* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. HERE, COUNCILMAN [00:00:01] KERR. PRESENT COUNCILWOMAN SORROW. PRESENT. COUNCIL MEMBER URANGA. [CALL TO ORDER] COUNCILMAN AUSTIN. HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER RICK SODI. HERE WE [ROLL CALL] HAVE A QUORUM. OKAY, GREAT. UM, I WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT, UH, OUR MAYOR, AS YOU CAN SEE, IS GONE TODAY. SO MAYOR RICHARDSON IS TRAVELING ON OFFICIAL CITY BUSINESS TODAY WITH THE PORT OF LONG BEACH TO HELP STRENGTHEN THE CITY'S TRADE AND PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHER KEY PORTS. SO, UM, ALRIGHT. SO WE HAVE THREE PRESENTATIONS. WE HAVE THE MERCEDES LEWIS DAY RECOGNITION, THE, THE ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH PRESENTATION, AND THEN HONORING OUR HEROES. SO LET'S START WITH THE FIRST ONE. LET'S START WITH THE PLEDGE. OH, I'M JUMPING AHEAD. BEFORE WE DO THAT, LET'S START WITH THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND A MOMENT OF SILENCE MAKING KERR. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. IF WE COULD JUST TAKE A MOMENT, UH, AND OBSERVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE. [PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE] THANK YOU. PLEASE STAND IF YOU'RE ABLE AND JOIN US IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. READY, BEGIN MY PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN KERR. OKAY, LET'S GO TO THE MERCEDES LEWIS DAY OF RECOGNITION. COUNCIL MEMBER AUSTIN. COUNCIL MEMBER AUSTIN. THANK YOU, UH, MADAM VICE MAYOR. UM, UH, TODAY WAS, [ MARCEDES LEWIS DAY OF RECOGNITION] UH, IS A SPECIAL DAY HERE IN THE CITY. WE HAD EARLIER AN OP, UH, OPPORTUNITY IN THE, THE LOBBY TO, UM, HOST A CEREMONY TO HONOR THE REMARKABLE CONTRIBUTIONS AND THE, UH, ONGOING LEGACY OF, UH, MERCEDES LEWIS. ONE OF OUR OWN, UM, WHAT CAN BE SAID MORE ABOUT A HOME TRUE HOMETOWN HERO. UH, REALLY, HE REALLY EMBODIES THE SPIRIT OF LONG BEACH. HE WALKED THE HALLS OF JOHN MUIR ELEMENTARY CO SCHOOL, UH, THOMAS JEFFERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND ULTIMATELY LONG BEACH POLY HIGH SCHOOL, WHERE HE MADE HIS MARK ON THE RENE JACKRABBITS FOOTBALL TEAM. UH, HIS TALENTS AND DEDICATION EARNED HIM A ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP TO UCLA AND HE ETCHED HIS NAME INTO THE RECORD BOOKS SETTING ALL TIME MARKS FOR TIGHT ENDS IN RECEIVING YARDS 1,571 YARDS AND 21 TOUCHDOWNS. THESE ACCOMPLISHMENTS ACTUALLY PROPELLED HIM, UH, TO BE A FIRST TEAM ALL AMERICAN AND FIRST TEAM ALL PAC 12 HONORS AND ULTIMATELY A WELL DESERVED INDUCTION INTO THE UTLA IN ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME IN 2001. UM, BUT MAR MERCEDES LEWIS', UH, JOURNEY WAS FAR FROM OVER IN 2006, HE DECLARED FOR THE NFL DRAFT AND WAS SELECTED IN THE FIRST ROUND 28TH OVERALL BY THE JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS. HE QUICKLY BECAME A FRANCHISE LEADER, RANKING AMONG THE JAGUARS TOP 10 IN SCORING RECEPTIONS, RECEIVING YARDS, AND RECEIVING TOUCHDOWNS. AND HIS PROUDNESS ON THE FIELD EARNED HIM A PRO BOWL SELECTION IN 2010. WHAT TRULY SETS HIM APART IS HIS EXTRAORDINARY LONGEVITY. HE PLAYS, HE HAS PLAYED 18 SEASONS IN THE NFL THE MOST BY ANY TIGHT END IN HISTORY WITH THE JAGUARS, THE GREEN BAY PACKERS, AND THE MOST RECENT LEADER, CHICAGO BEARS SURPASSING 5,000 CAREER RECEIVING YARDS ALONG THE WAY. YET HIS LEADERSHIP EXTENDS FAR BEYOND THE GRIDIRON. SINCE 2009, THE MERCEDES LEWIS FIRED THE FOUNDATION, HAS BEEN A PILLAR OF THE LONG BEACH COMMUNITY, EMPOWERING YOUTH THROUGH SCHOLARSHIPS, ANNUAL FOOTBALL CAMPS, AND INVALUABLE MENTORSHIP. MERCEDES, WE ARE PROFOUNDLY GRATEFUL, UH, FOR YOUR DEDICATION TO OUR YOUNG PEOPLE AND HONORED TO RECOGNIZE YOUR EXCEPTIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS IN YOUR CAREER. HAPPY BIRTHDAY. WE RECOGNIZE THAT JUST TWO DAYS AGO YOU TURNED THE BIG FOUR OH. UM, AND DON'T LOOK A DAY OVER 22 . AND, UM, TO, TO COMMEMORATE THIS OCCASION, WE'VE PREPARED A PROCLAMATION HIGHLIGHTING YOUR EXTRAORDINARY CAREER AND IMPACT. AND, UH, WE'D LOVE TO GIVE YOU, UH, YOUR FLOWERS TODAY. UM, AND ALSO I'D LIKE TO EXTEND THE OPPORTUNITY FOR MY, BEFORE I LET EXTEND THE OPPORTUNITY FOR MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES TO, UH, SAY A FEW WORDS. I ALSO WANT TO, UH, JUST ACKNOWLEDGE SOMEBODY ELSE WHO'S VERY, VERY SPECIAL IN ATTENDANCE TONIGHT. AND THAT IS, UM, MISS YVONNE WITHERS SNOW OF LONG BEACH LIVE SCAN , UH, WAIT. SHE, SHE WANTS ME TO PLUG HER BUSINESS, . UM, BUT SHE IS THE, THE MOM OF MERCEDES LEWIS. UH, AND, UH, SHE HAS AN EXTRAORDINARY, UH, STORY HERSELF. UM, [00:05:01] A STORY OF RESILIENCY, UM, BUT ONE THAT, THAT I RELATE TO BECAUSE I'M MARRIED TO SOMEBODY WHO IS VERY, VERY SUPPORTIVE OF HER CHILDREN. UM, SHE'S MAMA BEAR AND, AND REALLY HAS BEEN, UM, A, A SPARK AND, AND CATALYST FOR, FOR THIS YOUNG MAN'S, UH, CAREER AND SUCCESS. AND SO, UH, PLEASE, UH, LET'S GIVE MERCEDES LEWIS AND YVONNE WITHERS SNOW. A BIG, BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE. DOES ANYBODY ELSE WANNA SAY ANYTHING? COUNCILMAN IS IN DEJAS. THANK YOU VICE MAYOR. I FIRST WANNA THANK COUNCIL MEMBER AUSTIN FOR, UM, THIS VERY SPECIAL RECOGNITION. I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE HIGHLIGHT OUR OWN CITY HEROES, AND THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE, UM, TO US, MR. MERCEDES. LOUIS, YOU HAVE, UM, CONTINUOUSLY GIVEN BACK TO OUR CITY, GIVEN BACK TO OUR YOUTH, AND FOR THAT WE ARE ETERNALLY GRATEFUL AND WISH YOU CONTINUED SUCCESS. I KNOW YOU'VE HAD SUCH GREAT SUCCESS ALREADY, BUT I KNOW THAT YOUR REACH IS BIGGER THAN THIS. AND, UM, I JUST REALLY THANK YOU ON BEHALF OF THE RESIDENTS HERE IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH AND ALL OF THOSE WHO HAVE REALLY BEEN ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR GENEROSITY. AND THANK YOU FOR BEING A, SUCH A GREAT EXAMPLE OF THE ATHLETE. NOT ONLY THE ATHLETE, BUT ALSO BEING A GREAT EXAMPLE OF HOW TO GIVE BACK TO YOUR COMMUNITY. AGAIN, CONGRATULATIONS AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY COUNCILWOMAN KERR. YES, THANK YOU. CONGRATULATIONS. UM, AS A POLY MOM, UM, I AM SO THRILLED THAT THE EXAMPLE THAT YOU SET FOR ALL OF OUR STUDENT ATHLETES AND AS AN EIGHT YEAR SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER BEFORE I WAS ON COUNCIL, THE INFLUENCE YOU HAVE GOES FAR BEYOND WHAT YOU COULD EVEN RECOGNIZE. UM, HOW YOU GIVE BACK, HOW YOU GIVE OPPORTUNITY TO KIDS WHO MAY NOT HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY IS A GENERATIONAL IMPACT ON OUR CITY. AND I'M REALLY GRATEFUL FOR THAT WORK THAT YOU DO AND THE WORK THAT YOUR FOUNDATION DOES. UH, THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER AUSTIN, FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD AND HONORED TO BE A PART OF YOUR CELEBRATION TODAY. THANK YOU. AWESOME. AND I CAN TELL YOU AS A POLY ALUMNI, YOU MAKE ME PROUD. CONGRATULATIONS. OKAY. AND SO WE HAVE, UH, WE'RE GOING TO, UH, OH, JOHN. OKAY. I JUST SOME MORE POPPED UP HERE. JONI, RICK SODI, UM, I WAS JUST GONNA THROW IN THERE, UH, I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING I START WITH SINGLE THING THAT MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES, UH, PUT OUT THERE. I ALSO WANT TO SAY THAT I KNOW THAT MY COUNCIL, UH, COLLEAGUE, UH, TO MY RIGHT IS A LITTLE BIT OF A HATER 'CAUSE HE IS FROM DETROIT. I BEING FROM CHICAGO OTHERWISE THOUGH, SAYS GO BEARS . AND, UM, BUT YES, AGAIN, CONGRATULATIONS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY. BUT AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO OUR CITY, OUR COMMITMENT TO OUR YOUTH, UM, AND JUST MAKING SURE THAT YOU CAN SHOW THEM WHAT YOU CAN DO ON AND OFF THE FIELD, RIGHT? UH, AND ALSO THE WAYS THAT YOU CAN GIVE BACK AND IN THE VARIETY OF WAYS THAT YOU CAN DO THAT. AND SO THANK YOU FOR BEING DEMONSTRATING THAT TO OUR YOUTH, DR. SULI SORO. YES. SO TO ADD WHAT MY COLLEAGUES ARE SAYING AS THE COUNCILWOMAN OF THE SIXTH DISTRICT WHERE POLLY IS LOCATED, DEFINITELY ARE, WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU AND THE ACCOMPLISHMENT THAT YOU HAVE, UM, HAD ON THE FIELD, BUT ALSO AS WHAT MY OTHER COLLEAGUE IS SAYING IS DEMONSTRATING THAT YOU ALWAYS GIVE BACK. YOU DON'T FORGET WHERE YOU COME FROM AND THAT'S WHY YOU'RE AN INSPIRATION. SO I WANNA THANK COUNCIL MEMBER AUSTIN FOR MAKING SURE THAT WE RECOGNIZE YOU ON THIS DAY ON YOUR BIRTHDAY AS WELL. UM, CONGRATULATIONS AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY COUNCILWOMAN DUGGAN. I JUST WANNA SAY CONGRATULATIONS IN MEETING YOU BRIEFLY. I LOVE TO HEAR THAT YOU WERE CIC WITH POLLY, UM, WORKING SO HARD AND YOU'RE OFFERING SO MUCH TO OUR KIDS TO LOOK UP TO. I THINK THAT'S SO IMPORTANT. AND I ALSO LOVE TO SEE YOUR MAMA BEAR MOM AND WHAT, HOW YOU APPRECIATE WHAT SHE'S GIVEN TO YOU AND HELPED YOU THROUGH THE WAY. SO CONGRATULATIONS, THANKS FOR BEING HERE TODAY. AGAIN, CONGRATULATIONS. AND SO THERE IS, I DON'T SEE ANY MORE SPEAKERS. WAIT, SO, UM, THERE'S GONNA BE A, UH, A CERTIFICATE PRESENTED. ARE YOU READY FOR THAT? COME? YES. AND IF ALL THE COUNCIL CAN JOIN US, WE'D LIKE TO JUST, OKAY. WAIT, WAIT ONE SECOND. GO AHEAD. UH OH. I ARRIVED A LITTLE LATE FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AT THE, IN THE LOBBY, BUT I DID HEAR A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR FOUNDATION AND WHAT A WONDERFUL GIFT THAT THAT IS TO OUR COMMUNITY FOR YOU TO DO THAT. I MEAN, THAT, THAT IS JUST SPEAKS VOLUMES. SORRY ABOUT THE TYPE OF PERSON YOU ARE AND I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. BUT THERE'S ONE THING I HAVEN'T [00:10:01] HEARD HERE TONIGHT, AND THAT'S A SONG, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONG. EVERYBODY READY? BE GOOD. HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MERCEDES. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU. I HAVE A TERRIBLE VOICE, MY . CONGRATULATIONS. ALRIGHT, I'M GONNA TURN THIS OVER, UH, TO COUNCILMAN AUGH. OKAY, THANK YOU VICE MAYOR. UH, AND THANK YOU COUNCILMAN ROSS FOR BRINGING THIS ITEM FORWARD. THIS IS A LOT OF FUN AND CONGRATULATIONS ON THIS GREAT EVENT, THIS GREAT NIGHT. I JUST WANNA TELL YOU, I REALLY ENJOYED, UH, THE WORDS YOU SAID OUT IN THE LOBBY, UH, WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT YOUR MOTHER WAS VERY TOUCHING AND WONDERFUL. AND I ALSO LIKE THE PART WHERE YOU TALKED ABOUT PUTTING YOUR OPPONENT IN THE DIRT. THAT WAS VERY SPECIAL TO ME. SO CONGRATULATIONS AND, AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND ALL YOU'VE DONE ALRIGHT, I'M MAKING EYE CONTACT WITH, 'CAUSE SOME PEOPLE ARE HAVING ISSUES QUEUING UP. I THINK WE'RE ALL GOOD. I GOT A THUMBS UP. ALL RIGHTY. TO THE NEXT, WHERE WE HAVE A CERTIFICATE AND A PHOTO OP. YES. SO, UH, IF WE COULD HAVE, UH, MR. LEWIS COME FORWARD, UM, IN WITH YVONNE, WE WOULD, UH, LIKE TO PRESENT A CERTIFICATE, A RESOLUTION, AND THE ENTIRE WITH THE COUNSEL. THANK YOU. OKAY. SO OUR NEXT, UM, PRESENTATION IS THE ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH. AND WHO AM I TURNING THIS OVER TO? DR. SULI SORO. THANK YOU, VICE MAYOR. UH, SO IT'S ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER [ ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH] AMERICAN MONTH, AND I AM HONORED TO PRESENT, UM, THE ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATION WHO WILL BE PRESENTING TONIGHT AND WILL BE PRESENTING A CERTIFICATE FOR THEM. UM, BUT BEFORE I DO THAT, I WANTED TO JUST SHARE, UM, THAT THE REASON WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT THAT WE ACKNOWLEDGE AND CELEBRATE OUR DIVERSE COMMUNITY IN LONG BEACH IS BECAUSE IT'S OF OUR VALUE. BUT BECAUSE WE HAVE SUCH A DIVERSE RESIDENT, MANY OFTEN LUMP ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER GATHER, AND IT'S VERY, UH, MUCH OF A DISSERVICE TO, UH, LIFT UP A COMMUNITY THAT IS MADE UP OF VARIETY, SO MANY DIFFERENT, UH, CULTURES AND TRADITIONS. AND I THINK PEOPLE KNOW BECAUSE, UH, A LOT OF THE CUISINES THAT PEOPLE EAT TO THIS DAY ARE, UH, FROM ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER COMMUNITIES. I, AND SO I KNOW THAT WE CELEBRATE THAT EVERY DAY WHEN YOU'RE EATING RICE WITH YOUR FRIED RICE, YOUR NOODLES, AND YOU KNOW, YOUR SPAM MISS SUBI AND MANY OTHER CUISINE. AND SO, BUT IN ADDITION TO THE FOOD AND THE CUISINE THAT OUR COMMUNITY BRINGS TO NOT JUST OBVIOUSLY LONG BEACH, BUT THROUGHOUT OUR NATION, UM, WE HAVE IN LONG BEACH, UH, A LONG LONGSTANDING JAPANESE AMERICAN COMMUNITY THAT CAME HERE IN 1907. NEARLY 200 JAPANESE ESTABLISHED SMALL BUSINESS AND FARMS HERE. BUT WITH HISTORY KNOW, IN [00:15:01] 1942, PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AUTHORIZED EXECUTIVE ORDER 90 66 9 0 6 6, WHICH LED TO DETERMINANTS OF JAPANESE NATIONAL AND JAPANESE AMERICAN, UM, AFTER MOST DID NOT RETURN AFTER THE RELEASE FROM THE CAMPS. UM, AND I ALSO WANNA SHARE THAT'S WHY WITH THE, ACCORDING TO US CENSUS, SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF FILIPINOS RESETTLED, UM, SETTLED IN THE WEST LONG BEACH AREA DUE TO THEIR ENLISTMENT IN THE US NAVY. UM, AND MANY STILL LIVE THERE. THAT'S WHY WE DO KNOW THAT WE HAVE A LARGE FILIPINO POPULATION AS WELL AS AMERICAN SAMOA AND, AND, AND MANY FROM GUAM AND ALSO THE CAMBODIAN COMMUNITY WHO HAVE BRIDGE SETTLED HERE. JUST WANTED TO ILLUSTRATE A FEW OF OUR COMMUNITY THAT IS VIBRANT AND HERE. AND I WANNA WELCOME THANK, UH, THE MEMBERS OF THE ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATION, UH, FE NEW ENO, UH, UH, FIANNA, UH, CABANA, UH, SHERI VAL DORIA, AND ALSO WANNA THANK, UM, UH, KATHY DE LEON AND ANDREW CHEN FOR HELPING WITH THE PRESENTATION. SO IF I CAN ASK THEM TO COME FORWARD AND DO THEIR PRESENTATION. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. HELLO? OKAY, , THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBERS. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH COUNCILWOMAN SORROW FOR INVITING US HERE TONIGHT TO BE, UH, PARTICIPATING IN A PIA HERITAGE MONTH. MY NAME IS FERN NANO, I'M THE CO-FOUNDER OF THE LONG BEACH ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATION, AND I AM HERE WITH FIONA CABANA AND SHERRY VAL DORIA. AND, UH, IN ADDITION TO WHAT YOU SAID, COUNCILWOMAN, I REALLY WANT TO EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE A PIA HERITAGE IN LONG BEACH. I KNOW IT'S ESPECIALLY SIGNIFICANT TO US AS A LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE HISTORY AND CELEBRATE OUR CULTURE THIS MONTH AND THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT THAT WE AS CITY OF LONG BEACH EMPLOYEES REFLECT THE DIVERSITY OF THE COMMUNITY THAT WE SERVE. SO, TO THAT POINT, A FEW STATISTICS HERE. SO, UM, AS MENTIONED, LONG BEACH'S HOME TO MANY A PIA COMMUNITIES WITH A LONG HISTORY, BOTH IN LONG BEACH AND THROUGHOUT OUR REGION. 13.1% OF OUR RESIDENTS IDENTIFY AS EITHER ASIAN OR PACIFIC ISLANDER. AND THESE COMMUNITIES ARE WELL REPRESENTED AMONGST CITY STAFF WITH 16.1% OF CITY EMPLOYEES IDENTIFYING AS ASIAN OR NATIVE AMERICAN PACIFIC ISLANDER. AND, UH, A PIA EMPLOYEES PROUDLY SERVE IN ALL 23 OF OUR CITY'S DEPARTMENTS. GREAT. AND JUST TO SHARE SOME BACKGROUND ON THE ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATION, API EA WAS FORMED IN 2021. WE ARE AN INCLUSIVE GROUP FOCUSED ON BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER TO SUPPORT THE A PIA COMMUNITY, UH, OUR EMPLOYEES THROUGH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, NETWORKING, AND SOCIAL EVENTS AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT. WE ALSO PROVIDE A SAFE PLACE TO HAVE ROBUST DISCUSSIONS ON CURRENT EVENTS WITH OUR, UH, EMPLOYEES. AT OUR INITIAL MEETING IN 2021, WE HAD OVER 50 PEOPLE IN ATTENDANCE. AND SINCE THEN, WE'VE GROWN OUR ORGANIZATION TO 148 MEMBERS. UH, WE CONTINUE TO HAVE REGULAR VIRTUAL, UH, MEETINGS, LUNCH MEETINGS, AND IN THE PAST YEAR WE'VE HOSTED QUARTERLY EVENTS. UH, WE'VE HOSTED A SUMMER MIXER AT THE BEACH. UH, LAST OCTOBER WE PARTICIPATED IN THE CITY'S EMPLOYEE BENEFITS FAIR. AND JUST THIS PAST MONTH WE PARTICIPATED IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE RECOGNITION WEEK. AND THEN, AS YOU KNOW, WE ARE ONE OF SEVERAL AFFINITY GROUPS IN THE CITY, AND WE'LL BE CO-HOSTING AN AFFINITY GROUP MIXER THIS SUMMER. EVERYONE IS WELCOME AND MORE INFORMATION WILL BE RELEASED SOON. OKAY. AND THE NEXT SLIDE. UM, AS WE CONTINUE TO GROW AND ESTABLISH MORE IN OUR ASSOCIATION, WE HOPE TO MAKE CONNECTIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS WITH, UM, THE API ORGANIZATIONS IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, SO THAT WE CAN PARTICIPATE AND COLLABORATE IN SPECIAL COMMUNITY EVENTS AND IN SERVICE PROJECTS SO THAT THIS COMMUNITY WILL KNOW THAT HERE AT THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, THERE ARE API PEOPLE, UH, THAT SERVE YOU, SERVE THEM. SO THAT'S IMPORTANT. AND WE WANNA CONTINUE TO FOSTER GROWTH WITHIN OUR, UM, ASSOCIATION BY PROVIDING NETWORK EVENTS WE CAN LEARN ABOUT EACH OTHER AND OUR PROFESSIONAL GROWTH AS WELL AS TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES, UM, FOR OUR PROFESSIONAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT. AND OUR LAST SLIDE, WHICH I DIDN'T KNOW I HAD A CLICKER. OKAY. SO IF YOU'RE INTERESTED OUT THERE, IF YOU'RE LISTENING, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN JOINING OUR ASSOCIATION, THERE'S OUR EMAIL ADDRESS AND SIGN UP. AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING OUT IN THE COMMUNITY A LITTLE BIT MORE AND TO GET OUR NAME KNOWN THERE. SO THANK YOU FOR, UM, THIS OPPORTUNITY. THANK YOU SO MUCH LADIES, AND FOR BEING HERE AND SHARING ABOUT THE EMPLOYEE, UH, THE API A, UH, UH, EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATION. SO I WANNA MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THAT WE ARE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A CELEBRATION. WE'RE A LITTLE BIT OUTTA ORDER THIS MONTH. WE DID A PRESENTATION, BUT WE'RE GONNA BE DOING A CELEBRATION. [00:20:01] I WANNA INVITE YOU AND OBVIOUSLY ANY, EVERYBODY TO JOIN ON MAY 28TH FROM 4:00 PM TO 5:00 PM IN OUR LOBBY. IT'S GONNA BE, UH, CO-HOSTED WITH MYSELF, COUNCIL MEMBER ANG, COUNCIL MEMBER AUSTIN AND COUNCILWOMAN RICK ODI. SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE PERFORMANCES, GREAT SPEAKER, AND OF COURSE FOOD AND BEVERAGES. SO PLEASE MAKE SURE TO JOIN US. AND WE HAVE A, A SCROLL TO PRESENT TO YOU AND TO DO A GROUP PHOTO. OKAY. SO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, YOU WANNA COME DOWN FOR A PHOTO? YOU AS WELL. YOU SHOULD. WE'RE MOVING, ALEX. ALL RIGHT, I THINK WE'RE ALL IN. ALL RIGHT. 1, 2, 1 MORE. OKAY, WE'RE GOOD. SO MUCH. OKAY. LET'S GO TO OUR NEXT PRESENTATION, WHICH IS HONORING OUR HEROES, A SUNSET CELEBRATION. AND TOM, WHO'S GONNA BE HANDLING OKAY. GINA'S. GINA'S GONNA BE DOING THIS. OKAY. GINA, IT'S YOU JUST REARRANGING THE FURNITURE [ HONORING OUR HEROES: A SUNSET CELEBRATION] A LITTLE BIT. YES. GOOD EVENING, VICE MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME HERE TONIGHT. I AM GINA OVERHOLT, COORDINATOR FOR THE LONG BEACH VETERANS COMMISSION AND THE OFFICE OF VETERANS SUPPORT. WE ARE PRESENTING HONORING OUR HEROES, A SUNSET CEREMONY, THE CITY'S ONLY COMMEMORATION OF MEMORIAL DAY. THIS SUNDAY, MAY 26TH, FIVE 30 TO 8:00 PM AT THE NAVY MEMORIAL IN SHORELINE AQUATIC PARK. WE ARE PRESENTING, HONORING OUR HEROES OF SUNSET CEREMONY AT 200 AQUARIUM WAY. SO MARK THAT ON YOUR GPS. AND THE REASON I SAY THIS IS BECAUSE THE NAVY MEMORIAL IS OFTEN CONFUSED WITH THE LONE SAILOR AT REDONDO AND OCEAN. THE NAVY MEMORIAL IS IN THE DOWNTOWN SHORELINE SOUTH OF THE AQUARIUM, AND YOU CAN ACCESS IT FROM GOLDEN SHORE OR SHORELINE DRIVE. IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY REVISITED THIS REFLECTIVE SPACE WITH ITS SPECTACULAR OCEAN VIEW, YOU'LL BE SURPRISED TO DISCOVER IT AND ALL. WE HAVE PLANNED HISTORIC FLYS, FLYOVERS WITH HISTORIC AIRCRAFT, LIVE MUSIC, HISTORICAL DISPLAYS AND INFORMATION FAIR, LIMITED FREE AND PAID PARKING AVAILABLE IN THE NAVY MEMORIAL. LOT ADDITIONAL PARKING AVAILABLE AT AQUARIUM QUEENSWAY BAY LOT. BUT AS IT'S A VERY BUSY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO TAKE FABULOUS LONG BEACH TRANSIT, CARPOOL, BICYCLE, LYFT, UBER. EITHER WAY, DON'T MISS IT. AND WE WANNA SEE YOU THERE. SO THIS IS A FREE FAMILY FRIENDLY EVENT, AND I'M JUST GOING TO RATTLE SOME HIGHLIGHTS. THE PATRIOTIC MUSIC IS BY THE NAVY BAND SOUTHWEST HARBORSIDE BRASS QUINTET. THAT'S QUITE A MOUTHFUL. AN INFORMATION FAIR, A KID ZONE WITH FACE PAINTER AND GAMES. AT FIVE 50 IS WHEN THE FLYOVERS ARE GONNA TAKE PLACE AT SIX O'CLOCK. WE HAVE EXHIBITION DRILLS BY LAKEWOOD HIGH SCHOOL, NAVY JUNIOR, ROTC. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I, THAT JUST CAME THROUGH YESTERDAY AND THAT I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO IS AT 6 35, THE LB FIRE DEPARTMENT'S FIREBOAT VIGILANCE WILL DISPLAY ITS WATER. CANNONS 6 45 IS THE BRIEF PROGRAM WITH KEYNOTE SPEAKER, LIEUTENANT COLONEL PATRICIA, LIEUTENANT COLONEL PATRICIA JACKSON KELLY, RETIRED AND OTHER SPECIAL GUESTS. WE'LL HAVE BOBBY VERA JR. WHO'S THE PRESIDENT OF THE HARBOR COMMISSION, REPRESENTING THE PORT OF LONG BEACH, WHO IS THE SPONSOR OF THIS EVENT, AND ALSO A MARINE CORVETTE. AND YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED THE VETERANS BANNERS JUST WENT UP ON CARSON, UH, BETWEEN CLARK AND WOODRUFF, ONE OF THE VETERANS SELECTED FOR THIS PILOT PROGRAM. [00:25:01] LARRY MOSINSKI, A RETIRED NAVY COMMANDER IN CITY OF LONG BEACH, EMPLOYEE FOR MORE THAN 26 YEARS WILL SPEAK. AND THE, UH, AT 7:10 PM WOULD BE THE SUNSET FLAG CEREMONY WITH THE PLANE OF TAPS. SO I JUST WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT THIS EVENT REPRESENTS A TRUE COLLABORATION BRINGING TOGETHER CITY DEPARTMENTS, HEALTH, FIRE, MARINE BUREAU, LVTV, LOCAL HISTORICAL VETERAN LED AND VETERAN SERVING ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF LONG BEACH, LONG BEACH CITY COLLEGE, UH, AND FLEET WEEK FOR THE INFORMATION FAIR. AND WITH THE PORT OF LONG BEACH, THE LONG BEACH VETERANS DAY COMMITTEE AND PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, PROVIDING IN-KIND SUPPORT, SPONSORSHIP AND STAFF AND EQUIPMENT. AGAIN, IT TRULY REPRESENTS A COLLABORATION. SO WE WILL SEE YOU AT HONORING OUR HEROES, A SUNSET CEREMONY THIS SUNDAY AT THE NAVY MEMORIAL IN SHORELINE AQUATIC PARK. EACH OF YOU SHOULD HAVE A FLYER AND THERE ARE MORE FLYERS IN THE LOBBY. AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, GINA. OKAY, THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATIONS. UM, NOW WE ARE GOING TO GO TO THE CONSENT CALENDAR. MADAM CLERK, I NEED YOU TO PULL ITEMS TWO AND THREE AND WE'LL BE VOTING ON ITEMS ONE FOUR THROUGH 17. YES. ITEMS TWO AND THREE HAVE BEEN WITHDRAWN FROM THE AGENDA. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. I HAVE FIRST I YOU A SECOND. I GOT A SECOND. SOMEONE. OKAY. MEGAN KERR, WE DON'T HAVE A BUTTON. THERE IS A SECOND. OKAY. ALRIGHT. OH, I WAS WAITING FOR IT TO COME OUT. OKAY. UM, SO CAST YOUR VOTE, BUT THERE'S NO BUD. UH, THERE IS A PUBLIC COMMENT. OH, THERE IS. OKAY. PUBLIC COMMENT. MR. EDWARD MORRIS, IF YOU CAN COME TO THE PODIUM. THANK YOU FOR RECEIVING ME. I'M SORRY I WASN'T PREPARED. I WAS JUST HERE FOR THE LIBRARY WHEN I REMEMBERED. UH, THAT, UH, UM, A COUNCIL MEETING WAS, UH, SCHEDULED TODAY. UH, I, I'M LOOKING FOR SOME ATTORNEYS TO GIVE ME SOME ADVICE. MY, MY EMAIL IS ADAM X2@YAHOO.COM. ADAM X2@YAHOO.COM. WE HAD, UH, UH, CLOSED THE BUSINESS ON HILL AND, UH, LONG BEACH BOULEVARD, AND I TRIED TO REACH TO DISTRICT SIX. OKAY, SIR, THIS IS RIGHT HERE. IS ON THE, ON, ON THE VETERANS. OH, I SEE. UH, I'M SORRY, IT'S, I'M SORRY. IT'S ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR. OH. SO IF YOU WANNA DO PUBLIC COMMENT, YOU CAN SIGN UP FOR THAT. THAT'LL BE JUST A LITTLE BIT FURTHER DOWN THE, UM, DOWN THE AGENDA. I HAVE TWO CHILDREN THAT ARE HUNGRY, BEEN, UH, UH, IN SCHOOL ALL DAY. I'M NOT GONNA SIT HERE FOR FIVE HOURS. LAST TIME I WAS HERE UNTIL NINE O'CLOCK. WHAT I'M TRYING TO TELL YOU, IT WON'T BE THE MONEY THAT YOU WON'T, UH, THE MONEY THAT YOU WASTE ON STAY LA OR STAY HOUSED, LA IS JUST WASTED. THEY'RE CONDUCTING OR THEY'RE, THEY'RE EXERCISING, UH, DISCRIMINATION OR GEOGRAPHICAL DISCRIMINATION. THEY REFUSE TO ASSIST US. WE LIVE, WE LIVED IN DISTRICT FIVE WHERE WE ARE BEING, UH, EVICTED NOW. UH, STATE HOUSE, LA AND PASTA. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. TO HELP US. YOU MIGHT WANNA RECONSIDER THOSE. UH, OKAY. DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR? YES. DON'T GIVE THEM ANY OF MY MONEY. THEY REFUSE TO HELP US. I LIVE IN DISTRICT FIVE. THEY SAID THAT THE ZIP CODE DOESN'T QUALIFY FOR ASSISTANCE. OKAY. THANK YOU. THERE'S NO FURTHER PUBLIC COMMENT ON CONSENT. OKAY. LET, OKAY, LET'S VOTE. COUNCILWOMAN SORROW. ARE YOU AN I? SHE'S AN I. COUNCILWOMAN. DEJA, ARE YOU AN I? YEAH. MOTION IS CARRIED. OKAY, THANK YOU. UM, ITEM 22. UM, I MOVE TO CONTINUE ITEM 22 TO A CERTAIN DATE OF JUNE 4TH, OUR VERY NEXT COUNCIL MEETING, SO THAT THE MAYOR AND OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE AVAILABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DISCUSSION. DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND BY SULI SORO. ALL RIGHT. ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? [22. 24-53317 Recommendation to approve the Fiscal Year 2024 second departmental and fund budget appropriation adjustments in accordance with existing City Council policy. (Citywide)       Office or Department: Financial Management         Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] THERE IS NO PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM. OKAY. MEMBERS, PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTE. MOTION IS CARRIED. OKAY. UM, OUR NEXT WOULD BE ITEM 20, UM, LGBTQ PLUS CULTURAL DISTRICT PLAN. AND WE DO HAVE A STAFF PRESENTATION, ACTUALLY. UM, MADAM CHAIR, DO YOU THINK WE CAN ASK FOR THE REFUSE ITEM BE TAKEN OUTTA ORDER? UM, NUMBER 24. CAN WE DO THAT ONE BEFORE THIS? OH, SURE. ABSOLUTELY. LET'S DO ITEM 24. THANK YOU. [00:30:01] ITEM 24 IS A REPORT FROM PUBLIC WORKS, A RECOMMENDATION TO AUTHORIZE CITY MANAGER TO MODIFY AND EXTEND EXISTING REFUSE TRANSPORTATION AGREEMENTS FOR FOUR YEARS WITH UP TO TWO ONE YEAR EXTENSIONS WITH MULTIPLE PRIVATE HAULERS CURRENTLY OPERATING IN COMPLIANCE WITH THEIR REFUSE TRANSPORTATION PERMIT. CITYWIDE [24. 24-53320 Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to modify and extend existing Refuse Transportation Agreements for four years, with up to two one-year extensions, with the following private haulers currently operating in compliance with their Refuse Transportation Permit: Arakelian Enterprises, Inc. DBA Athens Services, CR&R Incorporated, EDCO Disposal Corporation DBA Signal Hill Disposal, EDCO Disposal Corporation DBA Litterbox, EDCO Disposal Corporation DBA BZ Disposal Service, EDCO Disposal Corporation DBA Long Beach Rubbish, EDCO Disposal Corporation DBA Lieb Disposal, EDCO Disposal Corporation DBA Pete’s Rubbish, Haul-Away Rubbish Service Co., Consolidated Disposal Service, L.L.C. DBA Republic Services, City Rent-A-Bin DBA Serv-Well Disposal, Universal Waste Systems, Inc., and USA Waste of California, Inc. (Citywide)  Levine Act: Yes       Office or Department: Public Works         Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] MADAM CHAIR, I THINK WE MIGHT HAVE SOME RECUSALS ON THIS ONE. WE HAVE A RECUSAL FROM, UH, COUNCILMAN SORROW AND COUNCIL, UH, MEMBER RICKS ODI, UH, WILL QUE THEMSELF UNDER THE INE ACT. THANK YOU. GO AHEAD. YES. UM, RECUSING MYSELF BECAUSE OF, I DON'T HAVE A THING THAT OUT, OUT OF ABUNDANCE OF COLLEGE. CAUTION, I GUESS. UM, RECUSING MYSELF FROM THIS ITEM. OH, UH, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LEVINE ACT, I NEED TO RECUSE MYSELF FROM THIS ITEM BECAUSE I'VE ACCEPTED A CONTRIBUTION OF MORE THAN $250 FROM REPUBLIC SERVICES WHO HAS PARTICIPANT IN THE SUBJECT PROCEED. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ALRIGHT. UM, NOW, UH, WITH REGARDING THE EXTENSION, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? JORGE HERRERA VILLA, COME ON DOWN. HELLO, HONORABLE COUNSEL BODY. MY NAME IS JORGE AVILA. BEFORE YOU ASK YES, YOU CAN CALL ME GEORGE. IT'S TOTALLY OKAY. , UNLESS IT'S AFTER NINE O'CLOCK, THEN YOU CAN CALL. NO, I'M JUST KIDDING. UH, I'M WITH REPUBLIC SERVICES AND I JUST STARTED WITH REPUBLIC ABOUT FIVE MONTHS AGO. I JUST WANTED TO COME IN AND INTRODUCE MYSELF. UH, BEFORE WORKING WITH REPUBLIC, I WORKED FOR 15 YEARS WITH SOCAL GAS, UH, THE GAS COMPANY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE. UH, I GOT A GOOD CHANCE, UH, TO MEET A COUPLE OF YOU GUYS HERE AND THERE. AS I ENGAGED WITH THE COMMUNITY, WE'RE A MEMBER. UH, REPUBLIC IS A MEMBER, PROUD MEMBER OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HERE. AND I'M JUST SO IMPRESSED IN ALL THE WORK THAT, UH, LONG BEACH AND THE CHAMBERS AND THE NONPROFITS ARE DOING HERE. I KNOW I SAW MY, ONE OF MY GOOD FRIENDS WITH THE NONPROFIT DEREK BACK THERE. I DON'T THINK HE SAW ME. I WAS SITTING IN THE BACK. BUT IT'S JUST SO AMAZING THE WORK THAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING, THIS COMMUNITY IS DOING. WE'RE JUST EXCITED TO BE PARTNERS AND CONTINUING TO SUPPORT AS REPUBLIC SERVICES. AND I JUST WANT TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT OF MY HISTORY GOING BACK WHEN I WAS, UH, WAY, WAY IN MY HEYDAYS. I USED TO COME TO THE QUEEN MARY AND DO A LITTLE BIT OF DANCING THERE. THEY HAVE A, THEY HAD A GOOD, UH, VENUE. I DON'T KNOW IF, IF THEY HAVE IT ANYMORE, BUT THIS WAS LIKE 20 YEARS BACK. AND, UM, I ALSO CAME, UH, CAME DOWN TO, TO, UH, CROSS THE WAY FROM THE QUEEN MARY WITH A BEAUTIFUL LIGHTING ON A DATE WHERE, WHICH, WHICH WAS MY GIRLFRIEND AT THE TIME. AND SHE'S HERE TOO, MY WIFE BACK THERE. I DON'T THINK SHE KNOWS THAT I WAS GONNA PUT HER ON BLAST. BUT WONDERFUL CITY. I'M JUST HAPPY TO BE A PARTNER HERE. AND ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO SUPPORT, WE'RE HERE. AND I'LL GIVE MY INFORMATION TO CITY CLERK. THANK YOU SO MUCH. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY, THAT CONCLUDES, UM, PUBLIC, UH, COMMENT. I DON'T SEE ANYMORE. SO MEMBERS, UH, PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTE. MOTION IS CARRIED. OKAY. ALRIGHT, NOW LET'S GO TO ITEM. UM, LET'S GO TO ITEM 20. ITEM 20 IS A REPORT FROM COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT RECOMMENDATION TO ACCEPT STATUTORY EXEMPTION AND RECEIVE AND FILE THE LGBTQ PLUS CULTURAL DISTRICT STRATEGIC IMPROVEMENT PLAN DISTRICT TWO. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SO WE DO HAVE A, A, A STAFF PRESENTATION. SO I'M GONNA TURN THIS OVER TO MR. CHRISTOPHER, DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER KUNZ. [20. 24-53399 Recommendation to accept Statutory Exemption SE-24-063; and Receive and file the LGBTQ+ Cultural District Strategic Improvement Plan. (District 2)       Office or Department: Community Development         Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] UH, THANK YOU VICE MAYOR. UM, SO, UH, TONIGHT WE'RE DELIGHTED TO TALK ABOUT OUR L-G-B-T-Q, UH, CULTURAL DISTRICT. AND I'M HERE WITH, UH, ANALYST ELISE ROBERTS FROM OUR PLANNING GROUP, WHO'S GONNA, UH, START OFF THE PRESENTATION AND THEN I'LL CLOSE US OUT. GOOD EVENING, HONORABLE VICE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL BEFORE YOU. TODAY IS A PRESENTATION ON THE PROGRESS MADE TOWARDS ESTABLISHING THE LGBTQ PLUS CULTURAL DISTRICT AND ACCOMPANYING STRATEGIC IMPROVEMENT PLAN. ON JUNE 21ST, 2022, THE CITY COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED A RECOMMENDATION BROUGHT FORTH BY COUNCIL MEMBER CINDY ALLEN AND THEN MAYOR ROBERT GARCIA FOR CITY STAFF TO WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS TO CREATE A VISIONING PROCESS, AN IMPROVEMENT FEASIBILITY [00:35:01] PLAN FOR THE LONG BEACH L-G-B-T-Q CULTURAL DISTRICT ALONG THE BROADWAY CORRIDOR. SHORTLY AFTERWARDS, CITY STAFF COORDINATED AN INTERNAL WORKING GROUP TO BRAINSTORM STRATEGIES TO CREATE THE CULTURAL DISTRICT. THE WORKING GROUP WAS COMPRISED OF CITY STAFF ACROSS MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS, INCLUDING THE CITY MANAGER'S, OFFICE, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, PARKS, REC, AND MARINE DEPARTMENT, AND PUBLIC WORKS. WE THEN EMBARKED ON A ONE AND A HALF YEAR LONG PROCESS TO ENVISION THE CULTURAL DISTRICT AND DEVELOP A STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION PLAN WITH A COMMUNITY BUSINESSES AND ADVISORY COMMITTEE COMPRISED OF LOCAL LGBTQ PLUS LEADERS. THE PURPOSE OF INITIATING THIS PROJECT WAS TO UPLIFT THE CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. SUPPORT LGBTQ PLUS BUSINESSES AND INSTITUTIONS IN THE DISTRICT, ENSURE THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY CONTINUES TO HAVE THE RESOURCES TO THRIVE, AND ALSO TO IDENTIFY STRATEGIC PHYSICAL IMPROVEMENTS THAT THE CITY CAN IMPLEMENT TO CREATE A COHESIVE AND IDENTIFIABLE LOOK FOR THE PROPOSED CULTURAL DISTRICT STAFF IDENTIFIED VARIOUS IMPROVEMENT ELEMENTS AND PRESENTED THOSE TO THE COMMUNITY FOR THEIR INPUT, GIVING THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRIORITIZE WHAT IMPROVEMENTS THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE ALONG THE CORRIDOR. THROUGHOUT VARIOUS ROUTES OF ENGAGEMENT THAT WILL BE COVERED LATER IN THE PRESENTATION, LOCATED ALONG BROADWAY BETWEEN ALAMEDOS AND TEMPLE AVENUES, AND APPROXIMATELY 1.4 MILES IN LENGTH. THIS CORRIDOR IS HOME TO MANY OF LONG BEACH'S QUEER BUSINESSES, UH, BARS AND SPACES. AND THE AREA HAS BEEN LONGSTANDING, AN IMPORTANT PLACE FOR THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY TO GATHER AND ORGANIZE. THE ORIGINAL PROPOSED PROJECT BOUNDARIES EXTENDED FROM ALAMEDOS TO HUN APPAREL AVENUES BASED ON COMMUNITY INPUT. THE FIRST PHASE DURING THE FIRST PHASE OF ENGAGEMENT, THE PROJECT AREA WAS EXPANDED TO INCLUDE PROPERTIES ALONG EAST BROADWAY ALL THE WAY TO TEMPLE AVENUE. THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS WAS GROUNDED IN UPLIFTING THE VOICES OF THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY. FOCUSING ON THOSE, THIS PROJECT SERVES TO STRIVES TO SERVE, WHILE ALSO EDUCATING AND PROVIDING RESOURCES TO THE BUSINESSES ALONG THE CORRIDOR TO HELP THEM THRIVE. THE ROBUST COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EFFORT ALLOWED THE CITY TO LISTEN TO THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS ON WHAT CONSIDERATIONS THEY VALUE THE MOST. IN ESTABLISHING THE NEW CULTURAL DISTRICT, THE CITY CONDUCTED PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT IN TWO PHASES. PHASE ONE FOCUSED ON VISIONING FOR THE CORRIDOR, AND TOOK PLACE IN FALL OF 2022, WHERE COMMUNITY MEMBERS PARTICIPATED, PARTICIPATED IN AN ONLINE COMMUNITY SURVEY AND AN IN-PERSON VISIONING EVENT WHERE THEY WERE PROVIDED WITH A RANGE OF PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT OPTIONS THAT COULD POTENTIALLY GO INTO THE CULTURAL DISTRICT TO HELP DEVELOP THE ART OF THE POSSIBLE ALONG THE CORRIDOR. PHASE TWO OCCURRED IN FALL OF 2023. COMMUNITY MEMBERS TOOK PART IN TWO COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS AND A COMMUNITY VISIONING PROCESS SURVEY WHERE THEY GAVE INPUT TO PRIORITIZE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT OPTIONS THAT WERE REFINED BASED ON COMMENTS GATHERED FROM PHASE ONE. THE FEEDBACK RECEIVED FROM PHASE TWO CONTRIBUTED TO A FINAL STRATEGY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE STRATEGIC IMPROVEMENT PLAN. DURING THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, OVER A THOUSAND RESPONSES WERE COLLECTED THROUGH PHASE ONE AND PHASE TWO, BETWEEN 60 AND 70% OF SURVEY RESPONDENTS IDENTIFIED AS PART OF THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY. 56% OF SURVEY RESPONDENTS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH THE IMMEDIATE PROJECT AREA OR SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOODS. BUT I WOULD LIKE TO NOTE THAT IN THAT SURVEY WE JUST ASKED RESPONDENTS FOR THEIR ZIP CODE. WE DIDN'T SPECIFY WHETHER IT WAS THEIR HOME OR WORK ADDRESS. IN PHASE ONE, WE HEARD THE FOLLOWING THEMES HIGHLIGHT THE CORRIDOR'S HISTORY. THE LGBTQ PLUS CULTURAL DISTRICT PRESENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO EDUCATE AND RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY AND THE INFLUENCE THE COMMUNITY HAS ON THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. A SAFE PLACE TO BE THE CORRIDOR SHOULD HAVE INFRASTRUCTURE AND PROGRAMS THAT ADDRESS THE PERCEPTION OF SAFETY. EXAMPLES INCLUDE INVESTMENTS IN [00:40:01] STREET LIGHTING AND TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE THAT PROMOTE SAFE AND ACCESSIBLE, PEDESTRIAN, BICYCLE, TRANSIT, AND VEHICULAR USES. OTHER POPULAR IDEAS INCLUDE IMPROVED BUSINESS DENSITY, NON-POLICE SAFETY AMBASSADORS, HOMELESS SUPPORT, INCREASED PEDESTRIAN ACTIVITY AND CLEANLINESS, A WELCOMING AND LIVELY PUBLIC SPACE. THE CULTURAL DISTRICT SHOULD ACTIVATE THE CORRIDOR AS A PUBLIC SPACE FOR PEOPLE TO ENJOY, HELP REDUCE BUSINESS VACANCIES, AND PROVIDE FOR MORE EVENT AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE PUBLIC. TO GATHER AN INCLUSIVE SPACE FOR ALL THE CULTURAL DISTRICT SHOULD BE A COMMUNITY GATHERING SPACE WHERE THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY CAN FEEL SAFE AND INCLUSIVE. PEOPLE SHOULD BE SORRY, PEOPLE SHOULD ALSO BE ABLE TO ENJOY THE SPACE WITHOUT PAYING FOR SERVICES. AND THEN POPULAR PLACEMAKING IMPROVEMENTS. COMMUNITY MEMBERS VALUED ART INSTALLATIONS, MURALS THAT UPLIFTED THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY IN HISTORY, HISTORICAL PLAQUES, DECORATIVE LIGHTING, AND STREETLIGHT POST BANNERS. AND ALSO, UM, WHAT WE HEARD IN PHASE ONE WAS ALSO TO EXTEND THE BOUNDARY, UM, WHICH WE PROPOSED TO TEMPLE AVENUE. IN PHASE TWO, COMMUNITY MEMBERS WERE ASKED TO HELP PRIORITIZE THE PROPOSED PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS, WHICH INCLUDED LIGHTING ELEMENTS, WHICH YOU CAN SEE ON THIS SLIDE. UM, THAT INCLUDED STRING LIGHTS, PEDESTRIAN LIGHTS, TREES, AND UM, ENTRY UP LIGHTING, UH, WAY FINDING SIGNAGE, UM, SUCH AS STREET LIGHT POLE BANNERS, GATEWAY SIGNAGE, UM, WHICH IS ALSO INCLUDED ON THIS SLIDE, AS WELL AS HISTORICAL ELEMENTS, UM, LIKE HISTORICAL PLAQUES, EDUCATIONAL CONCRETE PLAQUES AND HISTORICAL MONUMENTS. ART ELEMENTS SUCH AS UTILITY BOX WRAP, ART MURALS, DECORATIVE, UH, AND DECORATIVE CROSSWALKS. UM, LANDSCAPING ELEMENTS SUCH AS STREET TREES AND STREET FURNISHINGS, UM, SUCH AS BIKE PARKING, SEATING AND TRASH RECEPTACLES. AND WHEN THESE WERE PRESENTED OUT, UM, WE CREATED VIGNETTES TO SHOW WHAT HIGHER COST IMPROVEMENTS WOULD LOOK LIKE, UM, SUCH AS THIS WITH THE GATEWAY SIGNAGE, THE STRING LIGHTING AND THE BENCH SEATING, VERSUS, UM, HAVING MORE DIVERSITY IN THE IMPROVEMENTS BY SELECTING LOWER COST IMPROVEMENTS AS DEPICTED ON THIS SLIDE. SO, UM, THIS SHOWS A LIST OF ALL THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE PRESENTED TO THE COMMUNITY, AND THIS IS IN LIST OF, UM, ORDER IN WHICH THEY PRIORITIZE THESE ITEMS WITH THE TOP FOUR DESIRED IMPROVEMENTS BEING STREET TREES, TREES AND FACADE, UPLIGHTING, STRING LIGHTS, AND HISTORICAL PLAQUES. AND NOW I WILL PASS IT ALONG TO CHRISTOPHER TO DISCUSS IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES. GREAT, THANKS ELISE. SO WE TALKED, ELISE TALKED WITH YOU ABOUT HOW WE CREATED THIS GREAT PLAN, BUT, UM, A PLAN IS ONLY A PLAN UNTIL YOU DO SOMETHING WITH IT. SO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? SO, UM, WE TOOK THE MOST DESIRED IMPROVEMENTS AND WITH OUR PARTNERS IN PUBLIC WORKS CAME UP WITH WHAT WITHIN KIND OF EXISTING, UM, CIP BUDGET COULD WE DO IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS. SO THAT'S LOOKING AT IMPROVEMENTS LIKE LIGHTING, THE PLAQUES AND OTHER CULTURAL RECOGNITION, UM, CONCRETE WORK MURALS, NEON AND STREETLIGHT BANNERS. SO THERE WERE OTHER IMPROVEMENTS, UM, THAT WOULD REQUIRE SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDING, BUT COULD BE DONE IN THE MEDIUM TERM. IT'S A LOT OF TREE IMPROVEMENTS. THE TREE ITSELF ISN'T COSTLY, BUT ONCE YOU HAVE TO CUT OPEN THE SIDEWALK, THEN YOU HAVE TO FIX THE CURB, THEN YOU HAVE TO FIX THE DRAINAGE, THEN YOU HAVE TO FIX THE IRRIGATION. UM, IT COSTS MORE THAN YOU MIGHT THINK, UH, TO PLANT A TREE. SO THOSE ARE IN THE MEDIUM, UM, CATEGORY. AND THEN A LOT OF INTEREST IN SORT OF UPLIGHTING THOSE TREES. UM, WE GOT A LOT OF COMMENTS ABOUT NIGHTTIME ACTIVITY AND A LACK OF LIGHT AT NIGHT AND, AND NEED FOR SORT OF, NOT JUST LIGHT FOR SAFETY, BUT USING THAT TO MAKE IT FEEL SAFE, BUT ALSO MAKE IT FEEL FUN. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO ALL BE JUST PLAIN WHITE LIGHTING. IT COULD BE USE OF COLOR AND, UM, FUN WAYS TO BE, UH, MORE WHIMSICAL WITH THE, WITH THE LIGHTING. AND THEN THE THIRD SET OF IMPROVEMENTS [00:45:01] ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE CAN WORK WITH OUR STATE AND FEDERAL PARTNERS. WE CAN WORK WITH DIFFERENT GRANT SOURCES TO PURSUE, UM, IMPROVEMENTS, UM, AS BUDGET AND RESOURCES, UH, BECOME AVAILABLE. UM, SO SOME, UM, MORE COMPLICATED LIGHTING, UM, UTILITY WORK, UM, FACADE WORK WITH OUR, OUR PARTNER BUSINESSES ALONG THE CORRIDOR, AS WELL AS, UM, WE HAVE SOME DECORATIVE CROSSWALKS, BUT WE COULD LOOK AT, UM, OTHER CROSSWALKS ALONG THE CORRIDOR. UM, SO THERE'S ALSO SOME, UM, PROCEDURAL AND REGULATORY THINGS. SO WE'LL BE TAKING A LOOK AT WHAT IS, UM, YOU KNOW, OFFICIAL DESIGNATION. CALIFORNIA HAS A CULTURAL DISTRICT PROGRAM, UH, THAT THE STATE CREATED AND FUNDED FOR ONE YEAR AND THEN DIDN'T FUND THE NEXT YEAR, BUT IT'S STILL ON THE BOOKS. SO WE'RE TALKING TO THE STATE ABOUT IS THAT COMING BACK? IS THAT SOMETHING WE COULD PARTICIPATE IN? UM, THE CITY CAN ONLY DO THIS WORK WITH PARTNERS, SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO TALK TO, UM, OUR, OUR PARTNERS AND COLLABORATORS ALONG THE CORRIDOR, UM, AND CREATING FINANCIAL MECHANISMS TO SUPPORT THE CULTURAL DISTRICT IN THE, IN THE LONG TERM. SO BE THAT A BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT. UM, WE'RE WORKING WITH THE VICE MAYOR, UM, GENERALLY NOT JUST HERE, BUT ON, YOU KNOW, PARKING DISTRICTS AND PARKING OPTIONS FOR AL MATO BEACH. UM, AND THEN, UM, WHAT, UH, PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS MIGHT EXIST. UH, SO THAT'S HOW WE GO FROM VISION TO SOME IMPROVEMENTS THAT THE COMMUNITY'S GONNA SEE RIGHT AWAY HERE OVER THE NEXT 24 MONTHS, AS WELL AS THAT LONGER TERM VISION FOR THE CORRIDOR. AND, UM, WE'RE EXCITED TO TAKE YOUR QUESTIONS. WELL, THANK YOU CHRISTOPHER. BEFORE WE DO THAT, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT AND THEN I'LL TAKE IT BACK BEHIND THE RAIL. SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND DO PUBLIC COMMENT FIRST SO WE CAN HEAR WHAT FOLKS HAVE TO SAY. UM, GRISELDA, I THINK YOU'RE UP FIRST. MAKE SURE I'M ON THE GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. UM, UH, VICE MAYOR, MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND CITY STAFF. MY NAME IS C EZ. I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE ARTS COUNCIL FOR LONG BEACH, AND ALSO A, UH, QUEER INDIGENOUS CHICANA RESIDENT OF LONG BEACH FIRST GENERATION. AND ONE THING THAT I LOVE ABOUT MY QUEER COMMUNITY IS THAT ALL THESE INTERSECTIONS ARE ARE VALUED AND UPLIFTED. AND I WANT TO SAY THAT IN THE PRESENTATION. UM, AS SOMEONE WHO ATTENDED THE MEETINGS, YOU KNOW, I DID SEE THAT INCLUSION FOR ALL WAS SOMETHING THAT WE ALL TALKED ABOUT, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT IT WAS UPLIFTED TONIGHT. IT IS INCREDIBLE TO SEE THIS ITEM COME TO COUNCIL SHORTLY AFTER LONG BEACH PRIDE, HAPPY PRIDE, EVERYBODY. UM, AND FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE ARTS COUNCIL DID PARTICIPATE IN PRIDE AND BROUGHT LOCAL VENDORS, UM, THE CREATIVE ECONOMY TO THE PRIDE FESTIVAL. AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO SUPPORTING THESE SMALL BUSINESSES AS THIS CULTURAL DISTRICT GROWS. UM, THIS IS A TESTAMENT TO OUR POWER OF OUR COMMUNITY WHEN WE WORK TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE AND UPLIFT THE LGBT COMMUNITY. THE ARTS COUNCIL FOR LONG BEACH STANDS IN FULL SUPPORT OF THE NEXT STEPS FOR THIS PLAN, AND LOOKS FORWARD TO SUPPORTING IN ANY WAY WE CAN. UM, AS MENTIONED IN THE PRESENTATION, THERE IS A CULTURAL DISTRICT PROGRAM IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, FUNNELED THROUGH THE CALIFORNIA ARTS COUNCIL, UM, AN ORGANIZATION THAT WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH. AND RIGHT NOW, UM, THEY ARE NOT TAKING APPLICATIONS FOR NEW CULTURAL DISTRICTS, BUT WE ARE ADVOCATING THROUGH CALIFORNIA FOR THE ARTS AND, UM, CALIFORNIA ARTS COUNCIL FOR FUTURE FUNDING AND, UM, HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH MANY PARTNERS ON THAT APPLICATION. SO WE, WE WOULD LOVE TO PARTNER, UM, SINCE IT'S THROUGH THE CALIFORNIA ARTS COUNCIL. UM, SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR HELPING MAKE THIS DREAM A REALITY. I'VE HEARD ABOUT THIS AS A, UH, RESIDENT OF THE CULTURAL DISTRICT AREA FOR OVER 20 YEARS. I'VE BEEN TO SEVERAL MEETINGS, AND I THANK YOU SO MUCH. WELL, THANK YOU. AND I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS TOO, AND I APPRECIATE YOU COMING OUT TO SPEAK ABOUT IT. UM, FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO GIVE, UM, A THANK YOU TO STAFF FOR PUTTING THIS STRATEGIC IMPROVEMENT PLAN AS WE STARTED, YOU KNOW, THIS PROCESS, VICE MAYOR ALLEN, ONLY TWO YEARS AGO, VICE, BUT I'M, I'M, UH, I'M EXCITED WHERE WE'RE AT. VICE MAYOR ALLEN. I BELIEVE WE HAVE ONE MORE PUBLIC COMMENTER. OH, I, SO THERE IS SOMEBODY WHO SIGNED UP A PUBLIC NOTICE WITH THE NAME OF PUBLIC NOTICE IF YOU'D LIKE TO COME FORWARD. WHAT'S ME? SORRY, I GUESS I DIDN'T GET MY NAME. SORRY ABOUT THAT. APOLOGIZE ABOUT THAT. GOOD EVENING, CITY COUNCIL, UH, AND PUBLIC. MY NAME IS, UH, MS. DEBORAH ALANTE. MY ARTIST'S NAME IS DIOSA IITA. AND, UH, I AM A RETIRED EDUCATOR, UH, AND I AM AN EXPERT IN [00:50:01] CONSTITUTION. I TAUGHT IN THE CITY FOR 25 YEARS. UH, I WAS ALSO A JUDGE FOR HISTORY DAY LA FOR THREE YEARS WITH MY CREDENTIALS. MY CONCERN AS I SPOKE LAST MEETING IS THE 14TH AMENDMENT VIOLATION OF, UH, ALLOCATING MONEY TO CERTAIN GROUPS. IF YOU'RE GOING TO ALLOCATE CERTAIN DOLLARS FOR A CULTURE, I BROUGHT MY POSTER. WE FIRST NATION PEOPLE WANT TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED BECAUSE WE ARE ALL ON OUR LAND. IT WAS VERY HARD FOR ME TO SEE THE PRE THE PRESENTATION BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK AT THE MAP THAT I BROUGHT, WE ARE PACIFIC ISLANDERS, THIS IS TURTLE ISLAND. AND I'M VERY CONCERNED THAT ON OUR CULTURE COMMISSION, THAT WE DON'T HAVE SOMEONE AS QUALIFIED LIKE MYSELF TO ADVISE IN THE LANGUAGE THAT WE'RE SAYING ABOUT PEOPLE. THIS IS A FORM OF SEGREGATION. I'M GONNA RECOMMEND THAT WE PUT AN L-G-B-T-Q IN EVERY DISTRICT, JUST LIKE I'VE ASKED THAT WE PUT A GARDEN FREE GARDEN IN EVERY DISTRICT. BECAUSE IF YOU JUST HAVE IT IN ONE AREA, NOW YOU'RE HAVING ACCESS ISSUES. SO I THINK WE NEED TO RETHINK. EQUITY AND EQUALITY ARE NOT THE SAME, AND YOU CANNOT HAVE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN THE SAME SENTENCE BECAUSE THEY ARE POLAR OPPOSITES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM, I JUST ALSO WANNA SAY CHRISTOPHER AND ELOISE, I JUST TRULY APPRECIATE YOUR WORK. UM, SO FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART, THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK. I WANT TO EXTEND A HEARTFELT THINGS TO ALL THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND BUSINESSES. IT TOOK THE TIME TO PROVIDE THEIR FEEDBACK AND THEIR THOROUGH, UM, PROCESSES. I MEAN, TO HAVE YOU SAID CHRISTOPHER, IT WAS LIKE A THOUSAND RESPONDENTS. I MEAN, I SEE A LOT OF THESE COMMUNITY MEETINGS AND WE TYPICALLY DON'T GET THAT MANY. SO I MEAN, IT REALLY DOES SAY A LOT ABOUT ALL THE HARD WORK THAT YOU, UM, THAT YOU DID. I, I STRONGLY SUPPORT ESTABLISHING AN LGBTQ PLUS CULTURAL DISTRICT IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. AND, UM, I WAS PROUD TO INTRODUCE THIS WITH THEN MAYOR GARCIA TWO YEARS AGO. SO SOME FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED WAS SUGGESTED THAT WE INCLUDE HISTORICAL PLAQUES, AS YOU SAW, TO HONOR THE HISTORY AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE L-L-G-B-T-Q, UM, TO THE AREA. UM, WE ALSO HEARD FROM A LOT OF PEOPLE ABOUT, UM, BETTER LIGHTING AND DECORATIVE LIGHTING TO CREATE MORE INVITING ATMOSPHERE, UM, ESPECIALLY SO, UM, IN THE EVENING, UM, HOURS. AND ALSO SEEING TREES AND, AND ART INSTALLATIONS ALONG THAT CORRIDOR WAS, WAS IMPORTANT. ESTABLISHING CULTURAL DISTRICTS HAS PROVEN SUCCESSFUL IN OTHER CITIES LIKE SAN FRANCISCO, LOS ANGELES, BUENA PARK, AND ANAHEIM. UM, IT'S HELPED PROMOTE THE CITIES. IT'S ATTRACTED MORE VISITOR AND IT'S INCREASED TOURISM, AND I THINK IT'S ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT AS WE ARE WELCOMING THE WORLD, UM, UH, TO THE CITY OF LONG BEACH WITH THE OLYMPICS. I'M PLEASED, UH, WITH THIS REPORT AND I REALLY COMMEND THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT FOR THIS. UM, WE HAVE BEEN WAITING TODAY TO HEAR THIS FOR A WHILE, AS YOU KNOW, CHRISTOPHER. AND SO WE'RE JUST READY TO ACTIVATE THAT CORRIDOR. UM, SO BY ENHANCING THE AREA WITH TARGETED INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS, YOU KNOW, THIS IS GONNA HELP A LOT OF LOCAL BUSINESSES AND THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED AT LEAST I HOPE IT DOES. AND WE CAN CREATE A, A VIBRANT AND INCLUSIVE CULTURAL DISTRICT THAT PROMOTES THE SHARED LGBTQ PLUS, UM, HISTORY OF LONG BEACH. SO HERE'S A COUPLE OF MY QUESTIONS FOR YOU, CHRISTOPHER, IS MY UNDERSTANDING WE HAVE 2.5 MILLION ALLOCATED THROUGH MEASURE A FOR THIS PROJECT. CAN YOU CLARIFY WHY 1 MILLION IS AVAILABLE NOW AND NOT THE FULL AMOUNT? YEAH, SO WHEN WE DO OUR, UM, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN BUDGET, IT LOOKS FORWARD, UH, SEVERAL YEARS, AND THEN A CERTAIN AMOUNT IS AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY, WHEREAS THE BALANCE IS, UM, AVAILABLE IN FUTURE YEARS. SO, UH, OUR DEPARTMENT WORKS WITH, UM, ERIC'S TEAM AND PUBLIC WORKS, AND THAT BUDGET IS, UH, GOES THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS EVERY YEAR. WE DO HAVE THE ABILITY TO MOVE FUNDS BACK AND FORTH AND, AND WE ARE COMMITTED TO DELIVERING IMPROVEMENTS, UM, ALONG THIS CORRIDOR IN THE IMMEDIATE TERM. UM, AND, AND, UM, BUILDING IT OUT OVER A TWO YEAR PERIOD. SO I WOULDN'T BE TROUBLED BY THE FACT THAT 1 MILLION IS IN THIS YEAR AND THE BALANCE IS IN FUTURE YEARS, UM, BECAUSE WE'RE STILL GONNA BE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THE IMPROVEMENTS LAID OUT IN THE PLAN, UM, OVER A TWO YEAR PERIOD. OKAY. AND I'LL ADD TO THAT, THAT ALSO HAS TO DO WITH WHEN YOU ISSUE DEBT, WHICH WE'RE DOING THROUGH MEASURE A, TO ACCELERATE ALL THIS MONEY, YOU HAVE [00:55:01] TO SPEND, UH, THE DEBT PROCEEDS WITHIN A VERY SPECIFIC AMOUNT OF TIME, OR YOU CAN SUFFER AN IRS PENALTY. SO IF WE HAVE A DESIGN PROJECT AND WE'RE READY TO GO, WE CAN ALWAYS LOOK AT, AT MOVING SOME OF THAT MONEY FORWARD. WE JUST DIDN'T WANNA, UH, INCUR ANY PENALTIES FOR THAT. OKAY. THAT MAKES SENSE. ALRIGHT. I, I 450,000 FOR TREES. THAT'S WONDERFUL. THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF TREES ALONG THAT, THAT CORRIDOR, I THINK. UM, DO WE KNOW LIKE HOW MUCH DOES THAT BUY? UM, AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE THAT, THAT'S OKAY. YOU CAN GET BACK TO IT. YEAH, SO WE DON'T HAVE THE NUMBERS, BUT BASICALLY THAT ALLOWS FOR A ONE MILE STRETCH FOR US TO HAVE TREES ON A CONSISTENT SPACING EVERY 20 TO 30 FEET. THAT IS WONDERFUL. OKAY, THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAVE FOR YOU. AND, UH, I'M GONNA TURN THIS OVER TO COUNCILWOMAN MARYS AND DEJAS, I THINK. OKAY. UM, A SECOND. I DON'T HAVE A LOT. OKAY. THANK YOU TO THE TEAM. I WANNA THANK VICE MAYOR ALLEN FOR BRINGING THIS ITEM FORWARD AND STAFF FOR YOUR GOOD WORK ON THIS PROCESS. UH, LIKE VICE MAYOR ALLEN, I NOTICED THE ENGAGEMENT LEVEL SEEMS HIGH. WE DON'T ALWAYS GET THAT NUMBER OF RESPONSES WHEN WE'RE SOLICITING FEEDBACK. UM, AND I WANNA, I APPRECIATE THE THOUGHTFULNESS WITH WHICH YOU CRAFTED THE PROCESS, UH, FOR THIS ITEM. UM, I THINK THE VICE MAYOR COVERED QUESTIONS THAT I HAD, AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND OPPORTUNITIES HAPPEN NEXT. SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HISTORICAL PLAQUES, LIKE WHO DECIDES WHICH, WHICH PLACES AND SPACES AND PEOPLE ARE HONORED IN WHICH PLACES. SO I ASSUME THAT PART OF THE NEXT STEP IS COMING UP WITH A PROCESS TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO GIVE INPUT ON THOSE ITEMS. YEAH, SO THIS PROCESS ISN'T DONE. THIS IS ABOUT, UM, MOVING FORWARD WITH, UH, THE PLAN OVERALL AT COUNCIL TONIGHT, AND THEN WE MOVE INTO THE IMPLEMENTATION STAGE. SO WE'VE HAD A GOOD GROUP OF COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS. WE HAVE AN ADVISORY GROUP, WE HAVE A BUSINESS GROUP. UM, SO WE'LL BE VISITING WITH ALL OF THOSE FOLKS AS WELL AS, UM, KIND OF FOLDING THIS WORK INTO OUR LARGER HISTORIC PRESERVATION PROGRAM, WHICH IS A DIFFERENT ITEM ON TONIGHT'S AGENDA. SO, UM, EVERYTHING'S CONNECTED EVEN WHEN IT SEEMS NOT CONNECTED. SO THIS IS INFORMING SOME OF THE WORK WE'RE DOING ON WHAT'S CALLED THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT STATEMENT. AND WE'RE DOING SOME, UM, STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS AND ORAL HISTORIES, UM, AROUND THE EARLY DAYS OF THE L-G-B-T-Q COMMUNITY HERE IN LONG BEACH. AND THAT'S GONNA INFORM A LOT OF THE WORK ON THE PLAQUES AND, UM, RECOGNITION OF THE, THE HISTORY IN THE AREA. THANK YOU SO MUCH. LOOKING FORWARD TO IT. THANK YOU. COUNCILWOMAN KERR, MAYOR, UM, COUNCILWOMAN, MARRIES, AND DEJAS. THANK YOU VICE MAYOR. UM, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU VICE MAYOR AND COUNCILWOMAN KERR FOR BRINGING UP FOR THIS ITEM. I THINK IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT. UM, THANK YOU STAFF FOR ALL THE GREAT WORK THAT YOU HAVE DONE ON THIS ITEM. UM, YES, UH, LIKE VICE MAYOR SAID, WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR MANY, MANY YEARS. I THINK THAT, UM, IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO UPLIFT OUR LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY RIGHT NOW. UM, I AM SO PROUD TO BE PART OF A COUNCIL THAT EMBRACES OUR LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY AND UPLIFT IT. AND BECAUSE THAT'S NOT SO IN, IN A, A LOT OF THE CITIES. AND SO I'M JUST VERY PROUD OF THIS COUNCIL AND THIS CITY, AND I ABSOLUTELY AM A BIG STRONG SUPPORTER OF OUR LGBTQ PLUS CULTURAL DISTRICT THAT WE ARE, UM, ENVISIONING RIGHT NOW WITH THIS PLAN. SO I LOOK FORWARD TO THAT. UM, I THINK THAT THIS PARTICULAR CORRIDOR HAS BEEN, UM, A CUL OUR LGBTQ PLUS CULTURAL DISTRICT FOR A VERY, VERY LONG TIME. AT LEAST 2020, GOING BACK 20 TO 30 YEARS. BUT WITH THIS, WE'RE ACTUALLY MAKING IT OFFICIAL AND THAT REALLY EXCITES ME AND IT'S A, UH, IT'S A CULTURAL DISTRICT WHERE EVERYONE IS WELCOME, BUT I THINK THAT IT'S JUST SO IMPORTANT TO, TO, FOR US AS A CITY TO COME TOGETHER AND SUPPORT A VERY IMPORTANT COMMUNITY LIKE THE L-G-B-T-Q, ESPECIALLY DURING PRIDE MONTH. SO CONGRATULATIONS, VICE MAYOR. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN DEJAS. OKAY. UM, COUNCILMAN DR. SULI SORO, YOU'RE UP. THANKS, VICE MAYOR. UM, THANK YOU VICE MAYOR WITH, UH, FORMER MAYOR AND NOW CONGRESS MEMBER, UH, ROBERT GARCIA FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD AND FOR STAFF FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK. THE OUTREACH IS AMAZING. TO GET A THOUSAND SURVEY BACK, UM, IS REALLY IMPRESSIVE. UM, THE FEEDBACK PROCESS SEEMS TO BE PRETTY ENGAGING, WHICH I REALLY APPRECIATE BECAUSE WE ALWAYS WANT THAT FOR ANY, UH, PROCESS WE GO THROUGH TO DESIGNATE CULTURAL DISTRICTS OR, UM, ANY, UH, PUBLIC FACILITIES. AND I WANTED TO JUST SHARE THAT, YOU KNOW, I'M VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THIS, UH, PROJECT AND PROUD THAT WE'RE AN INCLUSIVE CITY [01:00:01] TO THINK ABOUT HOW DO WE GO BEYOND IDENTIFYING OUR PLACES BEYOND THE STREET NAME. LIKE I, FOR THE LONGEST TIME, I'VE KNOWN IT AS BROADWAY CORRIDOR OR BROADWAY, OR WHEN WE GO TO ANAHEIM, IT'S ALWAYS KNOWN AS ANAHEIM, OR WE CAN GO TO PACIFIC. IT'S ALWAYS PACIFIC. I FEEL LIKE WE'RE IN A GROWING PHASE RIGHT NOW IN LONG BEACH, WHERE WE'RE GIVING, UM, REAL IDENTITIES AND, UM, ADDING IN THE HISTORY OF WHO WE ARE, WHERE WE COME FROM INTO THESE PLACES. AND THAT'S WHY IT'S SO SIGNIFICANT THAT WE DO HAVE AN L-G-B-T-Q, UH, CULTURAL DISTRICT IS TO BE ABLE TO LIFT ALL OF THAT UP AND TO SHOWCASE, NOT JUST FOR THE OLYMPICS, BUT REALLY TO PEOPLE THAT THIS HAS BEEN HERE AND NOW WE'RE IN A PLACE WHERE WE CAN SHOWCASE IT AND ATTRACT PEOPLE LOCALLY, UM, AND ACROSS OUR NATION, UM, TO CELEBRATE OUR COMMUNITY THAT WE HAVE HERE, OUR L-G-B-T-Q COMMUNITY. SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING HOW OUR NEXT STEPS IN THE PROCESS THAT WE'LL TAKE IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE WE, UM, IMPLEMENT THIS. THANK YOU. OKAY. WELL, THANK YOU. AND I DO NOT SEE, UH, ANY MORE COMMENTS, SO THANK YOU ALL FOR, UH, THOSE COMMENTS. THIS IS SUPER EXCITING. AND MEMBERS, PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTE. MOTION IS CARRIED. UM, CAN WE DO A REPORT OUT FROM CLOSED SESSION PLEASE? THANK YOU VERY MUCH, VICE MAYOR. I HAVE ONE ITEM TO REPORT OUT FROM CLOSED SESSION. WE HAVE GLOBALLY SETTLED THE THREE CASES BROUGHT BY WARREN BOFSKI AGAINST THE CITY OF LONG BEACH FOR A TOTAL OF 700 AND THOUSAND $700,000. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. UM, GO. WE'RE GOING TO ITEM 19. ITEM 19, A COMMUNICATION FROM MARY ZY. HAS COUNCILMAN FIRST DISTRICT, CINDY ALLEN, VICE MAYOR, SECOND DISTRICT, MEGAN KERR, COUNCILWOMAN FIFTH DISTRICT. RECOMMENDATION TO REQUEST CITY ATTORNEY TO DRAFT A RESOLUTION OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZING EVERY [19. 24-53400 Recommendation to request City Attorney to draft resolution officially recognizing every May as Preservation Month in the City of Long Beach.       Office or Department: Mary Zendejas, Councilwoman, First District; Cindy Allen, Vice Mayor, Second District; Megan Kerr, Councilwoman, Fifth District         Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] MAY AS PRESERVATION MONTH IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. PLEASE, MAY WE HAVE A STAFF REPORT? ABSOLUTELY. UH, ACTING, UH, VICE MAYOR AUSTIN, UM, . SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR HEARING THIS ITEM. I WAS, UH, PERSONALLY, UH, DELIGHTED WHEN, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND DAY HAS, UH, FIRST DISCUSSED, YOU KNOW, RECOGNIZING HISTORIC PRESERVATION MONTH. UH, WE DO A TON OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION WORK HERE IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. UM, BUT IT'S OFTENTIMES NOT ON A COUNCIL AGENDA. IT'S DONE AT A STAFF LEVEL, OR IT'S DONE IN FRONT OF OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE COMMISSION. UM, BUT IT IS, UH, DONE ACROSS, UM, COMMUNITIES. IT'S DONE ACROSS ALL PARTS OF THE CITY. UM, AND IT'S ABOUT CONNECTING US TODAY, UM, TO OUR PAST THROUGH SHARED, UM, OBJECT STRUCTURES AND, AND STORIES. UM, IT'S ALSO THE FIRST THING I WORKED ON WHEN I, UH, CAME TO THE CITY, UH, NINE YEARS AGO. UM, AND SOMETHING OUR, OUR CURRENT, UH, PLANNING MANAGER ALLISON HERE WORKED ON WHEN SHE FIRST CAME TO THE CITY. UM, SO IT'S, IT'S PART OF THE TRADITION WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT AS A, A CRITICAL AND INTEGRAL, UM, PART OF OUR WORK PROGRAM. UM, SO WITH THAT, WE'RE JUST GONNA SHARE A LITTLE BIT OF, UH, WHAT WE DO IN TERMS OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION. AND ALEJANDRO PLACENCIA, OUR LEAD PRESERVATION PLANNER, IS GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH THAT TONIGHT. THANK YOU, CHRISTOPHER. UH, THANK YOU MAYOR AND, UH, MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL. I'M HERE TONIGHT TO MAKE A PRESENTATION ABOUT HISTORIC PRESERVATION MONTH AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE HERE IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. UH, SO JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY HERE, HISTORIC PRESERVATION IS ROOTED IN THE NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT, WHICH IS APPROVED BY CONGRESS IN THE 1960S. UH, AS A RESULT OF THAT ACT, UH, SEVERAL STATE HISTORIC, UH, PRESERVATION OFFICES WERE ESTABLISHED, UH, THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE COUNTRY, INCLUDING CALIFORNIA 1967. UH, PRESERVATION MONTHS STARTED AS A WEEK, UH, SO IT WAS ONLY CELEBRATED FOR ABOUT A WEEK IN AND OF ITSELF, UH, BUT ACTUALLY BECAME A FULL MONTH IN 2005. UM, AS PART OF THE CELEBRATIONS, SEVERAL CITIES, ORGANIZATIONS, FEDERAL AGENCIES, ALL CELEBRATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION MONTH THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. ALSO, AS A SIDE NOTE HERE IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, UH, THANKS TO THE CITY CLERK, WE WERE ABLE TO FIND SOME RECORDS. UM, THE FIRST CULTURAL HERITAGE COMMITTEE, UH, AS IT WAS KNOWN BACK THEN, IT WAS NOT A COMMISSION, UH, WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1977. UH, SO CITY OF LONG BEACH HAS BEEN DOING HISTORIC PRESERVATION FOR NEARLY 50 YEARS. UH, SO THIS IS JUST A, A QUICK SLIDE ON WHAT OUR HISTORIC [01:05:01] PRESERVATION FRAMEWORK REALLY LOOKS LIKE. UH, SO OUR OFFICE IS, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, UH, SPECIFICALLY IN THE PLANNING BUREAU. UH, THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION PROGRAM, UH, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT IS ALSO IS CONSIDERED A CERTIFIED LOCAL GOVERNMENT. UH, SO AS A CERTIFIED LOCAL GOVERNMENT, THAT'S AN HONOR THAT'S BESTOWED, UH, ON THE CITY ON TWO JURISDICTIONS THAT FOLLOW THE HIGHEST IN STRICTEST STANDARDS, UH, FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION. UH, SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS, IS KEY TO OUR PROGRAM HERE. IT IS RECOGNIZED, UM, AT THE STATE LEVEL. UH, THE CITY HAS ITS OWN CULTURAL HERITAGE COMMISSION HAS A MUNICIPAL CODE, WHICH CODIFIES PRESERVATION REQUIREMENTS, UH, THE CITY ABIDES BY THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR STANDARDS, UH, FOR TREATMENT OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES. ALL OF THESE COMPONENTS HERE REALLY HELP ESTABLISH THE FRAMEWORK FOR THE WORK THAT WE DO IN HISTORIC PRESERVATION. UH, AS FAR AS THE, UH, HISTORIC PRESERVATION WORK THAT WE DO ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS, UH, OR IN AN ANNUAL SORT OF SUMMARY HERE, UH, REGULAR DUTY HAS INCLUDED THE PROCESSING OF APPLICATIONS THAT ARE FOR MODIFICATIONS TO HISTORIC BUILDINGS, TO, UH, BUILDINGS THAT ARE IN HISTORIC DISTRICTS. UH, THESE PROGRAMS TOGETHER, UH, ON THE MILLS ACT IS THE OTHER IMPORTANT ONE THAT WE ALSO, UH, RUN THROUGH OUR OFFICE. UM, TOGETHER, UH, THESE PROGRAMS HELP TO MAINTAIN THE ORIGINAL, UM, ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER OF BUILDINGS WHILE BALANCING THE MODERN DAY NEEDS, UH, THAT ARE NEEDED FOR, FOR HOMES AND FAMILIES TODAY. SO ABOUT, UH, WHAT WE HAVE IN THE COMMUNITY, THERE'S 18 HISTORIC DISTRICTS. UH, THERE'S WELL OVER A HUNDRED HISTORIC LANDMARKS THAT WE HAVE, UH, HERE IN THE CITY. AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE ALSO THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE WORK THAT, UH, IS DONE THROUGH OUR OFFICE, IT REALLY COULDN'T BE DONE WITHOUT, UH, THE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, UH, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS LONG BEACH HERITAGE, UH, THE HISTORIC DISTRICT LEADERS, UH, THE MANY ACTIVE NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATIONS THAT REALLY SPEND TONS AND TONS OF VOLUNTEER HOURS, UH, COMMITTED TO, UH, DOING ALL OF THIS WORK. UH, THE LONG BEACH HISTORICAL SOCIETY IS ALSO AN IMPORTANT ORGANIZATION THAT ARCHIVES DOCUMENTS DOES RESEARCH AND HAS SEVERAL, UH, EXHIBITS AND GALLERIES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, UH, PRODUCING ONLY LONG BEACH, UM, HISTORY, DOCUMENTS AND, UH, RECORDS. SO, UM, HISTORIC PRESERVATION IN LONG BEACH IS NOT JUST, UH, OLD BUILDINGS OR OLD PRETTY VICTORIAN BUILDINGS. IT REALLY IS ABOUT LONG, UH, TERM HISTORY, INCLUDING A MORE RECENT LOCAL HISTORY THAT WE HAVE, UM, HERE IN THE CITY. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO STATE THAT, UH, THE RACE AND SUBURBANIZATION CONTEXT STATEMENT THAT WAS ADOPTED IN 2022, UH, BY THE CULTURAL HERITAGE COMMISSION IS A VERY IMPORTANT DOCUMENT THAT WAS, UM, ADOPTED AND IT'S IMPORTANT FOR OUR RECENT HISTORY. UH, THE DOCUMENT IS ALSO IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT CREW, IT SORT OF FOCUSES ON THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT HOUSING RESTRICTIONS AND THE HISTORY OF REDLINING PRACTICES BY BANK AND THE REAL ESTATE BANKING AND THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRIES. UH, THE DOCUMENT ALSO PROVIDES A MORE INCLUSIVE HISTORY OF COMMUNITIES OF COLOR HERE IN LONG BEACH. SO SOME OF THE MORE CURRENT WORK, UH, THAT THE CITY IS, UH, CURRENTLY, UH, WORKING ON, UH, ONE OF OUR LARGEST EFFORTS IS THE 2009, UH, OR THE UPDATE TO THE 2009 CITYWIDE HISTORIC CONTEXT STATEMENT. AND WHAT THAT DOCUMENT DOES IS IT REALLY GIVES A CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE CITY, UH, FROM, UH, EARLY ON TO ABOUT, UH, 1950. SO THIS DOC, THE UPDATE WILL GO TO ABOUT 1979. UM, THE DOCUMENT ALSO DEFINES THE MOST REAL, AND THIS IS SORT OF THE CRITICAL COMPONENT TO THIS, UH, DOCUMENT, IS, IS THAT IT REALLY FOCUSES ON DEFINING, UH, IMPORTANT HISTORICAL EVENTS IN PERIODS IN THE CITY'S HISTORY. SO ANYTHING FROM THE EARTHQUAKE, UH, TO AEROSPACE, UH, HISTORY TO TOURISM, UH, TO THE NAVY'S, UH, CONNECTION, UH, HERE IN THE CITY, WHICH ALL REALLY HELPED, UM, ALTER OR MAKE AN IMPACT OR A MODIFICATION INTO THE CITY'S BUILT ENVIRONMENT. UM, JUST TO KIND OF SUMMARIZE HERE, UH, THERE IS ONE LAST SLIDE HERE. UM, JUST SOME OF THE AWARDS AT THE PROGRAM, UH, THAT IS OUR OFFICE HAS, UH, BEEN AWARDED, UH, 2019, THE AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION. THE LA CHAPTER AWARDED AN AWARD TO THE HISTORIC DISTRICT DESIGN GUIDELINES PROJECT. UH, THAT WAS DONE, UH, FIVE YEARS AGO OR SO. UH, IN 19, UH, IN 2023, THE LA CONSERVANCY ALSO, UH, GAVE AN AWARD TO THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT FOR THE RACE AND SUBURBANIZATION HISTORIC CONTACT STATEMENT. AND THEN LASTLY, UH, AND THIS ONE'S NOT JUST ANNOUNCED JUST YET, BUT, UH, LONG BEACH HERITAGE IS ALSO, UH, GIVING AN AWARD TO THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT FOR THE RACE AND SUBURBANIZATION HISTORIC CONTEXT STATEMENT. SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE REALLY GOOD WORK THAT THIS DEPARTMENT IS DOING, AND SO THAT THIS OFFICE [01:10:01] IS DOING. SO WE WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT ALONG WITH ALL OF THE ACTIVE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT ARE DOING THAT AS WELL. UM, AND JUST AS A CLOSING STATEMENT TO JUST SAY, HISTORIC PRESERVATION IS THRIVING IN LONG BEACH, AND THE RESIDENTS, UH, REALLY LOVE THE HISTORIC HOMES AND UNIQUE CHARACTER OF THEIR HISTORIC DISTRICTS. UH, SO WITH THAT, I'LL, I'LL WRAP IT UP ON MY END AND, UH, OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION. UM, DO WE HAVE ANY COUNCIL, IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? YES, THERE ARE 12 MEMBERS WHO ARE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK. HOW MANY? 12. SO THAT TAKES US TO 90 SECONDS. CORRECT. OKAY. UM, IF YOU'D LIKE, I CAN READ THE FIRST FIVE NAMES. I HAVE THE CINDY MILAD, ELIANA BRACKET, RIN LUNA, LINDA DRAG DRAGA, AND MICHELLE ERIN ECKHOFF. PLEASE LINE UP IN YOUR ORDER. MY NAME'S CINDY MILAD, AND LET ME SAY, I AM MY MIND'S BLOWN ON YOUR PRESENTATION ABOUT PRESERVATION. IT REALLY IS. BUT I REALLY FIND IT QUITE IRONIC THAT YOU'RE PUSHING PRESERVATION, BUT YET YOU CHOOSE TO BUILD A BUILDING SUCH AS THIS IN THE CITY'S LARGEST HISTORIC DISTRICT. I'M NOT SURE WHEN YOU DECIDED TO PURCHASE THE PROPERTY AND PLAN THIS OUT, IF YOU DECIDED TO READ THE ORDINANCE NOW, IF YOU DIDN'T, I WILL BE HAPPY TO REFRESH YOUR MEMORY. THIS IS FROM WHEN THE CAL HEIGHTS HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOOD WAS ADOPTED IN THE YEAR 2000. ITS ORDINANCE C 7 7 0 2. IT STATES THAT CONSTRUCTION IN OR ADJACENT TO THE HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOOD MUST BE SIMILAR IN AESTHETIC APPEARANCE, MATERIAL, AND SCALE. I STATED THIS BEFORE AT THE LAST MEETING, BUT I THINK IT BEARS REPEATING. IF YOU CARE ABOUT PRESERVATION, WHY ARE YOU PUTTING THIS, THIS LARGE BUILDING IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD? THIS IS NOT HISTORIC. THIS DOES NOT LOOK HISTORIC. YOU'RE NOT ABIDING BY THE ORDINANCES. DIDN'T YOU EVEN TALK TO THE DEVELOPER TO TELL THEM TO READ THE CITY OF LONG BEACH ORDINANCES ABOUT CAL HEIGHTS? I DON'T GET IT. YOU, YOU ASK THE HOMEOWNERS TO ABIDE BY THE RULES, GET THE COAS, GET PERMITS, BUT THEY WOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO PUT A STRUCTURE SUCH AS THIS. MS. MERAD, YOUR TIME'S CONCLUDED. THANK YOU. YES. HELLO, MY NAME IS ALANA BRACKET, AND I'M SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE CALIFORNIA HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION. WE APPLAUD YOU FOR, FOR PROCLAIMING MAY AS PRESERVATION MONTH WITHIN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. THE CALIFORNIA HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION SHARES YOUR COMMITMENT TO PRESERVATION WITH THE PARTNERSHIP OF THE CITY. OUR CALIFORNIA HEIGHTS HISTORIC DISTRICT BOUNDARIES WERE ESTABLISHED 34 YEARS AGO IN 1990, AND EXPANDED IN THE YEAR OF 2000. SINCE THIS TIME, THE CITY AND OUR ORGANIZATION HAVE TRIED TO REVERSE MANY MODIFICATIONS DONE OVER THE YEARS IN AN EFFORT TO PRESERVE THE CHARACTER OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. THE CITY ORDINANCE IN 1990 IDENTIFIED OUR DISTRICT RETAINING REMARKABLE CONSISTENCY OF HOUSING TYPE AND THE INTEGRITY OF ITS ORIGINAL PERIOD ARCHITECTURE. THERE HAS BEEN DISCUSSION OF DEVELOPING A FIVE STORY AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT LOCATED ON WARDLOW ROAD THAT COULD DISRUPT OUR WELL-PRESERVED DISTRICT, REDUCING THE SIZE OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICT TO ACCOMMODATE THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECT. THIS WOULD ESTABLISH A VERY DANGEROUS PRECEDENT THAT WE WOULD BE DEEPLY OPPOSED TO IN ANY SUCH ACTION. ANY DEVELOPER, WHETHER IT'S COMMERCIAL, RESIDENTIAL, OR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, SHOULD BE HELD TO THE SAME STANDARDS AS ANY OWNER WHEN THEY WANT TO BUILD WITHIN ANY HISTORIC DISTRICT. WE CALL ON YOU TO PRESERVE THE CHARACTER OF OUR HISTORIC DISTRICT, ENSURE THE DESIGN OF THE CERRITOS WARDLOW AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CONFORMS TO OUR DISTRICT, OUR HISTORIC DISTRICT GUIDELINES, AND THE STANDARDS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. MY NAME IS LINDA DRAGA, AND I HAVE LOVED LEARNING MORE AND MORE FACETS OF LONG BEACH'S HISTORY IN THE 12 YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN A DOWNTOWN RESIDENT. AS I WALK ALONG CITY STREETS, I SEE SOME CARED FOR HISTORIC BUILDINGS, AND I SEE SOME BEAUTIFUL NEW BUILDINGS THAT COMPLIMENT SOME OF OUR OLD BUILDINGS. AND THOSE EFFORTS MAKE ME PROUD OF OUR CITY PLANS TO FORM ADDITIONAL HISTORIC DISTRICTS, SITES AND CULTURAL CENTERS IN CONCERT WITH THE RECENT UP RECENTLY UPDATED MORE INCLUSIVE HISTORIC CONTEXT STATEMENT ARE EXCITING TO ME. THANK YOU [01:15:01] SO VERY MUCH FOR CREATING A SPECIFIC TIME FOR RECOGNIZING AND CELEBRATING OUR HISTORY THROUGH ESTABLISHING MAY AS PRESERVATION MONTH. MANY RESIDENTS AND VISITORS ARE TRULY INTERESTED IN THE CITY'S STORY, AND IT IS A VARIED STORY. WE WILL BENEFIT FROM MORE EDUCATIONAL PLAQUES AND CULTURAL CENTERS. MY HUSBAND AND I LEAD ARCHITECTURAL WALKING TOURS IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA FOR LONG BEACH HERITAGE, AND IT DELIGHTS ME WHEN SOME PASTORS BY WILL STOP AND LISTEN IN FOR A BIT AND THEN ASK HOW THEY MIGHT SIGN UP FOR A FULL TOUR. IT'S INFORMATION THEY HAVE NOT HEARD BEFORE. ESTABLISHING MAY AS PRESERVATION MONTH IS ANOTHER WAY TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO TAKE A MOMENT TO REFLECT ON WHERE WE'VE BEEN AND CONSIDER WHERE WE'RE GOING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. SO NEXT UP WE HAVE, UM, I JUST WANNA, IS EFRON LUNA HERE? OKAY. OH, YOU ARE. OKAY. UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, VICE MAYOR ALLEN, I GUESS SHE'S GONE. AND CITY STAFF, UH, THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO LET THE MEMBERS OF OUR HISTORIC ADVOCATE COMMUNITY SPEAK ON BEHALF OF PRESERVATION. MY NAME IS MICHELLE AARON ECKHOFF, AND I'M THE CO-CHAIR OF CRAFTSMAN VILLAGE HISTORIC DISTRICT. I'M ALSO THE COORDINATOR OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICT LEADERS. AND THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR PUTTING THAT IN THE, THE SLIDESHOW TONIGHT, UM, WHICH REPRESENTS THE 18 HISTORIC DISTRICTS IN LONG BEACH. UM, I WANT TO THANK THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, ZENDEJAS KERR AND VICE MAYOR ALLEN FOR PROCLAIMING THE MONTH OF MAY AS PRESERVATION MONTH AS A LONGTIME ADVOCATE FOR PRESERVATION. I THINK IT IS TRULY A STEP FORWARD IN RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR ARCHITECTURAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY OF OUR CITY. MAYOR RICHARDSON ATTENDED THE HISTORIC DISTRICT LEADERS MEETING THIS PAST SATURDAY, AND THE HISTORIC DISTRICT LEADERS FEEL ASSURED THAT THEY, NOW THAT WE HAVE NOW CREATED A LONG LASTING RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR CITY GOVERNMENT. I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE REFERENCE TO ONE OF THE POINTS THAT THE MAYOR PRESENTED AT OUR MEETING. THAT IS THE ELEVATE 28 INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN. SPECIFICALLY, I'M REFERRING TO THE SECTION REGARDING THE COMMUNITY AND CULTURAL INVESTMENTS. I WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST THAT OUR HISTORIC DISTRICTS, WHICH REPRESENT THOUSANDS OF RESIDENTS ACROSS OUR CITY, BE INCLUDED IN THIS PLAN DURING THE OLYMPICS. LONG BEACH IS GOING TO BE HOSTING MANY VISITORS. AND WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT IF WE COULD ORGANIZE TOURS IN OUR, SOME OF OUR HISTORIC DISTRICTS HIGHLIGHTING THE CULTURAL AND ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY OF OUR CITY? I THINK IT WOULD, AND I WOULD BE WILLING TO HELP WITH THIS. THANK YOU, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH ALL OF YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SO BEFORE MR. LUNA, LET ME CALL THE NEXT FIVE TO LINE UP. UM, IT IS KATHLEEN IRVINE, CHRIS HOGAN, GRISELDA SUAREZ, DEREK SIMPSON, AND JUDY BARTO. MR. LUNA, PLEASE PROCEED. YES. UH, GOOD EVENING, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND, UH, THE PUBLIC. MY NAME IS EFRAN LUNA. I'M THE PRESIDENT OF THE CULTURAL ALLIANCE OF LONG BEACH. WE ARE A NONPROFIT AND, UM, I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE OUR FOUNDING MEMBERS. UH, WE WERE FOUNDED IN 2012, UM, CAMERON SIDE, WHO WAS HERE, UM, ALSO MIKE WILEY AND LOGAN CROW, WHO FOUNDED THE ORGANIZATION. OUR ORGANIZATION IS AN ARTS CULTURE, ARTS CULTURE AND EDUCATIONAL. UH, OVER THE YEARS, WE WORKED WITH HUNDREDS OF ARTISTS WHO ARE LOCAL FROM LONG BEACH EXHIBITED, UM, VARIOUS EXHIBITIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY, UH, MAINLY IN OUR OPERATIONAL SPACE, OUR GALLERY, MULTI, UH, MULTI MULTICULTURAL CENTER, UH, THE BUNGALOW BUILDING IN DOWNTOWN LONG BEACH WHO, UM, NOW IT'S, IT'S GOING TO BE DEVELOPED INTO APARTMENTS. UM, BUT I WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR, UM, INCLUDING THE, UH, ORGANIZATIONS AND PRESERVATION AND, UH, NOT JUST LIMITED TO STRUCTURES. UH, THE PEOPLE ARE IMPORTANT AS WELL. UM, AND I, I AM HERE TO ADVOCATE FOR THE ARTS, THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ARTS, UH, THE BENEFITS THEY BRING TO THE COMMUNITY, TO OUR CHILDREN, UM, OUR YOUTH, AND PARTICULARLY, UM, I'M THANKFUL FOR THE ARTS THAT GAVE ME INSPIRATION, UH, FOR HIGHER EDUCATION AND TO SHARE THAT WITH OTHER PEOPLE. SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO, UH, HEAR LEARNING MORE ABOUT THIS, AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH. GOOD EVENING COUNCIL PEOPLE. UM, THANK YOU FOR INVITING US TONIGHT. AND THANK YOU FOR COUNCIL MEMBERS AND DEJA KERR AND VICE MAYOR, [01:20:01] UM, CINDY ALLEN FOR BRINGING THIS IMPORTANT MONTH LONG CELEBRATION OF PRESERVATION FORWARD. I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. I AM THE FORMER, UH, PRESIDENT OF WILMORE CITY HERITAGE ASSOCIATION, WHICH IS THE FIRST, UH, HISTORIC ASSOCIATION IN THIS CITY. I ALSO WANNA RECOGNIZE, UM, OUR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT THAT, UH, HAS DONE SO MUCH IN, UM, UH, ADVANCING OUR PRESERVATION GOALS AND HELPING TO PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS TO APPLY FOR THESE PERMITS AND EVERYTHING. AND I THINK THAT THE OTHER THING THAT IS IMPORTANT IS TO RECOGNIZE THAT IT IS NOT JUST ABOUT PRESERVING THINGS TO COME, BUT TO RECOGNIZE WHAT WE HAVE LOST IN THE PAST. AND IN PARTICULAR, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE JERGENS TRUST BUILDING. UH, WE ALL KNOW ABOUT THAT, UM, TUNNEL THAT'S UNDERNEATH OCEAN AND PINE, BUT THERE ARE ALSO TWO HISTORIC ELEMENTS THAT REMAIN, THAT WERE REPURPOSED AND RESTORED AS THE JERGENS TRUST PILLARS AT SEVENTH AND MAINE. AND I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE THOSE AT SOME POINT, LANDMARKED IN SOME WAY, SO THAT ANY KIND OF DEVELOPMENT DOES NOT DESTROY WHAT IS LEFT OF THAT GREAT BUILDING. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM, I'M CHRIS HOGAN, PRESIDENT OF LONG BEACH HERITAGE, THE LOCAL NONPROFIT HISTORIC ADVOCACY GROUP, AND THANK YOU COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT STAFF FOR INCLUDING US ON THE SLIDES. UM, I'M ALSO AN ALMOST 30 YEAR RESIDENT OF LONG BEACH AND A PROUD OWNER OF A LONG BEACH HISTORIC LANDMARK HOUSE ON BEHALF OF LONG BEACH HERITAGE, OUR CITY'S 18 HISTORIC DISTRICTS, AND ALL THE HISTORIC AND CULTURAL PRESERVATIONISTS. I'D LIKE TO THANK COUNCIL MEMBER MARY ZENDEJAS, VICE MAYOR CINDY ALLEN, AND COUNCILWOMAN MEGAN KERR FOR THE PROCLAMATION OF MAY AS PRESERVATION MONTH. AND THIS TIME OF SO MUCH CHANGE IN OUR CITY, IT IS IMPORTANT THE CITY RECOGNIZES HOW CRUCIAL HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL PRESERVATION IS TO OUR FUTURE. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND CITY STAFF ON BEHALF OF THE ARTS COUNCIL FOR LONG BEACH, AN ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO ENHANCING THE PHYSICAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF LONG BEACH NEIGHBORHOODS. THROUGH THE PROMOTION OF THE ARTS, WE WISH TO EXPRESS OUR STRONG SUPPORT FOR YOUR PROPOSAL TO DESIGNATE MAY AS, UH, PRESERVATION MONTH IN LONG BEACH. THIS INITIATIVE REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT STRIDE IN ACKNOWLEDGING THE DISTINCT AND RICH HISTORY OF OUR CITY, ALIGNING WITH SIMILAR ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS IN OUR STATE AND NATIONAL LEVELS. AS YOU KNOW, LONG BEACH IS RENOWNED FOR ITS DYNAMIC HISTORY. I DIVERSE CULTURAL NARRATIVES INTERWOVEN INTO MANY OF THE COMMUNITY FABRIC. MANY OF THESE ASSOCIATIONS THAT WORK TIRE TIRELESSLY AS VOLUNTEERS ARE HERE WITH YOU TONIGHT. UM, WITH OVER A HUNDRED HISTORIC LANDMARKS AND NUMEROUS DISTRICTS SHOWCASING ARCHITECTURAL AND HISTORICAL DIVERSITY, THERE'S SO MUCH TO CELEBRATE AND PRESERVE AND LEARN FROM, INCLUDING PRESERVING OUR PUBLIC ART, OUR HISTORIC PUBLIC ART. UM, RECOGNIZING MAY AS PRESERVATION MONTH IS NOT ONLY ABOUT CELEBRATING THESE NARRATIVES, BUT EDUCATING AND INVOLVING THE PUBLIC. THESE INITIATIVES ARE, UM, A NEXT AND PLATFORM FOR RESIDENTS AND VISITORS TO EXPLORE AND APPRECIATE THE DEPTH AND BREADTH OF OUR HERITAGE, FROM OUR INDIGENOUS NARRATIVES TO OUR CONTEMPORARY NARRATIVES AND OUR FUTURE NARRATIVES, UM, THEREBY ENHANCING COMMUNITY AND PRIDE AND PARTICIPATION. I ASK LASTLY, WANT TO THANK ALL OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO ARE SUPPORTING THIS ITEM, ITEM COUNCILWOMAN AND NEHA, UM, VICE MAYOR ALLEN AND, UM, COUNCILWOMAN KERR AND THE STAFF WHO I KNOW DID A LOT OF RESEARCH, UM, AS I ATTENDED SOME OF THOSE MEETINGS. SO, THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. I'M JULIE BARTO AND I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF LONG BEACH. I'M ALSO A FORMER CHC MEMBER. UM, I'D LIKE TO, UM, THANK YOU ALL AND CONGRATULATE YOU ALL ON, UM, DESIGNATING MAY HISTORIC PRESERVATION MONTH. I UNDERSTAND THIS HAS BEEN A LONG-TERM EFFORT AND, UM, IT'S A IMPORTANT STEP FORWARD. UM, THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF LONG BEACH FULLY SUPPORTS THAT, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO HELPING IN WHICH IN WHATEVER WAYS WE CAN TO FURTHER HISTORIC PRESERVATION IN THE CITY. WE ALSO LIKE TO FULLY SUPPORT OUR, UM, THE EFFORT TO CREATE THE LGBTQ PLUS CULTURAL DISTRICT. AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH, UM, THAT ALL OF THOSE ORGANIZATIONS AND, UM, ADVISORY COMMITTEES IN DESIGN, IN, UM, IDENTIFYING PLACES THAT SHOULD BE CALLED OUT AS HISTORIC SITES IN THAT DISTRICT AS WELL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND BEFORE, UM, [01:25:01] MR. SIMPSON, I'D LIKE TO JUST CALL FORWARD, UM, THE NEXT TWO SPEAKERS, UM, MANUEL VALENZUELA AND DEBORAH ANTE. THANK YOU. PROCEED. UM, MR. AUSTIN, UM, I'M HERE AS, UH, DEREK SIMPSON, UH, PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER AT LONG BEACH. UH, THANK YOU, UH, COUNCILWOMAN, UH, ZENDEJAS AND, UH, MEGAN KERR FOR, UH, UM, THE EFFORTS YOU'VE MADE TO BRING MAY TO THE ATTENTION OF, UH, CULTURE IN OUR COMMUNITY. ALTHOUGH WE ALL KNOW THAT, UH, EVERY DAY IS CELEBRATION OF CULTURE IN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY AND OTHER COMMUNITIES AROUND THE CITY, UH, OUR MISSION IS TO PRESERVE, HONOR AND ADVANCE THE RICH HERITAGE AND CULTURE OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN, UH, COMMUNITY. IF YOU WERE TO GO BY THE EXPO RIGHT NOW, YOU WOULD SEE AN EXHIBIT PAYING TRIBUTE TO HBCUS, OTHER KNOWN AS HISTORICALLY BLACK, UH, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES. UH, EVERY MONTH THAT EXHIBITION CHANGES. SO THOUGH WE MAY GET SOME INITIATIVES AND SOME MOMENTUM IN THE MONTH OF MAY, WE WILL CONTINUE TO CELEBRATE ALL CULTURE AND ALL HISTORY IN OUR COMMUNITY. AS A MATTER OF FACT, IN THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE RIGHT NOW, THEY'RE WORKING TOGETHER WITH US TO CREATE AN RFP THAT HOPEFULLY SOMETIME IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS WILL MANIFEST A LONG BEACH, UH, IMPACT ON THE HISTORY OF HIP HOP EXHIBIT, UH, IN HERE IN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER. AND THAT WILL BE WITH THE SUPPORT OF THIS CITY AGAIN, WHICH WILL BE CELEBRATED IN MAY AND EVERY OTHER MONTH THEREAFTER. SO, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK, AND THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS TO THE ATTENTION OF OUR COMMUNITY. THANK YOU, CITY COUNCIL. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO BROUGHT THIS ITEM, I BROUGHT A MAP, AN 1830. AS THE 19TH CENTURY BEGAN, LAND HUNGRY AMERICANS POURED INTO THE BACK COUNTRY OF THE COASTAL SOUTH AND BEGAN MOVING TOWARD INTO WHAT WOULD LATER BECOME THE STATES OF ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI IN 1830. THIS WAS THE INDIAN REMOVAL ACT, WHICH IS STILL ON THE RECORDS TODAY. PRESIDENT THOMAS JEFFERSON AND JAMES MERRILL ARGUED THAT THE INDIAN TRIBES IN THE SOUTHEAST SHOULD EXCHANGE THEIR LAND FOR LANDS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. LET ME REMIND COUNCIL MEMBERS AND HISTORICAL SOCIETIES AND THIS PART OF THE WEST COAST OF THE PEOPLE THAT WERE HERE FIRST. AND WE'D LIKE TO BEGIN TO GET ACKNOWLEDGED. WE WOULD LIKE TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED ON STREETS, PARKS AS A FIRST NATION PEOPLE. WE WROTE TO PRESIDENT BIDEN BACK IN 2020 AS THE PRESIDENT OF THE WOMEN'S EDUCATION CIRCLE FOR DEMOCRACY LONG BEACH, TO REMOVE THE WORD INDIAN FROM ALL PUBLICATIONS ACROSS THE NATION IN BOOKS AND HISTORY LIBRARIES AS IT REFERS TO OUR PEOPLE. SO I HOPE I GET INVITED TO SIT ON THIS COMMISSION SO I CAN ADVISE BEFORE WE PUT SOMETHING OUT AND FORGET AND COMMIT. WE'VE ALREADY KNOW THAT THIS WAS THE FIRST GENOCIDE ON THE WEST COAST AND THE SPANISH WERE THE CONQUERORS. SO TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE SPANISH IN THIS CITY, I THINK WE NEED TO REMEMBER WHERE THE WORD CALIFORNIA CAME FROM, AND TO RECOGNIZE THAT IT'S VERY OFFENSIVE TO OUR THANK CONCLUDED. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. EMMANUEL VALENZUELA, PRESIDENT CALIFORNIA HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION. JUST WANTED TO THANK THE COUNCIL FOR MOVING FORWARD WITH DECLARING MAY PRESERVATION MONTH. AND I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THAT COMMENT EARLIER ABOUT PEOPLE ARE IMPORTANT AND I THINK PRESERVATION IS PEOPLE. CALIFORNIA HEIGHTS JUST HAD ITS 18TH HOME TOUR, HOME AND GARDEN TOUR, AND IT WAS AMAZING. IT WAS AMAZING TO SEE PEOPLE COME OUT FOR THE FIRST TIME, AND EVEN SOME OF OUR NEIGHBORS WHO HAVE LIVED THERE FOR DECADES, AND JUST TO SEE THE LOOKS ON THEIR FACES, UH, AT HOW IMPRESSED THEY WERE WITH HOW PEOPLE TOOK CARE OF THEIR HOMES, HOW THE NEIGHBORHOOD LOOKED. AND SO PRESERVATION IS PEOPLE. AND SO I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE A MOMENT OF HONESTY HERE. OUR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION HAS BEEN RECEIVING A LOT OF NEGATIVE FEEDBACK ABOUT THIS PROPOSED FIVE STORY PROJECT ON WARDLOW. YOU KNOW, PERSONALLY, I I, I DON'T THINK IT'S ONE OR THE OTHER. I DON'T THINK IT'S BUILD AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECT AND IT'S GONNA LOOK EXACTLY LIKE THIS OR NO PROJECT AT [01:30:01] ALL. I THINK THERE, I THINK THERE'S A BETTER WAY. I THINK NEIGHBORS WANT TO FEEL A LITTLE MORE ENGAGED IN THE PROCESS, UH, HAVE A LITTLE MORE INPUT. AND I THINK THE CITY IS STARTING THAT, BUT WE NEED TO CONTINUE THAT. AND SO, PERSONALLY, I'M ASKING THE COUNCIL AND THE CITY TO GET MORE PROACTIVE IN GETTING THE COMMUNITY'S FEEDBACK AND IN DESIGNING A PROJECT THAT CONFORMS WITH THE HISTORIC DISTRICT GUIDELINES WITHOUT DECREASING THE HISTORIC DISTRICT. THANK YOU. OKAY. THAT, UH, CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT. UH, I'D LIKE TO TAKE IT BACK BEHIND THE RAIL, UH, AND MY SCREEN DOESN'T SHOW IT'S MARY, SO, SO I'M GONNA RECOGNIZE FIRST DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBER, MARY AND ZEN. THANK YOU, UM, SO MUCH. COUNCIL MEMBER AUSTIN. UM, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK VICE MAYOR ALLEN AND COUNCILWOMAN KERR FOR JOINING ME ON THIS VERY IMPORTANT MATTER TODAY. I THINK IT'S SO IMPORTANT FOR US TO UPLIFT AND REALLY, UM, RECOGNIZE ME AS PRESERVATION MONTH. UM, ONE OF THE THINGS I ALSO WANNA DO IS THANK EVERYBODY FOR COMING AND SPEAKING, UM, IN SUPPORT ALSO OF THIS ITEM. UM, IT'S REALLY THE VOLUNTEERS WHO HAVE DONE AN EXTRAORDINARY, UH, JOB THROUGHOUT THE YEARS ARE MAKING SURE THAT OUR, UM, ALL OF OUR DISTRICTS ACROSS THE CITY ARE REALLY PRESERVED AND THAT THEY'RE TAKEN CARE OF. AND THEY DO THAT WITH SO MUCH KINDNESS AND SO MUCH PASSION. AND WHEN I, YOU KNOW, GO ON THE TOURS AND STUFF, IT'S JUST, IT'S SO INVIGORATING TO SEE SO MANY OF THE LEADERS, COMMUNITY LEADERS DOING THE WORK OUT IN THE COMMUNITY AND SHOWING OFF WHAT, UM, WHAT THE CITY HAS TO OFFER. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, I JUST ALSO WANNA THANK CITY STAFF FOR ALL THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE. UM, AND THIS PRESENTATION WAS PHENOMENAL. I MYSELF, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE HISTORY, SO YOU COMPLETELY DREW ME IN. AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY NEED TO BE ABLE TO SHOW, SHOW OUR RESIDENTS NOT ONLY HERE DURING OUR MEETINGS, BUT HAVE THIS PRESENTATION AVAILABLE FOR OUR RESIDENTS SO THAT THEY CAN ALSO SEE THAT, UM, WHAT A WONDERFUL THING IT IS. AND SO IT IS WITH GREAT HONOR THAT I, UM, THAT I MOVE THIS ITEM FORWARD TO SUPPORT AND, AND HAVE ME AS OUR, UH, PRESERVATION MONTH FOR YEARS TO COME. AND THAT, THAT INCLUDES A LOT OF THINGS. IT'S GONNA COME WITH A LOT OF THINGS, A LOT OF PLANNING, A LOT OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. AND I THINK THAT THAT'S A VERY, VERY MUCH, UM, PART OF WHAT WE ARE HERE IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. SO AGAIN, STAFF, THANK YOU, AND AGAIN, TO MY COMMUNITY LEADERS THAT ARE SO PASSIONATE ABOUT OUR HISTORY IN LONG BEACH, MY HATS GO OFF TO YOU AND TO MY COLLEAGUES. I, UM, I URGE YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT ON THIS ITEM. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER KERR. YES. THANK YOU. UM, COUNCIL MEMBER AUSTIN ACTING MAYOR. UH, I WANNA THANK COUNCILWOMAN ZENDEJAS FOR BRINGING THIS ITEM TO COUNCIL AND FOR ASKING ME TO SIGN ON. UM, THANK YOU TO STAFF FOR THE REALLY INFORMATIVE APPROACH OF THE WORK SPENT THAT'S BEEN HAPPENING IN OUR CITY FOR DECADES. OUR LONGTIME APPROACH TO PRESERVING AND MAINTAINING THE IMPORTANT HISTORICAL ELEMENTS THROUGHOUT OUR CITY IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MAKES LONG BEACH SO BEAUTIFUL AND UNIQUE. THROUGH THE HISTORICAL PRESERVATION PROGRAMS, WE ENSURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO MAINTAIN A CONNECTION TO OUR CITY'S UNIQUE HISTORY, REMEMBERING THE ARTS CULTURE IDENTITIES AND FIGURES FROM THE PAST, WHICH HAVE GROWN AND FLOURISHED INTO THE CITY WE KNOW TODAY. I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT AN EXAMPLE OF HISTORICAL PRESERVATIONS THAT'S HAPPENED RECENTLY IN DISTRICT FIVE. UH, WE RECENTLY SAW THE SUCCESS OF THE HISTORIC DESIGNATION OF THE EXTERIOR OF FORMER FIRE STATION NINE, A PROCESS, PROBABLY FIVE YEARS IN THE MAKING COUNCIL STARTED UNDER COUNCILMAN AUSTIN. UM, AND SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO, WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR THE DESIGNATION AND THE ABILITY TO SAVE A BUILDING THAT AS WE DRIVE BY, MANY OF US HAVE REALLY GREAT MEMORIES, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF US WHO GREW UP IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. BUT WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE PLANS FOR ITS ADAPTIVE REUSE TO COME. WE'RE EXCITED FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESERVE THE ARCHITECTURE AND THE SPIRIT OF A TIME GONE BY WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY SUPPORTING THE ECONOMIC GROWTH OF OUR COMMUNITIES TODAY. UH, FORMER FIRE STATION NINE, SOON TO BE GMET BAKE SHOP IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF WORKING TOGETHER ALONGSIDE OUR HISTORICAL SOCIETY, UM, ALONGSIDE, UM, OUR COMMISSION AND LONG BEACH HERITAGE TO, UM, CONNECT US TO OUR PAST WHILE LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT'S AHEAD. BECAUSE WHILE PRESERVATION IS ABOUT THE PAST, IT'S [01:35:01] ALSO ABOUT THE FUTURE. IT'S ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT GENERATIONS TO COME REMEMBER HONOR AND ARE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE THE LEGACY AND IMPACTS OF THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE. AND AS WE'VE SAID TONIGHT, THAT WE KNOW THAT PRESERVATION IS NOT JUST ABOUT ARCHITECTURE AND BUILDINGS, IT'S ABOUT PEOPLE AND SPACES AND GREEN SPACES AND NATURAL SPACES. UM, WILLOW SPRINGS PARK IS ONE OF THOSE PLACES, AND MY OFFICE IS COMMITTED TO WORKING, TO CONTINUE TO WORK FOR, AND ADVOCATE FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THIS VERY NATURAL SPACE. THE PARK IS ONE OF OUR CITY'S TRULY UNIQUE NATURAL SPACES. AND THANKS TO THE TIRELESS REHABILITATION WORK AND EFFORTS FROM THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY AND THE FRIENDS OF WILLOW SPRINGS PARK, WHOSE LEADERS, MONA AND LEE HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZED WITH AWARDS FOR ALL THEIR GREAT WORK THAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING, UM, THEY'RE GONNA BE HONORED AS PRESERVATIONISTS OF THE YEAR LATER, UM, BECAUSE OF THEIR COMMITMENT TO THAT OPEN SPACE. UM, WE MUST ENSURE WE'RE ALL DRAWING ON THE MEMORIES AND EXPERIENCE OF ALL WHO HAVE CALLED LONG BEACH HOME, EVEN WHEN THOSE STORIES ARE CHALLENGING TO HEAR. SO I AM GRATEFUL FOR THE HONESTY AND THE STATEMENT, UM, THAT TALKS ABOUT REDLINING AND OUR HISTORY OF BUILDING AND BUILDING CODES AND HOW THAT HAS HAD, UM, FOR MANY RESIDENTS A NEGATIVE IMPACT. SO THANK YOU FOR CONTINUING, UH, TO KEEP IT REAL, FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM. I HOPE MY COLLEAGUES WILL JOIN IN SUPPORT OF THIS RESOLUTION SO WE CAN ALL LOOK FORWARD TO A FUTURE IN WHICH WE KNOW HOW IMPORTANT AND IMPACTFUL LEGACIES, UH, WILL CONTINUE TO LIVE ON AS WE GROW AND EVOLVE IN THIS GREAT CITY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER KERR, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER RICKS OTI. UM, I ALSO JUST WANTED TO THANK MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD. IT ACTUALLY BROUGHT TO MIND, UM, SO IN 2019, UH, NORTH LONG BEACH GOT ITS FIRST, UH, HISTORIC, UH, HISTORIC BLOCK, UM, IN THE NAM, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, ASSOCIATION. UH, AND IT JUST GOT ME THINKING. I WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO REALLY WORK TO EXPAND THAT IN NORTH LONG BEACH IN THE NINTH DISTRICT. AND SO I JUST REALLY WANNA THANK YOU FOR HIGHLIGHTING THE WORK OF PRESERVATION, THE IMPORTANCE IN OUR COMMUNITY, UM, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING OUR HISTORY AND OUR LEGACY. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, AND, UH, I AM CERTAINLY SUPPORTIVE OF THIS ITEM. I WANT TO THANK, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, ZENDEJAS, UH, ALLEN AND KERR FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD. UM, IT, AND, AND I DO, UM, THINK THAT OUR CITY HAS A LOT TO CELEBRATE IN TERMS OF ITS HERITAGE, ITS CULTURE, UM, AND ITS PEOPLE. UH, THERE'S ONE ISSUE THAT I WANTED TO JUST, JUST RAISE AS A QUESTION. UM, AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CULTURAL HERITAGE, I KNOW THAT THERE WERE SOME ACTIONS WITHIN THE LAST BUDGET YEAR TO, UH, PRESERVE THE VIP RECORDS SIGN. UM, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THERE'S, THAT'S A LOT OF CULTURE. THERE'S A LOT OF, A LOT OF HISTORY THERE. UH, CAN, CAN WE GET AN UPDATE ON WHERE THAT IS AND IF NOT TODAY, A MEMO, UH, FORTHCOMING TO THE COUNCIL, JUST TO KIND OF LET US KNOW WHERE THAT PROCESS IS? YES, THAT IS AN ACTIVE PROJECT AND WE'RE, UM, ALSO IN DISCUSSIONS RIGHT NOW WITH MR. ANDERSON. SO YEAH, WE CAN CERTAINLY GIVE AN UPDATE, UH, ON THAT SOON. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, WITH THAT SAID, WE'VE HEARD FROM PUBLIC COMMENT, WE'VE HEARD FROM BRIAN NOELLE, PLEASE MEMBERS CAST YOUR VOTES. MOTION IS CARRIED. OKAY. SO WE'RE GONNA GO NOW TO GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT. UH, DO WE HAVE A LIST? I KNOW WE HAVE DAVE SHUKLA. MR. SHUKLA, PLEASE PROCEED. GOOD EVENING. SUNDAY BEFORE LAST, MRS. MARGARET BROWN DIED IN HER OWN HOME AT THE AGE OF 94. DAMN. SHE WAS A QUIET PILLAR OF OUR COMMUNITY. SHE WAS ONE OF THE CITY'S FIRST BLACK FEMALE COLLEGE COUNSELORS. SHE WAS ACTIVE IN HER CHURCH. SHE RAISED A FAMILY HERE, AND SHE PLAYED A PIVOTAL ROLE IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN THE CITY. SHE WAS A WARM, ENGAGING, INCISIVE, RESPECTFUL, DIGNIFIED [ PUBLIC COMMENT: OBTAIN SPEAKER CARD FROM THE CITY CLERK Opportunity to address the City Council (on non-agenda items) is given to the first 10 persons who submit Speaker Cards to the City Clerk beginning at 15 minutes prior to the commencement of the meeting. Each speaker is allowed three minutes to make their comments. ] LADY, BUT MOST OF ALL, SHE HAD PRESENCE. MRS. MARGARET BROWN WAS BORN POOR AND BLACK IN RURAL VIRGINIA IN THE 1930S. IN THE 1940S. LUCKY TO HAVE EXTENDED FAMILY IN WASHINGTON DC THAT HAD A GOOD, DECENT JOB. SHE GOT AN EDUCATION AND THIS, SHE EXCELLED MOVING OUT WEST AND COMPLETING HER GRADUATE STUDIES. IN THE 1950S, SHE SETTLED IN LONG BEACH WHERE SHE GOT A GOOD, DECENT JOB. IN THE EARLY 1960S, SHE AND HER HUSBAND BOUGHT A HOME IN EAST SIDE LONG BEACH, BUT FOR TWO YEARS, THEY COULD NOT LIVE IN THAT HOME [01:40:01] BECAUSE 11 OF THE 18 HOUSES ON OUR BLOCK SIGNED A PETITION DEMANDING THAT THE RACIALLY RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS ON HOME OWNERSHIP COVENANTS THAT THEY HAD SIGNED, BE ENFORCED. SHE TOOK THEM TO COURT WHERE SUCH COVENANTS WERE FOUND TO BE VIOLATIONS OF THE FAIR HOUSING ACT. HER STORY IS AN AMERICAN STORY, ONE OF MILLIONS AT THE TIME WHOSE SACRIFICE, DETERMINATION, AND FAITH IN THIS COUNTRY LED TO THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964, THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965, AND THE IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION ACT OF 1965, WHICH ALLOWED MY FAMILY TO BECOME CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTRY IN THE 1970S AND 1980S. SHE INTEGRATED OUR SIDE OF TOWN. IT'S BECAUSE OF HER THAT WE WERE ABLE TO MOVE ON TO HER STREET IN THE 1990S. SHE WASN'T JUST OUR NEIGHBOR, SHE MADE US FAMILY FROM THE RESPECT SHE SHOWED MY FATHER TO THE WARM, LOVING FRIENDSHIP MY MOTHER CHERISHES TO THE UNWAVERING SUPPORT, ENCOURAGEMENT, AND BELIEF SHE HAD IN MY BROTHER TO THE TIME THAT WE SHARED SHE WAS OUR FAMILY. MRS. MARGARET BROWN WAS MY FAMILY. SHE WILL BE MISSED. SHE SHOWED US, ALL OF US WHAT A LIFE OF ONE'S ZONE, ALBERT, BIG OR SMALL, LOUD OR MODEST, A LIFE OF ONE'S ZONE COULD LOOK LIKE HERE. AND NOW IN OUR CITY, ACTING MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, CITY STAFF, AND THOSE LISTENING, THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO SAY A FEW WORDS TO REMEMBER. MRS. MARGARET BROWN, WHO AT THE AGE OF 94 DIED IN HER OWN HOME, THIS MOTHER'S DAY. GOOD EVENING. YEAH. THANK YOU FOR SHARING. SO, SO WE HAVE NINE PUBLIC SPEAKERS OR, UH, GENERAL COMMENT SPEAKERS. UM, AND UH, NEXT IS KIM WARBECK, JENNIFER STROUT, CINDY RAD, AND JEWEL SMITH, PLEASE. GOOD EVENING, COUNSEL. UH, MY NAME IS KIM WARBECK. I AM AN EIGHT YEAR RESIDENT OF, UH, CALIFORNIA HEIGHTS, UH, WHICH IS LONG BEACH'S, UH, LARGEST HISTORIC DISTRICT. I LIVE IN A HISTORIC HOME. UH, WHEN I, UM, OH, JUST A SHORT ANECDOTE, UH, WHEN I WAS, UM, LOOKING TO, TO, UM, FIND A HOME, AND I, AND I ENTERED THE HOME THAT WHERE I LIVE NOW. AND, UM, I WAS, I WAS BEING KICKED OUT OF MY LAST, MY RENTAL , UH, BECAUSE, UM, THE, THE HOMEOWNER WANTED TO RETURN AND OCCUPY THE HOUSE HIMSELF. SO HE SAID, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO BE OUT BY THIS CERTAIN DAY. SO I WALKED INTO MY CALIFORNIA HOME AND I THOUGHT, WELL, I KNOW I NEED A HOME, BUT THIS HOME NEEDS ME. 'CAUSE MY HOME HAS, HAS BEEN HERE FOR 90 YEARS, AND MY HOME WILL CONTINUE TO BE HERE AFTER I AM GONE. 'CAUSE I AM A CARETAKER OF THIS HOME. AND I I WANT IT TO LIVE ON, UM, MS. KERR COUNCILWOMAN KERR. IT IS IRONIC THAT YOU ARE, UH, THE SPONSOR TODAY OF THE, UM, THE PRESERVATION MONTH, AND YET YOU ARE A PROPONENT OF THE DEVELOPMENT AT THE CORNER OF CERRITOS AND WARDLOW. UM, NOW THIS IS A, A LOW INCOME HOUSING PROJECT, UM, WHICH IS GREAT. WE ALL KNOW THAT CALIFORNIA HAS A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH, WITH HOUSING. HOWEVER, NONE OF US SHOULD BE IN FAVOR OF DEVELOPMENT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT'S SAKE. NONE OF US SHOULD WANT TO DEVELOP AREAS OF THIS CITY THAT MAKE THIS CITY UNLIVABLE OR LESS DESIRABLE TO LIVE IN. RIGHT NOW, THIS PARTICULAR, THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT, UH, IS PROPOSED CURRENTLY TO BE FIVE STORIES TALL. UH, THERE IS A, AN INCOME CAP. THE, THE HIGHEST EARNER FAMILIES IN THIS PROJECT WILL, WILL EARN $100,000. RIGHT. 70 UNITS. I'VE HEARD, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, 200 PEOPLE, $100,000 FOR 70 UNITS AND 50 PARKING SPACES. , WHO BELIEVES THAT PEOPLE MAKING $100,000 A YEAR WILL NOT ONLY NOT HAVE A CAR, BUT WON'T HAVE TWO CARS IN THEIR HOME. I, YOU [01:45:01] ARE, ARE I I UNDER, IF YOU'VE HEARD THE SAYING, UH, THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN ALL YOU HAVE IS A HAMMER, EVERYTHING LOOKS LIKE A NAIL. THAT IS WHAT YOU'RE DOING HERE WITH THIS DEVELOPMENT. YOU, THIS IS THE WRONG LOCATION FOR A, A PROJECT OF THIS SIZE. THANK YOU, MS. WARBECK. SCALE DOES NOT FIT. YOUR TIME'S CONCLUDED. THANK YOU. I WILL KEEP COMING BACK. BACK COMING. GOOD EVENING. PLEASE PROCEED. UM, I'M HERE TO SPEAK ABOUT THE VETERAN HONOR BANNERS THAT ARE GOING UP IN DISTRICT FIVE ON 25 VETERANS WE'RE SELECTED BY A SUBCOMMITTEE TO HAVE, UM, BANNERS OF HONOR LISTED FROM ON CARSON STREET, FROM CLARK AVENUE TO, TO WOODRUFF AVENUE. UH, THREE, THERE'S 21 VETERANS FLAGS, OR EXCUSE ME, BANNERS HANGING RIGHT NOW. THREE VETERANS HAVE BEEN OUSTED TO THE SIDELINES AND CAN BE FOUND ON CLARK AVENUE, WELL PAST CONANT, AND THEY ARE DEFINITELY NOT WITH THEIR VETERAN COLLECTIVE. SO I'M HERE TO ADVOCATE FOR THOSE THREE, THREE VETERANS. THEIR NAMES ARE WALTER. EW. HE IS AN ARMY AIR CORPSMAN, OR ARMY AIR CORPS. AL LCH, WHO IS IN THE COAST GUARD VETERAN. AND JAMES SILVA, WHO IS A 21 YEAR MARINE CORPS COMBAT VETERAN. THESE THREE GENTLEMEN ARE OUSTED TO THE SIDELINES AND THEY'RE NOT WITH THE CALIBER OF VETERAN. UM, UM, THEY'RE MILITARY, UH, I'M THINKING, I CAN'T REMEMBER THE WORD. UM, THEY'RE SERVICEMEN, THEY'RE FELLOW SERVICEMEN. SO ON CARSON STREET, ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE STREET, EVERY SINGLE LIGHT POLE HAS A BANNER ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE STREET. EVERY OTHER LIGHT POLE HAS A BANNER. SO AFTER TALKING TO THE VETERANS COMMISSION AND EXPLAINING MY DISAPPOINTMENT FOR THESE BRAVE GENTLEMEN, I WAS TOLD THAT IT WAS A PERMIT ISSUE AND THAT IT LAID FAULT WITH THE EVENT DEPARTMENT AND THE WHOEVER PUT UP THE BANNERS. UH, I WAS ALSO TOLD THAT SOME OF THE LIGHT POLES WOULD NOT HOLD THE STRENGTH OF THE BANNERS. AND I UNDERSTAND THAT'S A SAFETY ISSUE, WHICH YOU HAVE THREE SERVICEMEN THAT SERVED THEIR COUNTRY, ONE FOR 21 YEARS OUSTED TO THE SIDELINES. AND I WAS WONDERING IF THERE'S A WAY TO EXPEDITE THIS PROCESS TO GET THESE THREE BRAVE GENTLEMEN IN THE MAIN CALIBER, UH, WITH THEIR FELLOW SERVICEMEN. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. IS THERE SOMEONE FROM STAFF WHO CAN FIFTH DISTRICT? GINA. WELL, GINA FROM THE VETERANS COMMISSION IS WORKING. YEAH. IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT STAFF ARE WORKING ON THAT AND THE COUNCIL OFFICE HAS BROUGHT THAT TO OUR ATTENTION AS WELL. PERFECT. UH, SO WE HAVE, WE CALLED A COUPLE OF NAMES. SIDNEY MILL RAT, JEWEL SMITH. I ALREADY SPOKE. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. KNOW MY FEELINGS. GOT IT. UH, JEWEL SMITH, MAD DONNA YOUNG AND COGNAC. ESP ESPINO. OKAY. HELLO. OH GOD. OKAY. WHAT CAN I START? HI, MY NAME IS JULES SMITH AND I LIVE IN LONG BEACH. I'VE BEEN LIVING IN LONG BEACH FOR OVER 50 YEARS. UM, I'M A SIXTH DIS DISTRICT MEMBER. AND, UM, MY CONCERN IS, UM, MY CONCERN IS THE HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT, UM, AT MCBRIDE PARK, UM, ACROSS THE STREET AT THE, UM, FRONTIER BUILDING. UM, IT'S, IT IS GETTING SO BAD. IT'S GETTING BIGGER AND BIGGER AND BIGGER. I KNOW, UH, A LOT OF TIMES THEY GET THE POLICE COME AND, AND PRETTY MUCH, UM, TELL THEM TO GO, BUT THEY COME BACK. SO I JUST WANNA KNOW, DOES LONG BEACH HAVE A PLAN ON HOW WE ARE GONNA DEAL WITH THE HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT? DO WE HAVE A PLAN AS WE SPEAK, OR WE JUST GOING TO JUST NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT AND LET IT GET BIGGER AND BIGGER AND, YOU KNOW, RUN THE COMMUNITY OUT WHERE THEY WANNA LIVE SOMEWHERE ELSE? MM-HMM, . UM, MY CONCERN IS, YOU KNOW, FOR THE ADOLESCENTS WHO GOES TO MCBRIDE PARK, THERE IS AN ENCAMPMENT THAT ACTUALLY LIVES IN THE, UM, THE STAIRWELLS AND THEY'VE BEEN LIVING THERE FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS. UM, NO ONE IS DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT. SO WHEN THESE KIDS ARE GOING, YOU KNOW, UP AND DOWN THE SIDEWALK, UM, THAT'S A DANGEROUS SITUATION. SO ARE WE [01:50:01] GONNA WAIT UNTIL, UM, THESE KIDS GET, YOU KNOW, SNATCHED UP OR ABUSED AND SOME, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE WE DOING? WHAT IS LONG BEACH DOING? WE'RE DOING ALL THESE DIFFERENT, UH, PRESERVATION UPGRADES AND, YOU KNOW, IN LONG BEACH, BUT WE ARE NOT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT. I KNOW WE GIVING THEM RESOURCES, BUT IF THEY'RE NOT TAKING THE RESOURCES, WHAT DO WE DO AFTER THAT? THAT'S A QUESTION. WE DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER. SO THIS IS YOUR TIME TO SPEAK. UH, THERE'S, THERE'S, THERE WON'T BE A DIALOGUE WITH THE COUNCIL ON, UNFORTUNATELY. OKAY. WELL, IS THERE, OKAY. NO RECORD. OKAY. BUT MY CONCERN IS, I I I HA I DO ADULT RESIDENTIAL FACILITY FOR DEVELOPMENTAL DISABLED ADULTS. I HAVE A HOME. WHY SHOULD I TAKE MY CLIENTS TO ANOTHER PARK OUTSIDE MY AREA? AND WHY CAN'T WE JUST GO TO MCBRIDE PARK? YOU KNOW, I DON'T FEEL SAFE TAKING MY CONSUMERS, MY CLIENTS TO THAT PARK BECAUSE THERE'S HOMELESS HOMELESSNESS AROUND THAT PARK. THERE'S SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. AND UNTIL WE GET IT DONE, I'M GONNA COME HERE EVERY TUESDAY OR WHATEVER TUESDAY AND ADDRESS THIS ISSUE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU FOR SHARING. NEXT, UH, IS THIS MS. YOUNG? GOOD AFTERNOON OR GOOD EVENING TO THOSE OF YOU COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES THAT CHOSE TO REMAIN IN THE CHAMBER. MOST OF YOU, IF NOT ALL OF YOU KNOW WHO I AM, BUT FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT DON'T, MY NAME IS DONNA YOUNG. UH, I WANNA SAY, IN LIEU OF THE MAYOR'S ABSENCE, I WILL RESERVE MY COMMENTS FOR A FUTURE MEETING, UH, TO ADDRESS SOME ITEMS THAT HE AND I HAD A DISCUSSION ON SATURDAY WHEN HE CAME TO MY HOME. SO, WITH THAT BEING SAID, I'M JUST GONNA YIELD BACK THE REMAINDER OF MY TIME. THANK YOU. AND THANKS FOR WAITING. GOOD EVENING, MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL. MY NAME IS CONNIE ESP ESPINO, AND I AM A VETERAN HOMEOWNER IN NORTH LONG BEACH, DISTRICT EIGHT. I'M HERE TODAY TO HIGHLIGHT SEVERAL IMPORTANT OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVING OUR COMMUNITY AND TO SEEK YOUR SUPPORT IN MAKING THESE POSITIVE CHANGES. OUR NEIGHBORHOOD FACES SEVERAL TOLERATED CHALLENGES, INCLUDING ABANDONED BUILDINGS AND BUSINESSES, HOMELESSNESS AND DRUG ADDICTION, PROSTITUTION, RV CAMPS, AND CONCERNS FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR CHILDREN. HOWEVER, THESE CHALLENGES ALSO PRESENT UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION AND GROWTH. THE VACANT STRUCTURES IN OUR AREA ARE NOT ONLY EYE SOURCE, BUT ALSO POTEN POTENTIAL HAVENS FOR ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING PROSTITUTION, REDEVELOPING THESE BUILDINGS TO ATTRACT NEW BUSINESSES, CAN BREATHE LIFE INTO OUR COMMUNITY, TRANSFORMING THESE SPACES INTO VIBRANT HUBS OF ACTIVITY. OUR COMMUNITY STRUGGLES WITH A SIGNIFICANT HOMELESS POPULATION, VISIBLE DRUG ADDICTION AND PROSTITUTION WHILE WE SUPPORT REHABILITATION EFFORTS. PLACING HOUSING UNITS FOR TROUBLED INDIVIDUALS IN OUR AREA WITH HIGH TEMPTATION UNDERMINES THE RECOVERY SUCH AS THE HOME KEY PROJECT. A MORE STRATEGIC APPROACH IS NEEDED TO PROVIDE SUPPORT WITHOUT COMPROMISING NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY. IF WE COULD BRING, UM, VOCATIONAL OR LIKE, UM, BRING ENTREPRENEURS TO BRING BETTER BUSINESSES SUCH AS COFFEE SHOPS OR, UM, FARMERS' MARKET IN OUR AREA, I THINK THAT WOULD BE A LOT BETTER FOR THESE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE GOING TO THIS TRANSITIONAL HOUSING VERSUS SURROUNDING THEM WITH THE HOMELESSNESS AND THE RV PROBLEM. AND WE DO HAVE TWO LOCAL SCHOOLS. IT'S BEEN DIFFICULT TO WALK MY DOG AND FEEL SAFE. I NO LONGER SEE KIDS WALKING TO AND FROM SCHOOL. UM, THERE'S PROSTITUTES, THERE'S HOMELESSNESS. AND AS MUCH AS I CARE FOR PEOPLE, THE HOME, THE HOME KEY PROJECT, I'M NOT SURE WHAT WE CAN DO TO BETTER THAT. UM, AND THEN, UH, THAT'S, UH, I THINK THAT'S IT. I HAVE MORE TIME. SORRY, . UM, IF WE COULD, AND ALSO WE HAVE A LOT OF TRASH IN OUR AREA, IF WE COULD IMPLEMENT SOME SORT OF, UM, MAYBE TRASH DAYS, UM, I FEEL LIKE I'M A NUISANCE TO THE PUBLIC WORKS WEBSITE. UM, CONSTANTLY REPORTING ILLEGAL DUMPING. THERE'S NOT MUCH BEING DONE. AND AGAIN, LIKE THERE'S CHILDREN WALKING OUR AREA. THERE IS SO MANY, LIKE, WE'RE A COMMUNITY OF HOMEOWNERS WHERE WE HAVE RETIRED PEOPLE, YOUNG CHILDREN, AND WE FEEL LIKE THERE ISN'T MUCH BEING DONE IN OUR COMMUNITY. UM, WE ALSO STRUGGLE WITH STREET TAKEOVERS IN OUR AREA. IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO SLEEP AT NIGHT WITH THESE STREET TAKEOVERS AND THESE ILLEGAL FIREWORKS. WE JUST WOULD LIKE THE, JUST SOME SORT OF HELP IN OUR AREA AND NOT BE FORGOTTEN BECAUSE WE'RE ALL THE WAY OUTSIDE IN THE BORDER. UM, YOU KNOW, I HAVEN'T BEEN [01:55:01] A HOMEOWNER IN LONG BEACH, TOO LONG, AS YOU CAN PROBABLY TELL. I'M VERY YOUNG. UM, I MOVED TO LONG BEACH IN 2021 AND I USED TO ENJOY WALKING MY DOG IN THE AREA. AND NOW I FEAR FOR MY SAFETY. MOST OF THE TIMES, BECAUSE I HAVE WITNESSED CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, I HAVE BEEN, UM, THREATENED BY A PROSTITUTE. I HAVE SEEN NASTY, INAPPROPRIATE ACTS BY MALES IN THE AREA. SO I CAN'T IMAGINE THAT INNOCENCE BEING TAKEN FROM A YOUNG CHILD WALKING TO AND FROM SCHOOL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR SPEAKING TODAY. UH, AND UH, SOMEBODY FROM MY STAFF AND THE EIGHTH DISTRICT TEAM WILL, WILL BE IN TOUCH WITH YOU. THANK YOU, SIR. YEP. NEXT WE HAVE, UH, KIM CLARY AND EDWARD MOORES IS OUR FINAL SPEAKER. HELLO AND THANK YOU. I'M KIM CLARY AND I LIVE IN DISTRICT SEVEN, AND MY SIDEWALKS ON THE STREET WAS ALL REPLACED FROM ONE STREET TO THE NEXT STREET. HOWEVER, THE BULLDOZER THAT CAME RIPPED OUT ALL OF MY SPRINKLERS, ALL OF THE PVC PIPE, ALL OF MY FLOWERS, AND THEY PUT ALL THE OLD CEMENT THAT WAS RIPPED OUT ON THE PARKWAY. SO NOW MY PARKWAY IS A DISASTER. I HAD A, I RECEIVED A CODE ENFORCEMENT LETTER FROM THE CITY OF LONG BEACH FOR OVERGROWN WEEDS IN THE FRONT YARD AND THE PARKWAY. BUT IT'S ALL BECAUSE THEY TOOK OUT MY SPRINKLERS, THEY TOOK OUT MY FLOWERS, MY PLANTS, AND DID NOT COME BACK TO FINISH THE JOB AFTER THEY PUT IN THE SIDEWALK. I JUST COMPLETED THE LAWN TO GARDEN. IT WAS A VERY BEAUTIFUL PARKWAY, AND THEY TOOK OUT MY HISTORIC EVERYTHING AND I WANT MY YARD BACK. THEY DID NOT COME BACK TO PUT EVERYTHING BACK THE WAY IT WAS BEFORE THEY STARTED THE BULLDOZER. JUST TOOK OUT EVERYTHING AND REALLY MADE A MESS. THE SPRINKLERS, A PVC PIPE, ALL MY DECORATIVE ROCKS, IT COST A LOT OF MONEY. AND THE LAWN OF GARDEN WAS BEAUTIFUL. SO NOW AS EVERYBODY WALKS BY WALKING THEIR DOGS, AND I WAVE AND THE BUS GOES BY, IT'S, IT'S A DISASTER. SO I WANT PUBLIC WORKS TO COME BACK AND FINISH THE JOB. IT'S, THEY DID THIS IN OCTOBER AND I'VE BEEN WAITING ALL THIS TIME. THE SIDEWALK THEY DID WAS BEAUTIFUL, BUT THEY DID NOT COME BACK AND PUT EVERYTHING BACK BEFORE THEY RUINED MY YARD. I WANT MY YARD BACK. I'VE GROWN UP HERE IN LONG BEACH. IT'S A WONDERFUL PLACE TO LIVE, BUT THE COMPANY THAT THEY HIRED, OR THE CITY LONG BEACH PUBLIC WORKS, THEY NEED TO COME BACK AND FIX MY PLACE. I WANT MY YARD BACK. I WANT THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS BACK. SO I'M HOPING THAT SOMEBODY WILL UNDERSTAND AND THE PUBLIC WORKS WILL COME BACK, SEND THE COMPANY THAT THEY HIRED. IT WAS THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, AND MY ADDRESS AND EVERYTHING IS ON FILE, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. MS. CLARY. IS EDMUND EDWARD MORRIS HERE? EDWARD MORRIS, HEARING NONE. UH, THAT CONCLUDES A GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT. UH, WE'LL TAKE IT BACK TO ITEM NUMBER 23. REPORT FROM LONG BEACH AIRPORT. RECOMMENDATION TO AUTHORIZE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL DOCUMENTS NECESSARY TO AMEND CONTRACT WITH SWER BUILDERS FOR COMPLETION OF CONSTRUCTION OF THE PHASE TWO TERMINAL AREA IMPROVEMENTS [23. 24-53319 Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to amend Contract No. 34964 with Swinerton Builders, of Santa Ana, CA, for completion of construction of the Phase II Terminal Area Improvements at the Long Beach Airport and to increase the contingency by $3,300,000, for a revised contingency amount of $15,315,675, and revised total contract amount not to exceed $108,052,178; and Increase appropriations in the Airport Fund Group in the Airport Department by $3,300,000, offset by airport operating revenues for the Phase II Terminal Area Improvements project at Long Beach Airport. (Districts 4, 5)       Office or Department: Long Beach Airport         Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] AT THE LONG BEACH AIRPORT, AND TO INCREASE THE CONTINGENCY BY 3,300,000 FOR A REVISED TOTAL CONTRACT AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $108,052 178 50 2,178 DISTRICTS FOUR AND FIVE. WELL, I SEE OUR AIRPORT DIRECTOR HERE. I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER FOR A, TO THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE FOR A SHORT REPORT. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. UM, THIS ITEM IS TO AMEND THE WINTERTON CONTRACT, UH, FOR THE TERMINAL, A AREA, UH, IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM AT THE LONG BEACH AIRPORT. UH, NEXT TO ME IS MR. STEFAN LUM. HE IS OUR AIRPORT ENGINEERING OFFICER WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AND LEADS A, A, A PRETTY GREAT ENGINEERING TEAM. UH, HE'S BEEN WITH THE AIRPORT FOR, UH, 15 [02:00:01] YEARS AND HAS BEEN ON THIS PROGRAM SINCE DAY ONE. STEPHAN. OH, THANK YOU, CYNTHIA. AND, UH, GOOD EVENING CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. UM, WE'LL GIVE YOU A QUICK, UM, BRIEFING AND UPDATE, UH, WHERE WE ARE WITH THIS PROGRAM AND A AND A COUPLE SLIDES. UM, UM, SO JUST A, A QUICK UPDATE OF WHERE WE ARE AND OR, UH, WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE. UH, THE CHECK BAGGAGE INSPECTION SYSTEM AND TICKETING FACILITIES. UM, THOSE OPENED UP A COUPLE YEARS AGO ON MAY 4TH, 2022. UM, THE BAGGAGE CLAIM FACILITY OPENED UP ON APRIL 14TH, 2023. AND THEN THE MEDIA GREETER PLAZA HARDSCAPE LANDSCAPE, UH, BAGGAGE SERVICE OFFICES FOR THE AIRLINES AND ADDITIONAL PUBLIC RESTROOMS OPENED UP ON MARCH 11TH, 2024. UM, AND THOSE IMPROVEMENTS ARE SHOWN, UM, IN THE PHOTOS BELOW. UM, AND WE ARE ON TRACK FOR, UH, THE LAST TWO COMPONENTS OF THE PROGRAM. THE HISTORIC TERMINAL RENOVATION AND THE RENTAL CAR, UH, TRANSACTION COUNTERS ON THE FIRST FLOOR. THOSE ARE ON TRACK TO OPEN UP, UH, SUMMER OF 2024. UM, TODAY'S ACTION IS HOPEFULLY TO APPROVE THE FINAL SWINTON CONTRACT AMENDMENT. UM, THIS WILL ALLOW US TO COMPLETE THE FINAL WORK ELEMENTS COMMISSIONING AND PROJECT CLOSEOUT. UM, THE RENTAL CAR SERVICES, UH, ARE ANTICIPATED TO RELOCATE INTO THE HISTORICAL TERMINAL BEFORE THE END OF THIS YEAR. AND THIS WILL COMPLETE THE SIX PHASE TWO PROJECTS APPROVED IN CITY BY CITY COUNCIL, UH, ON FEBRUARY 11TH, 2020. AND, UH, ON THE RIGHT IS A COUPLE, UM, SHOTS OF, UH, THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE INTERIOR OF THE TERMINAL BUILDING AND THE, UH, RENDERING OF WHAT IT'S, UH, PLANNED TO LOOK LIKE WHEN WE'RE, WHEN WE'RE DONE. THANK YOU. THAT CONCLUDES OUR STAFF REPORT. WELL, THANK YOU. UM, WE HAVE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KERR. YES. THANK YOU TO THE TEAM FOR THE UPDATE. UM, IT'S AN AMAZING TIMELINE AND IF YOU STARTED 15 YEARS AGO WITH CATERPILLAR IMPROVEMENT, IT PROBABLY IS A WHOLLY DIFFERENT AIRPORT THAN WHEN YOU STARTED. SO THANKS TO YOU AND THE TEAM FOR ALL OF THE GOOD WORK, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO FINISHING IT OUT AND SEEING THE HISTORICAL TERMINAL OPEN THIS SUMMER. THANKS, COUNCILOR. SUPER. THANK YOU. I CONCUR WITH KERR AND, UH, APPRECIATE YOUR REPORT. THANKS. YEAH, I, I'D JUST LIKE TO ADD, IF POSSIBLE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE WORK JUST WITNESSING THE, THE TRANSFORMATION OF OUR AIRPORT HAS BEEN PRETTY AMAZING. I UTILIZE IT QUITE FREQUENTLY. UM, I HAVE ONE, ONE SUGGESTION, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE I DON'T THINK THE WORK IS DONE, UM, WITH, YOU KNOW, OUR AIRPORT IS, IS NOW BUSTLING. UM, AND IT, THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF UTILIZATION THERE. UM, AND I THINK WE DO OWE IT TO OUR, OUR, UM, THE TRAVELERS WHO COME TO AND FROM LONG BEACH AND EVERYBODY RAVES ABOUT THE AIRPORT, BUT THERE IS A LEVEL OF GROWTH THERE THAT WE ARE GONNA HAVE TO ADDRESS AT SOME POINT. UM, IN MY OPINION, THE, UM, I I CAN JUST SPEAK TO GATE NUMBER FOUR. IT'S A LITTLE CONGESTED . UH, SO THERE'S A LOT, A LITTLE BIT OF CONGESTION THAT I THINK WE NEED TO WORK ON IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, THE BOARDING PROCESSES AND, AND, UM, THE, THE COMFORT FOR THE PASSENGERS. AND SO I'D, I'D LIKE TO SEE THE NEXT PHASE, YOU KNOW, UH, KIND OF CONSIDER, YOU KNOW, MAYBE EXPANDING THE, THE TERMINAL, UM, OR THE GATE SITUATION A LITTLE BIT SO THAT THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE COMFORT FOR, FOR, UH, TRAVELERS. THAT'S JUST, THAT'S JUST ONE OPINION, UM, FOR SOMEBODY WHO UTILIZES THE AIRPORT QUITE A BIT. AND WITH THAT, UH, IS THERE ANY GENERAL PUBLIC ANY, ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM? NOPE. HEARING NONE. UH, MEMBERS PLEASE CARRY VOTE. THERE IS ANOTHER, OH, MARY, I'M SORRY. THANK YOU. UM, I DON'T IT ON MY SCREEN HERE, SO THAT'S, PLEASE BEAR WITH ME. UM, DIRECTOR CYNTHIA, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, UM, THAT REPORT AND FOR, FOR BEING HERE WITH US TODAY. I JUST WANNA COMMEND YOU ON ALL THE GREAT PROGRESS THAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING AT, UM, OUR LONG BEACH AIRPORT THROUGHOUT THE YEARS, UM, UNDER YOUR LEADERSHIP. IT'S BEEN AMAZING. UH, PERSONALLY, I'VE BEEN, HAD THE EXPERIENCE OF TRAVELING THROUGH THE AIRPORT, PRE PANDEMIC, AND NOW POST PANDEMIC. AND I JUST WANNA SAY, AS A PERSON WITH A DISABILITY, THE ATTENTION THAT, UM, THAT WE GET AT THE, UH, AIRPORT IS REALLY, REALLY, UM, SIGNIFICANT AS A PERSON WITH A DISABILITY. AND I'VE HEARD FROM PEOPLE FROM THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY THAT, YOU KNOW, IT IS SO IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO FEEL WELCOMED AND SAFE AND THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO GET TO THEIR DESTINATION IN A SAFELY MANNER. [02:05:01] AND SO FOR THAT, I WANNA THANK YOU ON BEHALF OF THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY. UM, I AM, I LOVE THE FACT THAT NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE A VERY VIBRANT AIRPORT RIGHT NOW, UM, I, I REALLY DO LOVE IT WHEN I RECOMMEND IT TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND THEY COME BACK AND THEY TELL ME WE LOVE IT. WE ARE NOT FLYING OUT OF ANY OTHER AIRPORT. WE ARE GOING LONG BEACH AIRPORT ALL THE TIME. AND THAT'S JUST AS I CAN ASSUME THAT, UM, THAT IS A VERY COMMON FEELING OF PRIDE, UH, FOR US AS A CITY. SO THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK THAT YOU DO THERE AT OUR LONG BEACH AIRPORT, AND I KNOW THERE'S A LOT MORE TO COME AND A LOT MORE IMPROVEMENTS, BUT WE'RE HEADED IN, IN A VERY GOOD DIRECTION. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER. UH, GO. I'LL GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT, SEE NO OTHER COMMENT FROM BEHIND THE RAIL. UH, DEBORAH ANTE. OKAY, SO, UH, NO PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE. MEMBERS CAST YOUR VOTES. MOTION IS CARRIED. GREAT. UH, ITEM NUMBER 25, REPORT FROM PUBLIC WORKS. RECOMMENDATION TO ADOPT A RESOLUTION APPROVING A LIST OF PROJECTS CITYWIDE FOR REPAVING AND RESURFACING THAT ARE PROPOSED TO RECEIVE ROAD MAINTENANCE AND REHABILITATION ACCOUNT FUNDING TOTALING AND ESTIMATED 12 MILLION IN THE FISCAL YEAR [25. 24-53322 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 totaling an estimated $12,000,000 in the Fiscal Year 2025 Paving Program. (Citywide)       Office or Department: Public Works         Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] 2025 PAVING PROGRAM CITYWIDE. OKAY, IS THERE A STAFF REPORT ON THIS ITEM? , RIGHT ON TIME. HELLO. UM, WE, UH, DO THIS EVERY YEAR. UH, STATE LAW REQUIRES THAT THE, THIS SPECIFIC FUNDING SOURCE, UH, BE, UH, THAT A RESOLUTION, UH, BE APPROVED. UH, BROUGHT TO CITY COUNCIL, WE'VE IDENTIFIED THE, THE STREETS THAT ARE BEING DONE, UM, AND, UH, THE, THE GIVING YEAR. UM, THESE STREETS ARE ALL PART OF YOUR ELEVATE, UH, 28 INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT PLAN. UH, THEY'VE BEEN PLANNED AS PART OF THAT FIVE YEAR PLAN. THERE ARE NO NEW STREETS HERE. UH, IT'S US IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAM THAT THE CITY COUNCIL HAS ALREADY APPROVED. THANK YOU MR. LOPEZ. AND YES, WE HAVE ALREADY APPROVED THIS. THIS IS JUST ANOTHER FORMALITY. ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS FROM BEHIND THE RAIL? ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTES. MOTION IS CARRIED. OKAY. THE NEXT ITEM WE HAVE, UH, HEARING ITEM NUMBER 18. I DON'T BELIEVE THIS REQUIRES AN OATH. UH, YES. ITEM 18 IS A REPORT FROM FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION INTO THE RECORD, CONCLUDE THE PUBLIC HEARING AND [18. 24-53324 Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude the public hearing, and adopt resolution amending the Master Fee and Charges Schedule. (Citywide)       Office or Department: Financial Management         Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] ADOPT A RESOLUTION AMENDING THE MASTER FEE AND CHARGES SCHEDULE CITYWIDE. WILL THOSE TESTIFYING IN THIS ITEM? PLEASE RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND. DO YOU AND EACH OF YOU SOLEMNLY STATE THAT THE TESTIMONY YOU MAY GIVE IN THE CAUSE NOW IMP PENDING BEFORE THIS BODY SHALL BE THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, SO HELP YOU GOD. THANK YOU. OKAY. UH, I'D LIKE TO TURN IT OVER TO STAFF. OKAY. SO TODAY WE HAVE, UM, A GERALDINE ALEJO REVENUE MANAGEMENT OFFICER AND REBECCA STOR, I THINK, IS THIS YOUR FIRST? THIS IS HER FIRST TIME AT THE STAFF TABLE FOR AN ITEM. SO WELCOME HER TO HER FIRST COUNCIL MEETING. , UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH. GOOD EVENING. MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL AS APRIL MENTIONED, MY NAME IS REBECCA BERNSTORFF, NEW BUDGET MANAGER WITH THE CITY. I'VE BEEN HERE TWO MONTHS AND STILL VERY EXCITED TO BE HERE. THE CITY COUNCIL'S APPROVAL IS REQUESTED TO AMEND THE FISCAL YEAR 24 MASTER FEES AND CHARGE OF SCHEDULE. THE MASTER FEES AND CHARGE OF SCHEDULES UPDATED CITYWIDE AT LEAST TWICE A YEAR TO ALLOW DEPARTMENTS TO MEET. CITY COUNCIL'S STATED POLICY ON USER FEES, WHICH CALLS FOR FULL COST RECOVERY WHENEVER APPROPRIATE. THE CITY COUNCIL LAST APPROVED AND AMENDED MASTER FEES AND CHARGES SCHEDULE ON SEPTEMBER 5TH, 2023, AS PART OF FISCAL YEAR 2024. BUDGET ADOPTION. THE FISCAL YEAR 24 PROPOSED MID-YEAR CHANGES TO THE MASTER FEE AND CHARGES SCHEDULE INCLUDES ADJUSTMENTS ACROSS FIVE DEPARTMENTS, INCLUDING CITY MANAGER, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND PUBLIC WORKS. ESTIMATED THEORETICAL REVENUE CHANGES ARE BASED ON VARIOUS FACTORS, INCLUDING ESTIMATED USAGE AT THE PROPOSED RATES AND IS THE INCREMENTAL DIFFERENCE FROM THE CURRENT YEAR'S ANTICIPATED REVENUE. THESE ESTIMATES TEND TO REFLECT A CONSERVATIVE APPROACH WITH ACTUAL REVENUE RECEIVED VARYING ANNUALLY. PROPOSED INC. ADJUSTMENTS INCLUDE ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW FEES FOR VENUE RENTAL AT THE QUEEN MARY, AND SURROUNDING AREAS TO RECOVER, PERMITTING, STAFFING AND EVENT OVERSIGHT COSTS. NOW THAT THE CITY HAS ASSUMED FULL CONTROL OF THE AREA, THE ANNUAL REVENUE IMPACT [02:10:01] REFLECTS 25% OF THE FEE TO THE SPECIAL ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONS FUND, AND EXCLUDES 75% TO THE QUEEN MARY FOR CAPITAL USES RATE INCREASES TO ALIGN WITH FULL COST RECOVERY FOR SPECIAL EVENT STAFF MONITORING AND PERMIT REVISION FEES. ADDITIONALLY, FOLLOWING COMPLETION OF A COST OF SERVICE STUDY IN FISCAL YEAR 23, THE SECOND YEAR OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH FEE INCREASES ARE PROPOSED. THESE FEE INCREASES ARE PLANNED TO BE PHASED IN OVER TWO TO FOUR YEARS TO AVOID A STEEP RATE INCREASE FOR CUSTOMERS ADJUSTING FEES OVER TIME UNTIL RATES REACH FULL COST RECOVERY, TECHNICAL ADJUSTMENTS TO THE FEE SCHEDULE FOR CODE ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATIVE CITATIONS AND BELMONT PARKING METER RATES, WHICH WILL CORRECT THE FEE SCHEDULE AND ALIGN TO ACTUAL RATES CHARGED AND FINANCIAL SERVICES FEES AND COUPA ANNUAL SURCHARGES TO UPDATE THE FEE SCHEDULE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RATE SET BY EXTERNAL AGENCIES. FINALLY, THERE ARE TWO FEE DELETIONS TO ELIMINATE DUPLICATIVE FEES AND FOR SERVICES NO LONGER PROVIDED BY THE CITY. THAT CONCLUDES THE STAFF REPORT AND WE ARE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. OKAY, UM, IT'S BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED. ARE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE COUNCIL RELATED TO THE FEE INCREASES? UH, ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS MATTER, HEARING NO PUBLIC OR SEEING NO PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTES. THANK YOU FOR THE REPORT. MOTION IS CARRIED. WE GOT ONE. THEY VOTED FOR YOU. OKAY. MOTION PERRY PASSES. THE NEXT ITEM UP IS, UH, ITEM NUMBER 12 21 21 21. REPORT FROM DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS, FIRE DEPARTMENT, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, PARKS, RECREATION AND MARINE POLICE DEPARTMENT TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION. RECOMMENDATION TO AUTHORIZE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES TO RECEIVE AN EXPEND DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT FUNDING [21. 24-53378 Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract and any necessary subsequent amendments, including term extensions, with the City of Los Angeles, to receive and expend Department of Homeland Security grant funding for the 2023 Urban Area Security Initiative Grant in an amount not to exceed $8,384,481, for the period of September 1, 2023, through May 31, 2026; and Increase appropriations in the General Grants Fund Group in the Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Communications Department by $633,589, in the General Grants Fund Group in the Fire Department by $3,209,419, in the General Grants Fund Group in the Health and Human Services Department by $2,000,000, in the General Grants Fund Group in the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department by $210,000, in the General Grants Fund Group in the Police Department by $1,586,773, and in the General Services Fund Group in the Technology and Innovation Department by $744,700, offset by grant revenue. (Citywide)       Office or Department: Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Communications; Fire Department; Health and Human Services; Parks, Recreation and Marine; Police Department; Technology and Innovation         Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] FOR THE 2023 URBAN AREA SECURITY INITIATIVE GRANT IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED 8,384,481 FOR THE PERIOD OF SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2023 THROUGH MAY 31ST, 2026 CITYWIDE. OKAY, WE HAVE A MOTION. AND SECOND, UM, IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS PARTICULAR ITEM? HEARING NONE MEMBERS ANY COMMENTS? COUNCIL MEMBER OTI RICK OTI. YOU'RE GOOD KIRK, UH, MOVED AND SECONDED. UH, PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTES. MOTION IS CARRIED. OKAY. WE HAVE A ITEM NUMBER 27, WHICH IS A SECOND READING REPORT FROM CITY ATTORNEY. RECOMMENDATION TO DECLARE ORDINANCE AMENDING THE LONG BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO JUST CAUSE FOR TERMINATION OF TENANCY AND DECLARING THE URGENCY THEREOF. READ AND ADOPTED A READ CITYWIDE. AGAIN, THIS IS A SECOND, UH, READING. UH, WE HAVE A MOTION. AND SECOND, IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM HEARING? NO PUBLIC COMMENT. UH, ANYTHING FROM BEHIND THE RAIL, PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTES. MOTION IS CARRIED. OKAY. ITEM NUMBER 28. IT'S IN BUSINESS, A REPORT FROM HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES. RECOMMENDATION TO CONTINUE THE LOCAL EMERGENCY REGARDING AN OUTBREAK OF TUBERCULOSIS [27. 24-53308-01 Recommendation to declare ordinance amending the Long Beach Municipal Code by amending and restating Chapter 8.99, relating to just cause for termination of tenancies and declaring the urgency thereof, read and adopted as read. (Citywide) (Emergency Ordinance No. ORD-24-0011)       Office or Department: City Attorney         Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] AND EXTEND THE CITY COUNCIL REVIEW PERIOD FOR CONTINUING THE LOCAL EMERGENCY FROM 14 DAYS TO 30 DAYS PURSUANT TO SECTION [28. 24-53434 Recommendation to continue the local emergency regarding an outbreak of Tuberculosis (TB) and extend the City Council review period for continuing the local emergency from 14 days to 30 days pursuant to Section 2.69.060 of the Long Beach Municipal Code. (Citywide)       Office or Department: Health and Human Services         Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] 2.6 9.06 OF THE LONG BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE CITYWIDE. OKAY, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE A STAFF REPORT. WE DO. I'VE HAD A COUPLE QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL. SO WE'D LIKE TO PROVIDE US A BRIEF STAFF REPORT ABOUT WHERE WE ARE AND WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR. SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO OUR HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND DR. DAVIS. THANK YOU TOM. UH, GOOD EVENING COUNCIL MEMBERS. SO I'M HERE TO UPDATE YOU ON THE DECLARATION OF A LOCAL HEALTH EMERGENCY THAT WAS MADE ON MAY 2ND, 2024 REGARDING RECENT TUBERCULOSIS TRANSMISSION AMONG US-BORN PERSONS WITH SIMILAR BACKGROUNDS AND RISK FACTORS IN LONG BEACH, INCLUDING HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING INSECURITY, SUBSTANCE USE, AND SERIOUS MEDICAL CONDITIONS. MANY OF THESE INDIVIDUALS ARE CONFIRMED TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH ONE LOCAL, SINGLE ROOM OCCUPANCY HOTEL, AND MAY HAVE ALSO FREQUENTED OTHER LOCATIONS. OF NOTE, A SINGLE ROOM OCCUPANCY HOTEL, UH, COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS AN SRO IS A FORM OF HOUSING THAT IS TYPICALLY AIMED AT RESIDENTS WITH LOW OR MINIMAL INCOMES OR THOSE WHO ARE CURRENTLY OR WERE FORMALLY EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS. SRO UNITS ARE SMALL, FURNISHED ROOMS AND ARE TYPICALLY RENTED OUT AS A PERMANENT RESIDENCE AND OR [02:15:01] A PRIMARY RESIDENCE. TENANTS OF SROS RENT A SINGLE ROOM BUT SHARE A KITCHEN, TOILETS, OR BATHROOMS WITH THE OTHER TENANTS IN THE BUILDING. SO IT'S NOT THE SAME TYPE OF HOTEL WHERE MOST, UH, TOURISTS WOULD FREQUENT. THE RISK TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, UH, REMAINS LOW AS OF MAY 20TH. THE NUMBER OF CASES OF TB DISEASE RELATED TO THIS OUTBREAK REMAINS AT 14. UH, MEANING THERE'S NO NEW CASES SINCE MY LAST REPORT ON MAY 7TH. IN ADDITION, OUR INVESTIGATION HAS IDENTIFIED ABOUT 250 PEOPLE WHO WERE LIKELY EXPOSED TO SOMEONE WITH TB. THIS IS AN INCREASE OF APPROXIMATELY 80 PEOPLE SINCE MY LAST REPORT. THIS INCREASES A SIGN OF GOOD PROGRESS IN OUR RESPONSE EFFORTS. ONE OF THE MAIN AIMS OF A TB OUTBREAK RESPONSE IS TO INTENSIFY THE INVESTIGATION AND IDENTIFY AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE WHO MAY HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO TB. WE EXPANDED OUR INVESTIGATION STRATEGIES BY RE-INTERVIEWING PATIENTS, IDENTIFYING, ENGAGING WITH AND OFFERING TESTING TO PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS NEAR THE SRO WITH ELEVATED EXPOSURE RISKS AND UTILIZING AVAILABLE DATA TO IDENTIFY PEOPLE RELATED TO OR LIVING WITH CONFIRMED CASES. WE ARE CURRENTLY EVALUATING THESE CONTACTS, PROVIDING CON, PROVIDING CONTACTS, TESTING, AND WHEN INDICATED, TREATMENT IS A CORE STRATEGY TO PREVENT FUTURE CASES AND CONTINUE TO KEEP, KEEP THE OUTBREAK CONTAINED. AN UPDATE ON OUR ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES. SINCE MY LAST REPORT, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT HELD AN ONSITE ONSITE SCREENING EVENT WHERE WE EVALUATED 25 PEOPLE THROUGH A MEDICAL AND HEALTH MUTUAL AID REQUEST. WE HAVE SECURED SOME SHORT-TERM SURGE STAFFING ASSISTANCE FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, AND WE APPRECIATE LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH SUPPORT IN PROVIDING THE STAFFING ASSISTANCE. WE CONTINUE TO WORK TO SECURE LONG-TERM TB CLINIC STAFFING SOLUTIONS. AND FINDING TB EXPERIENCED CLINICIANS IS A CHALLENGE. WE ALSO CONTINUE TO WORK TO ON REMOVING BARRIERS TO CARE FOR OUR AFFECTED CLIENTS, SUCH AS LACK OF TRANSPORTATION, FOOD, AND HOUSING. OUR CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND CDC COLLEAGUES ARE PROVIDING CRITICAL ASSISTANCE WITH TRAINING, ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH, AND DESCRIBING, DESCRIBING THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF THE OUTBREAK. WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME TRYING TO FIND PEOPLE AND THEN GETTING THEM TO THE CLINIC, REMOVING BARRIERS AND INCENTIVIZING THEM TO GET THROUGH THE EVALUATION PRO PROCESS. OVER ONE THIRD OF OUR APPROXIMATELY 250 IDENTIFIED CONTACTS HAVE HAD A BLOOD OR A SKIN TB TEST COMPLETED. THERE IS A LARGE AMOUNT OF DATA RELATED TO THIS OUTBREAK AND DATA COLLECTION. MAINTENANCE AND EVALUATION PROCESSES AND PROTOCOLS ARE BEING DEVELOPED AND REFINED. THE OUTBREAK CONTINUES TO BE CONTAINED TO OUR POPULATION OF FOCUS TO HELP ENSURE THE RAPID AND COMPLETE IDENTIFICATION, EVALUATION, AND TREATMENT OF THE LARGE NUMBER OF PERSONS EXPOSED TO TB. WE NEED TO CONTINUE THE PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY. THIS WILL ENABLE US TO CONTINUE TO STREAMLINE STAFF RECRUITMENT, HIRING, AND ONBOARDING. SO WE HAVE SUFFICIENT STAFFING NEEDED TO DO THE WORK TO PREVENT FUTURE OUTBREAK CASES. WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO REFINE OUR DATABASE SO WE HAVE REAL TIME ACCURATE DATA TO HELP US CONTINUE TO FOCUS OUR DISEASE PREVENTION ACTIVITIES. WE NEED TO CONTINUE STAFF REASSIGNMENTS AND PROCURING ADDITIONAL TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING SOLUTIONS. THE CITY COUNCIL MUST REVIEW THE NEED FOR CONTINUING THE LOCAL EMERGENCY AT LEAST EVERY 14 DAYS, BUT NO MORE THAN EVERY 30 DAYS. WE REQUEST TO EXTEND THE CITY COUNCIL REVIEW PERIOD FOR CONTINUING THE LOCAL EMERGENCY WITHIN THE CITY FROM 14 DAYS TO 30 DAYS AS AUTHORIZED UNDER THE LONG BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE AND CONSISTENT WITH STATE LAW REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE. AND JUST A REMINDER THAT OUR CALL CENTER IS ANSWERING CALLS FROM MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, NINE TO 5:00 PM AT 5 6 2 5 7 0 9 7 9 0 7. PEOPLE CAN ALSO GET MORE INFORMATION@LONGBEACH.GOV SLASH TB. THIS CONCLUDES MY UPDATE AND WE'RE AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU FOR THAT REPORT. UM, COUNCIL MEMBER RICK ODI. UH, I KNOW, I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, SO THANK YOU TO OUR, UH, CITY STAFF AND OUR HEALTH DEPARTMENT STAFF. I KNOW THAT THIS KINDA WORK IS, UM, REQUIRES A LOT OF, UH, DE A LOT OF DETAIL, A LOT OF FOLLOW UP, A LOT OF CASE MANAGEMENT, RIGHT. PARTICULARLY FOR THIS PARTICULAR POPULATION, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE DECLARING THE EMERGENCY AND CONTINUING IT. SO I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK, UM, AND FOR THE DILIGENCE OF OUR STAFF. THANK YOU. UH, SO SEEING OTHER QUESTIONS? I DO HAVE A QUESTION. UM, THERE WERE RECENT MEDIA REPORTS, UM, OF A LARGE OUTBREAK WITHIN LA COUNTY, UM, OF OUR UNHOUSED POPULATION OF, AND, AND SO WHAT I'M TRYING TO KIND OF UNDERSTAND IS ARE THEY REFERENCING THE LONG BEACH SITUATION OR WAS THERE, IS THERE A SEPARATE, UH, SITUATION WHEN IT COMES TO AN OUTBREAK FOR TUBERCULOSIS? [02:20:01] I BELIEVE, UH, MORE RECENTLY YOU MIGHT BE REFERENCING, UM, AN OUTBREAK GOING ON IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY, WHICH IS SEPARATE. OKAY. AND THEN YOU, YOU MENTIONED THAT THE EXPOSURE RATE ACTUALLY WENT UP, UH, AND THAT, THAT'S PROBABLY BECAUSE YOUR, YOUR DEPARTMENT AND YOUR TEAM HAS BEEN BEEN DOING YOUR FINDING ASSESSMENTS, FINDING MORE PEOPLE. YEAH. RIGHT. YEAH. SO ON THE GROUND, UM, I I I JUST IN TERMS OF THE, THE, THE POPULATION, IT HAS TO BE DIFFICULT OR, OR TO, TO, UH, TO DO THAT WORK BECAUSE OF THE, THE NATURE OF THE POPULATION THAT WE ARE SEEKING TO, UH, TO UNDERSTAND. HOW ACCURATE DO YOU FEEL LIKE WE ARE IN TERMS OF ASSESSING EXPOSURE WITH, WITH THE UNHOUSED POPULATION? UM, SO MY, UH, OUR STATE COLLEAGUES WHO HAVE HAD A LOT OF EXPERIENCE WITH TB OUTBREAKS, ESPECIALLY IN THESE POPULATIONS, DO PREDICT THAT THAT OUR, UH, NUMBER OF CONTACTS WILL CONTINUE TO GROW AS WE CONTINUE TO, UM, INTERVIEW PEOPLE, FIND OUT WHERE THEY'VE BEEN, UM, AND KIND OF MAKE CONNECTIONS. UM, SO I FEEL LIKE WE'RE ACCURATE WITH THE DATA THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, UM, BUT I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF IT CONTINUES TO INCREASE IN THE FUTURE. OKAY. WELL, I CERTAINLY SUPPORT THE, UM, EXTENDING THE, THE EMERGENCY OR CONTINUANCE TO 30 DAYS. UH, I DO THINK WE HAVE A COUPLE OF, UH, AT LEAST ONE PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM OR TWO. UM, MR. MFE, PLEASE KEEP YOUR WORDS. YES, SIR. UM, SONAI KIFE SIX, SIX RESIDENT, UH, THANK YOU, UH, DR. DAVIS FOR THE REPORT. DOC, UH, DIRECTOR KING, UM, APPRECIATED THE STAFF REPORT. YOU GUYS ARE DOING A GREAT JOB. KEEP IT UP. UH, WHAT I CAME TO SPEAK ABOUT TODAY, UM, WITH RESPECT TO THE TB CASE, IS, UM, THE OPERATORS THAT THESE, THESE TYPES OF, UH, THINGS ARE THAT OCCURRING AT, UH, IT'S A NAME THAT IS, UH, A VERY FAMILIAR NAME, I'M SURE CITY MANAGER CAN ATTEST TO. I HAVE A JUSTIA, UH, ACCOUNT. IT'S A, IT'S A, IT'S A LAW, IT'S A CASE ACCOUNT. YOU CAN LOOK AT CASE, UH, CASE DOCUMENTS AND, UH, I DON'T WANT TO REVEAL THE NAME OF THE, THE SRO, SO I'LL, I'LL BE MINDFUL OF THAT, DR. DAVIS. BUT WITH RESPECT TO, UM, THE OPERATOR, THE PATEL FAMILY, RIGHT? WHAT IS, WITH RESPECT TO THE PEOPLE THAT ARE POOR OPERATORS THAT MANAGE THESE SPACES WHERE OUR UNHOUSED COMMUNITIES ARE, UM, FALLING VICTIM TO THESE MOMENTS, WHAT IS THE, THE ORDER OF OPERATIONS WITH RESPECT TO, UH, CRIMINALIZING PEOPLE THAT ARE SLUM LORDS AND DON'T MAINTAIN CLEAN SPACES FOR, UH, OUR, OUR MOST VULNERABLE COMMUNITY? UM, WHETHER THIS PARTICULAR LOCATION, WHETHER IT'S THE PRINCESS INN, WHETHER IT'S, UH, THE LONG BEACH MOTEL, I MEAN, THERE'S A PLETHORA OF PLACES. YOU CAN JUST LOOK UP THE SAME OPERATOR. THESE TYPES OF THINGS ARE OCCURRING WITH THE HOMELESS AND UNHOUSED, UH, POPULATION. AND SO I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SEE, WITH RESPECT TO CONTINUING THE LOCAL EMERGENCY, WE ALSO HAVE SOME TYPE OF FRAMEWORK OF PENALIZING PEOPLE THAT OPERATE THESE POOR SPACES, THESE INAPPROPRIATE AND HOSPITABLE PLACES, UH, AND, AND, AND SEEING IF THERE'S SOME TYPE OF CRIMINAL RESPONSE. THE REASON THAT I SAY THAT IS THESE SAME PEOPLE THAT ARE OPERATING THESE TERRIBLY INHOSPITABLE LOCATIONS HAVE MULTIPLE TIMES DURING THIS COVID PROCESS GOTTEN TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. THEY'VE BEEN REWARDED FOR BEING POOR OPERATORS. AND THEN WHEN WE HAVE THESE TYPE OF THINGS HAPPEN HERE, OR, YOU KNOW, AT OTHER LOCATIONS, I DON'T WANNA SAY, UM, YOU KNOW, WE JUST KIND OF STEP AWAY AND, AND, AND UNFORTUNATELY DUMP THE LOAD OF RESPONDING REACTIVELY TO WITH OUR HEALTH DEPARTMENT, UH, WHICH I APPRECIATE THEM FOR. BUT WE SHOULD ALSO BE PROACTIVE AND WE SHOULD CHALLENGE THE NOTION THAT, UH, JUST 'CAUSE SOMEONE IS HOMELESS, THAT THEY DESERVE TO BE PUT IN THESE LIVING CONDITIONS. SO I THINK THAT WITH RESPECT TO THE EMERGENCY, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD, UH, LOOK INTO, UM, YOU KNOW, PENALIZING THE, THE BAT OPERATORS OF THESE TYPES OF LOCATIONS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UH, SEE NO OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS, UM, ON THIS MATTER. [02:25:01] UM, MEMBERS, PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTES. MOTION IS CARRIED. OKAY, SO OUR NEXT ITEM IS, UH, GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT NUMBER TWO, AND WE HAVE DEBORAH BATAY SIGNED UP. GOOD EVENING CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. UH, MY NAME IS DEBRA BATAY. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME THIS TIME FOR OPEN COMMENT. IF YOU RECALL LAST, UH, MEETING, I PRESENTED EACH ONE OF YOU, SO THEY CANNOT GET THIS. I THINK I GIVE 'EM TO YOU AGAIN. YOU SHOULD HAVE, DO WE AGAIN? WE HAD TO CHANGE A DATE, SO WE WANTED TO INVITE YOU AGAIN. UH, AS THE PRESIDENT OF THE WOMEN'S EDUCATION CIRCLE FOR DEMOCRACY LONG BEACH, WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO PROMOTE YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS, UM, AND ALSO THE START OF A NEW NONPROFIT CALLED ELI VICTORY GARDEN SCHOOLS. SO, THE FLYER YOU'RE GETTING, WE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF CHANGE. IT SAYS, HAPPY MOTHERS MAY HELP US BUILD THE BELOVED COMMUNITY. UH, HAPPY MOTHERS MAY COMMUNITY CROP SWAP. WE'RE INVITING THE BELOVED COMMUNITY, WHICH IS ALL THE ALL OF YOUR DISTRICTS, UH, TO A GREEN TOUR OF LOCAL PARCELS OF MOTHER EARTH THAT NEED, LOVE AND ATTENTION. AS FREE COMMUNITY GARDENS IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, WE WANT A COMMUNITY PEACE GARDEN IN EVERY DISTRICT IN LONG BEACH. BRING YOUR PRODUCE FROM YOUR TREES AND GARDENS TO SHARE. SO, UH, AS THE MOTHER OF THE COMMUNITY PEACE GARDEN AT MARTIN LUTHER KING PARK, WE WANNA USE THAT MODEL IN EVERY DISTRICT. SO WE'RE REQUESTING SOME FINANCING FROM YOUR OFFICE HOLDER ACCOUNTS TO INVEST JUST AS MUCH AS YOU INVESTED. I AM A FIRST NATION WOMAN, SO WE'RE ASKING FOR NONPROFITS WHO ARE RUN BY CULTURAL INDIVIDUALS. SO, FRIDAY, WE WILL BE AT, UH, THE COMMUNITY PEACE GARDEN, MARTIN LUTHER KING, UH, FRIDAY, TOMORROW, FRIDAY, THE 5 24 5 31 WILL BE SATURDAY AT MICHELLE OBAMA GARDEN, UH, FROM ONE TO 4:00 PM AND, UH, SUNDAY WE ARE TRYING MS. KERR TO GET THE LIGHTS TURNED ON AT THE LAMP POST ON ATLANTIC, UH, IN THE RAMEN HUB PARKING LOT. SO WE'LL BE THERE. SO WE HOPE WE GET YOUR SUPPORT. AND WE'VE ALSO BEEN INVITED. UM, WE WILL BE, UH, AT THE HOME DEPOT, UH, ON ATLANTIC AND SPRING. UH, THE ASSISTANT MANAGER, TATIANA IS INVITING EVERYONE. IT SAYS, MOM BEACH HOME DEPOT'S MEMORIAL DAY SALES EXTRAVAGANZA. SO THEY'RE HAVING EVENTS FOR, UM, GAMES, PRIZES, GIVEAWAYS, FACE PAINTING, AND THEY INVITED ELI VICTORY GARDEN SCHOOLS SINCE, UH, HOME DEPOT WAS OUR PARTNER TO BUILD THE MARTIN LUTHER COMMUNITY PEACE GARDEN. AND WE ALSO INVITED YOU TO A REUNION IN AUGUST AT THE GARDEN. SO WE'RE HOPING, UH, THAT YOU COME, UH, WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS OPPORTUNITY. UM, AND AS A FIRST NATION WOMAN, WE DO HAVE 10 COMMANDMENTS. SO, UM, MS. RICKS ODIE, WE'VE BEEN UP AT MICHELLE OBAMA, SO WE HOPE YOU CAN COME BY AND SEE THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE. WE HAVE A BIG SUNFLOWER FARM. TWO OF THEM WE'VE BEEN, I'VE SPENT ABOUT $25,000 OF MY RETIREMENT MONEY TRYING TO REVITALIZE THESE SPACES. AND I WOULD LIKE THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. AND MR. MOCA, WE'VE ASKED YOU SEVERAL TIMES TO TAKE A LOOK. UM, I THINK THE CITY OWES ME AN APOLOGY FOR IGNORING THE FACT THAT I BUILT THE GARDEN. SO I'D LIKE TO HAVE SUBMIT THE, UH, ORIGINAL GRANT. WE'D LIKE TO HAVE THE CITY AUDITOR, UM, AUDIT THE GARDEN FOR FUNDING FROM 2013 TO PRESENT. MA'AM, YOUR TIME'S CONCLUDED. WE HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON. OKAY, THANK YOU. THAT CONCLUDES GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT. UH, WE ARE NOW IN ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE COUNCIL, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KERR. YES. UH, THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER AUSTIN, UH, I WANNA GIVE A BIG SHOUT OUT TO, UH, OUR SPECIAL EVENTS TEAM AND LONG BEACH PRIDE FOR A WONDERFUL, INCREDIBLE PRIDE PARADE AND CELEBRATION. UM, IT WAS WELL ORGANIZED AND THOUGHTFUL. UM, SO I KNOW IT CAME UP QUICK THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF THE MOVEMENT BACK TO MAY. BUT REALLY WANNA THANK EVERYBODY. UM, AND I KNOW VICE MAYOR ALAN SHARES THE SENTIMENTS AS WELL FOR A REALLY INCREDIBLE CELEBRATION THIS WEEKEND. SO TO LONG BEACH PRIDE AND ALL THE VOLUNTEERS AND OUR SPECIAL EVENTS AND STAFF AND TEAM WHO PUT THAT TOGETHER. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM, THIS WEEKEND I INVITE ALL RESIDENTS TO CONTINUE CELEBRATION OF A API HERITAGE MONTH. UH, THIS WEEK'S POPUP MARKET AT THE HANGAR LAWN AT LBX ON SATURDAY IS RUNNING FROM 11 TO SEVEN. WE'LL FEATURE MORE THAN 40 VENDORS WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON A API BUSINESSES, AS WELL AS LIVE MUSIC AND OTHER FAMILY FRIENDLY EVENTS. UM, I REALLY WANNA ENCOURAGE FOLKS I DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO SPEAK ON THE HONORING OUR HEROES EVENT THAT IS HAPPENING ON SUNDAY AT FIVE 30 AT THE SHORELINE AQUATIC PARK, UH, BEHIND THE AQUARIUM. IT IS A REALLY INCREDIBLE EVENT. LAST YEAR WAS THE INAUGURAL EVENT, UM, AND THEY'VE GOT EVEN [02:30:01] MORE WONDERFUL THINGS PLANNED FOR THIS YEAR. SO REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU ON SUNDAY. IT'S HAPPENING AROUND SUNSET. IT'S A BEAUTIFUL SPACE, UM, FOR A REALLY IMPORTANT CAUSE. SO, UH, ENCOURAGE YOU FOR THAT. AND THEN ON MONDAY MORNING, IF YOU'RE LOOKING TO CONTINUE, UH, TO HONOR THOSE WHO, UH, GAVE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE, I INVITE YOU TO FOREST LAWN OF LONG BEACH IN THEIR ANNUAL MEMORIAL DAY CEREMONY, BEGINNING AT 10:00 AM THE EVENT IS FREE TO ATTEND WITH FREE PARKING, WITH HIGHLIGHTS, INCLUDING THE COLOR GUARD, A READING OF THE PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION, PATRIOTIC MUSIC, AND MORE. UH, WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOU OUT THERE AGAIN, HONORING OUR MILITARY'S FALLEN HEROES. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER KERR. COUNCIL MEMBER JONI RICK OTI. UM, I'D LIKE TO INVITE EVERYBODY OUT TO A DISTRICT NINE TOWN HALL MEETING ON THURSDAY, MAY 23RD FROM SIX TO 8:00 PM UM, I ADDITIONALLY WOULD LIKE TO INVITE EVERYONE OUT TO THE COLLINS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETING. UM, THEY WERE GONNA BE MEETING ON TUESDAY, MAY 28TH FROM SEVEN TO 8:00 PM THIS EVENT WILL BE HELD THROUGH ZOOM. UM, PLEASE CONTACT MY OFFICE AT DISTRICT9@LONGBEACH.GOV TO GET THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ZOOM MEETING. UH, AND THEN LASTLY, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO, UM, UH, ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS WEEKEND IS GONNA BE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND. UM, I'D LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT TO REFLECT ON THE SACRIFICES OF OUR FALLEN HEROES, UM, AND EXPRESS OUR GRATITUDE FOR THEIR SERVICE. UM, UH, AND LASTLY, UM, I'D LIKE TO CLOSE THE MEETING IN HONOR OF A COMMUNITY MEMBER. UM, HER NAME IS SUSANNA T**T. SHE RECENTLY, UH, PASSED AWAY. UH, SUSANNA T**T WAS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF A NONPROFIT CALLED WRAP THE KIDS, WHICH IS A NONPROFIT THAT WAS LED ENTIRELY BY FOLKS THAT HAVE BE THERE, HAVE BEEN CURRENTLY OR PREVIOUSLY UNHOUSED. UM, THEY DID A NUMBER OF COMMUNITY EVENTS. THEY PARTNERED WITH OUR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, UM, OR LONGSTANDING COMMUNITY PARTNERS. UM, AND SUSANNA WAS SOMEONE WITH JUST BASICALLY, LITERALLY A HEART, HEART OF GOLD. THEY WOULD DO A, YOU KNOW, A NORTH LONG BEACH, UH, CHRISTMAS, UM, YOU KNOW, SANTA AT THE POLE EVENT. AND, UM, JUST REALLY PLEASURES TO, TO WORK WITH. AND SO WE'RE REALLY GONNA MISS HER PRESENCE, UM, IN NORTH LONG BEACH, UM, AND HER COMMITMENT. BUT I'M HAPPY TO HEAR, UM, TO SAY THAT, UM, HER LEGACY LIVES ON, UM, AND THE WORK THAT SHE WAS DOING WITH WRAP THE KIDS WILL ALSO LIVE ON. THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER ZENDEJAS. I'M SORRY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER AUSTIN. UH, FIRST I'D LIKE TO INVITE YOU TO, IF YOU'RE NOT ALREADY SUBSCRIBED TO OUR NEWSLETTER, UM, TO PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER SO YOU CAN GET ALL THE LATEST INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN DISTRICT ONE, INCLUDING FREE EVENTS, UM, UPDATES, AND MORE. UM, PLEASE CALL MY OFFICE OR EMAIL AT 5 6 2 7 5 7 0 6 9 1 9 OR EMAIL US AT DISTRICT1@LONGREACH.GOV. ALSO WANT TO INVITE YOU TO, UM, THE BARBECUE FESTIVAL BEING HELD THIS SATURDAY, MAY 25TH. IF YOU HAVE NOT GOTTEN YOUR TICKETS YET, MAKE SURE TO GET THEM. UM, ALSO ON JUNE 1ST, WE HAVE OUR LA WINE FEST FEST, UM, HAPPENING ON SATURDAY, JUNE 1ST AT HENRY BRIDGE PARK NEAR THE QUEEN MARY. FOR MORE INFO, PLEASE, UM, GO TO WW LA WINE FEST.COM AND WELCOME BACK WI LA WI WINE FEST. UM, I'M REALLY HAPPY TO HAVE YOU BACK IN DISTRICT ONE. UM, ALSO, AGAIN, ANOTHER, UM, ANOTHER PLUG FOR OUR C SUNSET CEREMONY THAT'S HAPPENING ON MAY 26TH. SO MANY GREAT ACTIVITIES HERE IN LONG BEACH FOR OUR RESIDENTS TO COME AND ENJOY. SO HOPE TO SEE YOU OUT IN THE COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. UH, SEEING NO MORE COMMENTS FROM BEHIND THE RAIL, UH, I AM OFFICIALLY CLEARING DECLARING THIS MEETING. WAIT, DO, DON'T I HAVE VETO AUTHORITY TONIGHT? ADJOURNED. YEAH. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.