person. You have 3 minutes. Speaker 6: Thank you again. Thank you for the staff report and for requesting it from the council. One of the things that was mentioned is that after the Orange County Transit Authority is one of the partners with this pilot. That's interesting. And what's more interesting is which specifically which public facing applications for the applications that have unique and sensitive resident data we're talking about specifically, are we talking about gas bills, talking about sewage bills, water bills? Are we talking about being able to call the city with the city calendar? You know, like, what is this for? But also, you know, I mean, the Smart City Challenge bid process, you know, I mean, there's a lot of different way to do these things. But but generally speaking, I mean, you know, why is it that this just happened to be the first real action coming out of the data privacy initiative by this very same city commission? Presumably, there's simpler ways hiring people. To achieve these same goals during the six month maximum pilot period. I personally, I think this item should be opposed and not even not even voted up. Thank you. Speaker 2: Hello, Karen Reside. I'm the president of the Long Beach Gray Panthers. And all these technology issues that are coming forward, we have a lot of concerns and our members have a lot of questions about what's involved. We would definitely like to see more community outreach and discussion on these initiatives, particularly for low income seniors who don't have access to technology. They're being left out of so many things. The event that was held by the DLP, you could only go if you responded to a QR code and no information was distributed to the senior buildings and a lot of the seniors, only 10% of the people that live in the senior buildings have access to technology . So last I looked, I thought we were members of this community too. And all these things that are leaving out the seniors we are objecting to. And seniors need to understand more about what these initiatives are going to involve. And I'll be speaking later on the fire incidents. So, I mean, there are so many gaps for seniors and we need to start addressing them. This is just not acceptable. Speaker 5: That concludes public comment. Speaker 3: We have a motion in a second to approve the item roll call vote. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Cindy has. Speaker 2: I am. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Allen. I'm Councilwoman Pryce. Councilwoman Price. Speaker 2: I. I. Speaker 0: Councilman Sabino. Speaker 6: I. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Mango. Speaker 2: Hi. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Sara. I. Councilmember Oranga. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: Councilman Austin. Speaker 7: Hi. Speaker 0: Vice Mayor Richardson. Speaker 6: Hi. Speaker 0: The motion is carried nine zero. Speaker 3: Thank you very much. We have a fund transfer items 28 and 29.

Resolution

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with Tevora Business Solutions of Irvine, CA, for the creation of the Resident ID Management pilot system for residents to access multiple City of Long Beach services, at no cost to the City, for a maximum six-month pilot period. (Citywide)

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Speaker 3: Thank you very much. We have a fund transfer items 28 and 29. Speaker 0: Item 28 Communication from Councilman Austin. Recommendation to increase appropriation in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by 500 to provide a donation to Kahlo Creative. And item 29 is a communication from Council Councilwoman Price recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in this event in the City Manager Department by 500 to provide a donation to Carlo Creative. Speaker 3: Thank you. I got a motion in a second. Councilman orson, any comments? Councilman in dallas. Is your public comment at there? Speaker 5: Any members of the public that would like to speak on item 28 or 29? Please line up at the podium. If you're in the zoom, please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine now. See none. That concludes public comment. Speaker 3: Okay. Thank you. We do have to roll call. Speaker 2: Vote, please. Speaker 3: I'm sorry. Let's see the roll call vote. And we have to make the announcement. Go ahead. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Sandy has. Hi, Councilwoman Allen. Councilwoman Price. Hi, Councilman Sabrina. Speaker 3: Hi. Speaker 0: Councilwoman Mango. Speaker 2: Hi. Speaker 0: Councilwoman zero. Council Members. Ranga. Speaker 6: Hi. Speaker 0: Councilman Austin. Speaker 7: Hi. Speaker 0: Vice Mayor Richardson. All right. The motion is carried nine zero. Speaker 3: Thank you. Okay. And now we have two presentations. I'm going to start with the the anniversary presentation of the L.A. riots. I mention this over to Councilwoman Cynthia.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $500, offset by the Eighth Council District One-time District Priority Funds, transferred from the Citywide Activities Department to provide a donation to Khalo Creative LLC to support the Absolute Best of Long Beach event; and Decrease appropriation in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $500, to offset a transfer to the City Manager Department.

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Speaker 3: Thank you very much. We now are moving on to item 16, the rest of the items on the agenda, I believe our staff items. So we'll go ahead and begin with item 16. Speaker 0: Item 16 is a report from Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Communications, Fire, Health and Human Services, Parks and Recreation. Marine, please. Technology and Innovation. Recommendation to authorize City Manager to execute agreement and necessary documents with the City of L.A. to accept grant funding in an amount not to exceed 6.8 million for Department of Homeland Security 2021 Urban Area Security Initiative Grant Citywide. Speaker 3: Thank you. There's a motion and a second. Is there any public comment? Speaker 5: Are there any members of the public that would like to speak on item 16 in person? Please line up at the podium. If there are any members of the public that would like to speak in the room, please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine now. Yes. That concludes public comment. Speaker 3: Thank you very much. Speaker 0: Covered District one. Speaker 1: High. Speaker 0: District two high. Desert three. Speaker 2: High. Speaker 0: District four. District five. District six. I. District seven. Speaker 6: I. Speaker 0: District eight. Speaker 7: High. Speaker 0: District nine. Speaker 6: High. Speaker 0: The motion is carried. Nine zero.

Contract

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute an agreement, and any necessary documents, subcontracts, or subsequent amendments, including amendments to the award amount and agreement term, with the City of Los Angeles to accept and expend grant funding in an amount not to exceed $6,869,171 for Department of Homeland Security 2021 Urban Area Security Initiative Grant, for the period of September 1, 2021 through May 31, 2024; and Increase appropriations in the General Grants Fund Group in the Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Communications Department by $590,000, in the General Grants Fund Group in the Fire Department by $3,327,666, in the General Grants Fund Group in the Health and Human Services Department by $307,500, in the General Grants Fund Group in the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department by $125,235, in the General Grants Fund Group in the Police Department by $1,886,270, and in the General Grants Fund Group in the Technology and Innovation Department by $472,500, offset by grant revenue. (Citywide)

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Speaker 0: District eight. District nine. Speaker 4: I. Speaker 0: The motion is carried. Nine. Zero. Speaker 3: Thank you, Madam. 20. Speaker 0: Item 20 Report from Financial Management Recommendation to authorize City Manager to amend contracts for the purchase and delivery of petroleum fuels for a revised aggregated amount not to exceed 13.6 million and extend the term of the contract to October 31st, 2022. Speaker 3: City by City Motion in a second. Any public comment on this item. Speaker 5: At their any members of the public they would like to speak on item 20. Please line up at the podium in the zoom. Please use the raise hand feature in Dagestan. I now. We have one member in person. Your time begins now. Speaker 6: Thank you. My name is Dave Shukla. I'm a resident of the third district. And I'd just like to say that for a town that sells so much oil, how is it that we have to purchase our own refined petroleum fuel products? I mean, we've got refineries ringing around us on at least one side. But more generally, I mean, you know, Friday's Earth Day, right. I'd love to hear why why item 18 was withdrawn. I mean, we've got money to pay for fuel. We've got grant money to pay for other things. But apparently we can't schedule things. It's hard to make sense of how these agendas get thrown together and then chunked up in the meeting and just kind of at will punched back together on the the the city archive. But it should be said, you know, oil run town, you can't make it in fuel. Thank you. Speaker 5: That concludes public comment. Speaker 3: Thank you, Councilman Allen. Speaker 2: Yes, I thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to add, you know, I can't wait until petroleum contracts are no longer necessary. And I know that we have staff working on that to make sure that's a sometime in the future a reality. But we're not there yet. So I support the contract amendment while we put out a competitive, competitive invitation to bid. Speaker 3: Coulson was in the house. Speaker 1: Going the comments of Councilwoman Allen. And also would like to see if staff could. Maybe you can answer this right now. Maybe not. But what our local air district quality regulations require and whether they'll and whether it's through this item, we can or don't meet that standard, if that makes sense. Speaker 5: Councilwoman. We do have Dan Berlant back from our Fleet Services. He may be able to answer that question regarding the air quality standards. Dan. Speaker 2: Thank you. Speaker 6: Yes, Mayor Garcia, Councilwoman, we meet all the local standards. There are different ones depending on the type of vehicle that's in question. But we meet or exceed all those standards with what we operate. Speaker 1: Thank you. Speaker 3: There's a motion in the second. Please roll call vote. Speaker 0: District one and district two I visit three. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: District four i. District five. District five. District six, i. District seven. Speaker 6: I. Speaker 0: District eight. I. District nine. Speaker 4: I. Speaker 0: The motion is. Speaker 2: Clear moment I. Speaker 0: Received. Thank you. The motions carry nine zero.

Contract

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to amend Contract No. 34597 with Falcon Fuels, of Paramount, CA, and Contract No. 34598 with Merrimac Energy Group, of Long Beach, CA, for the purchase and delivery of petroleum fuels, to increase the aggregate contract amount by $2,300,000, for a revised aggregate contract amount not to exceed $13,600,000, and extend the term of the contract to October 31, 2022. (Citywide)

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Speaker 3: Thank you. And 22. Speaker 0: Item 22 is a report from Health and Human Services recommendation to authorize city manager to execute an agreement with business, consumer services and housing agencies. California Interagency Council on Homelessness in the amount of 1.3 million for the Encampment Resolution Funding Program City. Speaker 3: I think there's a. Can I get a motion, please? In a second. Thank you. Any public comment on this? Speaker 5: If there are any members of the public that would like to speak on item 22 and person, please line up at the podium in the zoom. Please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine now. See none. That concludes public comment. Speaker 3: Thank you. Customers in Dallas. Vice manager of any comments? Speaker 4: No, thank you. Speaker 3: And Councilman, sir? Speaker 2: Yes. I just want to thank our Health and Human Services staff for applying and getting this grant. I really just am so excited about the $1.3 million that we're going to get to increase the assistance for our inter-departmental team to address homelessness and doing cleanups around MacArthur Park and Mark Twain Library. And I think this is going to be a great step forward for us to be able to find creative and alternative ways to work, where are in the house community and giving them the support and services they need. Thank you so much. Speaker 3: Thank you. And roll call vote, please. Speaker 0: District one. I'm District two. I disagree. I District four. District five. District five. District six. Speaker 2: High I. Speaker 0: District seven. I District eight. Speaker 7: I. Speaker 0: District nine. Speaker 4: Yes.

Contract

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute an agreement, and any necessary subsequent subcontracts and amendments, including any amendment to the award amount, with the Business Consumer Services and Housing Agency’s (BCSH) California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH), to accept and expend grant funding in the amount of $1,322,281 for the Encampment Resolution Funding Program, for the period of April 1, 2022 through June 30, 2024, with the option to renew for an additional two-year period, at the discretion of the City Manager; and Increase appropriations in the Health Fund Group in the Health and Human Services Department by $1,322,281, offset by grant revenue. (Citywide)

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Speaker 4: Yes. Speaker 0: The motion is Cory nine zero. Speaker 3: Thank you, Adam 23. Speaker 0: Item 23 Report from Health and Human Services Recommendation to authorize city manager to execute an agreement with Conrad and Hilton Foundation to accept grant funding in the amount of 1.5 million for the future first Office of Youth Development Citywide. Speaker 3: There's a motion for a second, Councilman Austin. Any comments? Speaker 7: Yes, I think this is a great opportunity. $1.5 million that's going to benefit youth in our city. I did have a question regarding the grant. Did we apply for the grant with the. The nature of the grant? And is this the same Hilton, Conrad Hilton, with the hit associated with Hilton Hotels? Speaker 5: Yes it is. And we have our homeless services manager, Paul Duncan, available to answer any questions you have. But yes, that is the same Hilton. It's their charitable foundation. Speaker 7: Great. Good. Glad to see them giving back to our community. Speaker 6: It's personal time by Wendell and ask and answer any questions. She's much more informed on the specific grant. Why? Speaker 5: Or were you looking for a presentation or was there a specific question? Speaker 7: The question was whether or not we. Speaker 5: Saw that was okay. Thank you, Paul. I think we're good. Speaker 2: I. Good evening, Carol. Mayor and city council people, this is. Speaker 6: Dr.. Speaker 2: Davis, so we can get back to you about that. I'm not 100% sure if we applied or how exactly the. Speaker 6: The. Speaker 2: Process went for us to receive this grant. But I can get. Speaker 6: Back to you. Speaker 2: On that. Speaker 7: I thank you. I'm supportive of that. Either way, I think this is a good for the city. Are you. Speaker 3: Thank you. Any public comment. Speaker 5: That there are any members of the public they would like to speak on item 23 and person please, please line up at the podium in the zoom. Please use the raise hand feature podcast are nine now. We have one member in person. Your time begins now. Speaker 6: Thank you. Dave Shukla again. It's wonderful to be in person. You can catch things in real time and wonder why they're happening. Like item 17. It's really kind of funny, you know, that we have a couple of years left. If you've read the latest APEC report on climate impacts, only a couple of years left to do anything to have a livable future for any of us. And uh, we have a couple of proposals here for half of the grant money that we're supposed to have a presentation about November 18 regarding our youth climate program, state funding for which but this is private money from the Hilton Foundation, which apparently has deep reserves after the pandemic to direct Pacific Gateway. If any of you can read or have your staff even read the staff report for either the 17 or 23, I mean, it's fucking ridiculous, you know, like, oh, we're going to take disadvantaged youth, you know, a couple hundred of them and stick them in space. The moment where you use all the last resources, we have to send a couple of balding white assholes to space. I mean, seriously, like, what is this all for? But more generally, I mean, when it comes to the fact that I mean, this is a city government and you are charged technically with the safety and security and well-being of all of your residents. Uh, it's kind of surprising that we would direct our social and public resources in this way. Um, the data collection protocols will be developed by the evaluator and the Institutional Review Board to allow for the use of data in future publications. Uh, yeah. I mean, you know who's going to read them? Thank you. Speaker 5: That concludes public comment. Speaker 3: Restaurants in the UK up again that. Speaker 4: So just wanted to highlight this program. I think this is incredible. So based on the staff report and based on what I understand from the program, it's you know, the Office of Youth Development is going to start a really great program for 300 youth from, you know, different communities, disadvantaged communities across Long Beach. And half of those youth will be connected directly with the Pacific Gateway Space Beach program. So they're going to get access to the emerging aerospace jobs that are in our city. I think that's incredible. I think also just to acknowledge that this is the first year that we actually have an Office of Youth Development, the youth of these office youth development's brand new. And we already see really good things. One and a half million dollar grant. So special thanks to the Conrad Hilton Foundation for for helping, you know, provide some much needed resources to this brand new office youth development that's going to make a real difference. All of this is sort of in alignment with the initial work around youth development with the boys, Women of Color, My Brother's Keeper work, which was the roots of this years ago. So I'm excited to see this. This is great. And I look forward to seeing, you know, following this program in the years to come. Thanks a lot. Speaker 3: Thank you. Councilman's in the house. Speaker 1: I think you just briefly wanted to say how much I appreciate this item. The Embraer forward. Thank you. I truly believe that empowering and investing in our youth is a key driver to a strong and growing future local economy. So thank you for this program. Speaker 3: Thank you. We have a motion and a second. Let's go ahead and. The roll call. Vote on this, please. Speaker 0: District one. I am district two. I did it. Three. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: District four. I. District five. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: District six. I. District seven. I. District eight. District nine. Speaker 4: Yes. Speaker 0: The motion is carried. Nine. Jo.

Contract

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute an agreement, and any necessary documents, subcontracts or subsequent amendments, including amendments to the award amount, with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to accept and expend grant funding in the amount of $1,500,000 for the Futures First, Office of Youth Development, for a three-year period beginning May 1, 2022, with the option to extend for three additional one-year periods, at the discretion of the City Manager; and Increase appropriations in the Health Fund Group in the Health and Human Services Department by $1,500,000 offset by grant revenues. (Citywide)

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Speaker 0: Item 24 is a report from Health and Human Services Financial Management. Recommendation to adopt specification for Long Beach Recovery Act. Black serving mental health services and a work contract as needed to 27 Agency for Black Serving Mental Health Services in a total annual aggregated amount of 1 million CDI. Speaker 3: There's a motion in a second council in Austin. I think. Speaker 7: I fully support this. Speaker 3: Investment. Richardson. Speaker 4: Thank you. Just want to congratulate Gwen Manning and Alana and everyone who worked really, really hard on this grant. This was the only agency in California to receive $1,000,000 to help support black serving, help mental health services. And so there's going to be a lot of great work and we're going to be leading in this effort. Thanks so much. Speaker 3: Thank you very much. Any public comment on this? Speaker 5: If there are any members of the public, they would like to speak on item 24 in person. Please line up at the podium in the zoom. Please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine now. Seen none. That concludes public comment. Speaker 3: Thank you. We're going to go back and do it in 21 and then we'll go back to 25. Speaker 0: Or covert, please. Speaker 3: A roll call. Speaker 2: Vote. Speaker 0: District one. District two. I did it. Three. District four by district five. Speaker 2: By. Speaker 0: District six. District six. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: District seven. I. District eight. District nine. Yes. The motion is carried. Nine zero.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to adopt Specifications No. RFQ HE22-017 for Long Beach Recovery Act Black-Serving Mental Health Services, and award contracts as-needed to the 27 agencies for Black-serving mental health services, in a total annual aggregate amount of $1,000,000 for a period of one year, with the option to renew for four additional one-year periods, at the discretion of the City Manager; and, authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to enter into the contracts, including any necessary subsequent amendments. (Citywide)

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Speaker 0: District eight. District nine. All right. The motion is carried. Nine zero. Speaker 3: Thank you. Next is 26. Speaker 0: Item 26 is a report from Public Works recommendation to authorize city manager to execute an amendment to the amended and restated access and demolition agreement with plenary properties to address a change order to the Civic Center Project and the demolitions of the Old City Hall District one. Speaker 3: Can I get a motion in a second, please? Any public comment on this item? Speaker 5: If there are any members of the public, they would like to speak on item 26 in person. Please sign up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the raise hand feature or dial star nine now. See. Now that concludes public comment. Speaker 3: Roll Call vote. Speaker 0: District one. Speaker 1: I am district. Speaker 0: To district three. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: District for. Speaker 6: My. Speaker 0: District five. District five. District six i. District seven. Speaker 6: I. Speaker 0: District eight. District nine. Hi. The motion is Kerry eight zero.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute an amendment to the Amended and Restated Access and Demolition Agreement with Plenary Properties Long Beach, LLC, Mid Block Site Devco, LP, and Mid Block Demo, LLC, all of Los Angeles, CA, and any necessary documents or agreements, to address a change order to the Civic Center Project and the demolition of the old City Hall; and Increase appropriations in the Civic Center Fund Group in the Public Works Department by $375,000, offset by a reduction in the $6,375,000 receivable from Plenary Properties Long Beach, LLC, to $6,000,000 for early demolition of the former City Hall. (District 1)

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Speaker 0: District eight. District nine. Hi. The motion is Kerry eight zero. Speaker 3: Great. Thank you. Item 27, please. Speaker 0: 27 is report from water. Recommendation to Adobe Resolution Decreasing Appropriation in fiscal year 2021 2022. In the water fund group in the water department by approximately 9 million. Speaker 3: I going to motion in a second please. Give us a motion in a second, madam. Quickly public comment. Speaker 5: If there are any members of the public they would like to speak on item 27. Please line up at the podium in Zoom. Please use the raise and feature. We have one member of the public in person. Speaker 6: Thank you, Dave, again. I'd just like to point out, um. Robert Garcia. That a lot of the arbitrage, a lot of the wasted time, a lot of the back and forth, a lot of the uncertainty, a lot of frankly, the just wastage on this item is a direct result of your leadership. Now, yesterday I was at the Climate Policy Summit hosted by the Climate Center in Sacramento. And unlike your predecessor, Councilwoman Allen, I wasn't drunk driving it. I would love to know if we could rewind the tape. And if you were to remember everything that you said, how you would feel today, and how long ago it would feel today about some of the arguments that were made for a measure of triple H, B, C, triple B to B plus. You know, these are one size fits all proposals. And, you know, if you're going to be ordering study sessions because this city had the contract tracing to tell you determine how your parents got COVID. My parents get COVID? Would they be able to tell me? For two years, I've been washing my hands. I've been wearing masks. I've been doing a whole lot. Wasn't really, you know, result of any of my actions that do something I rolled with rain. That's what you do. Could have done it better someplace else, maybe. Certain people responding to different pressures. But you know, we're all corrupt anyway. And, you know, none of this really matters, right? Speaker 5: We have one member of the public in the zoom. And control. Your time begins now. Speaker 2: Good evening. In Control formerly fifth district gerrymandered into the board. I'm glad that finally. The Water Department and. Speaker 6: The city of Long. Speaker 2: Beach will be returning. At least $9 million of the money that was illegally obtained from our. Water bill. It is incredible to me that it took the Supreme Court of. Speaker 6: California. Speaker 2: To finally get the city to do the right thing. Many of the residents. Speaker 6: Protested against this. Speaker 2: Transfer of funds. We argued that this was illegal. But because we didn't have over 50% of the ratepayers. Speaker 6: Saying. Speaker 2: This, the city council went ahead. Speaker 6: And. Speaker 2: Obtained this money illegally. Now that we're getting 9 million back, I would like to know when we're going to get the other 30 million back. Thank you for your time. Speaker 5: That concludes public comment. Speaker 3: Thank you. There's a motion in a second on the item. Please roll call vote. Speaker 0: District one. District one. Speaker 2: I am. Speaker 0: District two. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: District three. Speaker 2: I. Speaker 0: District four I, District five I, District six I, District seven I, district eight I, district nine. Speaker 6: All right. Speaker 0: The motion is Cory nine zero. Speaker 3: Thank you. Next up is item number 20, please. Speaker 0: Item 30.

Resolution

Recommendation to adopt resolution decreasing appropriations in Fiscal Year 2021-2022 (FY 22) in the Water Fund Group in the Water Department by approximately $9,000,000. (Citywide)

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Speaker 1: Communication from Councilman's and House recommendation to increase appropriations by 1000 to provide a donation to the Long Beach Architecture Week to support the absolute best of Long Beach 2022 Fundraiser Event. Item 16 Communication from Councilwoman Zendaya's Recommendation to increase appropriations by 2500 to provide a donation to the downtown Long Beach Business Alliance to support a partnered event with East Village Earth Day. An Item 18 Communication from Vice Mayor Richardson recommendation to increase appropriations by 2200 to provide a donation to YMCA for Greater Long Beach and Carlo Creative LLC. Speaker 0: The motion or second. Second, please. Any public comment? Speaker 1: There's no public comment on these items. Speaker 5: Okay. Casper votes. Speaker 3: I can't. My screen is not working. I can't vote right now. Speaker 0: And I don't think we'll come in until. Speaker 1: Councilwoman Price. Motion is carried.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $2,200 offset by $2,200 of Ninth Council District One-time District Priority Funds transferred from the Citywide Activities Department to provide a donation to the following: YMCA of Greater Long Beach, in the amount of $1,200; Kahlo Creative LLC, in the amount of $1,000; and Decrease appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $2,200 to offset a transfer to the City Manager Department.

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Speaker 1: Councilwoman Price. Motion is carried. Speaker 0: Think you are hearing 14? Speaker 1: Report from Parks Recreation and Marine recommendation receive supporting documentation into the record, include the public hearing and adopt a resolution amending the master fees and charges schedule to add to modified summer camp programing fees. District three. There is an oath required for this item. If the witnesses can stand to you and each of you solemnly state that the testimony you may give in the court now and pending before this body shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God. Speaker 0: I did. Speaker 2: Mara, I'd like to introduce. Speaker 1: Our Parks and Recreation director Brant. Speaker 2: Dennis and Janice McMullen, our financial services. Speaker 1: Officer, to do. Speaker 2: A presentation on this item. Speaker 6: Thank you, Linda. So honorable mayor and members of City Council, we're bringing before you today two fees to add to the master fees and charges schedule for the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department. The proposed fee changes establish a fee range for modified summer camp programing. The department proposes a fee range for two day camp programs, which are one modified summer camp programing fee for camp only. For a fee range of $30 to $114 per child per week. And two modified summer camp programing fee, including before and after care for a fee range of $50 to $149 per child per week. The fee range will give the department flexibility to adjust day camp fees as needed. As programing returns to pre-pandemic levels. The proposed fee ranges for modified summer day camp programing are lower than pre-pandemic day camp fees for regular specialty and aquatic day camps. We're excited to bring again once we're excited once again to bring day camps to youth ages five through seven this coming summer. I'll now pass it off to Community Recreation Services Superintendent Joy Warren. Speaker 1: Thank you. Modified summer camp programing offers in-person camp during the summer for youth ages 5 to 12. Summer camps will operate weekdays from 9 to 4 and from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.. For those enrolled in Extended Care, modified summer camp programs were created in 2020 during the pandemic to offer youth programs which complied with health protocols prior to the pandemic. The department offered both free drop in and fee based options for youth in the summer. In 2020, newly implemented health protocols, strictly regulated group ratios and program capacities that were difficult to implement in a drop in style environment since the day camp program structure implemented many of the protocols in the health orders. The department converted all free youth drop in programs into day camps at a reduced fee. This strategy increased the number of day camp programs from 9 to 23 and ensured that there were low cost options for Long Beach families to participate in safe and structured recreational activities for youth. In 2022, the department plans to provide fee based day camp programs to 12 sites and allow for the return of free drop in programs. The department proposes to implement a fee range for modified summer camp programing fees, which allow the flexibility to adjust camp fees for a phased in approach to increasing fees as the programing returns to pre-pandemic levels. The proposed fee range is lower than the Commission approved general fund portion of modified summer camp programing fees. I'm sorry. On March 17, this action will approve the same rates for the Tidelands area. Speaker 6: So this concludes our presentation. Speaker 0: Okay, great. Councilman Price. Councilman. Awesome. Speaker 4: A second. Just wanted to know, do we have a list of parks that will host the summer day camp? Speaker 0: And a rhythm. Good. Speaker 1: We have we have 12 sites and those are at Bayshore, Belmont, Bixby, Eldorado, West, Helton King, PanAm. Silverado Stearns Veterans Park, Wardlow and Whaley Park. Speaker 4: Okay. And will our program still be going as well? Speaker 1: We do have be safe. Okay. For the. Speaker 0: Summer. Thank you. Come on, Mango. Speaker 2: Yes. What is the cost of supplying this program? What's the subvention rate? What are their sources of revenue besides fees? Speaker 1: Well, we have the general fund and the tidelands fees for the source of the budget. And it's cumulatively about I'm not sure we can get those numbers about 460,000. And then we do have additional support from CDBG for scholarships. Speaker 2: What is the cost per child per week? How much is the subvention? So if an average summer program costs $250 a week, it says that it's aligned with the YMCA programs in the area. I don't know what those are. And then my my question would be, what does it cost us to provide the program? And a lot of that is dependent on the staff to youth ratios and what we're doing with that based on. Are we out of COVID or are we doing full capacity? Speaker 1: We haven't done a cost per camper analysis yet, but we do have other costs that are not covered by the fees. For example, field trips, shirts, any supplies that the families are charged on top of the weekly count fee. Speaker 2: So one of the things that I think is really important when we bring forward fees is for us to tell people what things really cost. We don't want to create a false expectation that there's always going to be general fund money, which is made up of sales tax and property tax and other areas to supplement youth programs . And so in the past, we've been in a place where we have had maybe Councilman Price can remember, but eight or nine afterschool programs, but the revenue did not cover it. And so instead of charging the parents what the program costs, we just cut programs. And in talking with parents, they would have rather paid for the cost of the program to be able to sustain it. So I hope that by the time that these fees come out that we let parents know the total cost of this program is actually closer to 250 per kid per week. But due to great opportunities through CDBG grants and port funds or whatever the funds are that will be using the cost to parents this year is a very low price of whatever number you end up coming up with. I just think it's really important that people know what the cost of things are because those same costs are then compared to other programs. So then people will say, Well, why is the Junior Lifeguard program this price? But the after school programs that price and why is the general fund money being put towards this program or that program? So if if we could encourage that in the posting, that would be appreciated. Speaker 1: Thank you, Councilwoman. Speaker 2: Thank you. Speaker 0: Customers in the house. Speaker 2: Thank you. Thank you for that presentation. These are amazing programs for our youth. These programs provide safe spaces for kids to have fun and opportunities for them to explore creative activities and sports that they mean. Leader continued to enjoy and play. With that being said, it is crucial to make sure that all of our youths have access to these type of opportunities. I know that these programs are often costly, and though in Long Beach we do our best to minimize the costs for families. I know that for many the cost is too much and it becomes a barrier. So I find it immensely important to go over any programs that are available for low income families because in Long Beach, coming from a low income family should not be a barrier that robs a child from these life changing opportunities and life shaping opportunities as well. On that note, me staff highlight what we are doing as a city to support our low income families and to support parents who may be not be able to afford these summer programs. Speaker 1: Thank you, Councilwoman. Yes. We actually have a variety of free programs that are available for families. One, we are we are resuming the free drop in programs that are available at all our 24 sites, which is known as Summer Fun Days, and that's free to families. And it offers supervised activities for free from 12 to 5. In addition to that, we also have our mobile recess program that's going out to neighborhoods specifically that don't have easy access to our park programs. And then we also have our BCC programs that we mentioned earlier. There are also a number of family events like movies in the park concerts that we have to provide families. And then for those that do want this, the de camp experience, we offer scholarships for families. Speaker 2: Thank you. I thank you very much for that. Mary, you brought up some excellent points. And I think that one of the things that's really valuable to also share is the opportunity for people who could pay full price, even though the price of the program is discounted, to have an opportunity to donate to Partners of Parks so that there will be more money available for the financial aid. Just something to think about, especially if you tell someone, you know, the price of this program should have been $350, but due to grants and other things, you're only going to pay $60 a week. If you'd like to make a donation to help financial aid participants in future years, please put it here. Thank you. Great work. Speaker 0: Comment. Speaker 1: There's no further comment on this item. Speaker 5: Scattered votes. Speaker 1: Councilman Allen. Councilman, the death. Motion is carried.

Resolution

Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude the public hearing, and adopt resolution amending the Master Fees and Charges Schedule to add two Modified Summer Camp Programming Fees. (District 3)

LongBeachCC

LongBeachCC_04122022_22-0407

Speaker 1: Councilman Allen. Councilman, the death. Motion is carried. Speaker 0: 17. Speaker 1: Communication from Councilwoman Sara recommendation to request City Council to receive and file a presentation and recognition of Cambodian New Year. Speaker 3: Thank you. So I'm really honored to be able to present on the Cambodian New Year. So with that, I will start with Page and I'm to my to those in our audience as well as Happy Cambodian New Year. I want to first think I'll be TV for their hard work and support in putting together this video presentation. And I want to thank Mia Lath Chan with Sam Lehman and the venerable Gerrit Chi for being in the video. And I think at some may most me some may know that the Long Beach has the largest Cambodian community in the United States. And I just want to thank those who are here today as well for being present. And I believe I'll make some comments later. But with that said, I'd like for us to play the video and then open to public comments and then my colleagues. Simply pull that date and I'm coming. Hello. Happy New Year. I'm honored to present this year's 2022 Cambodian New Year presentation, where we interview Cambodian leaders from across three generations to learn why the New Year is important to them and the Cambodian community in Long Beach. Cambodians, Thai, Laotians and Burmese celebrate the same new year called Sankranti, a three day festival that takes place in the mid-April. That is the most important holiday. This year the festival begins on April 14th, 15th and 16th. Not only is the new year a time to mark the beginning of a new year, but it's also an opportunity to pass on knowledge to our tradition, to younger generations. I hope you enjoy the presentation. Speaker 0: Cambodian New Year is the biggest celebration for our Cambodian people. It is a festival of unity. It all started when people who work for the Royal Palace had knowledge of astrology, and so they did the calculation and determined that April is the time for the celebration. Speaker 2: Cambodian is an agricultural country, so the people work the land throughout the year and so forth to give them the time to celebrate. It's always at the end of the harvest. Cambodian New Year about family. It's about tradition where men and women would dress in their best attire, especially women and their silk and their white lace and attend a temple, and to reconnect with family and friends where they haven't seen each other in a while. When people think about Cambodia, they think about the recent darkness that we went through. But I think Cambodian New Year is a time where we get to celebrate all the things that are good and beautiful about being Cambodian. My favorite activity during the celebration is eating, of course. I feel like this is the time when everyone passes out their best beefsteak and papaya salad recipes and definitely my favorite due of the first night of Cambodian New Year. I would set up a table where there's lots of fruits and flower surround with my ancestors pictures and candles, and it's a way to remember our ancestors the way we celebrate, not just with the living, but also remember those that have given us life. Speaker 0: My motto on New Year's Day Usually morning begins with what we call merit making. We sit at home. People are bringing food to offer for the monks, you know, to perform good deeds as a as a family. That is why it's important to. Speaker 2: Cameron and Clark audience is an art form that's over a thousand years old during the Korean empire. The Kings would host monsoon or prayer ceremonies with dancers as offerings to ask the gods for rain and blessings for the New Year. It's important that we have it today because during the four years of the Khmer Rouge genocide, only 10% of artists survived. When people watch the dance performances, I hope that they feel a sort of peace and healing and some hope for the future. We are resilient, but we contribute a lot to the development of the Islamic community itself. So I think it's important for us to continue to share that. Speaker 0: I would like to wish all people adoring the Cambodian New Year to have prosperity, happiness and good health and longevity for all the people. Thank you. Madam. Quick, do any public comment on the. Speaker 1: There are four speakers on this item. Mariko can't sit this one. So Tia Pi and South Sun can. Speaker 2: Hello, Mayor and city council members. My name is Mariko Kohn. I am a board officer of Cambodia Town Inc and the former executive director of Pacific Asian Counseling Services. I have been a strong advocate for Cambodians in Long Beach, especially funding for mental health services and public health services for the past six years. I'm here to speak in favor of our 17, which is a recommendation to file in recognition of Cambodian New Year. It adds specificity to the 2020 designation of Cambodian Heritage Month by the city. It continues the history of recognizing the Cambodian community and traditions, starting with the Honorable Don Nob and vigorously continued by Board of Supervisor Janice Hahn. Since she was elected in 2016. On Sunday, April 3rd. Speaker 0: Of. Speaker 2: This year, Cambodia Town Inc co-hosted the 14th annual Cambodian New Year Parade and Culture Festival with Councilman Supernova. I want to give a special shout out to him because he kept his pledge to support the parade even though his district was changed by redistricting. So I want to say thank you, sir. The success of this year's Parade and Culture Festival emphasizes how important Cambodian New Year is to this community. People of all ages came. There were thousands. The parade had over 35 groups and 50 booths in the festival. It was focused on Cambodian culture and arts. It was also very inclusive. So there were diverse ethnic groups in the parade and at the festival. Honestly, people loved it and they all came up to us later and said, Please do this again soon, but we do have to wait one year. So we also, the Cambodia Town Inc diligently invited many community leaders and electeds, just like we do every year. I want to give our thanks again to council member supermodel Susie Price, who was there, and our Austin City prosecutor, Doug Hubert. Assembly member Patrick O'Donnell. Signal Hill Council Member Ed Wilson. Linda Chico from Supervisor Honda office and Fong Lee from Congressmember Lowenthal, as well as Bill. A wave. Speaker 0: Of. Speaker 2: Cambodian New Year is one of the most important spiritual and cultural events for this community. The theme for this year's parade was Legacy of Kami Anger and unity. That is very powerful. Given the anti AAPI hate we experienced during the pandemic. Speaker 1: Times expired. Speaker 2: Okay. Thank you. Well, I have one more sentence, but thank you. Good evening, honorable mayor, member of the City Council and elected official. My name is City Assan and I am the chairperson of Cambodia Town in Happy Cambodian Heritage Month and Happy New Year, Year of the Tiger. So as an Asian I'm Carl to everyone here tonight from the east. From the very beginning, Cambodia town has worked tirelessly with other Cambodian community based organization and friends to preserve and to promote my art and culture. We work hard to unify our community by hosting the annual Cambodian New Year Parade and Cultural Festival in Cambodia Town District and My New Year celebration at Eldorado Park in Long Beach. This past Sunday, April 3rd, we brought back the annual Parade and Culture Festival to the Cambodian town district. After a two year absence due to the pandemic, several thousand revelers came to join in the celebration. The event provided an opportunity to folk to reconnect with family and friends, and they have missed seeing in person since the start of the pandemic in 2020. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following for their participation in this year's celebration. Councilman Darryl Super NULL. Councilwoman Suzy Pride Council Councilman Al Austin City Prosecutor Doug Cubert. Assembly Member Patrick O'Donnell. Councilman Edmondson of Signal Hill. Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn represented to her Linda Chico, Congressman Alan LoBiondo, Representative Fong Lee and Sheriff Alex Villano you over the proposal to file a presentation in recognition of Cambodian New Year? This is in line with our mission. Therefore, on behalf of Cambodia town in I fully support this recommendation proposed by Councilwoman Soli Sato. Thank you. Speaker 0: Honorable Major Council members. My name is occupied in the Indigenous. I'm on the Council of Cambodia in. Susannah George. My. Happy my new year. Thank you to Cambodia town and council member for co-hosting a pivotal and impactful 14 annual Cambodia Town Parade and Cultural Festival on April 30,000 people. Including elders, children, youth, family, community based organization, local businesses, the resident of Long Beach and even people from out of state and countries gather to honor this year's theme of my and Korean legacy and unity. And to celebrate my New Year and Heritage Month, we would like to recognize many government officials who came, including Assembly Member Patrick O'Donnell, Long Beach City Prosecutor. Mr. Doc Hubbard. Los Angeles County Department Sheriff Alex Wheeler. New Area Council Councilwoman Suzy Pry Council Woman Council Member Laura Supernova. Linda Chico representing Los Angeles County Supervisor Janet Hahn. Councilmember Al Osbourne. City of Seattle Hills member Wilson and Mr. Fong Lee, who represented Congress Member Alan Lowenthal. Your participation and support reflect the community interest, equitable leadership. And commitment to ensure cultural equity, diversity and inclusion, community support, embracing all diverse community and culture, including my New Year. We hope that all City Council members will join us at the 15 annual Cambodia Town Poet and Culture Festival next year. Susan George Moorhouse. I'm grand. Happy. My life. Burmese. Sinhala. All. Sri Lanka. Nepali. Thai. Bangladeshi born Mangal in Bengali community in Assam and Tripura in India between April 13 to 16. Thank you. Speaker 2: Well. Speaker 7: Oh, my. Good evening, everyone. My name. He sighs and can. I am here today. We are tomorrow and available from different temples throughout the city. Language and behalf of all women and girls who like to say thank you. Everyone, especially council woman Sully. Settle for a reuniting. Come on in New Year, as you saw in this picture. It is very important holy day for Cambodian in Southeast Asian community. And we all appreciate the city's support and continue to that this holiday. And I would like to play for you people. The car, but then the car. Yeah, but, uh. Yeah, the guy. And then the guy under the bed. Bye bye. And then starting lie down for one. And I know they're great. So, my dear, that was a great night and all how I know. So my ideas are mine but not all how I know they could. I saw them, I guess. And I think like. Uh. Um. Uh. To. Uh. To. Speaker 1: That concludes public comment. Speaker 0: Victory Richardson. Speaker 3: Yes. So I just thank you so much for those who attend came to speak and share your comments. I want to express my appreciation for everybody who has been part of helping to ensure we uplift the Cambodian community's tradition in celebrating the new year. And it's a time, as stated in the video and as stated in various theme, it is about unity. And I look forward in our pathway towards there in the ways that we can work together as a community and as a city to celebrate our annual tradition. Thank you very much. Speaker 5: I'll just add my my thanks to Councilwoman Ciro for bringing such a great video and presentation and to everyone who spoke today. Jumping. I'm so happy New Year to you. Look forward to continuing to celebrate your tremendous culture here in our city of Long Beach. Thank you. Speaker 0: Compliments of the house. Speaker 2: Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Councilmember Sara, for this great presentation today. I think that that's one of the beauties that we have here in the city of Long Beach is being able to celebrate our diversity and what a beautiful tradition to celebrate. I'm really happy to be in be able to celebrate Cambodian New Year's. So happy Cambodian New Year to everyone. Speaker 0: You. Thank you, sir. There's no additional comment. Correct. Okay. Well, thank you. We're going to go ahead. And do I believe a photo complimentary? Did you want to? Speaker 3: Yeah, I was wondering if we as a council member can join the community who came up for the item to take a group picture? I believe there's a few resolutions presented from the mayor's office, so I was wondering, we can do that really quick. If you guys could come over just to do a quick because I know that I and those that came for the item maybe can come forward. And as the whole council, if we can go forward and just take a group picture because. Speaker 0: We're going to do consent. -12 and eight, though. Speaker 1: We need a vote on this item first and then I'm sorry. We need to cast our votes on this item. Speaker 0: Yes. Okay. Speaker 1: Can you activate it? Yeah. Councilman Austin. If you can cast your vote. Thank you. Motion is carried. Speaker 5: All right. Now we're going to take the the consent calendar one through 13, except eight, 11 and 12. Okay. It's been moved and seconded as a public comment on the consent.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to request City Council to receive and file a presentation in recognition of Cambodian New Year.

LongBeachCC

LongBeachCC_04122022_22-0399

Speaker 5: Thank you. With item eight, please. Speaker 1: Report from Financial Man Financial Management Recommendation Refer to hearing officer the Business License Application Denial Appeal by JP 23, Hospitality Company located at 110 East Broadway Avenue, District one. Speaker 5: Okay. Let's go to staff report, please. Speaker 1: Good evening, Mayor and members of City Council. The Department of Financial Management determined it was appropriate as well as required per our duty given by the Long Beach Municipal Code to deny the business license for JP 23 Hospitality, Inc. The business owner followed the process afforded within the Long Beach Municipal Code to appeal. The action before you is for the City Council to consider whether to hear the entire case or refer it to a hearing officer also allowed within the Long Beach Municipal Code. It is staff's recommendation that you refer it to the hearing officer selected by the city clerk's office. And that concludes my report. Both myself and Deputy City Attorney Art Sanchez are available for questions. Speaker 5: Thank you. We're going to go to public comment. We see 11 speakers, so we got to 90 seconds. So could Steven Tillet, Jacob Pusey, Carla Curtis, Melander come forward. I'll read the next few just so they can be ready. Samantha Perez. Anthony Hale. Eric Williams. Gurjit Badel. Michelle C, Jackie Cordova, Perla de and Zwei Roybal. So starting with Steven Tillett, you have. Speaker 0: Four men, okay. Good evening. Members of the council. I would say, Mayor, but so why I'm here. My name is Stephen Killing. I'm the executive director of a nonprofit called Elad, which stands for Effort, Love, Action and Determination. I'm originally from New Jersey. Ten years ago, I met Mr. Keller. And ever since I've met this man. Things have changed. Not just for myself, but almost everybody around him. What he's able to do in a community. To help that community. Is who he is. Now, I know that you guys don't know him personally. And what he's entrusted me with as the executive director of a nonprofit is to be able to reach out to different communities. Sort of like a liaison. And I do this for him without pay. And I do this because Mr. Pools and Carlos, one of our biggest donors. With the caveat that we do work in the areas where he has businesses. So what we do is we come in and we attempt to make a relationship with all of you, with the police, with the Recreation Department, which we have reached out to a friend of mine. Her name is Ashley Gazette. I'm sure some of you probably know who she is, and she can vouch for the fact that months ago we reached out in order to try and help, because Eli's focus is the youth of the communities. We believe in helping the youth in the different communities. So with time running out, I'd just like to say, I don't know what your process is, but I do know who this man is. And I can tell you he is exactly the type of business owner that you want in your community. He is exactly the type of man that you want to have a business because he does ingratiate himself into the community. That's part of the family. Speaker 1: Thank you. Speaker 5: Thank you. Next is Jacob from DeKalb. Speaker 0: Hi. Good afternoon, city mayor. Mayor Garcia. City Councilman. City Councilwoman. Thanks for giving me an opportunity to speak on behalf of the 70 employees of JP 23. My name is Jacob Carver. I am the founder of JP 23 Hospitality Company. Being born and raised in Montreal, Canada, it was always been my dream to open an entertainment venue in the city of Long Beach. Four years ago, that dream became one step closer. I saw potential in a rundown location that was closed for many years. Here I am for nearly four years later, surviving and trying to hold on to that dream. I spent nearly $3.5 million in that location, and many 18 hour days have passed. For the past four years, we in the restaurant industry, if you don't mind, or if my staff stand up all the 70, that's just a fraction of the people that work at JP 23. Now we at we probably endured one of the we probably one industries that were hit the worst during the pandemic. At what one point I was given, I was going to pull the plug on the whole project and I decided to go through with it. Now here I am confused why I was having difficulty entering delays and trying to get my business license first and then now the entertainment permit. This is an entertainment venue and I can't operate without an entertainment permit. Why? We were denied a temporary entertainment permit as the municipal code allows us to have. So now wait. Why? Okay. Hardworking people that include. Why are we going to the snap? How to stop a finger, get rid of all these jobs, of all these hardworking people that include single parents, students, all walks of life. Speaker 1: Sir, your time has expired. Speaker 0: I just ask for this hearing to be heard in front of city council instead of the public officer just to have a fair chance at us. Thank you. Thank you so much. Speaker 5: Thank you. Curtis Millender. After. Curtis is Samantha Perez, then Anthony Hill. Curtis. Speaker 0: Good evening, counsel. My name is Curtis Melander. Really quick. I met Jacob ten years ago. And Jeff, I know he's been a big factor in my family's life as well as mine. So I know all his employees and everybody else. He's a big service to everybody. So I just want to, you know, make sure to accept that we get a fair shot. So thank you. Speaker 5: Thank you. Next to Samantha Perez and then Anthony Hill and then Eric Williams. I'm say Samantha, not here. Okay, Anthony Hill, you're up. Okay. Anthony Hill. Not here. Eric Williams. Speaker 0: Hello. Good evening. I'm Eric Williams. I bring a lot of entertainment to JP 23, and I'm an artist myself. I've made records with Dr. Dre and everybody back in 87. So. That Dr. Dre shook night area that's overweight that's just in the past now that the puffy era the the the type of business the type of entertainment he's trying to bring is this clean rap, this clean R&B. And that's what we've been doing lately. You know, is is has been not one problem. And I've seen I don't been through the the ship ignite the death row era. I didn't seen all of it. But this guy JP 23 that the club is bringing clean entertainment and that's all I have been since I've been going up there. So just like the other guy say, I just want him to get his shot because I it's been it's been it's been okay since I've been seeing it. Thank you. Speaker 5: Thank you. Next is Gurjit Ba Dal, then Michelle C, then Jackie Cordova. Speaker 0: Good afternoon, City Council. My name is Gurjit. I'm actually a dear friend of Jacob. I've known him for about nine and a half, ten years. Also, just like you can tell, he's a very supportive friend. Also, I eventually started working with him. He helped me start a marketing company in the past year during COVID. I also had a hard time with COVID, with my personal business. I was a wedding photographer and that went under and Jacob supported me and helped me put me back on my feet. So I'm very grateful to him in that aspect. But over the last year and a half, working with him and seeing him, how he is with the staff, his family, you know, he is a very caring person, does care about his business, puts his all into it, is very transparent, who has his heart on his sleeve, knowing what's going on. I also like to say that, you know, we're a community and a lot happened in the past few years with COVID. We should look at supporting the businesses and businessmen, putting money into Long Beach if you know, there's some process that wasn't done the way that was supposed to or not. I know Jacob's done everything in his power to try to get the the licenses and whatnot. But, you know, as you can see, many businesses have gone under during COVID. I want to say that we are a community. We should help each other. And, you know, instead of trying to stop his business and operation, we should advise and let him know the right processes and what you guys would like us to do to help get this business back to the track that we're looking to. All we're trying to do is bring, you know, beautiful entertainment and a beautiful bar to the city of Long Beach. So I hope that you guys would give him a fair chance. Thank you. Speaker 5: Thank you. Next as Michelle sees and Jackie Cordova and then pro. Speaker 2: Hello, everyone. My name is Michelle Castillo. I am from the Hashemite Nation. I come representing my elders, my Hashemite elders, and also my tongva elders. Just a reminder that you are on Tongva land. And I'd like to acknowledge my ancestors. We are community. This. These women behind me. Our community. The men with us are true community. I am a land protector, a sacred site protector and ocean protector. And I stand with missing and murdered indigenous women. What's going on with JP 23? They made a mess in Orange County, California, in Fullerton. Rape people were drugged. People are getting beat up at that club and now they're coming into precious tongva land. Hashim Inland, the land of my ancestors. And the same mess that happened in Fullerton is going to happen in the city of Long Beach. And I'm just here again representing the elders of Long Beach and asking you to please deny their license. All my relations. Speaker 5: Thank you. Next is Jackie Cordova, then Perla de Way, Red Ball. Speaker 2: Thank you. Good evening, Community. I am Jackie Cordova. I am a mother of Santa Ana. I am here for our daughters. I'm here for the protection of our women and children. I am here as a voice for the missing and murdered indigenous women of this tongva nation. For several months, we have been standing up and raising attention to the 40 plus allegations of sexual assaults, drugging, kidnaping and rape stemming from JP 23 Urban Kitchen Restaurant Bar in Fullerton. Our latest protest was held at the Fullerton Police Department for their lack of safety concern for our safety. We stand with the victims. We believe them. We give them courage to come forward. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, an annual campaign to raise public awareness about sexual assault and educate communities and individuals and how to prevent sexual violence. We demand an end to rape culture. We came tonight to warn Long Beach about JP 23, hospitality company trying to establish business. We demand safety for our children, for our businesses and our communities. We urge you to fully investigate these applicants as they come forward. Thank you. Speaker 5: Thank you. Next, this property. Speaker 3: Good evening, Long Beach. My name is. Speaker 2: Burleigh. Speaker 3: I also am a mother in Santa Ana on August 2nd, 2021. Our news broke out that a 22 year. Speaker 2: Old student. Speaker 3: Was brutally raped. Speaker 2: And left naked in. Speaker 3: A parking structure down the street from JP 23. She had only been a JP 23 and didn't have that much to drink, so it was suspicious as to why she couldn't remember anything. I decided to pull up to the first rally that was outside. As a mother of a 25 year old young woman who has also been a victim of. Speaker 2: Sexual assault. Speaker 3: And a mother of a Navy veteran. I understand this kind of violence. So I'm here to warn Long Beach about what's about to break out if you allow this man to open business. 40 plus people have come forward, women that have had half a drink at his bar and not remembered where they have been. Speaker 2: People that have walked into a room. Speaker 3: Full with condoms and tampons and pads and. Speaker 2: Undergarments. So I am pissed. Speaker 3: But my anger is not just mine. My anger comes with 500 years of age. Speaker 5: Thank you. Robert Gribble, our final speaker. Speaker 2: Hello. My name is José Wrobel Castle. My traditional name is out there. We all wish we were. It means one that people know before they meet her. The reason I bring up my parents and my last name, my mother is Roy Rosemary Roybal. My father is Richard Dean Cassell. The reason I bring them up is because they met here in Long Beach many, many years ago. I'm here to stand together and in support of the 40 women. Are survivors. I'm a mother. I'm a daughter. I'm a big advocate for my w. I have a tattoo on the side of my head to let women know that I am a safe place for them. And so I am standing here for that reason tonight to use my voice as an entertainer. As an entertainer, as a mother, as a daughter, as a sister, as an ex-wife. And as a grandmother, I stand in support of these women. And I ask you to please reconsider this, because if this has happened in Fullerton, I can guarantee that it will probably happen here as well. And we don't need bad business like that, especially if I'm going to show up in the entertainment business and accidentally bump elbows with folks like that. It's not a good idea. So I ask you, on behalf of the women that have survived this and other women that haven't come forward to please stop the madness and google my w if you guys want to know what it is. Stands for murdered missing indigenous women. And it also covers our children and our men. Speaker 5: Thank you, Councilwoman Zendejas. Speaker 3: My name's Samantha. Speaker 1: Perez. Sorry, I was. Do I still have time to talk? Speaker 3: Were you seen around? Speaker 5: Okay. Yeah. Okay. I think you're on the list. Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm definitely on the list. Speaker 2: Go for it. Speaker 3: Okay. So my name is Samantha Perez. Speaker 2: I'd like to. Speaker 1: Just give a. Speaker 3: Little quick background. I started working at JP 23 in Fullerton. I just want. Speaker 2: To you know, I'm a woman. I'm also a mother. Speaker 3: I started working at JP 23 in Fullerton when I was 21. He gave me an opportunity. I was a college student. I worked there for probably about four years. I paid my way through college working there. Speaker 2: And no. Speaker 3: Debt, which is always nice and flash forward to graduating going into a different sort of industry. Human Resources. I now came back to work for JP 23 because this is a family owned establishment and it's unfortunate. I worked at other bars in Fullerton and it's unfortunate that this happens in college towns, but it has nothing to do with Jacob as a person. It has absolutely nothing to do with our bar. We employ 60% of women. He makes sure every night that we're getting walked to our car by bouncers. I it's okay. I don't want anyone to assume anything based off. Speaker 2: Of what you've. Speaker 3: Heard, because I am a woman and I have a child, and it has absolutely nothing to do with that. It has everything to do with the city and the way that all of the bars are necessary. If I would have anything to do with the bars, it has in my opinion, it's unfortunate that college towns that this happens, but that somebody who's just a really terrible person and has horrible morals that is going to take advantage. Speaker 2: Of all women. Speaker 3: We do our best as a woman. I've done my best to make sure that all of the women in our establishment are safe. So I won't tolerate that. This is my main goal. Even in Long Beach. I do want smart and sorry I'm a woman. I'm going to make sure that, you know, all the women stay safe. Leaving are that woman. Thank you. Thank you. Speaker 5: All right. Thank you very much. Councilwoman Zendaya's, you have the floor. Speaker 2: Thank you. My smear. Obviously, I am not in the business of denying, you know, business license to people. You know, one of the things I pride myself in is to uplift our businesses that are in existence. I want to thank everybody who who came out to to do their public comments. I really appreciate that. But I really would like to ask city staff if you could just go step by step on telling us or identifying why this business was denied. And also, if you could also clarify what this is for today. Today we are we are making a decision whether to refer this to a hearing officer. And if you could please, you know, reiterated in your words, please. Speaker 6: Council member. Yes. This evening. The item before you this evening is to refer recommendation of staff is to refer the item to a hearing officer to hear the item. The denial of the business license. If council chooses to do that, then it would be sent to a hearing officer to be heard. A decision would be rendered by the hearing officer which could or could not come back to council, depending on whether it's appealed by either the applicant. So that's what's before the city tonight. If the city were to choose not to send to a hearing officer and and hear it as a council body, you could do that. But that would not happen this evening. It would be rescheduled at a future date. Speaker 2: Thank you. Can you give us I know you can't give us too much information, but can you give us what has led to this decision to deny the license? Oh. Or is that part of because it's not part of what we're talking about in the item tonight. Speaker 6: So Councilwoman, to answer your question, the I guess basis for the denial of the business license application for GP 23 Hospitality Company was based on violations of the municipal code and I don't want to get too specific, but operating without permits issued to the city I guess is at best basic, as I can put it. Speaker 2: Thank you. Speaker 5: Thank you, Councilman Allen. Speaker 1: Yes. Thank you, vice mayor. I just think tonight's item is pretty simple. It's just a referral to the business appeal to a city hearing officer who will then make the recommendation to the city council. All right, that's that's the way I'm seeing this. This location, JP 23, was in my district before redistricting, and I also live very close to JP 23. And I know that we have received well over 100 emails regarding this this location. And it's a lot. It was a lot. So I know that District one is now handling that regarding, you know, just just different various complaints, which are is concerning and also the fact that, you know, I'm a big supporter of businesses. There's no one that's a bigger supporter than me. And but, you know, there are rules that have to be followed. Everyone should be abide by the rules. And having proper permits and and things like that are seemed like pretty easy to do and all the businesses I've owned in the city. So I don't know why this this operator hasn't done that, but nevertheless, I think it's going to be I look forward to hearing seeing the recommendation from the city's hearing officer. And I also appreciate everyone that spoke tonight to. Thank you. Speaker 6: And if I could just clarify that it would be sent to a hearing officer. The clerk maintains a list of independent hearing officers, and it's selected randomly. So it's not a city employee who's a hearing officer just for the public. It is a hearing officer that is selected to hear the matter and then would render a decision. Speaker 1: Thank you for that clarification. Speaker 5: Thank you, Councilman Austin. Speaker 4: Thank you. I was away when this item was was presented in the restroom, but I wanted to just just get a sense of what the process is. So to go to an independent hearing officer, the hearing officer will make their recommendations. Will it come back to the city council? Speaker 6: Thank you. Councilmember The answer is it could come back to the hearing, to the if it's appealed, if the decision of the hearing officers appealed, then it would come back to the city council. Speaker 4: Okay. And maybe I just need a little bit more because, you know, I've been downtown. I've seen this business obviously operating for for some time now, a few months. And, you know, I do respect the the investment that anybody puts into our city. I want to want to kind of I don't know if we need to do that tonight, but at some point kind of walk through, you know, how somebody can can invest as much money as they have and then get to this point right. Where the city is potentially. Speaker 0: So just just briefly. Speaker 6: Councilman Aspen, I just wanted to clarify. So what is before you tonight is decision whether or not to refer this matter to a hearing officer. Ultimately, the city council is the trier of fact in this situation and in its referral of the hearing to a hearing officer. That hearing officer will conduct the hearing. They were rendered decision, I believe it's 15 days following the termination of the hearing. That decision will be put on council's agenda and counsel will have an opportunity to review the findings of the hearing officer and its decision and make its own decision based on its review at that time. So I just want to make sure that's clear regarding the business and the amounts that have been expended and all and and the councilman's point about, you know, how would you get this situation? I don't want to get into the specifics of that because I think it does go to the merits of the matter that is being appealed by the business. Speaker 5: Thank you. Okay. So we've heard from city staff the recommendations in front of us is to begin the process by sending it to the hearing officer. Whatever that decision is, can be appealed back to the city council. So there's still due process here. My I encourage the operator through this process, be a good neighbor, build goodwill, get in front of the community and help build support to help make your case here. Because I think there's a lot to be said about investment here, but quality of life is incredibly important. Members, please cast your vote. Speaker 1: Motion is carried. Speaker 5: Nine zero. Thank you. 11.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to refer to Hearing Officer the business license application denial appeal by JP23 Hospitality Company located at 110 East Broadway Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90802. (District 1)

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Speaker 5: Nine zero. Thank you. 11. Speaker 1: Report from Parks Recreation Marine Recommendation to authorize City Manager to execute an agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation to accept grant funding in an amount not to exceed 53,790 for the Dodgers Dream Team Program. Speaker 5: Thank you. Thank you. Just. Mr. Modica, I'm not sure what what that was. I just heard something in speaker. Mr. Modica, just a brief staff report on the update on RBI. We don't need a lot of time on this. Yes. Speaker 6: Brant. Dennis. Yeah. Thank you, Vice Mayor. We're really excited as a department to continue our partnership with the Los Angeles Dodgers to their foundation. So tonight, we're asking for approval to accept their support in the amount of $53,790. Beyond that, they do also provide a lot of other in-kind support for our program. We're excited because it really does introduce or give opportunities for nearly 930 kids to be introduced to baseball, primarily in the T-ball and coach coach pitch levels. But the funding helps offset the costs to support 77 teams at 24 different park locations with 12 to 15 players per team. And again, it's just a real great opportunity not only to continue our partnership with the Dodgers, but to spark an interest from young kids in our community for the great American support of baseball. Speaker 5: Thank you. You have a list, the parks with the program? Speaker 6: Yeah, I can I can. Speaker 5: Just read them off. Speaker 6: Quickly. 24. Sure. So I think they're not phonetic order. So the parks include Bixby College Estate, Shabazz, Cherry, Coolidge, Drake, Eldorado, Hartwell, Holton, MLK or King Park, MacArthur McBride or Zorba Pan-American Ramona Scheer Park Seaside Park Signal Hill Park Silverado, Somerset Stearns Veterans Wardlow and Whaley and in particular some of the larger park programs. And do include Hampton Park, where we have about 110 kids involved in nine different teams, just as one example. Speaker 5: Fantastic. Thank you. Any public comment on leaving? Speaker 1: No public comment on the side. Speaker 5: Of seeing nonmembers. Please cast your vote. Speaker 1: Motion is carried. Speaker 6: Thank you. Speaker 5: Thank you. We'll go to number 19, please. Speaker 1: And we still have item 12 of the content calendar as well.

Contract

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute an agreement, and any necessary subsequent amendments, with the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation to accept and expend grant funding in an amount not to exceed $53,790 for the 2022 Dodgers Dreamteam Program, formerly the Dodgers Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) Program, including the acceptance of funding for park field maintenance and umpire fees, along with in-kind contributions, for youth baseball and softball for the 2022 summer season; and Increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department by $53,790, offset by grant revenue. (Citywide)

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Speaker 1: And we still have item 12 of the content calendar as well. Speaker 5: I know we're going to go to 19/1 and then we're going to do 12. Speaker 1: Item 19 Communication from Vice Mayor Richardson, Councilwoman Sarah Member Councilmember UNGA Recommendation to receive and file a presentation from the Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusion on their progress and activities in their first two years of operation. Speaker 5: Thank you. So I wanted to invite Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusion here to our Long Beach City Council for an update on their progress over the past two years. And while they make their way forward for the presentation, I just want to say we're incredibly proud of the impact that they've had and they'll share more details . But it's been, you know, over $2 million the port deployed into our communities to make a real difference in people's lives. And at the end, we're going to recognize Julie Lee, who's played a major role in the Long Beach Food Support Network. And so that's it. We're going to pass it over to Julie. Excuse me, Jimmy. Vivian Juliano. Julie's over there. Vivian. She Miyama. Thank you. Speaker 2: Thank you, Vice Mayor Richardson. And thank you to the city council, her city officials and the members of the public here today. Hi, I'm Vivian Chumo, Jamar, and I'm the vice chair of the Long Beach Center for Academic Inclusion. And I'm going to maybe share a little bit more about our managing director, Arthur Ashe in Tech. But also I wanted to make sure and behalf of the Board of directors that we thank you for your support through the past two years. From the blueprint of the Economic Development Commission to Lombard Center for Economic Conclusion was formed. And so in the past two years we have been very busy even during COVID and to Northridge and talks going to share more about the work that we've done, but a little bit more about to do it. She's our managing director for BCI. She's also recently been been named the national CEO and president for London's The Center for Island History through to new US leadership. In the past 17 years, she has worked with LISC, L.A. local initiatives to support cooperation. She's also worked with the West Angeles CDC as the executive director. And maybe many of you heard about $250 million funding that came to our region through Wells Fargo. That, to know, was very instrumental in bringing that to our region as a seasoned executive director, economic development practitioner. She's worked in only not only nonprofits, but also private for profit for profits. She has a lot of strength in bringing communities together, advocacy, and she has worked specifically in real estate development and neighborhood revitalization. So through that work, she's been able to focus on affordable housing, she's focused focus on commercial development, entrepreneurship, and she has managed an asset portfolio of about 150 million over at West Angeles CDC. So not only did she manage that, but she grew that portfolio. And one other accomplishment I was on the board of was the Angelo CDC. And when she was able to bring to the community there a it was a 24,000 square foot commercial office project, the West Angeles Plaza. So as you can see, she is able to not only collaborate but also to bring resources to a community. Her awards can range free to many. But I want you to know that she serves on the Federal Home Loan Bank in San Francisco. She's also been on the Affordable Housing Council with the state of California. She serves on advisory boards not only for Southern California Edison, but Union Bank of California. And she also has worked with the Housing Commission, which is with the state of California to new was a graduate of M.I.T. She's a graduate of UC Berkeley. She we are very proud and honored to have her to be our managing director. And also, I want to thank Vice Mayor Richardson. During the time in the past two years, he's worked very closely with our board, as well as worked with the City Council on not only the everyone in, but the economic and equity initiatives that are bringing our city forward. So thank you very much for your support. Please join me to Noah and share more about the work of ABC. I think it's clear. Thank you so much to Viviane, who is the vice chair of the Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusions Board of Directors. I'm Tina THRUSH, intern and just so proud that the board asked me to not only come and join their ranks of the board, but to assist as their managing director. Today, what I'll be providing is just a brief overview of some of the accomplishments of the Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusion. And you'll get to see that that work is not done by one but a group of people, including our board of directors and our staff. Some of you may know a few years ago the city partnered with various council members here to make sure that we had an everyone in implementation plan that built upon the city's blueprint for economic development. You'll see here several reports that are listed there. And we're happy to say that not only did we meet with the community, engage with city stakeholders, as well as those from across the region to identify strategies around economic inclusion. Next slide from there. The Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusion was born focusing on issues of small business and entrepreneurship, workforce and youth development, housing and homeownership, as well as economic resiliency and connectedness. We wanted to make sure through our work that we serve those communities that have historically received a little less investment than other parts of the city or were in need of additional support for a variety of reasons, not the least of which included being low and moderate income communities. Those listed there include the north, central and west part of Long Beach. So over the last couple of years. Next slide. More than $2 million in resources have been leveraged to ensure that the Long Beach entire community had access to those. The pictures that you see listed here represent some of the activities of BCI. So how does that work get done? Next slide. With the help and support of our Board of directors at this moment, I'd like to ask our board of directors to please stand and be recognized. We have the Honorable Yvonne Benitez, Johnathan Chief Coleman, Sharon Diggs Jackson, Carl Kemp, Suni Chang, Eric Romero and Vivian Shimura. A round of applause for our board of directors. These folks have worked tirelessly, some of which we've started with the organization and getting it going. We also want to thank our staff who are here as well. Emily Kazim We have Jeff as well. Many of you know, please stand and Julie Leigh as well. Next slide, please. So I was hoping the vice mayor would talk about a number of our programs, but we're really excited about the small business work that we're doing. And I want to point out our CEO Small Business Forum that we held in 2021, focusing on entrepreneurs here in Long Beach, making sure that they're able to really get through during this tough time during the COVID pandemic and to create a peer network among them. We have also created several other networks for restaurant owners, owners and other support for small businesses throughout the city. We also next slide have our financial literacy programs. This program we're really proud to have partnered with Farmers and Merchants Bank on providing services in both English and Spanish, as well as stipends for those who were able to complete the program so they could really establish a credit, a bank account to get on the road to homeownership. Next slide, vaccine and COVID education. We know that parts of our city and some of our residents were falling behind and accessing the vaccine. And we took effort to make sure that community members had access to that next slide. This year, in 2022, we're very proud to announce a partnership with Wells Fargo, which we call the Black Wealth Initiative, really a response to the need to increase homebuyer education and access to employment resources in our city. We've already started hosting our first home buyer education class that sold out and look forward to additional work later this year. So next slide, where's I close for today? When you think about where you were during the pandemic, what were you doing? How were you supporting your community? One of the things that Lisa I can be proud of is that we pivoted our programs to make sure that everyone was fed. We led a collaboration of more than 25 local nonprofits and organizations, secured more than £600,000 of fresh food and produce and serve more than 4500 households. That network, we believe, served about 25,000 people, about 5% of the Long Beach population. And we helped those organizations access resources. Today, we're very proud to say that the leader of that work within I with Julie Lee. Yes. Julie Lee, a force for good during a time when people needed it most, brought her experience of more than 30 years to BCI and helped to lead this coalition. We list some of the organizations here who applaud and stand with BCI under Julie's leadership today. We look forward to working with this council to be able to recognize Julie for her heroic efforts and work during the pandemic and making sure that all of Long Beach was fed. Thank you. I'll turn it back over to the vice mayor. Speaker 5: All right. Let's hear it again for Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusion, Inclusion and their brave board of Directors. Councilmember Turanga. Speaker 6: Thank you, Senator, for including me in this. I think it's a wonderful program. You do a lot of great work. And I was out there for some of those food distribution events that you had out there, and the response was just absolutely wonderful to see a lot of people that were in need and to get the free food that they had. And you have a wonderful board Director-General, many of them very committed individuals who are basically all about Long Beach and thank you for all the work that you do and thank you for your leadership. Speaker 5: Fantastic. Thank you, Councilwoman Ciro. Speaker 3: Thank you. Yes. So I just want to congratulate you on two years, especially when you started I think you started during the pandemic. So just really hit the ground running and really doing what's true to your mission. And I'm looking forward to the ways that to seeing the work on the ground and this recovery period, because if you made it through and did great work during the pandemic, I can't wait to see what you all do in this process of after the pandemic. So just, you know, very excited to hear about the Black Wealth Initiative. I think it's very much needed in light of the conversations that we've had. And this is one I think, Julie, I've seen her at all of these food giveaway events and also doing digital divide work, I think bridging the digital divide, getting the word out with the cities program. So thank you very much. Looking forward to the work ahead. Speaker 5: All right. Thank you, Councilwoman Zendejas. Speaker 2: Thank you. Very smart. Your congratulations. I just couldn't be more proud of you guys. The thing is, everyone in implementation plan is based on a concept that, though shouldn't be new, is new to us. And congratulations on everything that you've been doing with it. It is it embodies the concept of inclusion and a power of the power that exists that when when something is created with such a powerful concept behind it, where it really focuses on everybody being able to thrive, I also valued the opportunity to discuss and receive this presentation on the on the operation of the center, because it is important that we all know what is going on behind the scenes. We are see you guys out in the community Bitcoin as the results showing us the numbers, the data and all the progress that you've made in these short two years just gives me so much hope for what this program can do in the next five years. So I know that we're in good hands and we're in good hands because this this this organization is powered by so many amazing people that really care about the future of Long Beach. And for that, I thank you. Speaker 5: Thank you, Councilwoman Allen. Speaker 1: Yes, I thank you, Vice Mayor, for bringing this item forward. And thank you, Mr. Mueller, for your awesome presentation. It's definitely great to learn all the incredible work that the Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusion has been doing and just how many resources were provided during especially during the pandemic. It's it's just incredible to see all the work that you have done in two years. And the the center is just literally hit the ground running and in definitely serve so many of our underserved neighborhoods in Long Beach. You already know this to know about organizations like the center really make a difference in our communities and and have a positive impact on all of our residents. So just thank you again for your presentation. Thank you for being here. And just thank you for all of your hard work. Speaker 5: Thank you. Councilman Price. Speaker 3: Thank you. And I wanted to thank you, too, for the presentation and the opportunity to see everybody that's working on the board and behind the scenes. I learned a lot tonight from the presentation. There are a lot of people involved in this effort that I didn't know were involved in this effort. I've had the privilege and the honor to work with Julie Lee, of course, in her work at UCO, and she's fantastic. And so and I welcome you to your new position. That's pretty awesome. Your new title, I guess. I don't know. It's is sort of a new position. Speaker 2: Leadership role. Well, that's welcome. Yeah. Speaker 3: I don't know what to call it, but. But there was a nice introduction of yourself. Welcome and thanks for the presentation. Speaker 5: Fantastic. Thank you. We do have one public comment, so I can say if you want to come forward now. Speaker 2: Hm. Speaker 0: So I can be District six resident. Big fan of the work that's coming out of LPC. I, um, I partnered with a couple of, uh, religious entities during the COVID response to the Food Support Network that they have. So, uh, they help feed a lot of hungry people during the, this last year and, uh, a lot of communities that wouldn't have had access to a lot of the, you know, those boxes without the aid of ABC. I so appreciate her value their work. As my Councilperson reiterated, I'm much excited about the Black Wealth Initiative. I saw the, uh, good opportunities that are coming along with the relationship the LPC has with with Angela's and excited to see the first time homeowners that come out of this that are locally here in Long Beach. So thank you. Speaker 5: All right. Thank you. So we're going to invite the group up. And if the council wants to come down, we have a recognition for Julie Lee and I'll just say thank you to two years in. Right. You answered the call. You stepped forward at a very difficult time. And I'll tell you, the sky's the limit. Continue. You stepped up when the city called and said, we need a community development corporation to step forward and meet all of these needs in our city. And you stepped forward to do so. And so I can't wait to see what the future holds. So thank you so much. And we have this proclamation for you now. Thank you. Members, please cast your vote. Speaker 1: Councilman Santo has. Speaker 5: Councilman Zandi has.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to receive and file a presentation from the Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusion on their progress and activities in their first two years of operation.

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Speaker 1: Motion carries. Speaker 5: Thank you. Number 23, please. Speaker 1: Report from Parks, Recreation and Marine and Public Works recommendation to adopt a resolution to submit a grant application for the Land and Water Conservation Fund program for the El Dorado Duck Pond Restoration Project. Speaker 5: It follows the motion in second. Any public comment? Speaker 1: No public comment. Speaker 5: Members, please. Councilman Mongo. Speaker 2: Did we have a staff report on this? Speaker 0: We have one, if you'd like one. Speaker 2: Maybe a short staff report. This is a pretty big project and we're really, really proud of the work that Public works and Parks and Rec have done. The escalating costs due to inflation have really burdened this program. But I want to appreciate both Parks and Rec director Dennis and Eric Lopez for their continued commitment to the wildlife rest, the wildlife preservation at the center, and the additional resourcefulness that they have had to find to make this a reality. I look forward to the presentation. Speaker 5: Thank you. Speaker 6: Eric, if you can briefly go through the report. Thank you, Tom. Uh, vice mayor, members of the city council where we are here. To provide a brief update of the Duck Pond project. The project will include a lot of different improvements to improve water quality, ecological function and end the habitat by restoring the pond liner, enlarging the wetlands and four bay, removing invasive species and replanting with California natives. The scope of work includes draining down the pond, removal of sediments. Some are a lot of size demolition, a lot of old concrete that needs to be replaced. Utility relocations. Construction of the new for being wetlands areas. Replacement of pumping and filtration systems. And we will do the landscaping and a lot of accessibility improvements in the area as well. We have a partner at the Long Beach Water Department that's providing funding, support and support with pursuing additional grant opportunities, and we want to thank them for that support as well. The big one of our one of the big parts of our project is to be able to take water from the pond, treat it, filter it, and then re-use it to help irrigate the adjacent golf course. That will also help reduce our dependance on potable water for irrigation purposes, which is another huge benefit of the project. The the the actual construction will be impactful. We will have we will need to relocate existing wildlife, both native and non-native. There will be temporary impacts, but the long term benefits will outweigh those temporary impacts. And we are working closely with our team biologists, with our community partners, with our different department partners to ensure we do this as carefully as possible, and also in coordination with our folks at Fish and Wildlife who are permitting the project. Our did permit the project and who will be part of the process as we go through this. Our funding, our total project costs are estimated at 9 million. We are currently seeking authorization to pursue another grant for a total of $3 million. The different funding sources that are contributing to the project include Missouri Measure W grant funding, general capital funds and a water department contribution. Our timeline. We are on pause right now because of nesting. We were trying to get a head start, but we noticed nesting activities on site. So we stopped. We paused. We worked with our regulatory agency partners and we are waiting to be able to continue construction later this year. The target to restart is September and our target to complete the project is November of 2023. And that concludes the presentation. Speaker 2: Thank you. Speaker 5: Councilman Schubert on. Thank you. So I don't know if you covered it. So the construction will likely start this September and take just over a year to complete. Okay. Thank you. All right, Councilman Mongo. Speaker 2: Thank you. I think this is a really important time to show our our appreciation for staff. This is this just isn't a replacement project. When I was elected, we talked about the pond needs to be fixed. And fixing the pond as it is is one thing. We're substantially changing the way that the pond functions and serves the residents and the ability for it to be a real environmental impact to our community by restoring reclaimed water during the day. I also think it's a great opportunity to plug. As a kid, I've always gone to the duck pond and now here I am in my forties and we're finally restoring it. But as a kid, I didn't know that you shouldn't feed bread to the ducks, because when you do that, you're really ruining the liner and all the components of the pond. And so no matter what pond, you're out within the city of Long Beach. And I see Councilman Austin looking at me. He's really passionate about pond pumps as I am. We have to keep those pond pumps functioning and we need to ensure that parents know not to feed the ducks anything but duck food. So thank you for everyone for their participation in this project. We're really excited to get it started and I look forward to it being followed through to completion by the new council member over the Duck Pond Councilmember Supernova. But I'll be standing there and supporting all the way along. Thank you. Speaker 5: Thank you, Councilman Sabrina. Thank you. As we were speaking, just got an email from Jill Brennan, who I know from years ago on the Sustainable City Commission. And she's asking questions of an article that just appeared in the grunion. And her question is, what is public works expertize on bird issues and whatnot? So I think I'd like to mention. Speaker 0: That oversight. Speaker 5: Is being provided here by the State Department of Fish and Wildlife. So if you'd like to comment and I add to that, I think that's an important issue we need to put out there. Speaker 6: Absolutely, Councilman. And we also have a project biologist from Alassane Associates as part of the team that has relationships with the state agencies and that will help with some of that coordination. So our team does have expertize with wildlife and bird management through the project biologists from LSA Associates. Speaker 2: And Mr. Lopez, what person what amount of money is being spent for wildlife preservation and support? I don't think people know how expensive it is to preserve the wildlife and how much the city of Long Beach cares about the birds and ducks. Swans? Speaker 6: Yeah, Councilwoman, it's actually substantial. I don't have the exact figure, but a big part of the budget involves wildlife. Not just monitoring, but also the relocation cause. I would need to get that to you. Speaker 2: I remember being surprised it was such a large number, but relocating turtles and ducks and swans and fish and all of that is very, very expensive. So people often come to the council and say, you don't do enough for the animals and the birds. This is a huge amount of money that we're spending to support the wildlife. And I appreciate the number of advocates that have come forward and appreciated that. And I think it's important for the community to know. Thank you. Speaker 5: Councilman Austin. Speaker 4: Thank you. And I'd like to just say I'm thrilled to see this this item come forward as chair of the Budget Oversight Committee. The duck pond issue seems to come up year after year. And I applaud my colleague, council member Mungo, now superstar, for their advocacy on this. Obviously, I have a duck pond in a great District eight chair park. But that kind of begs the question in terms of, you know, how many times do we really have in the city and what are we learning from El Dorado that we can apply in other areas of the city and other scenarios? Speaker 6: Council And that's a great question. Not to duck the essence of the question, but we do have a number of bodies of water in our parks and we really see this project as a tremendous opportunity. Once the duck pond, as it's known reopens, is to reeducate our community. We're also in discussions with a lot of neighbors who care about the duck pond to create a friends of the Duck Pond organization and have docents that would be scheduled, particularly on weekends, to give guided tours, point out the different wildlife that does inhabit the area. And I know Animal Care Services has been working with public works to help address the relocation of there's quite a number of water turtles in the duck pond, I think over 500. So we'll be relocating some of those into other bodies of water in Eldorado Park. But there's also the opportunity for individuals that might want to adopt a turtle. So that will be available also. And Councilman, if I may, to just add to that, we do consider this an innovative project. It is something new and different, and we are looking forward to learning from it so that we can use this as a model potentially for other areas of the city where we have similar issues. So Measure W and other grant funding out there is available to do these types of creative, creative projects. So I just wanted to highlight that as well. Speaker 4: Thank you. And I have been a councilmember in the district for, you know, almost ten years. I can tell you that the maintenance a lot of folks don't don't know what it requires to to maintain a pond and keep it, I would say, clean or even the algae levels, you know, maintain. But the pumps, it's the maintenance is ongoing. And then some of the things that you find inside of those those ponds at some point are can be quite alarming. And so, you know, it's almost like I feel like we almost need need to have somebody, you know, monitoring these ponds, you know, 24 seven to ensure that, you know, the ducks are being, you know, not being fed things that they shouldn't be fed, which I know is not realistic. But signage and more public education around how we manage these ponds, I think is very, very important. But happy to see this this item come forward and look forward to the restoration. Thank you. Speaker 5: Thank you. Any public comment on this item? Speaker 1: No public comment on this. All right. Speaker 5: Members, please cast your vote. Speaker 1: Motion is carried. Speaker 5: All right. So now we have our ending public comment. Any member of the public like to address the council? We have one. Dave Shukla. Please make your way to the front. Yeah. Speaker 0: Good evening. Good to see you all again after our annual ritual of exotic fossil fuel machines driving around in circles. Um, I have some comments on agenda item number 21, which I can email you, but specific to last week's, uh, meeting. It was kind of disheartening to hear that we'd need yet another study session on surf after the first one was so uninformative. Uh, it read more like a, uh, like an argument for for why, uh, the city should try and lobby against the A.B., uh, 1873, I think it is. Rather than dealing with the realities of not only organics diversion, but the fact that a lot of cities may just not kind of pursue the credits since they have other obligations to their own population. So the economics of the facility, in addition to the fact that it's aging, creaky, um, and less toxic sludge, is good for us . I mean, I don't know why we want to breathe in things like dioxins, um, along with all the other cumulative impacts in that site, uh, on the air as well as on the soil and water. Um, you know, facilities kind of, uh, kind of like a white elephant, you know, it's, it's something that had made sense and does make sense from a certain point of view for a certain group of people, but not for the entire city, let alone for how to deal with waste, especially nutritive. Nutritive, waste. Uh, used in compost. I'd like to see a realistic plan now that there are green beans in certain, you know, for certain restaurants already, I'd like to see a realistic plan for green beans. Uh, for for residents. Um, you know, I'd like to see more soil, not oil myself. Thank you. Speaker 5: Thank you. That satisfies public comment. Thank you for attending. This meeting is adjourned.

Resolution

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to submit a grant application to California Department of Parks and Recreation’s Office of Grants and Local Services for the Land and Water Conservation Fund Program for the El Dorado Duck Pond Restoration Project; if awarded, accept an amount up to $3,000,000 for completion of the El Dorado Duck Pond Restoration Project; and, execute all documents necessary to accept the funds and implement the project. (District 4)

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Speaker 0: All right. Sign up now. All right. Thank you so much. We're going to move on with the agenda. We're going to take item 20 that was pulled from consent. If you want to recuse yourself at this point. Speaker 4: Yes, I'm going to recuse myself out of an abundance of caution as I work for RDC. Thank you. Speaker 2: Thank you. Speaker 1: Item 20 is a report from Parks, Recreation and Marine recommendation to adopt a resolution in support of the formation of the Lower Los Angeles River Recreation and Park District Citywide. Speaker 0: All right. Is there a second on this motion? Okay. Any public comment here? Speaker 1: No public comment. Speaker 0: Let's go ahead and have our vote. Speaker 1: Councilman. Super not. Motion is carried eight zero. Speaker 0: Thank you. I think we're going to go ahead and just take care of our one hearing that we have and then we'll get to the request to move up items. So let's hear hearing 24.

Resolution

Recommendation to adopt resolution in support of the formation of the Lower Los Angeles River Recreation and Park District; direct the City Clerk to file the Resolution with the Local Agency Formation Commission; and, authorize City Manager to approve the final District Boundary Map on behalf of the City. (Citywide)

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Speaker 0: Thank you. I think we're going to go ahead and just take care of our one hearing that we have and then we'll get to the request to move up items. So let's hear hearing 24. Speaker 1: There are two hearings this evening, 24 and 25. Speaker 0: I understand one was going to be Paul, correct? Well, we'll get to that when we get to it here in 24. Speaker 1: Report from Financial Management Recommendations received supporting documentation into the record. Conclude the public hearing and revoke business license issued to SoCal Equity Holdings, LLC. District one There is an oath required for this hearing. Speaker 0: Thank you. Let's go ahead and conduct our oath. Speaker 1: Do you and each of you solemnly state that the testimony you may give in the cause now and pending before this body shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God. Speaker 0: Thank you. Tom, you have the floor. Speaker 4: Yes, we have Tara Mortenson here. She's the business services manager from Financial Management, and she will be providing a brief staff report. Good evening, Mayor, and members of City Council. The action before. Speaker 5: You tonight is a recommendation that. Speaker 4: You adopt the appeal hearing officer's recommendation to revoke the commercial industrial space. Speaker 5: Rental business license issued to so-called equity holdings located at 214 to 16. Speaker 4: Atlantic Avenue. This item was originally heard by a different hearing officer. Speaker 5: On August 18th, 2021. Speaker 4: The property owner followed the appropriate process to request an appeal. Speaker 5: Of the decision. A second hearing was held on February 9th, 2022. Speaker 4: After a thorough examination of the evidence occurred and with additional evidence being. Speaker 5: Considered, along with testimony from. Speaker 4: All parties, including city staff and the property owner and staff. The appeal hearing officer came to the same. Speaker 5: Conclusion as the first with a finding in favor of the revocation of the business license. Speaker 4: That concludes my staff report. Deputy City Attorney Art Sanchez. Speaker 5: And I are available for any questions. Speaker 0: Thank you. We're going to go to public comment. Is there any public comment on this hearing? Speaker 1: Jorge Larios, please step to the podium. Speaker 2: Good evening. Members of the City Council. My name is George Larios. I represent and also the owner of SoCal Equity Holdings. And I just wanted to kind of, you know, state that, you know, at that time, you know, when the incident happened, you know, I am a license holder with the state of California, hold a delivery license and hold several licenses here in Long Beach. And I felt like things were done unfair. There wasn't really physical evidence found inside the unit. They found my transportation vans with product for delivery, and I had total license in place as I presented out to all the members of the city. And I feel like there wasn't even witnesses stating what there were. No pictures are all they found inside was basically equipment and packaging, which I currently have, because I do have operations here in Long Beach. I hold four licenses and I also have 16 in play here in Long Beach and also currently working with social equity applicants for provide space on some of my properties. They didn't deny the fact that I was there, but I do hold state license and I see that there is not really a I. First they said that I was conducting illegal business and now it turned into a legal business conducted illegally here in Long Beach. I had a witness of mine that's here today. And and he stated that Laurie Moss was basically lying, saying that he said that that I was running illegal delivery when when I wasn't. And there was really no physical evidence found inside other than the scale and some crumbs inside the property. There was no physical witness that came and no witnesses became foot in front to state that I was one illegal visitors and nothing activity whatsoever. But the transportation vans that I have, I conduct business here in Long Beach. I conduct business in up north and I do frequent deliveries here in Long Beach. And we always have a safe place to pull over when we have to eat. When my drivers have to put gas. Speaker 6: In, I felt that, you know. Speaker 2: Them parking in my property, why they why they get some lunch, use the restroom so they can make their way up to the city of Davis of North is more safer than parking the street and, you know, us getting robbed. So that's all I got to say. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Any additional public comment? Speaker 1: That concludes public comment. Speaker 0: We'll take it back behind the rails there. A second on this motion. Okay. It's been moved and seconded. Councilman's and house. We'd like to speak to your motion. Speaker 5: I guess first I'd like to ask, um, city staff if you can probably share a little bit with us some of the findings and evidence that you might have. Or the process that you went through. Speaker 3: So, Councilwoman Zendejas. Speaker 2: I'm the one that actually handled the hearings, both for the initial hearing to revoke the license and then the appeal that was filed on behalf of the business license holder and conducted that hearing as well. What was discovered was. Speaker 3: A a business. Speaker 2: Location where there was a lot of activity happening outside of the. Speaker 3: Rear of the. Speaker 2: Location, which was to 14 to 16 Atlantic Avenue. Business license investigators were received a complaint regarding that activity. An investigation. Speaker 3: Was conducted. Speaker 2: And an inspection was scheduled and this was back in December of 2020. And when inspectors arrived, they couldn't enter the premises. They contacted the property owner to gain access. There was a series of delays. Speaker 0: But when they eventually entered the premises, they discovered. Speaker 2: Well, when they had to come back to the premises that same day. Speaker 3: They discovered. Speaker 2: People emptying out. Speaker 3: Boxes of cannabis product out of the out of the. Speaker 2: Address and and loaded into vans that were parked in an adjacent parking lot. And there was information that was obtained from one. Speaker 3: Of the workers that was unloading the product out of the address to the loading. Speaker 2: Van, saying that they. Speaker 3: Were instructed to empty out the location of all the marijuana product. And so there was also information relating to a. Speaker 2: Discussion between Mr. Larios. Speaker 3: Who you heard public comment from and that business license inspector Lauri Vos regarding entry into the premise, but also the a comment. Speaker 0: Regarding what. Speaker 3: The inspectors. Speaker 2: Found when they came back and Mr. Laurel's and for Ms. Voss which she testified to during the hearing that. Speaker 3: That he had to make money somehow and that, you know, he had other open applications, which he does have a number of open applications. Speaker 2: At the time. Speaker 3: With the city. And so he had to make money somehow. Speaker 2: And so that's, you know, basically what he was doing. Then he admitted that to his Voss. There was also additional information that came out during the hearing that indicated that illegal or unlawful packaging of marijuana product was occurring at that apartment location. So that's generally, you know, a brief synopsis of what came out during the hearings. Speaker 5: I think you can. Can someone also explain the difference between a local cannabis license and a state can minibus license and what proceeds may be city attorney or. Speaker 0: So the. Speaker 2: State, the state canvas, and so SOCO Equity Holdings. Speaker 3: LLC. Speaker 2: And its principals. Mr. Larios. Speaker 3: I think. Speaker 2: One of the entities and Mr. Larios is a. Speaker 0: Principal. Speaker 3: Of, does have a delivery. Speaker 0: Cannabis delivery license. Speaker 2: That cannabis with the. Speaker 3: State that cannabis delivery license is. Speaker 2: Based in Davis, California, which is up in Northern California. Speaker 3: And that is the license that. Speaker 0: He's describing to. Speaker 2: Counsel today that he had when all this occurred. And the city's position is well. So let me step back to answer counsel on this question, and that is. Speaker 3: A state delivery license is allowed to deliver. Speaker 2: Anywhere within the state. So that would include a local jurisdiction here in the city of Long Beach. The city of Long Beach has not. Speaker 0: Has not. Speaker 3: Allowed delivery services to occur other. Speaker 0: Than. Speaker 2: From retail dispensaries. And so we are in the process. Speaker 3: Or the Office. Speaker 2: Of Cannabis Oversight is in the process of amending that in relation. Speaker 3: To the social equity. Speaker 2: Ordinance that is going to come before council, I think, next month. And then at some point that. Speaker 3: Delivery is going to be opened up to all. Speaker 0: Delivery. Speaker 3: Or all delivery or. Speaker 2: All cannabis businesses separate and apart from social equity. So that but because Long Beach doesn't have a local ordinance allowing for delivery. Speaker 3: There is. Speaker 0: A, I guess, a little bit of a gray area. Speaker 2: And that in that situation. Speaker 3: However, if you are going to use a. A property. Speaker 2: Location to assist in conducting a business, you do have to have a license. Speaker 3: With the city to do that. Speaker 2: If I could add to that real quickly, Councilwoman, the the hearing officer. Speaker 3: Of both the original hearing and at the appeal hearing upheld the evidence and found that at all times there was no adult cannabis related business license in place for the property to satisfy the requirements of Long Beach Municipal Code. Speaker 2: Chapter 5.92. 210a And that he was this business was in violation of that. And they upheld that decision both at the appeal and at the original hearing. Speaker 5: Thank you. I'm a huge cannabis equity advocate and I am someone who always wants to see this industry to, you know, thriving here in Long Beach and out of respect to all of our cannabis businesses. It's important that we take a careful look into these matters, because the last thing we want is for local cannabis businesses that are doing everything, you know, legally, that they feel that we're letting someone get away with not doing it legally. So for that, I want to thank the staff and and all everyone involved for really shining a light on this matter and will continue to be an advocate for cannabis equity. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Councilman Price, anything? Speaker 4: No, thanks. I support Councilman Zendejas. Speaker 0: Thank you. Let's have a roped up. Excuse me. I keep saying a roll call vote. I'm used to virtual meetings. Let's go ahead and cast our vote.

Public Hearing

Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude the hearing, and adopt the hearing officer’s recommendation to revoke business license number BU21903666 issued to SOCAL Equity Holdings, LLC, located at 214-216 Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach. (District 1)

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Speaker 1: Motion is. Speaker 0: Carried. Thank you. Speaker 1: 25 Please report from Financial Management recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude a public hearing and grant an entertainment permit with conditions for entertainment without dancing to Long Beach, Tiki, LLC District three. There's also an old Councilwoman Price. Speaker 4: I believe this item was going to be pulled. Right. Okay. Thank you. Speaker 0: There's a motion to continue the item. Speaker 3: No. We're planning to remove this item and then we will bring it back in May, most likely. Speaker 0: I'll second that. All right. Let's have any public comment on the motion to withdraw. Speaker 1: Mr. Sun, I can say did sign up for public comment? Would you like to comment on the special withdrawal? Speaker 0: Okay. Thank you. All right. Let's cast our vote. Speaker 1: Motion is carried. Speaker 0: All right. We're now going to go to item 31, Martin Luther King part.

Public Hearing

Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude the public hearing, and grant an Entertainment Permit with conditions for Entertainment without Dancing to Long Beach Tiki, LLC, dba The Bamboo Club, at 3522-24 East Anaheim Street. (District 3)

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Speaker 0: All right. We're now going to go to item 31, Martin Luther King part. Speaker 1: Communication from Councilwoman Sarah Vice Mayor Richardson Recommendation to request City Manager to work with the Public Works Department and Parks, Recreation and Marine Department and in conjunction with the community partners to begin pre-planning efforts to develop a park vision plan for Martin Luther King Jr Park and report back within 90 days. Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilman Ciro. Speaker 4: Thank you, Vice Mayor. And so I want to thank you for signing on to this item. I'm just so excited to be able to present this item, to identify funding and to begin the pre-planning. This has been identified as a need in a district dialog I've had in the past year, and I see that this is possible because it happened in Highland Park where we had the Doris Topsy Alva Community Center. We have the just recently named Ron Areas Health Equity Center. We also have a central health facility and I believe that's a model and what we could do and I think creating this vision plan is much needed because we haven't seen improvement in this park at this historical and cultural park in a long time. So in the past year, unfortunately, due to the vandalism, the statue, MLK statue was restored and little upgrades have been made. But more needs to be done. And it needs to be done with the community. It has to be a community driven vision, and that is part of the planning that is going to happen after we get a report back from the departments and how much it'll cost and what it will take. But I also want to thank the multi-racial coalition that have submitted a letter of support for this vision plan. Latinos in Action. My Girls in Action. Elite. Skills Development. City Fabric. Forgotten Images. I'm going to name all of them because I don't want to, you know, leave anyone out in their support. You see United Cambodian community as well as I think we have a few individual pastor. Well, Willie, Larry McIntyre from Grace Memorial Baptist Church. So I want to just thank all of you, all the residents, for voicing this need and this long overdue investment in central Long Beach. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. I'll speak up as a seconder. I think you have to start with a vision and that in the money follows. When we started at Highland Park, the idea was our community center was failing. You know, we had every winter when it rained, we had to close down the social hall and but we brought the community together and we started with the vision for the center. And then that developed into a vision for the park. And then that developed into a vision for the whole uptown area, the uptown open space plan and those visions. They won awards and they led to money. Today, if you go there, you know, a 95 year old community center has been redone and facilities been added and it's beautiful. The doors topsy over community center. That was an $11 million investment and the vision plan that happened just a few years prior. And then just yesterday, we open the Rainforest Health Equity Center. It was a facility center that we invested $5 million into. But what's really important is what we put inside the programs and services inside. So things like the fatherhood initiative, things like, you know, My Brother's Keeper, My Sister's Keeper and our office youth development clinic. The things that, you know, particularly it was important to have in part because there's, you know, five city halls closed north lobbies that are all in city hall. So it made it more accessible for people to go to the area they know to get the city services. So I personally think I support where you want to go, but I think it's important. You know, King Park is like, you know, it's an important, iconic part to the city and it needs to be invested in and treated as such. And so I'm happy to support this vision and I look forward to what comes next in terms of the actual millions of dollars it's going to take to make the park into what it what it can be. Next, we have a councilwoman. So you want to go to the comment. Okay. We'll go to public comment. Madam Clerk. Speaker 1: Well, the first five speakers please lineup. Tim Gilmore. Russell Waters. Ginger Moore. Franklin Sims. Marc Anthony Hall. Speaker 2: So there's talk. Hello. My name is Tim Gilmore. I am a member of the Midtown Neighborhood Association, president of the Long Beach Poly Alumni Association, Inc.. 5013329. I'm talking to you about the support for Mr. Leonard Adams program, which is the basketball court construction, which will benefit our kids and help it. In my case, Park is a part of Sully Soros Item 31 Work Vision Plan. I've known Mr. Adams basically for about six years. We've gone out and he's done his his backpack school program, and I've had a lot of respect for that. And in those three years we discussed possibly doing something for basketball courts. But since we had COVID and my health condition, we kind of had to put that on on hold for that. But I'm starting to get back to things. And in March of second, we met at a Denny's restaurant, and we really rekindle the idea of doing it. I've been doing some research here and finding out basically what the cost and basically comes out to about 250. Okay, to about 400. I did Masco, I called the basketball vendors and such. So I've been doing some research on it as well as talking to the city planner, which is Nancy Conlin Arrows and Joy Contreras, the public works group hopefully going to have a meeting this week. It's such an I really would really love to see if we can get this doable. I do think is this. Speaker 1: Mr. Gallo, your time has expired. Speaker 2: Okay. Speaker 0: Thank you. Thank you. Speaker 1: Next speaker is Russell Waters. Speaker 2: Hi. Nice to be here. To all the council members, we appreciate you, Dr. Sorrell. We love you so much. Thank you so much for this right here. My family has been in the city of Long Beach since before Long Beach was Long Beach. We did not come to Long Beach. Long Beach came to us and we have never my family has been serving that community on that street for over 115 years. Chris and Baptiste started in my great, great, great grandfather's living room in 1907. We fought to get over. There was a court battle just to get there. We have never in the 115 year period that we've been there serving had the kind of support that we have received from you in the last year of your since you were elected. I'm going to calm down, but I get emotional every time I talk about this. What you've done is incredible. I'll be back to say more about what I have to say about. But we're just proud of you. You're the crown jewel of our community, and we are proud of you. I'm to you next. I'm going to come back. My time is up. Oh, have I got a mouthful for you? Mary's in De Vos. Thank you very much. We're in full support. And that's next. Speaker 1: You're more. Speaker 5: Hello, council members. I will not be as. Speaker 2: Passionate as the last gentleman, but. Speaker 4: My name is Ginger Moore and I work with Elite Skills, a nonprofit, and we currently occupy an office space at Kings Park. Speaker 5: Parks and Rec are near and dear to me because my father for over 20 years worked for Parks and Rec. And so now, as an adult, to be back at one of the parks that I frequented as a child, it's it's a big deal to me. And Kings Park has so much potential. And I'm here in favor of item number 31 and the beautification process. Speaker 4: Or the planning. Speaker 5: Stages of this. I drive up every day and I'm so proud to be there. Speaker 4: And I. Speaker 5: Know what it could be, he said. Speaker 4: You were the crown jewel growing up. Kings Park was our crown jewel. Speaker 5: So we're excited to be here today and look forward to what's to come. And we are fully support we fully support you in this. And we would look we look forward to being part of the planning process. So thank you. And again, you have our support. Speaker 0: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 2: Oh, my name is Mark Hall. I was born and raised in Long Beach, California is right across the street from the park. Our crown jewel was Herb. He built the park when it was Real Street Shack. African-American men underserved over there. All we see is soccer year alone, so we must connect with the true Negroes. My family been all industry for 85 years. You helped build up stained a church about a dare. We we've been underserved. So I represent reset we grassroots movement. We like to be a part of rebuilding or not rebuilding fixing. We must dialog to make it right. Dang. They write right now. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you so much. Next speaker, please. Speaker 1: Franklin Sims. The next five speakers after Mr. Simms is Leonard Adams, Nina Younger, Bridget Jones, Sharon Diggs Jackson. And since I can say. Speaker 2: This agenda item is about a vision plan for King Park. You can't have a vision. Speaker 5: Without telling the. Speaker 2: Truth. Councilwoman Sauro said that the Dr. King statue had been restored after being vandalized. That is not true. And I'm concerned that when you go throughout the vision, if you didn't start with the truth, then what are we going to end up with? This is a bust of Muhammad Ali. It was sculpted by the same man that sculpted that statue of Dr. King that sits at MLK Park. That sculptor came to Long Beach after it was restored. And that artist stood right in that park. He looked at it and I said, Mr. Stokes, has the statute been restored? He said. I want to weep, Franklin. It has not been. He was called by the city after it was vandalized with Nazi symbols. He told the city what to do. They did not. If you have a vision, you have to tell the truth. The Martin Luther King Park must be restored and that statute must be restored. And there are people behind me who won't take no for an answer. Thank you, Alex. Police. Good afternoon. City Council. Thank you for allowing me to speak tonight. I am a long time resident of the sixth District. I am also a former city and city employee with 40 years of services. And as I retired, I never quit working for my neighborhood or my city. You got a gentleman was talking about mean giving backpacks, giveaways out for the school kids in my neighborhood. But also during my time when I spent with the city, I spent ten years at Martin Luther King's Park and I thought that park would have absolutely nothing for years and years with no development. There was also a problem with having outdoor outdoor equipment. There was no outdoor equipment other than a swing and a playground. So if we look at all the rest of the parks around the neighborhood, Martin Luther King Park is not equal to them. You can go almost to any park and it's a major civil rights park is named after Dr. Martin Luther King's Park. We are trying to figure out why does this park doesn't have a basketball court. It's the only major park. I guarantee you. I guarantee you get in your car and drive around anywhere and you're going to see a basketball court on any major park except for Martin Luther King tomorrow. As a problem with that. As city council members, I believe that all of you guys. Speaker 1: Should be. Speaker 2: Proactive in your job, because when you stood up there, you said. Speaker 1: Mr. Adams, your time has expired. Speaker 2: Basketball. Speaker 0: Thank you. Basketball court. Hear you loud and clear. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 1: Nina Younger. Bridget Jones, Sharon Diggs, Jackson Anderson, I can say. Speaker 2: Good evening, counsel. My name is Nina Younger. I live at 924 East Damian Street, right in the center about three blocks from Kings Park. I've been in the area for over 50 years. Definitely we need. Speaker 5: To. Speaker 2: Bring up our park. Just like the gentleman before me said. There's no basketball court, there's no sports in our park. We used to have sports. We used to have baseball games. There's nothing more than that. I would like to see in our vision a black history museum right there at that park. You are a black artist, pop up so that we have lots of talented people in our district. It'd be nice to show our artwork, what we do, our community. There's going to be a new 68 unit housing being built right. Speaker 5: Behind my house. Well, in front of my house behind it. Speaker 2: Now my ocean breeze is gone and I feel bad for the aging on that corner. They have nothing to go to or anything to do. I'm just pleading with the Council to end this vision, make sure that you get the community input. We know what we need in our area and we would like for you to help us. If we're going to support you, we'd like for you to support us. Thank you so much for your time. Speaker 0: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 5: Good afternoon, City Council. My name is Bridget Jones. I am advocate for community organizations across Long Beach. I really feel that in the essence of a vision plan, it is imperative that you incorporate stakeholders. In this particular case, the immediate stakeholders are the residents that surround the park. There really does need to be a Phil proof system that allows their vision to be heard. I understand that emails go out and there are different things in place, but you do have to consider that not everyone is privy to email. Not everyone has the capability to utilize or access whatever tools that you are using. So please, in your planning and your vision planning, please make sure that you are using tools that the community can access and that they really are a part of the vision because the vision is not clear if they are not included. Thank you for your time. Speaker 0: Thank you so much. Next speaker. Speaker 2: Please. Good evening. Speaker 4: Vice Mayor and City Council. My name is Sharon Diggs Jackson. Speaker 2: I am currently the program director for the. Speaker 5: Black Resource Center, which is located at 1133 Rear Street. And I just want to offer some words of support for the motion. Thank you, Councilmember Ciro, for moving it forward. But I want to make sure we also include the Central Facility Center. We just moved into the Center. Speaker 2: For the Black Resource Center. Speaker 5: And my staffer and I spent the last month cleaning up the space, painting, organizing it because the facility had sat vacant for more than almost three years. Speaker 2: So we want. Speaker 5: To make sure that it's part of the visioning plan, that it also includes the Central Facility Center. Speaker 4: There are nonprofits. Speaker 5: There are resources that want to operate out there, who want to be able to serve the community. And we want a world class facility. Speaker 2: In which to do it. When that center was originally opened. Speaker 5: Having grown up here in. Speaker 2: Long Beach, I remember the. Speaker 5: Day that it opened and when Clarence Smith was so excited about it. So we want to bring it back to where it was again. Martin Luther King Park is near and. Speaker 2: Dear to our community. Speaker 5: We want to be part of the visioning process there. If you can't find. Speaker 2: Somebody, give us a call. We'll make sure that we can put. Speaker 5: As many people on whatever commission our committee that. Speaker 2: You are trying to plan to move forward with this. Speaker 5: Project. I also want to just give a minute and say thank you to the council. It's only befitting that item number two tonight actually addressed an issue dealing with Constance Oden in the Oden family. Speaker 2: Those of us who grew up here and know Connie. We know that she. Speaker 5: Gave her heart. Speaker 2: And soul to. Speaker 4: King. Speaker 5: Park. Speaker 0: Thank you so much. Next, people, please. Speaker 2: Is the snake less than I can say? Sixth District resident. Thank you to our sixth district office of Dr. Sara for bringing this item up to council. It's imperative that this park is rekindled as it currently stands. It's essentially a green mausoleum. It's a dead space. There's no programing with respect to this park that truly benefits our community. And as you can see from the rest of my neighbors, I live just a few blocks away from the park, as well as going to church just a block away. We want to have community input towards what this what this has to be for us and the community. There's a lot of stipulations and areas that we feel like is currently the case with the park. I think a lot of people have named the the outside of basketball court. For me, it's imperative that city races control a perpetual lane from Boys and Girls Club. They are not speaking to the community. We live in a zip code 90813 where the per capita income is $17,000 and for lane charges over $20 for people in the neighborhood to engage with publicly owned, city owned property. I'm a property owner in the area. It makes no sense that the children in our community have to pay to use a city owned property. That's number one. So we needed to wrest control of the Boys and Girls Clubs and mandate of that because they're not doing right by us. And finally. Well, there goes the time. Thank you. The last thing is that with community partners, the trickle down Reagan economics days are over. There's a plenty of community based organizations who are here. We need to be compensated for it. Speaker 1: Thank you. Next Speaker Freddy Johnson. Sean Earle. Shannon McLucas. Sean Olds. Daniel Pickens. Michela Palmer, Freddy Johnson. Speaker 2: Hello. Good day. Good evening, counsel. Great to hear you speak me know most of you. Let's get to the point. We're suffering in that area. There is no structure. There's no financial backing for that structure. Okay. All of you were children. All of you had a part to play. These are the people that I am speaking to. If you ever were a child, it becomes at this moment, it's your responsibility to make sure that environment is better and they have better choices to make regardless of the situation. We've all come from things, but better is a choice, and the environment for that better to breed is these areas. They're not being considered or understood. They're being overlooked because we're overlooking it. You understand what I'm asking? The better is the choices we make in here. All of us were children. The children should not have to fight for the right, for choice to be a success and whatever role they choose. The basketball courts. There's one pool table. There's no physical anything inside these places. But if I went to Signal Hill Park, I can be a doctor in that park. Kings Park need to be that because kings still for every race in here. So how could that park not have more value than anything? He gave his life for the betterment of the culture of every class of people. Let's look up and stop looking down. Speaker 0: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Yes, sir. Speaker 2: Hello. My name is China. I also grew up in Long Beach, right around the corner from King Park. And when we were growing up in King Park, we used to swim and there used to be a little white pool. And we loved to get in that pool, even though the kids might urinate or suddenly that. Speaker 0: Pool we got in anyway. And it was. Speaker 2: Double the initiation. You wasn't from that neighborhood if you hadn't swim there, that little pool. You know what I mean? And I think the programs at the park had it days is what when we because we all grew up in the community turned us down different roles but it was those programs that was started at a young age that helped us when we got older, to be able to come back to our senses and to become mature men and grow up. And our kids today are missing that. They have no programs. They don't even have free lunch. They have a big, beautiful pool now in King Park that the children in our community can't even get in because the parents don't make the the amount of money it makes to be part of the Boys and Girls Club. And we need grassroots people to be up there. Speaker 0: Volunteering and. Speaker 2: Interacting with them kids. Because a lot of the times when I was in the streets, it was people that worked at that park and in the programs that see me like, Boy, you better get home. And I would respect that and I appreciate that and our kids need that back. Speaker 0: Thank you. That speaker, please. Speaker 2: Hello. My name's Shantel and I'm here to let you know that I respect all the names that you named FAS. The people that volunteered and sent in letters. And they are nonprofit to support Kingsport. But it's a shame that there was no black organization that wrote in to support Kingsport. And it's a shame, you know, my father took me to this fort and he told us what Dr. King meant to him and how Dr. King meant to us as a whole. Dr. King stood up for us all. He stood up to support each other. And when we stopped supporting each other. That part is a reflection of what the community is right now. The community is poor now and they don't have nothing to lose because they don't know nothing else. But I know better because my father took me there and he raised me there to show that I know better so that I can do better. The kids, they don't know better. Sorry. Not going to do better. Council. Everybody. You're letting us down. And I'm responsible for that, too. We got to we got to stand up. We got to stand up for our community. We got to stand up for our family member. But you continue to turn the back. No soul. The same souls that you're turning your back on, they're going to be forced out and they're going to be in your neighborhood and they go have a day. They're not going to care. They knock on Kerry and will be right at your door. Speaker 0: Thank you. Speaker, please. Madam Clerk, can we just read off the next few to the line up coming for. Speaker 1: Miss McLaren, MC Lucas, Daniel Pickens and Mikayla Palmer. Speaker 2: Thank you. Speaker 5: Vice Mayor, council people I encourage. Speaker 2: You to support. Speaker 5: With the sixth district council is trying to do. Speaker 2: I'm probably. Speaker 5: One of the few that was there when they broke the ground. Speaker 2: Breaking park. Speaker 5: When they open the doors. It's a very much needed thing. I grew up in Long Beach all my life. I run a nonprofit called Forgotten Images. It's really, really needed. Speaker 2: My daughter. Speaker 5: Her first job. Was working at King Park as a camp counselor. Please include the community in this planning. Speaker 2: Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Let's speak to police. Speaker 5: Hello. I am Akeelah Palmer and I'm going to talk about why softball should be in parks and in afterschool programs. Some parents cannot afford the actual sports park so kids can get some exercise while having fun. They should also be in after school programs. So while parents are working, kids can have fun and do an activity. Instead of kids being at home getting zero exercise, they can always go to a park to get exercise and have fun. Speaker 0: Thank you. Good job. Speaker 2: Thanks, Speaker, please. Good evening, counsel. My name is Daniel Pickens. I've been a resident of Long Beach for approximately seven years. I came here shortly after my term with the ninth US Marine Corps and I want to say that Long Beach has been very beautiful. The bay has been very kind. It's open me with warm arms. The residents, the community take very they took very much pride inside of their city. And I see that they are in a constant pursuit of doing more and more for the city. Me being the resident right there on 1904. Lemon I was literally living right next to Martin Luther King Park. So I saw everything that I went through through the course of the last seven years from the good, the bad and the ugly. You know, they removed a lot of the drug usage over there, and I see that it is on its way to improvement, but I know that there's a lot more that that could be done. You know, I had a child that I was mentoring over the last couple of years who was a resident over there. You know, he kind of fell prey to the structures of, you know, gangbanging. But, you know, nonetheless, I see him constantly trying to do more for himself. But I feel like if we implement more programs over there in Martin Luther King Park, if we give more opportunities for kids to be able to actually do affordable things, we utilize our resources to the best of our abilities. And we just overall as a community try to show that we really do care about our city. Then I felt that would be what Martin Luther King's dream to use. It's been 54 years in a day since his assassination. I'm going back in. Please. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Speaker 6: Hello. Speaker 2: City Council. Some of you guys know me. Some of you guys don't. I'm Jeremiah. I just wanted to put my $0.02 in. Even with me being a college student. Long Beach City College. Some of the some of the elders at Kings Park were kind of tell me, boy, go ahead and put that out and go back to class. It goes perfume, but go back to class. And even as I as I got older, I started having more children. And that would be the place I can take them that I would know will be affordable and feasible within my. Speaker 6: District, you know, so just kind of take it into consideration. It's not really for us. Speaker 2: It's for the next generation. And we're laying down the groundwork. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. All right. That concludes that concludes public comment. Thanks to everyone who spoke up. We're going to now take it back behind the rail. Councilwoman Zendaya's. Speaker 5: Thank you and vice mayor and thank you, Councilwoman Sarah, for bringing this item forward. And thank you, all of you who came out to speak. I think that it's very important to hear your voices. And, you know, one of the things I admire a lot about you, Councilwoman Sarah, is that, you know, you really want to invite the community and then welcome them to participate. So I know that I know that that's something that I totally admire about you. So I'm glad that you guys are here and we can, you know, connect and steps. Really great. I know that MLK Park is such a valuable space to all of us in the city, not only because it's home to our beloved statue of Dr. King, but also because of all the that it offers to the surrounding community. And it can be a place where it offers a lot more. And I know that Councilwoman Sarah is going to bring that. Martin Luther King Park is has been one of the closest parks to my district with a swimming pool. And a lot of my district residents like to go over there. So because of that, it also is super special to me as well. I'm super supportive of this vision that empowers the community and and, you know, the neighbors for to be able to have a more positive light shone on this park and be able to create more opportunities for the community surrounding it. I'm really looking forward to receiving this report back and to hearing about all the possible outreach efforts to get the community informed and involved. And I think that this is a first step in the right direction. So I'm fully supportive of this item. And Councilwoman. Speaker 0: All right. Thank you, Councilwoman Allen. Speaker 4: Yeah, thank you, Vice Mayor. I just want to say thank you to everyone that came up here and commented. I was really, really moved. I love King Park. You know, I grew up I went to poly and and back in the day, I represented my friends, the student body president back in the eighties. And me and a lot of my friends. I was an athlete, but a lot of us spent some time at King's Park, a lot of time at King's Park. And I became keenly aware that it was not like other parks. I know in 1996, they added a pool they dumped. They've done some things there, but not enough. Not enough. And I stand with you. I just want you to know you're right, Dr. Ciro. Councilwoman Sara is amazing, and I stand with you and beside you on everything that we can do to make sure that we get you basketball courts, that we that we get just all the programing that our kids, my kids now your kids deserve. And so thank you, Councilwoman, for bringing this item forward. And you just let me know how I can help. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilman Austin. Speaker 6: Thank you. And I also want to thank you for bringing this item forward. I really want to appreciate the community for coming out and speaking out. It's not every day that we get a community here behind an asset like King Part King Park is a is a jewel, is a treasure, is a core kind of cultural community space in the central area, sixth district. And what we heard tonight was love and pride of community. And obviously, as a city, we need to be supporting those efforts. I heard a lot about the visioning and what that means, and I do want to just give Steph the opportunity to to address what a visioning process actually looks like. Is there anybody here who can address that? Just briefly. Speaker 3: Yes. Our director of public works, Brant Dennis, and our director of public I'm sorry, Parks and Rec and Public Works, Eric Lopez can help talk about that. Thank you, Councilman Alston. So in general terms, when a request for a vision plan originates on, the dais such as this one will immediately work with the community to develop a scope for exactly what that vision plan will entail. Some of our parks do have established master plans or vision plans, so that's actually the foundation for a good starting point. But some of those plans are decades old. And as we know, the neighborhoods and the demographics and the recreational needs around each park certainly changes with the times . So I think engaging with a consultant group, whether they typically are urban planners or landscape architects, that's kind of in their professional wheelhouse to help lead the community engagement and outreach. But I think the points that the community voiced tonight were excellent in terms of making sure we understand the right vehicles, the right techniques to make sure every voice is heard. And I know with COVID waning, our ability to get together in person is a really a positive thing. And I think most of our community meetings, when we can meet the neighbors in the park, walk and talk and envision together, that's a really positive approach. But we certainly work very closely with our colleagues at Public Works so that whatever visions are established, we know that things like historic properties and infrastructure, utility needs and other things that have changed with the times in terms of accessibility and in terms of accessibility, also want to mention how committed we are to language access. So any of our parks that we begin to communicate outwardly through surveying website invitations to contribute ideas and even an in-person meetings will be following all of our language access protocols. Speaker 6: Thank you. And so Parks and Rec, you all kind of facilitate the visioning process and public works will actually implement the visioning process. Speaker 2: Yeah. Speaker 3: Councilman. And Public Works gets involved in the very beginning. We want to make sure that as we create the plan, as we listen to the community, as we learn what works, what doesn't work, of how our communities have evolved, have changed. You know, there are there are there's there's a lot of important information that comes out of the planning and visioning process that directly informs the actual technical work that comes with actual constructing the projects. So we're we're we're happy to be a partner here. We're happy to connect with the community, to work with all the organizations and individuals that that want to be engaged and participate and to to look at what opportunities exist to make this existing park better. So public works where the excellence in construction. But we also like to be involved in a beginning. Speaker 6: Well thank you. I just wanted to just re-emphasize that this is going to be an inclusive, engaged process with the community and that that visioning process for basketball courts or whatever the vision that you may have as a community, you will have the opportunity to participate and engage in with the planners when we get to that point also. I know I have one at a time here, but Cob City Manager, I know during our budget process we set aside some funds to to restore the statue, and I believe those funds were already spent. So can you is there money already identified that we could actually put toward this visioning process to pay for it in our fy22 budget? Excuse me. Yeah. Speaker 3: So that's part of the request that we've been tasked with today is to figure out the funding, figuring out the. The feasibility. Speaker 0: Okay, folks, just. We hear you. Let's hear from the city manager. Speaker 6: Thank you. Speaker 3: Yeah. So there certainly is money that was set aside through which I believe was measure eight for the park. So that was set aside in the last year's budget. I did hear the question about the parade money. That money is actually restricted for special events. It can't be used for other things that some voters have put that restriction on it. But that's the task that you've been giving us tonight is figure out of the funding strategy. Come back, talk about what the plan would be and identify those resources. Speaker 6: Okay. And then lastly, I just want to just say, again, King Park is a special place. Children grow up in that part. My kids spent many, many summers with Miss Connie at the summer summer daycare programs. It's a special place for me and my family. And so I'm happy to support this item. And I think we should put the resources behind, you know, a great visiting plan. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Next is councilman, your anger. Speaker 3: Thank you. And I want to thank everyone who came out today. Spend a few hours with us here out of your personal time to come and share your your vision for what the park should be. Speaker 2: I think you've already made some suggestions. Speaker 3: And I think that the city council has heard them, staff has heard them, and I'm pretty sure that they're going to be incorporated. MLK Park is special to everybody. It's special to me many years that they're going to go MLK Park for. Speaker 6: Celebrations. Speaker 2: For. Speaker 3: MLK Parade. Speaker 2: Day and the events at the Park for Juneteenth celebrations out there as well. Speaker 3: And I'm looking. Speaker 2: Forward to. Speaker 3: Reactivating MLK Park to getting it back where it needs to be. And and I definitely support this item. Speaker 2: Thank you, Dr. Sorrell, for bringing it forward. Speaker 6: Because obviously it. Speaker 3: Is a. Speaker 2: Gem, a jewel of the sixth District, and we need to make it so. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you. Councilman Price. Speaker 4: Thank you and thank you for bringing this item. I, too, am very supportive of it and I appreciate all the comments from the members of the audience tonight. I do have a question for our staff. Why isn't the pool accessible to the community? I. Speaker 3: Yeah, that is a misnomer. The Boys and Girls Club has no role with the pool, so it's a city pool, just like Silverado and Belmont pool. So we can help explain that will work with the council office to make sure there's no misunderstanding regarding access to King Pool. Speaker 4: Okay. And I know a few years ago we brought an item forth to make sure that swimming for seniors and children was offered at a reduced rate throughout the city. Is that in effect at Kings Park? Speaker 3: Yes, that's still in fact, yes. Speaker 4: Okay. And what is the rate? Speaker 3: I don't know what that is offhand. I'm sorry. Speaker 4: All right. Because I want to make sure that it's affordable and it's something that everyone can afford because that is a beautiful pool. And I know that we want to make sure the youth is using it. And it's a it's a much needed asset. But I'm very supportive of this item, and I'm really happy to have heard from everyone in the audience tonight. Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilman Mongo. Speaker 5: Thank you. I am so supportive of park programs and visioning such as this. A few years ago, there's a couple of agenda items I think should be talked about. One is that there was an agenda item brought forward where we talked about what does community engagement mean and what does involving the community mean and what does it mean to notify the community? Is it via every door direct mail where you get a postcard in your mailbox that lets you know about a community meeting? Is it only using Twitter and Facebook? That's probably not the best sources. But we as a council said we want to hear from the city what they believe community engagement means. Then on a case by case basis for programs such as this, we want to see why you chose what you chose, to make sure that it aligns with the council person's expertize in knowing and understanding his or her community to make sure that that is the best way to get a hold of and engage the constituencies. So first and foremost, thank you all for being here. This is the first step of being engaged. Second, let's make sure that we use the systems that we created to ensure that the community has clear expectations of how they can and can't be reached and how they can and can't be involved, and that they know that they're not showing up to meetings that are useless, that they give input that is not implemented. We want that to be implemented. And then finally, there was another agenda item that I brought forward regarding park advocacy groups, and we have a great partner in a nonprofit organization called Partners of Parks. Earlier tonight, Councilmember Supernova gave funding to that organization to help a community group and parks on my side of town, probably because I brought the item and I really pushed for it. Each park has a group of six or seven people that consider themselves the park advocate for Wardlow Park or whatever they are, and they're people who live near the park, the people who are impacted the most by the park, or a person who might live adjacent or be a part of a program that has insights into the programing at the park that the community believes is the right person to be there. And Brett Dennis from Parks and Rec has worked to have some staff members available to engage with and provide those resources immediately. We shouldn't have to wait a year for a visioning process for you to get some of the resources that you need today, including but not limited to visibility and transparency about who's renting your park and how often and what does that mean and who is limited to access, including but not limited to the pool. When we brought forward an item to reduce access costs for the pool to either two or $4, I can't remember one. It's $1. Speaker 4: For admission. Speaker 5: The other three to 2 to $3 is covered by partners of parks through grants that they write. And so having them at the table and having them to help raise funds, they just helped raise funding for Admiral Kidd Park. And they're here to be an advocate for you and support you as well. And and we're here to help. And I am so proud of all of you for being here tonight. And I am 100% behind supporting Councilman Sorrow and all of you in getting not only a basketball court, but if you want. I was really supportive of midnight basketball. We needed it more of our parks. And while I appreciate that, I hear that the city is going to bring midnight basketball and house. I think that there's something to be said for asking the community what they want, if they want to continue to use some of the nonprofits that are providing those services and why before we just bring it in-house on our own and make those decisions. So I only have a little bit of information about that, but I'd like to dig in more at my next Parks and Rec briefing to better understand where we are on that and what I can do to support both Councilman Zendejas and Councilman Sorrell. Thank you. And the community. Speaker 0: All right. Thank you. Before we hand it to Councilwoman Sorrell to close out, I want to thank everyone for stepping forward. What I heard today was a beautiful vision for the park. And if you want to see that vision implemented, you have to stay engaged. You heard, you know, the entire city council, black plurality of the city council expressed their support for King Park. But at the end of the day, the priorities need to come up in the budget when it comes time for funding. That's when we have to pay attention. The vision is key, but you all want to see the vision be implemented, so we have to make sure the dollars reflect those values. That's what's incredibly important. And so I'm happy to support this. I know it's possible. It's a great park. I've seen transformations at the Forest Park, Highland Park. It does not take that long. You can do some immediate work. You can get long term things like community centers and all sorts of things. But it really is really important to center on community activism. So you're going to have to. Going back to city council around budget time. That's my recommendation to you. And that said, I'm going to hand it back to Councilman Sauro to close it out. Speaker 4: Yeah, I just want to express my deep appreciation for you to come out and share your thoughts that those feedback is what? The visioning processes. Hearing what hasn't been done. Hearing the historical disinvestment that's been made. Right. And that's what this process is. It's hearing. What does it take to make you feel like this is a community park that is fit for your children, our elders. Right. I hear you about making sure we're knocking on doors and reaching out to people like Miss Alice Robinson. She doesn't check emails. She doesn't even she she is old fashioned phone. And that's what my staff does. We call people and we also doorknock, I think now that things are getting better, that's what I also plan to do to reach out to people. And that's the work I love. I come from community organizing. I've been a labor organizer and I'm here to bill, you know, 100%, here to Bell. And, you know, I know what it's like to come from a place where, you know, I, I, I come to this with love because I know what hate does, right? I've been a child of genocide survivor. I've seen what hate has done in my community and what's even brought my family and my community here to the US. So I have no room for that. I have room for love and have a room for building and that's what I want to do in our community together with everybody . So that's the spirit that I want us to take with this visioning. I'm going to be I'll give you my full commitment to be part of that process, detailed in and out. So I look forward in us doing report back and engaging with you and how you were able to come out. I hope to continue this process because this is what it takes. So thank you and thank you to my council colleague for your support and staff as well. Speaker 0: Thank you. Council member Sara was go ahead to our vote. Speaker 1: Motion is carried. Speaker 2: Thank you. Speaker 0: Let's go ahead to item 30, please.

Agenda Item

Recommendation to request City Manager to work with the Public Works Department and Parks, Recreation and Marine Department, and in conjunction with Community Partners, to identify funding and begin pre-planning efforts to develop a park vision plan for Martin Luther King Jr. Park and report back within 90 days.

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