* 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. THEY ARE. AND SO, [00:00:01] OKAY. HELLO EVERYONE. I'D LIKE TO CALL THE [CALL TO ORDER] ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MEETING TO ORDER FOR NOVEMBER 6TH, 2024. UM, MADAM CLERK, COULD [ ROLL CALL ] YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLE COMMISSIONER CONE? COMMISSIONER DYA. COMMISSIONER LARKINS? HERE. COMMISSIONER MATOYER? HERE. COMMISSIONER NOVIN? HERE. COMMISSIONER SANDOVAL. COMMISSIONER SMITH. HERE. COMMISSIONER WENCH HERE. VICE CHAIR THOMAS. HERE. CHAIR. SHE MOAMA HERE. WE HAVE QUORUM. OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU. UM, SO FOR THE RECORD, COMMISSIONER COHEN IS EXCUSED FROM THE MEETING. AND COMMISSIONER DENA IS UNEXCUSED. AND COMMISSIONER HU. COMMISSIONER SANDOVAL IS ON HIS WAY. SO ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION? OKAY. WHY DON'T WE MOVE INTO ITEM NUMBER ONE. UM, COULD YOU PLEASE READ THE ITEM? ITEM NUMBER ONE [1. 24-55469 Recommendation to approve the minutes for the Economic Development Commission meeting of Wednesday, October 2, 2024.       Suggested Action:  Approve recommendation.  ] IS RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MEETING OF WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2ND. OKAY. COULD I PLEASE HAVE A MOTION TO HEAR THE ITEM? SO MOVED A SECOND. WE HAVE A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER NOVIN. AND A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER MATOYER. GREAT, THANK YOU. UM, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MINUTES? OKAY. SEE NO QUESTIONS OR IS, IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE COMMIT ON THE MINUTES? SEEING AN END? OKAY. CAN WE, UM, YOU NEED TO TAKE A VOTE? NO, I CAN TAKE A VOICE VOTE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GIVE THAT TO ME. COMMISSIONER, OR EXCUSE ME, VICE CHAIR. I RECEIVED YOUR YES VOTE. THANK YOU. MOTION CARRIES. GREAT, THANK YOU. CAN I PLEASE HAVE YOU READ THROUGH ITEM NUMBER TWO? RECOMMENDATION ITEM NUMBER TWO [2. 24-55470 Recommendation to receive updates from the Downtown Long Beach Alliance on activities to address vacant storefronts and increase Downtown Activation, as well receive an update from City staff on this matter.         Suggested Action:  Approve recommendation. ] IS RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE UPDATES FROM THE DOWNTOWN LONG BEACH ALLIANCE ON ACTIVITIES TO ADDRESS VACANT STOREFRONTS AND INCREASE DOWNTOWN ACTIVATION, AS WELL AS RECEIVE AN UPDATE FROM CITY STAFF ON THIS MATTER. OKAY. COULD I HAVE A MOTION ON THIS ITEM? WE HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER SMITH AND A SECOND FROM VICE CHAIR THOMAS. OKAY. AND THEN DO WE HAVE A PRESENTATION FROM THE STAFF? GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE. YES. WE HAVE A PRESENTATION FOR ONE OF YOUR VERY OWN COMMISSIONERS, COMMISSIONER MATOYER, UH, WILL BE PRESENTING, AND COMMISSIONER MATOYA. YOU CAN PRESENT FROM THE DIOCESE IF YOU LIKE, OR FROM BACK HERE IF THERE'S ANY PREFERENCE, UH, UP TO YOU. SO I'LL JUST HAND OVER THIS FOR YOU IF YOU WANT AND THEN WE'LL GET STARTED. ALL RIGHT. UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, FELLOW COMMISSIONERS. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, PRESENT ON KIND OF THE STATE OF DOWNTOWN RETAIL. UM, ALSO KIND OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT OUR ORGANIZATION, THE DOWNTOWN LONG BEACH ALLIANCE IS CONSIDERING TO HELP ACTIVATE THE AREA. UM, AND ALSO JUST HOPING TO HAVE A FURTHER DISCUSSION ON, UM, WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP ADDRESS VACANCIES IN DOWNTOWN, BUT ALSO THROUGH THE CITY IF, UH, PROGRAMS AND SERVICES MAKE THE MOST SENSE. SO WITH THAT, UH, I FIGURED I'D GIVE AN OVERVIEW ON KIND OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE DOWNTOWN REAL ESTATE MARKET. TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE SEEING ACROSS THE STATE AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND OTHER DOWNTOWNS AND SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO, UM, AND THEN OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS. SO JUST A, AN OVERVIEW OF THE DOWNTOWN MARKET. SO, UM, SINCE, SORRY. SO OVERALL, THE DOWNTOWN MARKET IS ABOUT A 16% VACANCY RATE. UH, YOU NOTICE THE CHART ON YOUR RIGHT HAS OUR VACANCY RATE FROM 2019 GOING FORWARD UNTIL 2023. VACANCY IN DOWN IN REAL RETAIL OVERALL HAS NEARLY DOUBLED SINCE LAST YEAR, UH, FROM ABOUT 6% TO 11%, AND NOW IT'S 16%. UM, AND AGAIN, THIS IS A SLIGHT INCREASE FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR. UM, WHAT WE HAVE NOTICED THOUGH, IS THAT WHILE PEDESTRIAN FOOT TRAFFIC HASN'T HIT 2019 LEVELS, THEY'VE STEADILY INCREASED SINCE 2020. SO IN 2019, WE HAD A, A TOTAL, UH, PEDESTRIAN FOOT TRAFFIC COUNT OF ABOUT 3.6 MILLION VISITS. AS OF TODAY, UH, WE ARE ABOUT 2.4 TO 2.5 MILLION VISITS. THIS INFORMATION IS TRACKED BY PLACER, WHICH IS A, UH, SOFTWARE SERVICE THAT PROVIDES, UH, [00:05:02] TRACKING INFORMATION THROUGH, UH, GEOTAGGING AND GEOLOCATION. UM, THE OTHER THING THAT WE'VE NOTICED IS THAT THERE HAVE BEEN A SERIES OF CLOSERS, BOTH SMALL AND BIG SPOT, BIG BOX RETAILERS. FOR, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, THE WALGREENS ON SIXTH AND LONG BEACH BOULEVARD, UH, WAS ABOUT 13,000 SQUARE FEET RECENTLY CLOSED. SAME WITH THE EXPRESS DOWN AT THE PIKE OUTLETS, BUT WE'VE ALSO HAD A NUMBER OF SMALL INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES CLOSE THAT HAVE TAKEN UP, UH, SOME OF THAT, UH, ADDITIONAL RETAIL SPACE. THE OTHER THING, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THIS A LITTLE LATER, IS THAT THERE'S BEEN A CONSIDERABLE INCREASE IN THE OVERALL SQUARE FOOTAGE FOR RETAIL, UM, SINCE 2015 THROUGH NEW DEVELOPMENTS THAT HAVE OCCURRED, MIXED USE DEVELOPMENTS, THERE'S BEEN ABOUT 125,000 SQUARE FEET THAT'S BEEN INTRODUCED INTO THE DOWNTOWN, UM, THROUGH A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT PROJECTS. THIS CAN INCLUDE ANI EAST VILLAGE. THIS CAN INCLUDE THE OCEAN CENTER BUILDING, AS WELL AS THE MAGNOLIA AND SEVERAL OF THE NEW DEVELOPMENTS THAT HAVE OCCURRED. SO WHAT'S IMPACTING RETAIL VACANCIES? UH, THERE ARE A VARIETY OF FACTORS, UH, AND, AND ALL, UH, STEMMING FROM SHIFTING TRENDS IN OUR, UH, ECONOMY AS WELL AS THE IMPACTS OF COVID TO 19. SO THE FIRST AND MOST NOBLE IS, IS THE CHANGE IN SHOPPING BEHAVIOR, RIGHT? A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE MOVED AWAY FROM THE TRADITIONAL FORMATS OF BOTH BIG BOX AS WELL AS IN-PERSON SHOPPING, AND NOW IS, UH, BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC HAVE GOTTEN REALLY USED TO ONLINE ORDERING AND DELIVERING. UH, AND SO THAT'S A CHANGE IN SHOPPING BEHAVIOR. THE SECOND IS THE IMPACTS OF REMOTE WORK ON FOOT TRAFFIC. UM, DOWNTOWNS AS AN ECONOMY, ESPECIALLY OUR DOWNTOWN, HAS THRIVED ON KIND OF THREE KEY AREAS. THAT'S INCLUDE RESIDENTIAL, THE OFFICE ENVIRONMENT, AS WELL AS TOURISM AND VISITORS. UM, SINCE THE PANDEMIC, THE OFFICE ENVIRONMENT HAS NOT RETURNED TO PRE PANDEMIC LEVELS. UM, AT RIGHT AT THE MOMENT WE ARE SINGING ABOUT A 50% UTILIZATION FOR IN-PERSON, UH, OFFICE WORK. SO FOLKS WHO ARE COMING INTO THE OFFICE. UM, AND SO THAT FOOT TRAFFIC HAS AN IM HAS HAD AN IMPACT ON RETAILS, PARTICULARLY WHEN IT COMES TO THINGS LIKE DRY CLEANING, UH, COFFEE SHOPS, UH, LUNCH SPOTS. UM, THOSE PLACES THAT HAD BEEN DEPENDENT ON THAT FOOT TRAFFIC HAVE SEEN A DECREASE IN THEIR OVERALL REVENUE. UM, SECONDLY OR THIRDLY, ECONOMIC CHALLENGES WHEN IT COMES TO SMALL BUSINESS OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT FACTORS THAT HAVE HIT SMALL BUSINESS FROM INFLATION, UH, TO INVENTORY SHORTAGES TO THE COSTS OF INGREDIENTS GOING UP. AND SO THOSE HAVE ALL HIT SMALL BUSINESSES IN A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT WAYS. AN ONGOING CHALLENGE, AND THIS IS PRE PANDEMIC, HAS CONTINUED TO BE THE COST OF PERMITTING AND PERMITTING DELAYS. AND SO WHILE THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF EFFORTS BY THE CITY TO DECREASE THE AMOUNT OF TIME TO RECEIVE A PERMIT OR TRY TO DECREASE THE COST OF PERMITS, THOSE STILL REMAIN A CHALLENGE TO MANY SMALL BUSINESSES WHO MAY HAVE, UH, ISSUES LIKE, UH, FINANCING. AND AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THE LAST, AND I THINK ONE OF THE MOST NOTABLE ONES IS AN OVERSUPPLY OF RETAIL, UM, PARTICULARLY AS THE MARKET HAS SHIFTED. UM, AND WHAT I MEAN BY OVERSUPPLY OF RETAIL IS THAT NOT ALL RETAIL IN THE DOWNTOWN IS TREATED THE SAME. THE THE FOUR ENGINE, THE FOUR IMAGES YOU HAVE ON THE SCREEN HIGHLIGHT FOUR DIFFERENT TYPES OF RETAIL THAT WE HAVE IN THE DOWNTOWN. THE TOP LEFT IMAGE, UH, THAT SAYS 1897 IS OUR, OUR MORE TRADITIONAL STANDALONE RETAIL THAT OUR SMALL BOUTIQUE, UH, UH, BUSINESSES OPERATE OUT OF THE BUSINESS TO THE, OR THE PHOTO TO THE RIGHT ON E EAST VILLAGE IS ONE OF OUR NEW MIXED USE DEVELOPMENTS THAT HAS INTRODUCED, UH, ROUGHLY 30,000 SQUARE FEET INTO THE DOWNTOWN. THE BOTTOM LEFT IMAGE IS THE PIKE OUTLETS, ONE OF OUR MAIN SHOPPING CENTERS, JUST LIKE SHORELINE VILLAGE OR MOSAIC. AND THEN THE BOTTOM RIGHT IS AN OFFICE BUILDING 180 EAST OCEAN, WHERE, UH, BEACH DELI AS WELL AS, UM, RUTH CHRIS HAS, UH, HAS RECENTLY MOVED IN. BUT THAT HIGHLIGHTS WHERE RETAIL ON THE GROUND FLOOR OF OFFICE BUILDINGS IS AT. AND SO THE CHART GIVES YOU AN OVERALL VIEW OF WHAT THE VACANCY RATE IS FOR EACH ONE OF THOSE TYPES. TYPES. SO OVERALL RETAIL VACANCY IS AT 16%. WHEN WE THINK ABOUT STANDALONE, WE'RE ACTUALLY AT 6%. WE'RE ACTUALLY DOING PRETTY GOOD. MOST OF OUR STANDALONE RETAIL TENDS TO EITHER BE OLDER OR A SINGLE USE. UH, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE MIXED USE, THIS IS THE LARGEST VACANCY THAT WE HAVE. AND THIS IS WHERE MOST OF THE NEW RETAIL THAT HAS COME ONLINE HAS COME FROM. UM, SINCE 2016, WE'VE ADDED ABOUT FOUR TO 5,000 NEW UNITS. AND ALL THOSE PROJECTS HAVE EITHER INCLUDED SOME LEVEL OF MIXED RETAIL ON THE GROUND FLOOR, ANYWHERE FROM ABOUT 1200 SQUARE FEET TO THE HIGHEST, LIKE I SAID BEFORE, WAS ABOUT 30,000. AND THEN LASTLY, OFFICE BUILDINGS. UM, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT PINE AVENUE, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT OCEAN BOULEVARD OR WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT, UM, THE WEST GATEWAY CORRIDOR, THERE'S CERTAINLY OFFICE BUILDINGS THAT HAVE RETAIL ON THE BOTTOM, EITHER AS AN OFFICE USE OR AS A RETAIL USE. AND AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, UM, THE CHANGE IN REMOTE WORK HAS HAD AN IMPACT ON WHETHER OR NOT THOSE RETAIL OPTIONS ARE SUSTAINABLE. [00:10:04] SO WHAT ARE SOME, SOME OPTIONS TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE VACANT RETAIL, UH, IN BOTH THE SHORT TERM AND THE LONG TERM? UM, THE FOUR PIECES THAT YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU ARE EXAMPLES OF, UH, RETAIL THAT SOLUTIONS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN BOTH OUR DOWNTOWN, OR NOT OUR DOWNTOWN, BUT IN OUR CITY AND ALSO ACROSS OTHER CITIES IN THE COUNTRY. THE, THE FIRST ONE IS A POP-UP RETAIL SPACES. SO THE, THE IMAGE YOU HAVE HERE IS OVER, WE'RE AT SECOND PCH. THIS IS THE IMAGE OF THE NEW PIXAR MINI, UH, GOLF THAT'S POPPED UP. BUT THAT SPACE WAS ALSO FORMALLY THE ROLLER DISCO SPACE. SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT WHAT CAN HAPPEN IN THE SHORT TERM FOR SPACES, PARTICULARLY SHELL SPACES, IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE SOME OF THESE ACTIVATIONS, UM, THAT CAN ALLOW FOR A SHORT TERM LEASE, UM, THAT CAN SHOWCASE EITHER AN UPCOMING, UH, BRAND OR A TREND, OR PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A SEASONAL SHOP TO GO INTO PLACE. THE SECOND IMAGE IS MARKET SELL AREAS. UH, THIS IS THINKING ABOUT, UM, AND THIS IS ACTUALLY AN IMAGE FROM LONG BEACH EXCHANGE, AND THIS IS THINKING ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT YOU CAN, UM, PUT TOGETHER SEVERAL SMALL KIOSKS AND VENDORS IN A COLLECTIVE AREA AND HELP THEM TO OFFSET THE OVERALL COST OF A SPACE, PARTICULARLY WHEN YOU HAVE A LARGER SPACE. UM, I THINK FOR THE DOWNTOWN, WHERE WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT TRYING TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE RETAIL VACANCIES IS DURING THESE EXPERIENTIAL, SORRY, THE WORD, UH, RETAIL. SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES THAT ENGAGE, UH, CONSUMERS, THAT ENGAGE RESIDENTS THAT ARE MOVING INTO THE DOWNTOWN, PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR THINGS TO DO. UH, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, SHOPPING HABITS HAVE CHANGED. NOT EVERYBODY IS GOING TO A DOWNTOWN TO SHOP, BUT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR AN EXPERIENCE. AND SO IF YOU CAN INTRODUCE SOME TYPE OF RETAIL, WHETHER IT'S, UH, AN ART INSTALLATION LIKE MEOW WOLF WHERE PEOPLE CAN GO AND INTERACT WITH THE SPACE, WHETHER IT'S, UH, A BARCADE OR WHETHER IT'S, UM, BOWLING. THESE ARE THINGS THAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING TO DO WITH OTHER FOLKS. AND SO THAT'S ONE WAY OF ADDRESSING SOME OF THOSE VACANCIES. AND THEN THE LAST PIECE, UM, THAT WE'RE SEEING SOME CITIES DO IS ADDRESS THE VACANCIES THROUGH INCENTIVIZING, UM, PARTICULAR BRANDS OR TYPES OF USES. SO, UH, IF AN AREA OR A CORRIDOR IS GOING TO BE DEEMED AS SAY, YOUR ENTERTAINMENT CORRIDOR, THEN HOW ARE WE LOOKING AT TO HELP SUBSIDIZE OR PROVIDE GRANTS, UH, TO THAT SPECIFIC TYPE OF BUSINESS COMING IN? WHETHER IT'S BARCADES, ENTERTAINMENT TYPE OF, UM, ACTIVITIES, ACTS, THROWING, THOSE ARE OTHER OPTIONS THAT ARE, ARE IN PLACE. UM, WHERE WE REALLY SEE THIS AD IS WHEN WE THINK ABOUT, UM, ART AND CULTURE AND HOW WE CAN GET, UM, THE ARTIST COMMUNITY INVOLVED IN CERTAIN VACANT SPACES AND WHETHER OR NOT YOU CAN EITHER PROVIDE GRANTS FOR THOSE ARTISTS TO GO INTO THE SPACES OR HELP TO SUBSIDIZE THEIR RENT. SO THREE EXAMPLES, UH, THAT ARE CURRENTLY UNDERWAY OR HAVE BEEN UNDERWAY FOR SOME TIME, UH, IS, UH, A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE MARKET AREA PIECE THAT I TALKED ABOUT EARLIER IS THE MEAT PACKING DISTRICT, UH, WHERE WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT COCO COLLECTING, UH, VARIOUS DIFFERENT TENANTS AND VENDORS INTO ONE SPACE THAT SHARE A LARGER SPACE. UH, ANOTHER IDEA THAT WE'VE SEEN HAPPEN, UH, AND THIS IS IN DENVER, COLORADO, IS IF THE EXTERIOR, IF THE INTERIOR OF THE SPACE CANNOT BE ADDRESSED THROUGH, UM, IN ADDRESSING THE VACANCY, HOW DO YOU CREATE AN INTERACTIVE PIECE IN THE EXTERIOR SPACES? SO DOWNTOWN HAS PLENTY OF ALLEYWAYS THAT COULD BE TURNED INTO, UM, SOME TYPE OF ART EXPERIENCE OR SOME TYPE OF DINING WAY. AND IT'S THE, THE, THE SPACES BETWEEN THE BUILDINGS THAT CAN CREATE NEW ENERGY THAT YOU CAN THEN DRAW ATTRACTION TO THE SPACE, TO THE POTENTIAL VACANCY. SO WHETHER IT'S ART, WHETHER IT'S DINING, UM, WHAT, WHATEVER IT MAY BE, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO FOCUS ON THE AREAS AROUND THE BUILDING AND NOT NECESSARILY THE VACANCY ITSELF. AND THEN THE MOST RECENT ONE, THIS IS IN SAN FRANCISCO, THE VACANT TO VIBRANCY PROGRAM. UM, THIS IS WHERE THEY'VE CHOSEN A COHORT. THEY'RE GOING ON THEIR SECOND COHORT NOW OF ABOUT 10 TO 14 BUSINESSES, UM, WITH, UH, PROVIDING SUBSIDIZED RENT TO THOSE BUSINESSES, UM, LOCAL BRANDS WHO ARE LOOKING AT EXPANDING AND GROWING INTO A SPACE. UM, KIND OF SIMILAR TO THE, TO THE PROGRAM THAT THE CITY ONCE HAD, WHICH WAS THE CORNER POPUP WHERE THEY PROVIDED THE SPACE FOR THOSE BUSINESSES TO GO IN. BUT IN THIS PROGRAM, SAN FRANCISCO HAS WORKED WITH THEIR BID PARTNERS TO IDENTIFY SPACES WITHIN THEIR DISTRICTS, UM, THAT COULD HOUSE THE INDIVIDUAL BUSINESSES. THE CITY DID PROVIDE GRANT FUNDING TO THOSE BUSINESSES TO POP UP IN THAT SPACE. AND THEN THE BID OR THE CITY WORKED WITH THE VARIETY OF PROPERTY OWNERS AND BROKERS TO COME UP WITH A DIFFERENT TYPE OF, UH, LEASE THAT WOULD WORK OUT FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS. SO THOSE INDIVIDUALS HAD A 12 MONTH LEASE. UM, AND AT THE END OF THAT 12 MONTH, THEY WERE ENCOURAGED IF THINGS WENT WELL TO CONTINUE ON IN THAT SPACE. AND IF NOT, THEN THEY WERE PULLED OUT OF THAT SPACE FOR AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ANOTHER ONE TO GO THROUGH. UM, AS I MENTIONED, THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN FAIRLY SUCCESSFUL. UM, THE FIRST YEAR THEY HAD 10 BUSINESSES PARTICIPATE. SIX OF THEM CONTINUED ON WITH THEIR LONG-TERM LEASE, AND NOW THEY'RE ROLLING OUT ANOTHER COHORT [00:15:01] LOOKING AT 14 NEW BUSINESSES TO GO IN THIS SPACE. SO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE ALREADY HAPPENING IN, IN OUR DOWNTOWN THAT WE ARE WORKING ON AS THE ALLIANCE, BUT ALSO THE CITY IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON, UM, ONE IS TRYING TO HAVE A, A VERY DATA-DRIVEN APPROACH. UM, OUR TEAM DEVELOPS MARKET REPORTS, UM, AND THE CITY IS UNDERWAY WITH THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD MARKET PROFILES, UM, TO REALLY TRY TO HIGHLIGHT VACANCIES IN STOREFRONTS THAT ARE IN THE DOWNTOWN, BUT ACROSS THE CITY, BUT ALSO, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, PROVIDING FOOT TRAFFIC DATA REAL TIME. WHAT IS THE HIGHEST POINT OF WHEN FOOT TRAFFIC IS IN AN AREA, UM, AND WHAT DAYS ARE BEST TO HELP DRIVE WHATEVER THE RETAIL OPTION IS. AND THEN ALSO, UH, NOT AN ITEM THAT WE'VE WORKED ON, BUT ONE THAT THE CITY CERTAINLY HAS WORKED ON, UH, WITH LOCAL LIGHT WAS, UM, PROVIDING SOME TYPE OF INCENTIVE FOR THE EXISTING BUSINESSES TO PARTICIPATE FOR DISCOUNTS, UM, TO GO TO THOSE BUSINESSES TO KEEP THEM IN THOSE STOREFRONTS. ON A LONG-TERM STRATEGY PIECE, UH, TWO THINGS THAT ARE CURRENTLY UNDERWAY. THE, THE DOWNTOWN PLAN UPDATE PD 30 AS WELL AS THE PD SIX UPDATE, UM, IS LOOKING AT ALLOWING FOR MORE FLEXIBLE USES. SO AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, UM, UNDER THE PREVIOUS DOWNTOWN PLAN, THERE WAS A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT THAT HAPPENED THAT REQUIRED RETAIL TO BE ON THE GROUND FLOOR. UM, WE'RE SEEING NOW THAT SINCE THERE ISN'T THE DEMAND FOR THAT, PERHAPS WE'RE REQUIRING RETAIL ON THE GROUND FLOOR IS NOT THE BEST USE FOR THAT SPACE, BUT ALLOWING FOR FLEXIBILITY, WHETHER IT'S RETAIL, WHETHER IT'S RESIDENTIAL OR MAYBE AN ARTIST GALLERY, WHAT HAVE YOU, UM, ALLOWING THAT THE ZONING BE UPDATED TO ALLOW FOR FLEXIBILITY IS GONNA BE REALLY KEY TO ADDRESSING IT IN THE LONG TERM. ON THE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS PIECE, UH, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S A POPUP PROGRAM, WHETHER IT'S, UM, HAVING SOME TYPE OF ART INSTALLATION IN THE SPACE, IT REQUIRES THAT BOTH THE ORGANIZATION, THE ALLIANCE, THE PROPERTY OWNERS, AS WELL AS THE CITY COME UP WITH A A COLLECTIVE APPROACH. UM, OWNERS HAVE TO BE WILLING TO DO SHORT-TERM LEASES. UM, WHAT IN OUR EXPERIENCE, THAT HAS NOT BEEN USUALLY THE CASE. UH, THERE IS SOME HESS HESITANCY ON SHORT TERM LEASES. THERE IS SOME HESITANCY ON INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS AND WHERE THERE MAY BE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE CITY TO STEP IN OR FOR, UH, OWNERSHIP TO STEP IN, THAT IS ONE THING THAT WILL NEED TO BE WORKED OUT, WORKED OUT. SO WRAPPING UP HERE, UH, AS I SAID, THE THE DOWNTOWN LANDSCAPE, UM, IS, UH, SHIFTING AND HAS BEEN SHIFTING SINCE THE END OF THE PANDEMIC. UM, THE INTRODUCTION OF NEW RETAIL HAS RESULTED IN, UM, SOME HIGHER VACANCIES IN CERTAIN SPACES, PARTICULARLY IN MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT. UM, BUT OVERALL RETAIL, UH, VACANCIES ARE NOT, UM, OUTTA LINE IN MOST URBAN DOWNTOWN ENVIRONMENTS. UM, DOWNTOWN RETAIL VACANCIES HAVE CERTAINLY TICKED UP, BUT WHEN WE COMPARE THEM TO SOME SUBURBAN ENVIRONMENTS, THAT'S WHERE WE SEE THE BIGGEST SHIFT. UM, AND AGAIN, WITH, UM, WITH FOOT TRAFFIC, UH, REDUCTIONS, UM, THAT HAS ALSO HAD, UH, HIT, UH, VACANCIES AS WELL. UH, WHEN IT COMES TO DIFFERENT TYPES OF, SO SOLUTIONS, REALLY WHAT WE NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT IS IF THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR POP-UP PROGRAMS IN SPACES, WHERE CAN THOSE COLLABORATIONS OCCUR BETWEEN BOTH THE PROPERTY OWNER, THE CITY, AND THE THE BID. UM, AND THEN SECONDLY, PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR THINGS TO DO AS A GROUP AND COLLECTIVE. AND SO THAT'S GONNA BE THE WAY THAT WE REALLY ADDRESS SOME OF THESE RETAIL VACANCIES IS PROVIDING ENTERTAINMENT ACTIVITIES, UM, IN THEM. UH, AND I I CERTAINLY THINK THAT, UM, THE ROLE OF DATA IS GONNA BE HUGE. UM, SO ENSURING THE FACT THAT WE PROVIDE ACCURATE DATA TO THE BROKERAGE COMMUNITY SO THAT THEY CAN SELL THE VACAN, THE VACANT SPACES, THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE AREA AND THE CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE AREA, BUT ALSO UNDERSTAND WHERE THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR TENANTS TO LOCATE. UH, AND WITH THAT, I WILL END MY PRESENTATION. OKAY. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER TOYER. UM, OBVIOUSLY THAT WAS A VERY COMPREHENSIVE PRESENTATION THAT YOU GAVE US. UM, I KNOW THAT THERE, UM, ARE MORE QUESTIONS FROM OUR COMMISSIONERS, UM, SO I HOPE YOU'RE OPEN FOR, FOR, FOR SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO SHARE. I AM, AND SORRY, CHAIR. UH, WE ALSO HAVE FOLKS IN THE AUDIENCE WHO MAY BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY ARE SEEING IN THE RETAIL SPACE. SO I DON'T KNOW IF WE WANT TO OPEN IT UP TO PUBLIC COMMENT FIRST AND THEN BACK TO QUESTIONS, OR I CAN DO QUESTIONS NOW TOO. UM, I THINK MAYBE WE CAN OPEN UP TO PUBLIC COMMENT FIRST THEN. OKAY. THANKS FOR THAT SUGGESTION. OKAY. WHY DON'T WE OPEN UP PUBLIC COMMENT. HELLO, COMMISSIONERS. UH, MY NAME IS MARTIN PORTER. I WORK AT MARCUS AND MILLICHAP. I'M A COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE AGENT HERE IN LONG BEACH OFFICE IN LONG BEACH. UM, I'VE BEEN ACTIVE IN THE LONG BEACH COMMUNITY. I HATE TO DATE MYSELF, BUT, UM, ONE OF MY [00:20:01] ORIGINAL LEASING ASSIGNMENTS WAS LEASING THE INTERIOR MALL OF LONG BEACH PLAZA. AND, UH, THAT'S WHEN THE, NOW MOSAIC WAS AN ENCLOSED REGIONAL MALL. AND, UH, WE HAD TWO DEPARTMENT STORES. AND, UH, MY FIRST BIG DEAL WAS BRINGING ROSS DRESS FOR LESS TO THE GROUND LEVEL OF THE BS BUILDING. UM, IT'S NOW A, UH, MULTI-TENANT OPPORTUNITY, AND THE FUTURE OF THAT HAS A LOT TO DO WITH RESIDENTIAL GROWTH, WITH GROUND LEVEL RETAIL. AND, UM, THAT'S EXCITING, UH, TO HOPEFULLY, UH, BRING ABOUT. UM, IN REGARDS TO DOWNTOWN, UH, MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE HISTORY, AS I REMEMBER THAT I WAS ACTIVE AT LONG BEACH PLAZA, PINE AVENUE AND THIRD HAD A NUMBER OF WHAT WE WOULD CALL REGIONAL MALL SOFT GOODS OPERATORS. SOME OF THEM MOVED DOWN TO THE PIKE, UH, BUT IT WAS A PERIOD WHERE THAT ONE BLOCK WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL IN REGARDS TO RETAIL, UH, USES. SO, AND THAT WAS A PERIOD WHEN, UM, THE CITY, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT BROUGHT THOSE TENANTS TO THE LOCATION. UM, AND AGAIN, AS AUSTIN WAS MENTIONING, IF THERE'S SOME SORT OF, YOU KNOW, RESOURCES. 'CAUSE RIGHT NOW THOSE, ALL THOSE SPACES AT THIRD AND PINE ARE VACANT, UM, NOW. SO PERHAPS WHAT YOU ALWAYS, WHAT LONG BEACH IS SO GOOD IS, IS FINDING A POCKET OF, UH, RETAIL, FIGURING OUT SOLUTIONS AND THEN IMPLEMENTING. AND, AND THERE'S BEEN THE SUCCESS OF, UH, AS I MENTIONED, THE PIKE UP AT THE LONG BEACH TOWN CENTER WITH THE OLD NAVAL HOSPITAL, REDOING THAT AND, AND KIND OF JUST REFOCUSING AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IN DOWNTOWN LONG BEACH, PERHAPS THERE'S A COUPLE OF BLOCKS THAT CAN BE SOLELY CONCENTRATED ON TO REALLY, YOU KNOW, GO AFTER WHATEVER, THE MOST SUCCESSFUL RESTAURATEUR, UM, YOU KNOW, QUICK SERVICE RESTAURANTS FOR THE OFFICE AND FOR THE RESIDENTIAL AND, AND, AND JUST GROWING FROM THAT. UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF VACANCY IN DOWNTOWN. I WOULD SAY THAT, IN FACT, I ACTUALLY DID A, UM, REPORT FROM, UH, LOOPNET. THERE'S APPROXIMATELY 32, UH, SPACES FOR LEASE THAT TOTAL OVER 300,000 SQUARE FEET OF SPACE. THAT'S A LOT. UM, BUT WE'RE A BIG CITY, BIG SMALL CITY, RIGHT? UM, AND, AND THE IDEA OF JUST TRYING TO CONCENTRATE ON SMALL PARTS AND GROWING FROM THERE, THE IDEA THAT OF THE MIXED USE PROPERTIES, AND ESPECIALLY OUTSIDE THE CORE OF DOWNTOWN LONG BEACH, TRYING TO BRING IN RETAIL WHEN THESE BUILDINGS ARE KIND OF ON THEIR OWN IN LITTLE ISLANDS OF POCKETS, UH, IS CHALLENGING. AND, AND TRYING TO BRING RETAILERS THAT, YOU KNOW, HAVE BAY DEPTHS OF SPACES THAT ARE LARGER THAN 60 FEET IS EVEN MORE CHALLENGING. YOU'RE HAVING LEASE SPACE. THANK YOU. PLEASE WRAP UP YOUR COMMENT. SORRY. PLEASE WRAP UP YOUR, SUMMARIZE THE REST OF YOUR COMMENT. YOU HAVE TO LEASE, YOU KNOW, THE CHALLENGES OF LEASES, I THINK AUSTIN'S, UH, DOWNTOWN LONG BEACH ALLIANCE WITH ALL OF ITS MARKETING. THAT'S A GREAT SOURCE OF ACTIVITY. AND THEN FINALLY, YOU KNOW, WITH THE DOWNTOWN LONG BEACH ALLIANCE, GIVING THEM THE CONTRIBUTION, THE TIMING OF THEIR PAYMENTS, UH, TO BE ABLE TO ADVERTISE AND MARKET THE PROPERTY. SO, THANK YOU. PLEASE KNOW THAT YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES. OKAY. GOT IT. THANK YOU. I'M SOMEWHAT OF A VETERAN HERE. OH, OKAY. THANK YOU, . SO, MY NAME'S SAIFE. I'M A RESIDENT HERE IN, UH, THE SIXTH DISTRICT OF LONG BEACH. AND, UH, I JUST WANNA SAY FIRST THAT WAS A GREAT PRESENTATION. I THINK THAT, UM, DOWNTOWN IS OBVIOUSLY THE HEART AND CENTER OF THE CITY, UH, BOTH, UH, ECONOMICALLY SPEAKING AS WELL AS THE, UM, YOU KNOW, INFRASTRUCTURE WISE. UM, FOR ME, WHEN I LOOKED AT THE THREE EXAMPLES, 'CAUSE I'VE BEEN IN EACH PLACE, UM, YOU KNOW, MEAT PACKING DISTRICT, UH, I'M, I'M POINTING AT AS AS IF IT'S THERE . BUT, UM, THE MEAT PACKING DISTRICT IN, UH, MANHATTAN, UM, I REALLY, AND THE, THE DENVER ONE AS WELL AS SAN FRANCISCO. UH, I THINK ONE OF THE BIGGEST ISSUES FOR US AS A CITY IS WE'RE HAVING A VERY UNCOMFORTABLE CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT IS INFILL. UH, AND, AND, UH, I THINK FROM MY CAPACITY AS A BUSINESS OWNER AND AS A RESIDENT, UM, IT'S THE UNCOMFORTABLE CONVERSATION OF WHAT IS INFILL AS WELL AS WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF RETAIL, UH, KIND OF COLLIDING WITH ONE ANOTHER. UH, WHEN YOU LOOK AT, UH, THE MEAT PACKING DISTRICT, IT LITERALLY WAS THE MEAT PACKING CENTER OF, UH, BUSINESS FOR THE CITY OF NEW YORK. THEN IT BECAME, UH, A HEAVY, UH, SEX TRADE SPACE. AND THEN IN THE LATE EIGHTIES, EARLY NINETIES, YOU, YOU SAW A LOT OF THE ARTISTS, UH, INTELLIGENCE OF MOVE INTO THE SPACE AND FASHION. UH, PEOPLE, UH, YOU KNOW, [00:25:01] RESTAURANTS LIKE IT WAS MENTIONED PREVIOUS, UH, THEY MOVED INTO THE AREA AND THEY REDEFINED IT. AND THAT WAS THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME BECAUSE IT WAS INFILL. YOU HAD HUNDREDS OF BUILDINGS THAT WERE LITERALLY ABANDONED. WE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE LEASING, UH, ORGANIZATIONS THAT WERE IN THAT COMMUNITY. AND SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE TODAY, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE THAT MUCH INFILL, UH, IE VACANT LAND. WE JUST HAVE LAND THAT'S UNFILLED. SO INFILL VERSUS UNFILLED. UM, I THINK, UH, IN TERMS OF SOLUTIONS, I THINK THAT, UM, OPPORTUNITIES LIKE SUBSIDIZED OF THE FOUR SOLUTIONS THAT WERE MENTIONED, I THINK THE SUBSIDIZED ONE IS PROBABLY THE, THE MOST REALISTIC AS WELL AS, UM, YOU KNOW, AND I'M JUST PUTTING THIS OUT AS A CAVEAT. UM, WE NEED TO REALLY HAVE A, A CONVERSATION AS A CITY ON WHAT IS OUR, OUR MINDSET ABOUT, UH, NIGHTLIFE BECAUSE THIS CITY HAS BEEN ANTI NIGHTLIFE FOR, FOR QUITE SOME TIME, I WOULD ARGUE SINCE, UH, WE, WE ALLOWED THE VAULT THROUGH 52 TO FALL APART, NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THE FINANCIAL, UH, IRREGULARITIES, BUT I JUST MEAN THAT THE IDEA OF COMING TO DOWNTOWN LONG BEACH AND EXPERIENCING NIGHTLIFE THAT WAS ABOVE, UH, A DIVE BAR. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A GENERATIONAL SHIFT AND I THINK THAT, UH, ONE THING I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS THESE TWO SOLUTIONS THAT I JUST, UH, MENTIONED, SUBSIDIZED RENTS, UM, AS WELL AS, UM, UH, REESTABLISHMENT OF SOME TYPE OF AN ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT. I WOULD ULTIMATELY BRING A LOT OF THE REVENUE THAT THE CITY, UH, SORELY NEEDS. THANK YOU. OKAY. DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENT? I HAD TO SCRIBBLE MY NOTES BEFORE I CAME HERE, SO I APOLOGIZE. . GOOD AFTERNOON, COMMISSIONERS. MY NAME IS LINDA TREY, AND I'M A COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE AGENT IN LONG BEACH. MY FIRM IS LOCATED AT THE CORNER OF CHESTNUT AND BROADWAY, WHERE WE'VE BEEN FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS. OUR FOUNDER IS BECKY BLAIR, WHO WAS A MEMBER OF THE SAME COMMISSION AT ONE TIME AND WAS INVOLVED WITH THE INITIAL BLUEPRINT. UM, I ALSO OWN PROPERTY DOWNTOWN, AND I ACTUALLY JUST SAW MY TENANT TODAY. WE WERE TALKING ABOUT JUST LIVING DOWNTOWN AND SHOPPING DOWNTOWN AND GOING OUT DOWNTOWN. AND, UH, WE VERY AWARE THAT PARKING IS AN ISSUE, BUT I KNOW THAT THE CITY'S WORKING ON THAT. SO I THINK THAT IS, THAT IS, UH, DEFINITELY, UM, A CHALLENGE. UM, WHEN I TALK TO DEVELOPERS AND I'M REPRESENTING SOME SPACE WITH SOME OF THESE MIXED USE PROPERTIES RIGHT NOW, UH, THEY SAY THAT THE CITY IS VERY DEVELOPMENT FRIENDLY, SO I THINK THAT IS ABSOLUTELY A BONUS. UM, BUT WHEN YOU TALK TO TENANTS WHO TRY TO MAKE IT THROUGH THE CITY PROCESS, IT'S A CHALLENGE. AND FOR MYSELF, I HAD THE EXPERIENCE NOT THAT LONG AGO. I WAS TRYING TO CALL THE, UH, PLANNING BUREAU INSTEAD OF COMING DOWN HERE CALL, AND I JUST WANTED TO CHECK ON A PROPOSED USE BECAUSE IT WASN'T CLEARLY DEFINED IN THE DOWNTOWN PLANT. AND NOBODY ANSWERED THE PHONE, NOBODY RETURNED MY CALL. AND ULTIMATELY, I, BECAUSE I'M CLOSE, I WAS ABLE TO JUST COME OVER HERE AND SIT DOWN AND TAKE A NUMBER AND HAVE MY VERY SIMPLE QUESTION ANSWERED. SO IF I HAD THAT ONE EXPERIENCE, CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT A TENANT WHO'S TRYING TO COME INTO THE CITY AND SET UP A BUSINESS, WHAT THEIR EXPERIENCE WOULD BE LIKE? AS AUSTIN MENTIONED, WE HAVE AN OVERSUPPLY OF RETAIL SPACE. WE'RE AT A CROSSROADS. WE HAVE LANDLORDS AND TENANTS THAT ARE MISMATCHED LANDLORDS OF NEW MIXED YOUTH DEVELOPMENTS PREFER WELL-CAPITALIZED TENANTS THAT CAN AFFORD THE COST OF A 200,000 TO $400,000 BUILD OUT AND SUSTAIN A FIVE TO 10 YEAR LEASE. THIS TENANT PROFILE. HOWEVER, WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR, THEY'RE LOOKING FOR A RETAIL LOCATION THAT'S BASED ON THEIR TARGET CONSUMER BASE, HOUSEHOLD INCOME, FOOT TRAFFIC AND COMPETITION. UM, THE MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME OF DOWNTOWN IS APPROXIMATELY $57,000 WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE MEDIAN COMPARED TO 106,000 FOR BELMONT SHORE AND 93,000 FOR LOS ALTOS. SO IT JUST MAKES SENSE FROM A A TENANT PERSPECTIVE THAT THEY'RE GONNA GO WHERE THE MONEY IS, WHEN THE REALITY IS THAT THERE'S A RANGE OF HOUSEHOLD INCOMES. AND AS AUSTIN ALLUDED TO, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY INCUMBENT ON US TO EXPLAIN THAT IT'S A CHANGING DEMOGRAPHIC. THE PERCEPTION, UM, OH WAIT, SORRY. THE LACK OF FOOT TRAFFIC AND THE PERCEPTION OF CRIME AND HOMELESSNESS CONTINUES TO BE A CHALLENGE. OUR OWN LONG BEACH RESIDENTS DON'T COME DOWNTOWN UNLESS THEY'RE COMING TO AN EVENT OR THEY HAVE A VERY SPECIFIC, UH, UH, LOCATION THAT THEY WANNA COME TO FOR DINING OR FOR, UH, ENTERTAINMENT OF THE DOWNTOWN AREA IS NOT PERCEIVED TO BE FA FAMILY FRIENDLY. AND THE CITY IS ENCOURAGED TO CONTINUE TO IMPROVE ON THE SAFETY AND CLEANLINESS. LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THE COST TO BUILD OUT A FIRST GENERATION RETAIL OR RESTAURANT SPACE CAN BE COST PROHIBITIVE. AND I THINK IT WOULD MAKE SENSE IF THE CITY COULD FIND OUT SOME WAY TO SUPPORT TENANTS, ESPECIALLY THE TENANTS THAT WANNA BE IN DOWNTOWN. BUT THEY LOOK AT THESE FIRST GENERATION SPACES AND THEY REALIZE THAT THEY JUST CAN'T AFFORD TO DO THE BUILD OUT. AND YOU'RE LOOKING BETWEEN 200 AND $400,000. THANK YOU. PLEASE WRAP UP YOUR COMMENT. THANK YOU. [00:30:03] OKAY. ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE COME FORWARD. AYE. HI, MY NAME IS, UH, NOELLE AGUIRRE WITH LEAN ASSOCIATES. I'M ALSO A COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE AGENT HERE IN, UH, LONG BEACH AND, AND WORK THE DOWNTOWN LONG BEACH MARKET, UH, AS WELL AS OTHER MARKETS. UM, I THINK ESSENTIALLY THE TWO MAIN, UH, POINTS THAT, UH, MY CLIENTS, WHETHER IT'S ON THE, ON THE OWNERSHIP SIDE OR ON THE TENANT SIDE, UM, ONE IS THE PROCESS OF PERMITTING, UH, GETTING THROUGH THOSE CHANNELS. UH, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S A SMALLER TENANT THAT DOESN'T HAVE THE FINANCIAL RESOURCES TO GET AN EXPEDITER OR, UH, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY THAT COULD HELP, UH, YOU KNOW, MANEUVER THOSE CHANNELS. UH, TYPICALLY IT'S, UM, I HAVE A, A TENANT NOW THAT IS STILL GOING THROUGH CONSTRUCTION, ESSENTIALLY TOOK HER SIX MONTHS JUST TO GET APPROVAL OF HER PLANS. AND THEN NOW IT'S, UH, IT'S BEEN SEVEN MONTHS OF CONSTRUCTION. AND, UH, SO SHE'S STILL NOT OPEN. AND THIS IS JUST A SMALL SORT OF, UM, COFFEE, UH, BAKERY IN, IN LONG BEACH. SO, I MEAN, THAT'S 13 MONTHS, UH, OF, OF NO INCOME COMING IN AND THE LANDLORD ISN'T GETTING ANY INCOME, BUT THEY WORKED OUT A DEAL. 'CAUSE WE HAVE TO STRUCTURE IT TO WHERE BOTH PARTIES ARE, ARE AMENABLE TO, TO THE LONG, TO THE LONG, UH, DURATION OF THAT. UM, SO ESSENTIALLY THAT IS PROBABLY FIRST AND FOREMOST, UH, WOULD BE THAT. AND THEN OBVIOUSLY JUST THE, UM, AND THAT'S JUST THIS, THIS OBVIOUSLY ISSUE ISN'T, UH, JUST LONG BEACH, BUT JUST THE HOMELESSNESS, UH, THE PERCEIVED, UM, THREATS. UH, THE ACTUAL THREATS, UM, THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE, UH, RECRUIT, UH, BUSINESSES, UH, FROM OTHER AREAS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE COMPETING WITH OTHER CITIES, SO IT JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE DONE, UH, A LOT OF WORK DOWN HERE. SO IT, IT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF WINS AND SOME LOSSES, BUT, UM, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE, UM, IT'S GOTTEN A LITTLE WORSE, UH, EVEN OPTICALLY IT'S GOTTEN WORSE. UM, SO THAT'S JUST, THAT'S JUST MY, UH, DAY TO DAY, SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OKAY. ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENT? OKAY. UM, SEEING NONE, WE'RE GONNA CLOSE THAT OUT. AND THEN THE COMMISSIONERS QUESTIONS. SO I KNOW THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF LIKE, UH, EVENTS AND STUFF, RIGHT? SO WHAT IS THE INCENTIVE TO FILL A SPACE THAT IS EMPTY DOWNTOWN, RIGHT? DO WE, DO WE SAY, HEY, WE GIVE YOU SIX MONTHS RENT FREE, 20% OF THEIR SALE, TO HAVE THEM ACTIVATE AND BUILD THAT IMPULSE SHOPPING. LIKE, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE TO YOU? DO WE HAVE THOSE INCENTIVES LIKE THEY'RE DOING IN OTHER COUNTIES AND STATES? SO, AS FAR AS I'M AWARE, BETWEEN BOTH THE ALLIANCE AND THE CITY AND THE PROPERTY OWNER, THERE IS NO INCENTIVE FOR THAT PERSON TO GO IN THIS SPACE. THERE ARE INCENTIVE PROGRAMS. THE CITY HAS, IE UM, AND JULIAN CAN GO INTO THIS MORE THAN I CAN, BUT SAY, IF YOU ARE GOING TO, UM, HIRE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES, BUT TO FEEL A SPACE FOR A SPECIFIC ACTIVITY, THERE IS NOT AN INCENTIVE IN PLACE. UM, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, I THINK ONE OF THE PROGRAMS THAT I'VE SEEN WORK THE BEST IS THE ONE IN SF, THE VACANT TO VIBRANCY PROGRAM. AND IT'S MORE ABOUT GETTING THE COMMITMENT OUT OF THAT BUSINESS TO OP THAT BRAND FOR A SHORT TERM PERIOD, TO OPERATE IT ON A CONTINUOUS BASIS, UM, AND TO SUBSIDIZE THEIR RENT FOR THAT PERIOD. I THINK THE CHALLENGE THOUGH, IS STILL ON SOME OF THE SPACES THAT WE HAVE VACANT, PARTICULARLY SPACES THAT ARE SHELLS, UM, THAT NEED CONSIDERABLE BUILD OUT, THAT IS GONNA BE DIFFICULT FOR A LOT OF OUR HOMEGROWN BRANDS THAT ARE COMING UP. UM, AND THAT'S, I I DON'T THINK THERE'S AN INCENTIVE, THERE'S NOT A LARGE ENOUGH INCENTIVE THAT WE CAN CURRENTLY PROVIDE THEM TO GET INTO THOSE SPACES. WE'D NEED TO BE LOOKING AT SOME OF THE, UM, SMALLER FOOTPRINTS, UM, MAYBE A LITTLE OLDER, BUT THEY'VE BEEN OPERATED AS THIS SPACE BEFORE. MAYBE THEY WERE A RETAIL SPACE, MAYBE THEY WERE A SMALL COFFEE SHOP. UM, MAYBE THEY WERE A DOG GROOMING PLACE, RIGHT? BUT THEY WERE USED BEFORE. AND IT'S EASIER TO MOVE THOSE TENANTS, THOSE SMALLER HOMEGROWN TENANTS IN THAN A SHELL, WHICH IS LIKE, IF YOU THINK OF SOME OF OUR BIGGER VACANCIES, THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE. AND COMMISSIONER, I CAN ADD TO THAT. UM, GOOD QUESTION. UM, SO AS FAR AS INSTANCES ARE CONCERNED RIGHT NOW, THE CITY DOES NOT HAVE THAT. AND THERE'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, CITIES IN CALIFORNIA IN GENERAL KIND OF LOOK TO THE STATE TO SEE WHAT INCENTIVES, UM, CAN BE, CAN BE LOOKED AT FOR THE, FOR A PARTICULAR BUSINESS THAT'S INTERESTED IN MOVING TO A CITY. SO IN OCCASIONS LIKE THAT, WHAT HAPPENS IF, YOU KNOW, WE'RE CONNECTED TO A BUSINESS THAT WANTS TO START UP SOMEWHERE, OR THAT IS LOOKING TO MOVE TO THE CITY, UM, WE FIRST MEET WITH THEM TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR NEEDS ARE AND WHAT, AND WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING TO DO. AND THEN, UH, AT THAT POINT WE THEN LOOK TO, TO GOBI TO SEE WHAT INCENTIVES, UM, ARE AVAILABLE THAT COULD POTENTIALLY MATCH UP. AND THEN WE WILL KIND OF, UM, DO, UH, AN INTRODUCTORY MEETING, [00:35:01] UH, SO THAT THEY ALSO KIND OF GET A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR. UM, THE OTHER THING TOO, I'D ADD IS, UH, EARLY THIS YEAR, UH, WE RECEIVED COUNCIL REQUESTS TO TAKE A LOOK AT VACANT STOREFRONTS, AND THEN ALSO SEEING HOW WE CAN, UM, LOOK AT, UH, MICRO ENTERPRISE AND MICRO ENTREPRENEURSHIP, UH, AND SEE HOW WE CAN MAYBE PAIR THOSE AND CREATIVE WAYS SO WE CAN ACTIVATE THOSE STOREFRONTS. SO SOMETHING SIMILAR LIKE COMMISSION MATURA MENTIONED IN SAN FRANCISCO. UM, WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON THAT MEMO AND EXPECT IT TO BE RELEASED PROBABLY IN THE DECEMBER, JANUARY TIMEFRAME. AND WE'RE HAPPY TO, TO BRING THAT, UH, AS WELL TO THE COMMISSION TO KIND OF, UM, GO THROUGH THAT MEMO, UH, AND PRESENT ON IT AS TOO AT THAT TIME. UH, BUT WE'RE DEFINITELY LOOKING AT LIKE THOSE KINDS OF APPROACHES THAT, UM, COMMISSIONER MENTIONED DURING HIS PRESENTATION, UM, TO ACTIVATE, UH, THE STOREFRONT. AND THERE ARE CHALLENGES THAT, WE'LL, YOU KNOW, WE CAN, UM, PRESENT ON, ON THAT TOO. BUT JUST A QUICK, KIND OF, JUST TO GIVE YOU A HIGH LEVEL, ONE OF THE BIG CHALLENGES IS, UM, YOU KNOW, TALK ABOUT INCENTIVES ON THE OTHER SIDE IS, IS THE RISK OF FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, OF THE PROPERTY MANAGER OR THE OWNER IS CARRYING THAT LIABILITY, YOU KNOW, IF SOMETHING WERE TO HAPPEN DURING A POPUP, THAT'S A BIG CONCERN THAT WE'RE TRYING TO WORK THROUGH AS TO WHAT MIGHT BE SOME SOLUTIONS, UM, AROUND THAT. BUT THAT'S JUST AS AN EXAMPLE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS COME ACROSS, UM, WHILE WE'RE STUDYING, YOU KNOW, KIND OF WAYS TO BE CREATIVE AND TO ACTIVATE, UH, STOREFRONTS AROUND THE CITY. COMMISSIONER LARKINS GREAT PRESENTATION AND, UH, CERTAINLY AN ISSUE THAT ISN'T NEW, IT'S GOTTEN, IT, IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S NOT GONNA GET ANY BETTER. I THINK THE, MY INTEREST IS LONG TERM. I DON'T THINK THAT THE CONDITIONS THAT ARE EXISTING NOW ARE GOING TO IMPROVE. AND WITH RESPECT TO THE BUSINESS MODEL THAT THESE BUILDINGS AND OTHER SPACES ARE OPERATING ON, UH, THE QUESTION IS, IF YOU ASSUME THAT, THAT THINGS ARE NOT GONNA RETURN BACK TO WHATEVER NORMAL WAS PRE COVID, THAT REMOTE WORK IS GONNA CONTINUE AND HYBRID WORK'S CONTINUE, AND MORE BUSINESSES ARE GOING TO CHOOSE NOT TO OCCUPY A SPACE, THEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A MAJOR CHANGE IN THE BUSINESS PLAN OF WHAT THE CITY CONSIDERS, UM, HOW IT CAN GENERATE REVENUE. SO ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAD WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AUSTIN ON THE, UM, VACANCY RATES, IT SHOWED THE PERCENTAGE OF VACANCY RATES, BUT I'D BE INTERESTED IN KNOWING WHAT THE REVENUE CONTRIBUTION OR LOSS IS IN THESE, EACH OF THESE DIFFERENT AREAS BECAUSE I, I THINK ONE OF OUR PERCEPTIONS IS THAT WE GET MOST OF OUR MONEY MAYBE FROM THE OFFICE SPACE, BUT MAYBE THAT'S NOT THE CASE. MAYBE MOST OF THE MONEY WE'RE GETTING REVENUE TO CITIES GETTING IS FROM STANDALONE OR MIXED USE. SO WE DECIDE, OKAY, WHERE, WHERE ARE WE GONNA PUT OUR PRIORITIES? THE SECOND PIECE IS, UH, IF THE SPACE THAT OUR OFFICE SPACES ARE GONNA REMAIN VIRTUALLY EMPTY, UH, THE IDEA THAT WHAT WOULD ENTICE THE WORKERS THAT ARE REMOTE, THEY STILL EXIST. OKAY? THERE'S JUST WORKING FROM HOME TO, UH, GO TO AN OFFICE ENVIRONMENT. AND MAYBE THE ENTERTAINMENT THEME IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE CAN TALK ABOUT, BUT NOT IN A TERMS OF, OF MUSIC PER SE, BUT EXPERIENCES THAT ENHANCE THE WORK LIFE OF THEIR EMPLOYEES. UH, AND, AND THOSE, YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE SPEAKERS, IT COULD BE VARIOUS, UM, MOTIVATIONAL EXPERIENCES, IMMERSION EXPERIENCES, ALL THOSE TYPES OF THINGS CAN OCCUPY THAT OFFICE SPACE. AND IT COULD BE TARGETED TOWARDS THE DIFFERENT BUSINESSES THAT ARE IN THAT SPACE. UH, THERE'S A LOT OF TECH PEOPLE COMING TO LONG BEACH. UH, A LOT OF THOSE OFFICE BUILDINGS COULD BE, YOU KNOW, EVENT DRIVEN IN THE OFFICE SPACE THAT'S IN THERE AND ATTRACT THOSE, UH, THOSE YOUNG PEOPLE OR YOUNGER PEOPLE, UH, TO GO TO THOSE, UH, EMPTY SPACE AND ACTIVATE THEM. BUT IT IS GONNA REQUIRE SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN A PROBLEM SINCE I WAS ON HIS COMMISSION, IS WHAT THE PLAN IS THAT I THINK, JOHN, YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS IN THE PAST, THE STRATEGIC PLAN, THE PLANNING OF WHAT THE CITY IS GONNA LOOK LIKE, I THINK HAS TO BE COMPLETELY REVISED INTO SOMETHING BRAND NEW. THE VISION THAT WE HAD 10 YEARS AGO ISN'T THE VISION THAT WE HAVE NOW, BUT THE PROBLEMS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO IN TERMS OF THE WHOLE PLANNING PROCESS, GETTING PERMITS AND ALL THAT STUFF IS STILL THE SAME. THOSE ARE THE SAME COMPLAINTS THAT BUSINESSES HAD WAY BACK THEN THAT WE HAVE NOW 10 YEARS LATER. UH, AND I REMEMBER ONE THING THAT SOMEONE SAID, WHICH I WON'T MENTION, BUT WE ASKED THIS INDIVIDUAL, UM, ARE YOU HAVING ANY PROBLEMS WITH SMALL BUSINESSES OR IN, IN YOUR, IN YOUR, IN YOUR OPERATION DEALING WITH PERMITTING? AND THE PERSON SAID, NO, WE DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE ANY, ANY PROBLEMS. IT'S ONLY THE SMALL [00:40:01] BUSINESSES ARE GIVING US PROBLEMS. AND THERE WAS NO WAY AT THAT TIME FOR EVEN SURVEY HOW, WHAT THE PROBLEMS WERE BECAUSE IT WAS A BOX THAT YOU PUT THE COMPLAINTS IN, AND WHO KNEW WHAT THINGS WERE HAPPENING IN THAT BOX, OR WHO WAS MONITORING THE BOX, OR WHO'S ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO EVEN USE THE BOX TO HAVE COMPLAINTS. BUT IT'S OBVIOUSLY A PROBLEM. AND SO I SEE TWO ISSUES THAT WE MIGHT, UH, YOU KNOW, DEAL, WHERE'S OUR REVENUE COMING FROM IN THESE DIFFERENT SPACES? WHERE IS IT GONNA SHIFT IF WE DECIDE THAT OUR STRATEGY IS GOING TO CHANGE? AND HOW DO WE GET THE PLANNING PART OF WHAT THE CITY HAS DONE IN THE PAST TO BE REVAMPED TO DEAL WITH THE REALITIES OF THE FUTURE? AND IF WE CAN FIGURE OUT THOSE THINGS, THEN WE CAN DO PRETTY COOL THINGS. I MEAN, ENTERTAINMENT, THAT WAS OUR HISTORY, RIGHT? MM-HMM. . UM, BUT ENTERTAINMENT TO A WORKER TO DRIVE TO CONVINCE THEM TO COME TO AN OFFICE COULD BE SOMETHING THAT'S COOL. UH, BUT THE, BUT EVERYONE HAS TO BE ON THE SAME PAGE AS, AS TO BE FLEXIBLE INTO LOOKING, YOU KNOW, SORT OF NOT LIKE DUCT TAPE THE BOX, WHICH WE HAVE NOW, WHICH IS, IT APPEARS WHAT WE'RE DOING. WE HAVE A DUCT TAPE BOX. SOMEONE'S TRYING TO THINK OUTTA THE BOX, BUT THE BOX ISN'T EVEN A BOX ANYMORE. MAYBE WE JUST HAVE TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. THAT WAS, THAT'S MY COMMENTS. OH, COMMISSIONER, VICE CHAIR. OKAY. THAT'S FINE. THOMAS. UM, THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU FOR THE, UM, THE REPORT. UM, I THINK IT SAYS A LOT IN A FEW SLIDES, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT INFORMATION. CAN WE START OFF JUST, I THINK ANY, EVERYBODY DOESN'T REALIZE THE BOUNDARIES OF THE, UH, ORGANIZATION. COULD YOU GIVE US THAT INFORMATION? YEAH. SO THE, THE DOWNTOWN LONG BEACH ALLIANCE, WE MANAGE TWO BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS. OUR BOUNDARY, OUR NORTHERN BOUNDARY IS 10TH STREET, SO UP TO ST. MARY'S GOING DOWN TO THE WATERFRONT. SO SHORELINE VILLAGE, THE PIKE OUTLETS, UM, AND THE AQUARIUM, NOT INCLUDING THE QUEEN MARY, EVERYTHING ON THE SIDE OF THE BAY. UM, OUR EASTERN BOUNDARY IS ALAMEDOS AND THEN OUR WESTERN BOUNDARY, EFFECTIVELY THE SEVEN 10 OR THE LA RIVER. GREAT, THANKS. UM, AGENT HISTORY, BUT NOT SO AGENT IN 2007, WE WERE TOLD I WAS, UH, UH, ELECTED TO THE RDA, UH, AS CHAIR, THE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY AT THE TIME. AND WE WERE TOLD BY SITE LOCATORS POST A SIMILAR EVENT THAT, UH, WE HOSTED HERE A FEW MONTHS AGO WITH SITE LOCATORS THAT YOU NEED RESIDENTIAL, YOU NEED TO LIGHT UP DOWNTOWN, ACTIVATE DOWNTOWN, IT'LL HELP WITH PUBLIC SAFETY, IT'LL HELP WITH, UM, KIND OF THE MOJO OF THE CITY AND, AND, UH, OF DOWNTOWN IN PARTICULAR. AND THAT BY DOING SO, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY WOULD BE ADDRESSED. UM, AND I THINK FOLKS FORGET THAT DOWNTOWN LONG BEACH IS EVERYBODY'S DOWNTOWN. AND, UM, THE, THE APPEARANCE THERE WAS EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN DOWNTOWN LONG BEACH JUST BECAUSE THE BUSINESS ALLIANCE, UM, AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS. UM, SO WE DID THAT. WE REZONED THE CITY. WE LOOKED AT CREATIVE ADAPTIVE REUSE PROJECTS. WE DID, UM, I THINK SOME REALLY GOOD VISIONING ABOUT DEVELOPING A DOWNTOWN, UH, COMMUNITY PLAN THAT WAS MENTIONED EARLIER. AND THE ANTIDOTE WAS YOU GOT BUILD HOUSING. OKAY, SO WE BUILD HOUSING AND ALL THE SITE LOCATORS WERE TELLING US CHICKEN AND EGG, BUT YOU BUILD THE HOUSING, THE SITE LOCATORS WILL BRING THE RETAIL, AND OF COURSE EVERYBODY WANTS RETAIL BECAUSE IT GENERATES A TAX SALES TAX, BUT AT WHAT COST DO YOU BUILD RETAIL? IT'S NOT, UH, RELIABLY OPEN AND PERFORMING AND GENERATING SALES TAX, BUT DARKENING THESE POCKETS OF THE CITY, PARTICULARLY DOWNTOWN 'CAUSE NO ONE CAN AFFORD TO BE THERE OR OTHER IMPEDIMENTS THAT'S ALREADY BEEN DISCUSSED. SO NUMBER ONE, I'D LIKE TO KNOW IF WE HAVE ANY INFORMATION COMING BACK FOR AS A RESULT OR EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE SITE LOCATORS, UM, EVENT THAT WE HAD. I MAY HAVE MISSED IT. UM, MY APOLOGIES IF, IF WE'VE HAD A REPORT, BUT I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THEY THOUGHT BEING HERE AND, AND AS WE HOSTED THOSE FOLKS FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS. UM, NUMBER TWO, UM, HAVE WE, WAS THERE A MECHANISM THAT WE REGULARLY REACH OUT TO ALL THE DOWNTOWN HOAS AND THE DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY? WHAT, AND SURVEYING THEM CONTINUALLY, WHAT DO THEY WANT? WHAT WOULD WORK BEST FOR THEM SO THAT WE COULD DEVELOP THE MATRIX FOR SITE LOCATORS TO SAY, HEY, NO, WE'VE ALREADY DONE THIS LEGWORK, UH, THROUGH THEIR HOAS OR WHAT HAVE YOU, AND, UH, HERE'S WHAT THEY NEED. HERE'S WHAT THEY WANT. THE OTHER THING WE WERE TOLD IN 2007 THAT WE ACTUALLY CAME REALLY, REALLY CLOSE TO POPULATING, UM, THE BROADWAY BLOCK AREA WAS CAL STATE LONG BEACH. EVERYBODY'S REALIZING THAT MEDICAL AND EDUCATION CAN FIT NICELY IN DOWNTOWNS, MOSTLY BECAUSE [00:45:01] THEY CAN CONDUCIVELY AFFECT THE DOWNTOWN RESIDENTS IF THEY'RE GONNA GET EDUCATION, GET SCHOOL, HAVE ACCESS TO MEDICAL CARE, ET CETERA. AND, UM, AND MOST UNIVERSITIES OR COLLEGES OR EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES ARE LOOKING TO BRANCH OUT AS WE KNOW. SO HAVE WE, ARE WE CONTINUALLY HAVING DIALOGUE WITH WHAT, LET'S JUST SAY CAL STATE LONG BEACH, UH, ON A REGULAR BASIS TO SEE WHAT WE COULD DO TO POPULATE DOWNTOWN FOR CAMPUS Y? YES. SO COMMISSIONER, AS YOU RECALL, THERE WERE PLANS TO ESTABLISH A, UH, CAL STATE LONG BEACH PRESENCE IN THE DOWNTOWN. THERE WERE SEVERAL PROJECTS. THE, THE, UM, ANI AT THE EAST VILLAGE WAS ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED TO BE GRADUATE HOUSING AS WELL AS FACULTY HOUSING WITH SOME ACADEMIC SPACE. AND THEN OVER AT, UH, WHAT IS NOW MOSAIC, UM, THE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT THAT IS GONNA GO UP, THAT BLOCK HAD ALSO BEEN PRIMED FOR UNDERGRADUATE HOUSING. SO THE CONVERSATION HAS BEEN ONGOING. THIS WAS ALL PRE PANDEMIC AND UNFORTUNATELY, UM, THOSE CONVERSATIONS DIED. UM, BUT THERE WAS STILL A DESIRE TO HAVE A UNIVERSITY PRESENCE IN THE DOWNTOWN. UM, RIGHT NOW WHAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON IS WORKING WITH THE COLLEGE OF THE ARTS, UM, AS IT RELATES TO OUR ONGOING ART AND DESIGN WALK, THERE IS THE CONVERSATION AROUND, UM, A DESIGN DISTRICT FOR DOWNTOWN. SO INTEGRATING, UM, THOSE, UM, STUDENTS AND DEPARTMENTS INTO THE DOWNTOWN AND UTILIZING SOME OF THE VACANT SPACES. SO, UM, FOR THE ART AND DESIGN WALK, THE FORMER ACRES OF BOOK SITE, WE'VE ACTIVATED EVERY TIME WITH A DIFFERENT ART INSTALLATION, INTERACTIVE ART INSTALLATION INSIDE. AND SO, UM, WHETHER IT BE CAL STATE OR WHETHER IT BE LBCC, WE ARE LOOKING AT THOSE OPPORTUNITIES. I THINK FOR THE LONG TERM THOUGH, UM, SUCCESSFUL DOWNTOWNS DO HAVE EITHER ACADEMIC FACILITIES IN THEIR DOWNTOWN AND OR, UH, STUDENT HOUSING IN THEIR DOWNTOWN. AND I THINK THAT, UH, NEEDS TO BE THE ONGOING CONVERSATION AS WELL AS, UM, THE POLITICAL WILL FROM, FROM THE CITY SIDE AS WELL. THAT'S GOOD. THAT'S GOOD INFORMATION TO HAVE. UM, YOU KNOW, THE OTHER ISSUE THAT I THINK WAS MENTIONED BRIEFLY, BUT I THINK AS A COMMISSIONER, I WANNA SAY IT ON THE RECORD, PUBLIC SAFETY, BOTH THE PERCEPTION AND THE REALITY. AGAIN, GOING BACK 34 YEARS AGO WHEN I FIRST MOVED TO LONG BEACH, THE BLUE LINE WASN'T HERE YET. AND WHAT WE REALIZED WITH THE FIRST DECADE OF THE BLUE LINE WAS THAT IT WAS IMPORTING SOME, SOME ISSUES, NOT JUST THE BLUE LINE, BUT THERE ARE OTHER THINGS GOING ON. AND I KNOW THAT, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIALS HAVE LOOKED AT THAT AND LOOKED AT STRATEGIES TO, TO TAKE CARE OF THAT ISSUE. AND I THINK THERE'D BEEN SOMEWHAT SUCCESSFUL, BUT WE'VE GOTTA ADDRESS IT. I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S THE, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S A CANCER AND WE HAVE TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF PUBLIC SAFETY DOWNTOWN. UM, I TALK TO PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE CITY AND I TALK ABOUT ICT AND I TALK ABOUT THE QUEEN MARY AND I TALK ABOUT THE OTHER, UH, THE GREAT ADVANCE GOING ON DOWNTOWN. AND THE BIGGEST ISSUE WITH THE, THE APPEARANCE AND PERCEPTION OF PUBLIC SAFETY, UM, PARKING IS A, IS ANOTHER. UM, BUT I THINK IF YOU GO ONLINE, I THINK YOU, THE, THE ALLIANCE HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB IN HELPING, UH, APPS WITH, UH, WITH PARKING, UH, ISSUES. BUT WE JUST HAVE TO ADDRESS IT. AND I KNOW IT'S, EVERYBODY ELSE IS SAYING THE SAME THING, BUT I THINK WE NEED TO, YOU KNOW, JUST BASICALLY EMBRACE THE FACT THAT IT'S AN ISSUE. AND AS WE LOOK AT STRATEGIES INCLUDING SITE, LOCATION, UH, ISSUES, WE HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO ROLL OUT THAT COULD WE RE REASSURE FOLKS THAT ARE TRYING TO FILL THE HOUSING, FOLKS ARE TRYING TO FILL THE STOREFRONTS, UM, THAT WE HAVE. WE, WE KNOW IT, WE SEE IT, WE FEEL IT, WE'RE ON IT. UM, AND NOT TRY TO JUST, YOU KNOW, ACT LIKE WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE STRUGGLING LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE, THAT THAT'S TERMS AND PHRASES WE SHOULDN'T HAVE IN OUR DIALOGUING LONGER. FINALLY, LAND USE IS A BIG DEAL, AND MIXED USE IS NOTHING NEW. IN THE EARLY 19 HUNDREDS IN NEW YORK AND ALL THE MAJOR CITIES, THERE WAS MIXED USE. YOU HAD YOUR BUSINESS ON THE GROUND FLOOR AND YOU LIVED ABOVE. IT'S NOT NOTHING NEW, BUT I THINK THAT WE HAVE TO GET MORE, A LITTLE BIT MORE CREATIVE ABOUT, LET'S FOCUS ON RETAIL SALES AND JUST WHAT WORKS, WHAT TURNS THE LIGHTS ON, KEEPS THE AREA ACTIVATED, UM, AND, AND LOOK AT STRATEGIES FOR BUSINESS OWNERS AS WELL TO, UM, OR PROPERTY OWNERS TO HELP MITIGATE SOME OF THOSE COSTS. UM, AND FINALLY, JUST FOR EVERYBODY THAT'S HERE, AND AGAIN FOR THE RECORD, AND I DON'T, THE STAFF CAN REMIND ME WHAT MONTH WE'RE LOOKING AT BRINGING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT HERE FOR A PRESENTATION. AND SO I'D LOVE TO ASK YOU TO RETURN SO YOU CAN SPEAK TO THE ACTUAL, UM, CUSTOMERS AND CLIENTS THAT YOU'VE HAD THAT'VE HAD TROUBLE WITH PER PERMITTING OR ANY KIND [00:50:01] OF OTHER LAND USE ISSUES. I KNOW DIRECTOR, UH, KOONZ IS VERY INTERESTED IN HEARING FROM EVERYBODY AS HE KIND OF REBUILDS HIS TEAM, UH, WITH, UH, AS THEY REPOPULATE HIS DIVISION. UH, HE'S HAD A LOT OF LOSSES. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND I WANNA THANK THE COMMISSIONS FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK A FEW EXTRA MINUTES. THANK YOU. OKAY, GREAT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER NOVIN? I'LL BE BRIEF. IT'S MORE, UM, OPEN COMMENTS, BUT THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION COMMISSIONER, AND UM, THANK YOU TO THE SPEAKERS. IT'S REALLY GREAT WHEN THEY'RE, THESE PRESENTATIONS ARE BROUGHT TO LIFE THROUGH YOUR EXAMPLE, SO I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. JUST TO ADD ON TO COMMISSIONER LARKIN'S COMMENT, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE WORLD WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF CHANGE IN HOW COMPANIES ARE ORGANIZED, ORGANIZING THEIR OFFICE SPACE AND THEIR WORKERS. THEY WANT THEIR WORKERS TO COME BACK INTO A OFFICE, BUT THEY DON'T NECESSARILY CARE WHICH ONE. SO WE'RE SEEING THE MOVE FROM, YOU KNOW, THOSE BIGGER LA TYPE OFFICES TO MORE MICRO OFFICES THROUGHOUT THE REGION, AND IT'S HELPING PEOPLE REALLY ATTRACT TALENT. SO I THINK WE COULD THINK ABOUT, AGAIN, WE, WE ALWAYS SAY HOW WE'RE UNIQUELY, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN LA AND ORANGE COUNTY AND HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT BENEFITS TO LONG BEACH, BUT THAT MIGHT BE A PLAY TO BE GOING AFTER SOME OF THOSE COMPANIES THAT ARE TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, GIVE THEIR YOUNGER WORKFORCE A A RELATIVELY CHEAPER, I KNOW IT'S NOT CHEAP, BUT A RELATIVELY CHEAPER PLACE TO LIVE. UM, AND THEN SEGWAYING INTO THE ENTERTAINMENT PIECE. UM, UNDERSTAND A LOT OF THE EXTERNALITIES BEHIND THAT AND WHY SOME FOLKS WERE HESITANT IN THE PAST, BUT THE FORMULA'S PROBABLY CHANGED LATELY, RIGHT? BECAUSE YOU'RE GIVING UP, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OF QUIET IN THE EVENING FOR SOME MORE RESOURCES IN YOUR DOWNTOWN AREA. AND, AND ACTIVE SPACE COMES WITH PUBLIC SAFETY RESOURCES. IT COMES WITH MORE LIGHTING, IT COMES WITH MORE PEOPLE JUST BEING AWARE OF WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE THAT CONVERSATION TO BE HAD JUST BECAUSE IT'S NOT THE SAME CONVERSATION. UM, SO THOSE ARE TWO POINTS THERE. AND THEN LASTLY, UM, SEPARATE, BUT IT CAME UP THROUGH ONE OF THE, THE PUBLIC COMMENTS ABOUT A YEAR AGO. WE WERE DISCUSSING FOOD VENDORS AND THE CHALLENGES AROUND THOSE PERMITS AND HAD A LOT OF PUBLIC COMMENT THERE ABOUT HOW BALANCING THE FAIRNESS, I GUESS, BETWEEN THE VENDOR COMMUNITY AND THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND THE BIG BUSINESS COMMUNITY. AND WE SPOKE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN'T NECESSARILY BRING THE COST DOWN, WE SHOULD MAKE THE QUALITY INCREDIBLY HIGHER FOR THESE BUSINESS OWNERS, RIGHT? SO THEY'RE NOT COMING INTO DOWNTOWN TO HAVE THEIR QUESTION ANSWERED. SO MAYBE IT'S THE TIME TO LOOK AT THAT PROCESS AND HOW, FOR ONE OF THE FIRST TIMES I SAW LIKE, LET'S BE OVER, YOU KNOW, UM, RESPONSIVE TO THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY IN THAT FOOD VENDOR STUDY. AND MAYBE WE APPLY THAT TO JUST THE BROADER CITY AS A WHOLE ABOUT WHAT REGULATIONS COULD WE LOOK AT, WHAT TECHNOLOGY COULD WE APPLY SO SOMEONE COULD GET A STATUS UPDATE AND FOCUS ON JUST MAKING IT A CONTINUING TO MAKE IT A BETTER PLACE TO DO BUSINESS. SO I THINK MAYBE WE CAN LEARN FROM THAT PROGRAM THAT WAS IMPLEMENTED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, WHAT CAN BE DONE MORE QUICKLY, AND HOW WE CAN GET BUSINESS OWNERS IN THE COMMUNITY, MAYBE ANSWERS A LITTLE BIT MORE IMPACTFULLY AND, AND TIMELY. THANKS. COMMISSIONER NOVIN. VERY, OH, COMMISSIONER SMITH. I SEE WHAT DLBA IS DOING. I, I APPLAUD AUSTIN ON THE EFFORTS TASTE OF DOWNTOWN, UM, FARM FARMER'S MARKET ON FRIDAYS NIGHT MARKET ON THURSDAYS. BUT THAT'S NOT HARD. WE DON'T HAVE TO REINVENT THE WHEEL, RIGHT? WE HAVE SECOND STREET DOING FOURTH FRIDAYS. WE HAVE BIXBY KNOWLES ACTIVATING FIRST FRIDAYS. WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING REALLY LIKE THAT. AND GOING TO COMMISSIONER'S THOUGHTS ON FOOD VENDORS. WE NEED TO BE HIGHLIGHTING THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE INVESTING IN OUR COMMUNITY AND NOT HAVE POP-UP VENDORS UNLESS THE BUSINESS IS CLOSED. AND I'VE SAID IT NUMEROUS TIMES, W NOT A HUNDRED FEET IN FRONT OF THE BUSINESS IF IT IS OPEN, BUT WHY ARE WE NOT HIGHLIGHTING, YOU KNOW, WE CLOSED DOWN SUMMER ON, UM, PINE STREET AND JOHNNY ROCKETS WAS BLOCKED BY A FOOD VENDOR. SHE WAS INVISIBLE. WE ARE NOT SUPPORTING ENOUGH THE PEOPLE THAT ARE ESTABLISHING THE LEASE, THE PERMITS, THE EMPLOYMENT. IF WE HAVE AN ACTIVATION OF A FIRST FRIDAY, A SECOND FRIDAY, A THIRD FRIDAY CONSISTENTLY WITH SAFETY IN THE TIMES THAT THE DLBA RED SHIRTS ARE ON, I DON'T THINK THAT WE COULD FAIL. AND IT'S ANOTHER WAY TO, THAT WE HAVE ACTIVATION FOR DOWNTOWN. GREAT. OKAY. I HAVE A, OH, OKAY. COMMISSIONER WON. YEAH. YEAH. COMMISSIONER, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. THIS WAS, UM, REALLY WELL THOUGHT OUT AND ALSO SHOWS US THAT WE REALLY HAVE CHALLENGES RIGHT NOW IN ALL AREAS. AND I LOOKED AT THE MIX USE AND WE HAD A BRIEF CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT IS THE BIGGER RETAILERS NOW ARE PULLING BACK, SO THEN THEY'RE NOT GOING TO INTO THE MIXED USE FACILITIES THAT YOU REALLY NEED FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO PAY THE RENTS AND THAT. SO IS THERE AN ALTERNATIVE THAT WE'VE LOOKED AT FOR MIXED USE? I MEAN, DO YOU, YOU SAY, OKAY, MAYBE WE GO MORE TOWARDS OFFICES THAT ARE LIKE, UM, A OR STUDIO 11, OR HAVE OPERATORS COME [00:55:01] INTO THAT. BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT COMMISSIONER, UH, UH, LARKINS WAS SAYING IS WE GOTTA REALLY RE RETHINK THIS BECAUSE NOW WORKERS ARE LOOKING AT COMING IN TWO TO THREE DAYS A WEEK, NOT FULL-TIME. AND HAVING, I NOTICED, I KNOW THAT WEWORK IN STUDIO 11 ARE PRETTY FULL, SO THERE'S OPPORTUNITY RIGHT NOW TO, YOU KNOW, GO INTO THESE MIXED USES AND SAY, HEY, YOU'VE GUYS GOT THIS MUCH SQUARE FEET, LET'S THINK ABOUT THIS AND, AND MAYBE GET AN OPERATOR TO DO IT. SO THAT'S JUST ONE COMMENT. AND THEN ALSO ON, ON GETTING PEOPLE TO COME BACK DOWNTOWN. UM, IT'S INTERESTING 'CAUSE I HAD THIS CONVERSATION WITH SOME NEIGHBORS AND IT IS SAFETY IN THEIR PERCEPTION. IT'S LIKE, BRENT, I'M SCARED TO GO DOWN THERE 'CAUSE I WENT DOWN THERE ONE EVENING AND THIS HAPPENED OR THAT HAPPENED. SO, I MEAN, UNLESS THEY'RE GOING TO A DESTINATION, UH, RESTAURANT, THAT'S A DIFFERENT STORY. UM, SO I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS COMING UP, UM, FOR US TO PROCEED IN SAFETY ISSUES. I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT THE CITY IS, HAS A PLAN THAT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT'S THE NEXT YEAR PLAN FOR SAFETY? HOW ARE WE GONNA ADDRESS THIS? AND I MEAN, I REMEMBER AS A KID, THE OLD BEAT COP USED TO KNOW, YOU KNOW, HE WAS ON THE STREET AND, YOU KNOW, ALWAYS KNEW JOE AND JOE WOULD PROTECT YOU. SO I MEAN, MAYBE WE GO BACK TO SOMETHING LIKE THAT. I MEAN, WE'VE GOTTA JUST RETHINK HOW WE'RE GONNA DO THIS. 'CAUSE IT'S REALLY AN ISSUE RIGHT NOW WITH SAFETY. SO THAT'S ALL. THANK YOU. OKAY, COMMISSIONER MATOYER, THANK YOU ALL THE COMMISSIONERS FOR, FOR YOUR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS. IF, IF IT'S OKAY, CAN I GO THROUGH, UH, A FEW OF THEM THAT I, WELL, I, I HAVE SOME COMMENTS. OH, THEN GO FOR IT. OKAY. I'M NOT GONNA REPEAT EVERYTHING EVERYBODY ELSE SAID 'CAUSE IT WAS PRETTY COMPREHENSIVE, BUT THERE WERE A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT STAND OUT AND, UH, TO ME ALSO, UM, WHEN YOU PRESENTED THE SLIDE ON LONG-TERM STRATEGIES, UM, AND TALKED ABOUT ZONING, FLEXIBLE ZONING, IT'D BE INTERESTING FOR US TO KNOW MORE ABOUT WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT AS FAR AS THIS FLEXIBLE ZONING. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? HOW LONG DOES THIS TAKE? UM, HOW DO WE PRESENT THIS TO BUSINESSES SO THAT THEY CAN GET INTO THESE SPACES? 'CAUSE I KNOW THAT THEY HAVE THE SAME ISSUES. UM, WITH SOME OF THE OTHER BIDS, SOME OF THE BID BID AREAS, UM, THE, THERE WAS A QUITE A BID IN HERE ABOUT EVENTS AND PROMOTING PEOPLE COMING DOWN FOR INSTALLATIONS AND THINGS. AND YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS MENTIONED IT TOO IS, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SO MANY I LIVED IN, IN MY IS IN DOWNTOWN. THERE ARE SO MANY EMPTY SPACES AND IT'S ALMOST STARTING TO LOOK LIKE BLIGHT. AND SO I THINK, UM, FIGURING OUT A WAY TO, SOME WINDOWS ARE COVERED, BUT MAKE IT UNIFORM SO THAT IT'S NOT LOOKING THAT WAY. UM, THEN THE SAFETY, THE, THAT PEOPLE MENTIONED THE PUBLIC SAFETY PIECE. AND THEN, UM, IT'S GOTTA BE DIFFICULT FOR THE PEOPLE IN COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE TO, UM, BRING PEOPLE TO THE BUSINESSES AND THE HOMELESS ARE THERE AND ARE THERE SOME REAL CONCRETE SOLUTIONS AROUND GETTING THAT? IT'S, YOU'VE GOT A GREAT CLEAN AND SAFE PROGRAM. I WANNA COMPLIMENT DLBI ON THAT. UM, BUT I THINK IT'S PROBABLY VERY DIFFICULT. I'VE HEARD MANY BUSINESS OWNERS WHO HAVE COME, OR, OR PEOPLE WHO WOULD LIKE TO BE IN, IN DOWNTOWN LONG BEACH, GO LONG BEACH AND HAVE SAID, YOU KNOW, WE WENT THERE AND THERE WERE JUST HOMELESS PEOPLE THERE AND, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T CONDUCT OUR BUSINESS THAT WAY. AND SO, UM, THAT COULD BE A CHALLENGE. AND THERE WAS A COMMENT, AND I'D LIKE TO JUST ECHO THIS MORE, IS, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE OLYMPICS COMING IN 2028, AND THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO BE ABLE TO REALLY BUILD UP OUR DOWNTOWN, BUILD UP OUR WHOLE CITY AS FAR AS WHERE PEOPLE CAN GO, THE TOURISTS CAN GO, BUT BUILD OUR DOWNTOWN AREA WHERE IT, THERE ARE SOME MANY ESTABLISHED BUSINESSES AS WELL AS THE EVENTS. 'CAUSE THE EVENTS ARE THINGS I'M SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S GREAT TO BRING PEOPLE IN FOR A A, AN EVENT OR A PERIOD OF TIME, BUT IT'S WHAT'S THERE, THAT'S THE FOUNDATION THAT PEOPLE WANNA COME BACK. AND SO, YOU KNOW, SOME MORE THOUGHTS, MAYBE IF YOU COULD BRING THAT BACK TO US ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE WE PREPARING OUR DOWNTOWN AREA FOR THE OLYMPICS, AND WHAT IS THE STRATEGY OR PLAN AROUND THE BUSINESSES THAT CAN BE IN THERE, UM, SO THAT PEOPLE FEEL SAFE AND THEY WANNA COME, COME DOWN HERE SAFE. 'CAUSE WE'VE GOT A GOOD FOUR YEARS, RIGHT? MAYBE THREE, MAYBE TWO. THANK YOU. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER MORTOYA. IT WAS A GREAT PRESENTATION. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, COMMISSIONER SOUND. I APOLOGIZE FOR RUNNING LATE AND MISSING, UH, THE COMMENTS AND THE PRESENTATION. UH, BUT, UH, JUST TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF MY EXPERIENCE WHEN I WAS AT THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, UH, BEING A BUSINESS NAVIGATOR, BEING BOOTS ON THE GROUND, TALKING TO BUSINESSES DURING COVID, UM, SEEING THEM SHUT DOWN IN PERSON SUFFERING, GOING THROUGH ALL THE CHALLENGES THEY SUFFERED QUITE A BIT. UH, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T JUST SAY THEY HAD BAD LUCK. THEY JUST, THEY REALLY DID SUFFER. UM, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST BECAUSE OF COVID, BUT, UH, THERE WAS INSTANCES OF, OF PREDATORY, UM, UH, LEGAL GROUPS [01:00:01] GOING AFTER BUSINESSES FOR NOT MEETING CERTAIN CRITERIA FOR A DA COMPLIANCE, AS AN EXAMPLE, GETTING SUED. THAT VARIES. A, A BUSINESSES AND, AND I, I SAW THAT A COUPLE OF TIMES. UM, ACCESS TO CAPITAL HASN'T BEEN EASY. IT'S BEEN REALLY EXPENSIVE AS OF LATE. HOPEFULLY THAT CHANGES ACCESS TO CAPITAL LENDING, GROW AMERICA. UH, THE CITY HAS A GREAT, UH, LOAN PROGRAM, UH, BUT NOT, UM, BUT NOT EVERYONE IS AWARE OF IT, RIGHT? SO ACCESS TO CAPITAL, UH, HOPEFULLY BECOMES, UM, SOMETHING THAT, THAT MORE BUSINESSES CAN, CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF NOW AND, UH, REALLY SUSTAIN THEMSELVES. BUT, UM, AND ON TOP OF ALL THE OTHER ISSUES, UM, I JUST WANT TO SAY CONGRA, YOU KNOW, CONGRATULATE THE DLBA FOR BEING, UH, A BUSINESS IMPROVE, UH, BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT THAT'S REALLY PROACTIVE IN REALLY ADDRESSING THESE ISSUES. UH, THAT EVEN THOUGH THEY'VE BEEN FOCUSED ON SMALL BUSINESS, THEIR JOB IS TO ALSO ATTRACT BIG BUSINESS INTO THE CITY. AND HAVING THAT BALANCE IS, IS INCREDIBLY CHALLENGING. A LOT OF SMALL BUSINESSES ARE ENTREPRENEURS THAT DON'T HAVE MAYBE FINANCIAL BACKGROUNDS, SO HAVE THE EXPERTISE TO REALLY RUN A BUSINESS, BUT THEY HAVE PASSION, THEY HAVE HEART. AND, UH, THAT'S REALLY HARD. AND SO IF YOU DON'T HAVE THAT, YOU DON'T HAVE THE, THE PIECES OR THE TEAM TO DO THAT YOUR BUSINESS GOES UNDER PRETTY QUICKLY. AND A LOT OF 'EM, UM, AND I'D LOVE TO SEE A REPORT, UH, DOWN THE ROAD ABOUT HOW MANY SMALL BUSINESSES MAKE IT PAST THE THREE YEARS OR FIVE YEARS TO SEE LIKE WHERE, WHERE, WHERE, WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE, WHERE'S THE VALUE OF DEATH FOR OUR RETAIL COMMUNITY AND WHERE COULD WE REALLY PROVIDE SOME SERVICES AND SUPPORT THERE? BECAUSE I THINK TRAINING AND EDUCATION FOR ENTREPRENEURS AND SMALL BUSINESSES SHOULD BE A CONSTANT THING THAT NOT JUST THAT DOBA PROVIDES, BUT THE CITY OF LONG BEACH CONTINUES TO FOSTER OR FUND DOWN THE ROAD THROUGH A CONSULTANTS OR WORKSHOPS OR WHATEVER IT MAY BE. UH, AGAIN, A LOT OF SMALL BUSINESSES STRUGGLE AND IT'S BY THE, UH, BY, BY PURE LUCK SOMETIMES THAT THEY ACTUALLY MAKE IT PAST THE THREE YEAR OR FIVE YEAR MARK AND ARE ABLE TO SUSTAIN THEMSELVES, UH, BUT THEY'RE STILL NOT PROTECTED TO ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND THE KIND OF THE CHANGING, UH, UH, UH, STATE OF, OF OUR ECONOMY THERE TOO. UM, SO I JUST WANNA SAY THAT, UM, WHAT I, WHAT I'M SEEING HERE IS A LOT OF EMPHASIS ON SMALL BUSINESSES, BUT WE NEED BIG BUSINESS TO, TO REALLY SUSTAIN THE, THE ECONOMY AT THE LOCAL LEVEL. UM, AND I, I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING SPECIFICALLY HERE AROUND BIG BUSINESS AND HOW THAT CAN MAYBE SUPPORT, UM, AND MAYBE CREATE AN INCENTIVE FOR OTHER SMALL BUSINESSES TO BE, UH, INCLUDED. UH, UH, OR, YOU KNOW, USING, USING, USE THEM AS AN ATTRACTION TOOL. WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF, UH, BIGGER, UH, MODELS KIND OF DOWN ON SECOND STREET. YOU SEE SOME BIGGER BRANCHES OR, UM, SOME, SOME SLIGHTLY BIGGER COMPANIES DOWN ON SECOND STREET AS WELL. SORRY, SECOND. AND PCH IS, THEY'RE ATTRACTING QUITE A, QUITE A, A GOOD TYPE OF, UH, THE QUALITY OF BUSINESS, UM, THAT IS MORE, UM, MODERN AND TRENDY AND, AND TO, YOU KNOW, TAILORED TO A YOUNGER OR OR WEALTHIER DEMOGRAPHIC. AND SO, UM, I JUST WANNA PUT A LOT OF EMPHASIS ON SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT AND ATTRACTION IS, IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT. UM, BUT WE ALSO, UH, NEED TO FIND A WAY TO SUPPORT THE D-D-O-B-A ON ATTRACTING BIGGER BUSINESSES, UH, THAT ARE GONNA HELP SUSTAIN THAT AND TO KEEP THEM RIGHT. THANK YOU. OKAY, COMMISSIONER MATOYA. ALRIGHT, SO THAT WAS A BIT, UH, . UM, BUT I WILL GO THROUGH A HANDFUL OF COMMENTS THAT I HEARD AND, AND JUST WANT TO, UM, HOPEFULLY, UH, UH, PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT MORE CONTEXT. UM, SO HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW. I THINK, UM, OUR DOWNTOWN, LIKE ANY OTHER DOWNTOWN, IS EXPERIENCING THE EXACT SAME CHALLENGES AS IT COMES TO PUBLIC SAFETY, AS IT COMES TO HOMELESSNESS, AS IT COMES TO RETAIL VACANCIES, BOTH BIG BOX AND, UM, SMALL FORMATS. UM, WHAT IT MEANS, WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A DOWNTOWN, I THINK FUNDAMENTALLY IS CHANGING. UM, AND WE WILL NOT GO BACK TO PRE PANDEMIC LEVELS, UM, WHETHER IT'S IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, WHETHER YOU'RE IN WASHINGTON DC DOWNTOWNS ARE DIFFERENT. UM, AND IT'S GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME FOR BOTH THE RETAIL MARKET AND THE OFFICE MARKET TO REALIGN TO WHAT THAT REALITY IS. UM, AS COMMISSIONS MENTIONED EARLIER, COMMISSIONER LYNCH HAD MENTIONED ABOUT, UH, SPACES LIKE WEWORK COWORKING SPACES, UM, I BELIEVE IT WAS COMMISSIONER LARKINS THAT HAD MENTIONED ABOUT, OR SORRY, COMMISSIONER NEMA, WHO HAD MENTIONED ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, EMPLOYERS LOOKING FOR SMALLER SPACES FOR THEIR EMPLOYEES TO WORK OUT OF, RATHER THAN LOOKING FOR THE BIG SPACES, UM, THAT THEY WERE, UH, IN BEFORE. AND I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE THE TREND, RIGHT? UM, PEOPLE ARE WORKING FROM HOME. SO WE'RE LUCKY ENOUGH THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF FOLKS THAT HAVE MOVED INTO THE DOWNTOWN THAT ARE OPERATING OUTTA THEIR SPACES, OUTTA THE RESIDENTIAL SPACES, BUT PEOPLE ARE ALSO CHOOSING TO WORK OUT OF THE WEWORK ON BROADWAY AND PINE. UM, WE ARE SEEING THOSE COWORKING SPACES POP UP MORE THAN WE HAD BEFORE, AND I THINK THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR, UM, SOME OF THE VACANT SPACES IN SOME OF OUR OFFICE BUILDINGS TO, UM, UH, TO, UM, CUT DOWN ON THEIR SPACE TO ALLOW FOR MORE, UM, UH, COWORKING TYPE [01:05:01] OF PRODUCT IN IT. BUT AGAIN, THIS IS GOING TO TAKE TIME. UM, I THINK WHEN WE THINK ABOUT DOWNTOWNS, UH, AS THEY SHIFT TO MORE OF A RESIDENT FOCUS, THEY NEED TO BE FOCUSED ON RESIDENT FOCUSED AMENITIES AND RESIDENT FOCUS ACTIVITIES. SO WE THINK ABOUT THE WEST GATEWAY AREA, WE'RE GONNA ADD 700 NEW UNITS RIGHT BEHIND THE WORLD TRADE CENTER. THERE IS NO GROCERY STORE NEARBY. UM, SO HOW WE THINK ABOUT DOWNTOWNS NEEDS TO SHIFT FROM AN OFFICE BASED ECONOMY OR SOLELY FOCUSED ON OFFICE SPACE TO A RESIDENTIAL EXPERIENCE. AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT THE ALLIANCE AS WELL AS THE CITY'S TEAM AND ALL THE PARTNERS NEED TO FIGURE OUT AND WORK ON A STRATEGY FOR AND HOW IT ALIGNS WITH THE MAYOR'S GROW LONG BEACH INITIATIVE. THE, THE SEGMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN OUTLINED, WHERE DOES DOWNTOWN FIT IN THAT? RIGHT? UM, I THINK ONE OF THE, THE STATEMENTS ON, UH, BIG BUSINESS, UM, AND, AND WE HAVE THE BROKERS HERE WHO CAN PERHAPS TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE, BUT THE, THE CHALLENGE I'VE SEEN, UM, ONE IS NEEDING TO WORK WITH OUR, UM, SHOPPING CENTERS ON WHAT THEIR RETAIL STRATEGY IS. SO WE MENTIONED MOSAIC, WE MENTIONED, UH, THE PIKE OUTLETS. THOSE ARE REALLY THE SPACES THAT HAVE A LARGE ENOUGH FOOTPRINT AND THE AVAILABLE PARKING THAT'S GONNA BE ATTRACTIVE TO SOME OF THESE BIG BOX RETAILERS, OR MORE THE ONES THAT YOU'RE KIND OF SEEING AROUND SECOND AND PCH. BUT WE'RE STILL HITTING A SNAG, WHETHER IT BE THE DEMOGRAPHICS THAT AREN'T MEETING THE, THE NEED THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR. AND THE QUESTION THEN IS, HOW DO WE MARKET THE CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS IN DOWNTOWN AND WORK WITH THE BROKERAGE COMMUNITY TO HELP MARKET THAT? UM, BUT I ALSO THINK, UH, WE'RE LIMITED ON FOOTPRINT SPACES THAT HAVE ADEQUATE FOOTPRINTS, UM, FOR IT. SO, UH, A CHALLENGE, WELL, GROCERY STORES, EVERYBODY WANTS A GROCERY STORE, UH, DEMOGRAPHICS INDEED TO BE A CHALLENGE ON THAT ONE. BUT ALSO WE ARE LIMITED IN TRULY WHAT SPACES A GROCERY STORE CAN FIT IN. SOME FOLKS HAVE LOOKED AT THIS SPACE OVER OFF OF FOURTH AND PACIFIC, WHERE THE OLD, UM, TOP VALUE WAS. THAT SPACE IS A RELATIVELY SMALL FOOTPRINT. UM, I BELIEVE IT'S ABOUT 15 TO 20,000 SQUARE FEET. UM, AND THERE ARE VERY FEW GROCERY CONCEPTS THAT HAVE, THAT WILL GO INTO A FOOTPRINT THAT SMALL TRADER JOE'S IS ONE OF THEM, BUT TRADER JOE'S IS LOOKING FOR A VERY SPECIFIC DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF THE COMMUNITY, WHICH UNFORTUNATELY IS NOT THERE YET. UM, AND THE ONLY OTHER AREA WHERE WE HAVE ENOUGH PARKING IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF LONG BEACH BOULEVARD AND FIFTH STREET, WHERE, UM, NOT TOP VALUE, I'M SORRY. THANK YOU. L SUPER IS RIGHT. UM, THAT'S THE ONLY OTHER PLACE WHERE THERE'S ENOUGH AVAILABLE PARKING AND A LARGE ENOUGH FOOTPRINT TO HAVE ANOTHER GROCERY OPTION THERE, BUT THERE IS A GROCERY OPTION RIGHT THERE. THE WALGREENS THAT CLOSE IS STILL TOO SMALL. UM, SAME WITH THE CVS. SO IT'S ABOUT HAVING THE AVAILABLE SPACE THAT THESE BRANDS ARE LOOKING FOR, MEETING THE DEMOGRAPHICS THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR, AND THEN HAVING THE PARKING AVAILABLE THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR. AND THEN THERE ARE OTHER ISSUES THAT I'M NOT GONNA GET INTO DETAIL ON, BUT MY POINT IS, WE NEED TO WORK WITH THE SHOPPING CENTERS AND THEIR LEASING TEAMS ON WHO THEY'RE ATTRACTING HERE AND AS THE ALLIANCE AND AS THE CITY MAKING SURE THAT THE BROKERAGE COMMITTEE IS, ARE BROKERAGE COMMUNITY IS ARMED WITH THE INFORMATION THEY NEED TO SELL THOSE SPACES. UM, BECAUSE I, I DO BELIEVE WE NEED TO BEGIN TO REALLY FOCUS ON, ON THOSE BIG BOX FORMATS THAT REALLY TRY TO TRACK PEOPLE DOWN HERE, ORANGE THEORY, ALL THAT CHATS, RIGHT? UM, AND THEN THE, THE LAST PIECE, I'LL, I'LL SAY, I THINK, UM, ON THE ENTERTAINMENT FRONT, AS WE PREPARE FOR NOT ONLY, UM, THE OLYMPICS, BUT ALSO THE WORLD CUP, WE'LL BE HERE IN 2026, PINE AVENUE TO PROMENADE SHOULD BE THE CENTER FOR ENTERTAINMENT, NOT JUST THE WATERFRONT. AND THE STATE HAS COME DOWN WITH SOME NEW TOOLS THAT COULD BE HELPFUL IN, IN, UM, CREATING THOSE ENTERTAINMENT SPACES. SO SB 9 69 WAS A STATE BILL THAT WAS PASSED, OUR COMMITTEE ACTUALLY SPOKE ABOUT IT THIS MORNING THAT ESTABLISHES ENTERTAINMENT ZONES THAT COULD BE REALLY USEFUL AND HELPFUL FOR EXISTING BUSINESSES TO PARTICIPATE IN EVENTS. UM, AND THAT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT, UH, WILL BE A GOOD ECONOMIC TOOL WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE OLYMPICS, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT, UH, THE WORLD CUP AND WHETHER OR NOT YOU SHUT DOWN PINE AVENUE AGAIN AND, AND PLAY A GAME, LIKE PLAY THE WORLD SERIES, OH, SORRY, NOT THE WORLD SERIES, THE WORLD CUP ON A BLOW UP SCREEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET FOR PEOPLE TO WATCH, RIGHT? WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT LIKE MAYBE HOSTING, UM, SAMPLE OLYMPIC GAMES IN THE STREET, BUT ALSO BEING ABLE TO UTILIZE THAT. SO THAT IS ONE TOOL THAT I THINK WE, WE ARE TRYING TO LEVERAGE AND WORK WITH THE CITY ON ESTABLISHING. UM, AND THEN THE LAST POINT, GOING BACK TO OFFICE WORKERS WHERE WE'VE CONCENTRATE, I THINK A LOT OF OUR OLDER OFFICE BUILDINGS ARE EITHER GOING TO COME OFFLINE AND BE CONVERTED TO RESIDENTIAL. NOT ALL OF THEM WILL OR COME OFFLINE AND NOT EXIST. UM, BUT WHERE WE'VE CONCENTRATED A LOT OF OUR BUILDINGS ARE, ARE UTILIZED, IS IN THE WEST GATEWAY AREA. AND THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT'S ON PINE AVENUE AND PROVIDE NOT WHERE A LOT OF OUR RESTAURANTS ARE THAT WOULD BE USING FOR DAYTIME LUNCH. SO HOW CAN WE MAKE ACTIVITIES USEFUL [01:10:01] FOR THE, THE FOLKS OVER AT WORLD TRADE, OVER AT OCEAN GATE? AND, UM, A REALLY GOOD EXAMPLE IS DOWNTOWN LA DID, UM, A SUMMER OLYMPICS FOR THEIR DOWNTOWN LA EMPLOYEES. FOUR BUILDINGS COMPETED. UM, AND THEY WERE ALL RIGHT ACROSS FROM EACH OTHER AND THEY DID DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES THAT COINCIDED WITH THE PARIS PARIS OLYMPICS. SO DOING SOMETHING SIMILAR LIKE THAT TO ENGAGE THE EMPLOYEES, I THINK IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO, TO LOOK AT AS WELL. AND I WILL COME BACK WITH A REPORT ON SOMETHING FOR THE SUMMER OLYMPICS . OKAY. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER MORTOYA FOR THE PRESENTATION. UM, THE FOLLOW UP TO THE QUESTIONS, ENGAGING THE COMMISSIONERS IN THE DISCUSSION. AND YES, WE WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO CONTINUE TO FOLLOW UP WITH UPDATES SO THAT WE COULD BE SUPPORTIVE OF WHAT YOU AND THE ALLIANCE ARE DOING. OKAY. UM, MADAM CLERK, COULD YOU CALL FOR THE VOTE? COMMISSIONER NOVIN, IF YOU'D LIKE TO GIVE A, UH, I HAVE COMMISSIONER SAND NOW. YES. YES. THANK YOU. MOTION CARRIES. OKAY, THANK YOU. OKAY. UM, MADAM CLERK, WOULD YOU PLEASE READ ITEM NUMBER THREE? ITEM NUMBER THREE IS RECOMMENDATION [3. 24-55471 Recommendation to receive and file an update on the Grow America Fund and the City’s existing loan portfolio.        Suggested Action:  Approve recommendation. ] TO RECEIVE AND FILE AN UPDATE ON THE GROW AMERICA FUND AND THE CITY'S EXISTING LOAN PORTFOLIO. OKAY. MAY, CAN WE HAVE A MOTION ON THIS ITEM? OKAY. IT'S BEEN MOVED BY COMMISSIONER SMITH AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER NOVIN. OKAY. DO WE HAVE A PRESENTATION FROM THE STAFF? YES, WE DO. CHAIR. UH, SO TODAY WE HAVE FROM GROW AMERICA, WE HAVE, UM, TWO OTHER TEAM MEMBERS JOINING US. WE HAVE ANDREA MARTINEZ, WHO'S A DIRECTOR, AND THEN ALSO BRIAN SALVA, WHO SERVES AT THE LENDING MANAGER WITH GROW AMERICA, AND THEY HAVE A PRESENTATION, UH, ON GROWER AND THEN ALSO OUR PORTFOLIO HERE IN LONG BEACH. THANK YOU. HI, COMMISSIONERS. THANK YOU FOR HAVING US AND RECEIVING THIS PRESENTATION. UH, MY NAME'S ANDREA MARTINEZ AND I'M HERE WITH MY COLLEAGUE BRIAN SALVA. WE ARE GOING TO PRESENT ON THE GROW AMERICA FUND, SBA SEVEN A LENDING ENTITY. UM, THIS IS AN INVESTMENT THAT THE CITY MADE, UH, BACK IN 1997, I WANNA SAY 97 98, THE CITY INVESTED SOME SEED CAPITAL INTO A REVOLVING LOAN FUND THAT MAKES, UH, LOANS TO SMALL BUSINESSES LOCATED IN THE CITY LIMITS OF LONG BEACH. UM, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE SCREEN, THE LOANS ARE, UM, USED FOR VARIOUS BUSINESS USES, UM, MACHINERY EQUIPMENT, CAN DO REAL ESTATE ACQUISITION IMPROVEMENTS, YOU KNOW, OPERATING COSTS, WORKING CAPITAL DEBT, REFINANCE, ET CETERA. IT IS AN SBA SEVEN A LOAN PROGRAM. SO THE CITY'S INITIAL INVESTMENT WENT TOWARD THE SEED CAPITAL AND THE PARTNERSHIP WITH GROW AMERICA FUND, WHICH IS A NON-PROFIT, UH, CDFI, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTION, UH, WHICH JUST MEANS WE'RE A NON-BANK LENDER, SO WE DON'T TAKE DEPOSITS, BUT WE DO MAKE SMALL BUSINESS LOANS USING SPA SEVEN A GUARANTEE. UM, WE LEVERAGED THE FUNDS THAT YOU HAD FOUR TO ONE AT THAT TIME. AND TOWARD THE END OF THE PRESENTATION, WE'LL GO OVER A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THE SPECIFIC STATUS OF THE PORTFOLIO. UM, BUT THIS, THE BEGINNING PART OF THE PRESENTATION IS TO FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF AGAIN WITH WHAT THE PROGRAM IS. THIS PRESENTATION ACTUALLY IS TARGETED TOWARD SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS THEMSELVES AND HOW TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE PROGRAM. UM, THIS IS AN INFORMATIONAL ITEM SO THAT YOU CAN HELP, YOU KNOW, SPREAD THE WORD, SPREAD THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE, AND THEN WE CAN AGAIN, HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE, UM, EXISTING PORTFOLIO AND, UM, SUCCESSES OF THE PROGRAM. BUT FIRST WE JUST KIND OF WANTED TO GO OVER AN OVERVIEW, UM, OF WHAT THE PROGRAM IS. AND THE GOAL IS OBVIOUSLY, UH, TO STIMULATE, YOU KNOW, BUSINESS ACTIVITY, ECONOMIC ACTIVITY WITHIN THE CITY, AS WELL AS JOB CREATION. UH, SO GROW AMERICA FUND IS, UH, PROVIDES, YOU KNOW, FLEXIBLE LENDING. UM, THE SEVEN A SPACE, SEVEN A PROGRAM IS SIMILAR TO WHAT BANKS OPERATE, BUT BECAUSE WE'RE A NON-BANK LENDER, WE CAN REALLY USE THE PROGRAM TO ITS FULLEST FLEXIBILITY. I WOULD SAY THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN, UM, THE GROW AMERICA APPROACH AND SORT OF ALTERNATIVE LENDING APPROACH VERSUS WHAT A BANK DOES. UM, WE DID A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT, UM, RECOVERY EFFORTS THROUGH SBA DURING THE PANDEMIC AS WELL. UM, THE, SO JUST TO DIFFERENTIATE, WHAT IS THE SEVEN A PROGRAM VERSUS OTHER SBA PROGRAMS THAT YOU [01:15:01] MIGHT HAVE HEARD OF, LIKE THE PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM, PPP, UM, WE WERE A PPP LENDER, AND SO WE DID DO A LOT OF PPP LOANS TO BUSINESSES IN LONG BEACH AS WELL AS NATIONWIDE. UM, WE ARE NOT AN, AN AN EMERGENCY, UH, SORRY, ECONOMIC INJURY DISASTER LOAN, IDLE LOAN PROVIDER. THOSE LOANS DO COME DIRECTLY FROM SBA AND WE'RE, UM, PROVIDED AS A SOLUTION DURING COVID-19, AND ALSO DURING OTHER TYPES OF FEMALE RELATED DISASTERS. UM, BUT SO THE SEVEN A IS THE SORT OF TRADITIONAL GIRL, UH, TRADITIONAL SEVEN A, UH, SORRY, SMALL BUS, SBA LENDING PROGRAM. SO THOSE PROGRAMS, PPP WAS DEFINITELY VERY SPECIFIC TO THE PANDEMIC, AND IDLE IS VERY SPECIFIC TO DISASTERS. SO THE SEVEN A PROGRAM IS THE SORT OF THEIR FLAGSHIP PROGRAM, UM, THAT'S USED AS SORT OF A LONGER TERM RECOVERY. SO FOR, FOR DURING THE PANDEMIC, WE DID A LOT OF, UM, EMERGENCY LOANS THROUGH THE MICROENTERPRISE PROGRAM, WHICH I KNOW YOU GUYS RECEIVED A PRESENTATION ON, I BELIEVE, LAST MONTH. UM, AND SO JUST TRYING TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF HOW THIS FITS IN SORT OF TO THE SMALL BUSINESS LENDING CONTINUUM. UH, THIS IS SORT OF THE PROGRAM THAT HAS BEEN AROUND, YOU KNOW, FOR THE LONGEST. UM, AND AT THIS POINT, I AM GONNA PASS IT TO BRIAN TO GO OVER A LITTLE BIT MORE SPECIFICS OF THE PROGRAM. AND THEN, LIKE I SAID, I'LL, WE'LL COME BACK AT THE END AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE PORTFOLIO. THANK YOU, ANDREA. AGAIN, WE ARE GONNA FOCUS ON THE, UH, SEVEN A PROGRAM. AND, AND THERE'S A COMMON MISNOMER ABOUT THIS PROGRAM. THE SBA ACTUALLY DOESN'T PROVIDE THE FUNDS FOR THIS LOAN GROW AMERICA SLASH THE LENDER PROVIDES THE FUNDS. WHAT THEY DO IS THEY PROVIDE A GUARANTEE OR INSURANCE ON THAT LOAN, SO THAT ALLOWS THE LENDER TO MAKE A LOAN THAT MAYBE THEY WOULDN'T NORMALLY DO. BUT BECAUSE IT'S GUARANTEED SOMETIMES UP TO 85%, MOST OF THE TIME, 75% WE'RE ALLOWED TO TAKE A LITTLE BIT MORE RISK IN THE TYPE OF BORROWER THAT WE, UH, LEND TO OR THE TYPE OF INDUSTRY. UM, I THINK YOU'LL HEAR THAT SEVEN A IS SYNONYMOUS WITH RESTAURANT LENDING, WHICH BANKS PROBABLY CONSIDER THE RISKIEST TYPE. WE'VE, WE'VE DONE A TON OF 'EM, UM, BECAUSE OF THAT GUARANTEE, WHO CAN APPLY, UH, WE'RE LOOKING FOR, FOR-PROFIT SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS. AND I'LL JUST KIND OF ADD A LITTLE BIT SOMETHING MORE TO THAT. WE'RE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING TO ACTUALLY WORK IN THOSE BUSINESSES. THIS ISN'T, UH, A VEHICLE FOR PASSIVE INCOME. WE DON'T WANT SOMEBODY TO BUY AN EXISTING BUSINESS AND THEN KEEP THEIR TECH JOB, BUT THEN THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, THEY OWN A, A COOKIE SHOP THAT'S BEEN OPERATING. WE WANT SOMEBODY THAT IS ACTUALLY GOING TO BE IN THERE MAKING THE DOUGH, DECORATING THE COOKIES. SO DEFINITELY NOT AN INVESTMENT TOOL FOR SOMEBODY. RIGHT NOW, THE MAXIMUM LOAN AMOUNT FOR SBA IS 5 MILLION. AND SO THAT IS, UM, SO IF YOU'VE GOT ONE BUSINESS THAT HAS AN SBA LOAN FOR 2 MILLION, AND THEN YOU WANTED TO START A SECOND BUSINESS FOR SOME REASON, OR OPEN A SECOND LOCATION, YOU'RE, UH, ELIGIBLE OR YOU'RE, YOU CAN BORROW UP TO 3 MILLION. SO IT'S, IT'S A COMBINED 5 MILLION. THE INTEREST RATES, WHILE THERE'S A COUPLE DIFFERENT, UM, INDEXES THAT SBA LENDERS USE, WE USE THE WALL STREET JOURNAL PRIME RATE. UM, AND THEN THE MARGIN TYPICALLY IS SOMEWHERE ABOVE, YOU KNOW, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN TWO AND 3%. IT KIND OF DEPENDS ON THE RISK OF THE OVERALL DEAL, UM, WHICH WAS GREAT IN 2020 AND 2021, PEOPLE WERE HAVING RATES SOMEWHERE IN THE, THE FIVE OR 6% NOT SO HOT LATELY WHEN INTEREST RATES WERE AT, UH, 10 OR 11. BUT AS YOU'RE, YOU'RE AWARE, RATES ARE SORT OF TRICKLING DOWN A LITTLE BIT, WHICH AFFECTS THE INTEREST RATE AND THE PAYMENTS FOR THESE LOANS. TYPICAL TERMS ON THESE ARE 10 TO 25 YEARS, DEPENDING ON WHAT THE USE OF THE PROCEEDS ARE. THE 25 YEAR VERSION IS MAINLY FOR REAL ESTATE. 10 YEARS IS FOR WORKING CAPITAL, BUSINESS ACQUISITIONS, EQUIPMENT, UM, TENANT IMPROVEMENTS, SECURITY AND COLLATERAL. THIS IS ANOTHER ONE THAT, UH, IT GETS TALKED ABOUT A LOT. IF YOU ARE APPLY FOR AN SBA LOAN, THEY'RE GOING TO, YOU CAN'T DECLINE AN SBA LOAN BECAUSE OF LACK OF COLLATERAL THAT'S IN THE BUSINESS OR PERSONAL. BUT IF YOU'VE GOT IT, THEY'RE GONNA TAKE IT. AND SO, UH, IF YOU'VE GOT EQUITY IN YOUR HOME, EVEN THOUGH IT'S IN YOUR PERSONAL NAME, THE SB WE, THE LENDER IS GOING TO TAKE US EITHER A SECOND, THIRD, WE'VE DONE FOURTH LIENS ON A HOME. UM, IT'S KIND OF THE SKIN IN THE GAME [01:20:01] PIECE OF IT. TYPICALLY, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE, IF YOU'VE GOT A MILLION DOLLARS IN EQUITY IN YOUR HOME AND YOU'RE, YOU'RE BORROWING $500,000, WE'RE ONLY GONNA TAKE A LIEN FOR $500,000. AND BECAUSE WE ARE LENDING TO A SMALL BUSINESS AND AN OWNER THAT'S WORKING IN THAT BUSINESS, WE TYPICALLY REQUIRE A LIFE INSURANCE POLICY ON THAT OWNER, A KEY MAN LIFE INSURANCE POLICY THAT'S NEGOTIABLE. SOMETIMES PEOPLE, IT BECOMES COST INEFFECTIVE TO HAVE A POLICY OR THERE MIGHT BE A VARIETY OF REASONS WHY THEY CAN'T GET ONE. SO, BUT TYPICALLY WE LIKE TO HAVE A LIFE INSURANCE POLICY ON THAT, THAT INDIVIDUAL, AS ANDREA MENTIONED, UH, YOU, WE CAN USE THIS FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS. THE ONE THAT, UM, THAT HAS BEEN SORT OF HAPPENING A LOT IN THE LAST CALL IT THREE OR FOUR YEARS HAS BEEN FOR BUSINESS ACQUISITIONS. YOU KNOW, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF BUSINESS OWNERS THAT ARE AT RETIREMENT AGE AND ARE LOOKING FOR SOMEBODY TO BUY THEIR EXISTING BUSINESS, EITHER A FAMILY MEMBER, BUT MOST OF THE TIME IT'S A LONG-TERM EMPLOYEE THAT, THAT, UH, WANTS TO BUY THIS BUSINESS AND MAIN AND KEEP IT GOING. AND THERE'S A VARIETY. AND THE SBA ACTUALLY CHANGED SOME RULES ON THIS, AND I WON'T GET TOO FAR INTO THE DETAILS ON, UM, ON HOW THEY CAN DO THAT AS FAR AS THE DOWN PAYMENT IS CONCERNED. SO THE, THE SELLER CAN ACTUALLY FINANCE A GOOD PORTION OF THAT WHILE WE CAN COME AND DO THE, THE, THE OTHER PART. LET'S SEE. I, OH, YOU DID . WE GOTTA, WE GOTTA BE SOME OF THE BASICS ON AN SBA LOAN. I, I WON'T GET TOO DEEP INTO THE, THE WOODS HERE. UM, THERE ARE TYPICALLY NO PREPAYMENT PENALTIES ON THESE THINGS. IF YOU'RE BUYING A PIECE OF REAL ESTATE, WHICH IS THE 25 YEAR FLAVOR, UH, THERE'S USUALLY A THREE YEAR PREPAYMENT PENALTY ON THE, IT'S A DECLINE. SO YOU'RE, YOU'RE, I THINK IT'S FIVE THREE 1% AFTER THE THIRD YEAR. SO VERY EASY TO KIND OF GET OUT OF IT. UM, AND THE REASON I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT FOR A SECOND IS THERE'S A, THERE'S A ELIGIBILITY PIECE CALLED THE CREDIT ELSEWHERE TEST. SINCE THIS IS A GOVERNMENT PROGRAM, IF YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO GO TO, YOU KNOW, BANK OF AMERICA OR US BANK AND GET A TRADITIONAL CONVENTIONAL LOAN, OR IF YOU'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, AMAZING LIQUIDITY AT HOME, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT YOUR BANK ACCOUNTS, GOT A BUNCH OF MONEY TO FUND THIS YOURSELF, YOU'RE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR AN SBA LOAN. AND SO THESE ARE FOR PEOPLE THAT CANNOT GET CREDIT AT A TRADITIONAL BANK WITH A TRADITIONAL CREDIT PRODUCT. AND THE REASON THE PREPAYMENT PENALTY IS IMPORTANT, AND A LOT OF TIMES NOT HAVING ANY, IS HOPEFULLY YOU'VE DONE SO WELL WITH YOUR SBA LOAN THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO MAYBE REFINANCE WITH A CONVENTIONAL BANK AT SOME POINT AND, AND GET A LONGER TERM FIXED RATE. OKAY, COOL. SOME OF THE, UH, SOME OF THE QUALIFICATIONS WE USE TO DETERMINE WHO WE'RE GONNA LEND TO, AND, AND I'LL SAY THE, YOU CAN GO TO 20 DIFFERENT BANKS THAT PROVIDE SBA LOANS, AND WHILE WE ALL USE THE SAME SBA GUIDELINES, EACH BANK HAS THEIR OWN LENDING CRITERIA AND UNDERWRITING STANDARDS. AND AS A LIFELONG COMMERCIAL BANKER, I'VE RECENTLY JOINED GROW AMERICA IN APRIL, IT'S DIFFERENT HERE. SO, UH, WE'VE GOT A LOT MORE FLEXIBILITY THAN YOUR TRADITIONAL BANK. AND SO SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE, THE UNDERWRITING CRITERIA THAT WE LOOK AT, ONE, AND PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE IS THE CHARACTER OF THE, OF THE OWNER. UM, HAS THIS PERSON, YOU KNOW, DOES THIS PERSON, DO THEY PUT TOGETHER A, A WELL PREPARED BUSINESS PLAN AND PROJECTIONS? HAVE THEY HAVE INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE? DO THEY PLAN ON HIRING PEOPLE AS PER THE PROGRAM GUIDELINES? UM, HAVE THEY FAILED IN THE PAST? AND IF SO, WOULD THEY LEARN? HOW LONG AGO HAVE THEY HAD PREVIOUS LOSSES TO LENDERS? I'LL JUST KIND OF GIVE A LITTLE EXAMPLE OF, OF A SITUATION I'VE HAD LAST WEEK WHERE WE WENT THROUGH THIS, THIS PROCESS WITH A, WITH A GREAT BUSINESS AND, AND, UH, AND I ALWAYS ASK, HAVE YOU HAD ANY BANKRUPTCY FILINGS OR PREVIOUS LOSSES TO LENDERS? AND, AND HE SAID, NO. AND SO WE WENT THROUGH THE ENTIRE PROCESS AND, UH, UNFORTUNATELY BECAUSE IT'S A GOVERNMENT GUARANTEED PROGRAM, WE PULL A BACKGROUND CHECK AND, AND SURE ENOUGH, TWO BANKRUPTCIES AND A BUNCH OF CHARGE OFFS. SO THE CHARACTER PART IS IMPORTANT. AND WHILE WE, IF THEY WOULD'VE DISCLOSED THAT UPFRONT, WE MIGHT'VE GOT THE STORY BEHIND WHY THAT HAPPENED, WHERE IT COULD BE BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC, SOMETHING MEDICAL, WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE. THERE'S AN EXPLANATION FOR IT. BUT WHEN YOU DON'T DISCLOSE IT FRONT, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH A, A DONE DEAL. UM, WE'VE TALKED [01:25:01] ABOUT THE ELIGIBLE USES OF PROCEEDS QUITE A BIT, BUT THE ONE THING THAT'S SORT OF RELEVANT TO WHAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT HERE TODAY IS WE DO TENANT IMPROVEMENTS FOR LEASE HOLD SPACES. AND THERE ARE SOME BANKS THAT DON'T LIKE TO DO THAT. THERE'S SOME RISK IN THE CONSTRUCTION, BUT, BUT WE'VE DONE 'EM. AND SO THAT MIGHT BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO WORK TOGETHER AS, AS WE'RE TRYING TO FILL UP SOME OF THESE RETAIL SPACES. THIS NEXT PAGE IS A BUNCH OF DOCUMENTS THAT PROBABLY ALL LOOK SORT OF, UM, FAMILIAR IF YOU'VE APPLIED FOR A BUSINESS LOAN BEFORE. THE ONE THING THAT, UM, THE SBA REQUIRES THAT IS MAYBE NOT TRADITIONAL WITH A CONVENTIONAL LOAN IS, LIKE I'VE MENTIONED, THE BUSINESS PLAN AND THE FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS. AND WITHIN THOSE FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS, WE ACTUALLY WANT TO KNOW WHY THE PROJECTIONS ARE THE PROJECTIONS. WE'VE SEEN SOME, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE'VE GOT, I'LL USE A RESTAURANT FOR AN EXAMPLE, AND THEY PROJECT THAT THEY'RE GONNA BREAK EVEN IN MONTH THREE. WELL, WE KNOW THAT'S NOT REALITY, BUT IF THEY, YOU KNOW, BUT IF THEY PROVIDE SORT OF SOME ASSUMPTIONS ON WHY THAT THEY THINK THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN AND IT MAKES SENSE TO US, THEN, THEN THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN WORK ON. SO THEY'VE GOTTA TELL US WHY THE PROJECTIONS ARE THE PROJECTIONS 'CAUSE THEY KNOW THEIR BUSINESS MORE THAN WE DO. UNDERWRITING BASICS. THERE'S THE TRADITIONAL, YOU KNOW, HISTORICAL CASH FLOW. DID, DID YOU KNOW, DOES YOUR PAST PERFORMANCE MERIT GIVING YOU A LOAN? HOWEVER, IN LENDING, IT'S NOT YESTERDAY'S CASHFLOW THAT PAYS TODAY'S LOAN. IT'S TOMORROW'S CASHFLOW THAT PAYS TODAY'S LOAN. AND SO GETTING BACK TO THE PROJECTIONS, THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S WHY YOU HAVE TO TELL US HOW YOU'RE GONNA PAY US BACK. WHICH BRINGS UP A POINT. WE, WE DO CONSIDER AND HAVE DONE QUITE A FEW STARTUPS AT GROW AMERICA. AND WHILE THOSE ARE INDEED RISKY, THERE'S USUALLY SOME LITIGANT TO THAT RISK. EITHER THEY'RE GONNA PUT A SIGNIFICANT DOWN PAYMENT INTO IT, THEY'VE GOT ENOUGH EQUITY IN THEIR HOUSE TO COVER SOME OF THE RISK. UM, THEY HAVE A BUNCH OF INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE, UM, WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE. SO THERE'S STARTUPS ARE NOT OFF THE TABLE WITH US. AND THEN AGAIN, THIS NEXT PAGE IS JUST SOME MORE OF OUR SORT OF CREDIT MEMO THAT WE PROVIDE, THE KIND OF UNDERWRITE, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE CHARACTER AND THE CAPACITY MIGHT BE. UM, OUR PROCESS TYPICALLY IS WE GET A DEAL THAT WE THINK MIGHT BE VIABLE. WE DON'T NECESSARILY PULL CREDIT. I DO ASK THE CREDIT QUESTIONS THAT I DESCRIBED EARLIER. WE WRITE WHAT WE CALL A PRE-FLIGHT, AND WE TAKE THAT TO OUR CREDIT TEAM TO KIND OF RUN THE DEAL BY THEM. SO TO SEE IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN GET BEHIND. UM, IF THEY SAY YES, THEN WE WOULD ISSUE A TERM SHEET TO THE BUSINESS OWNER, AND THEN THEY CAN MAKE A DECISION WHETHER THEY WANT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH US. IF THEY DO, AT THAT POINT, WE'LL PULL CREDIT AND GO THROUGH THE BACKGROUND CHECK AND THE UNDERWRITING. BUT AT THAT POINT, AS LONG AS SOMETHING HASN'T POPPED UP THAT THEY DIDN'T DISCLOSE OR WE DIDN'T FIND, THEN WE'RE WE ALL, OUR INTENTION IS TO CLOSE THAT LOAN. AND, UH, SBA LENDING IS A LITTLE BIT OF A BEAR BECAUSE OF, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'VE GOT A PARTNER IN THIS AND THAT'S THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. SO THERE IS A LOT OF PAPERWORK, A LOT OF THINGS HAVE TO BE DONE PERFECTLY. FORTUNATELY FOR US, WE'RE SEASONED, SBA LENDERS AND, UH, HAVE BEEN THROUGH THIS PROCESS MANY TIMES. AND SO WE CAN, WE CAN GUIDE YOU THROUGH THAT PROCESS WITH SOME, SOME REALLY GOOD PEOPLE AND, UH, GET, GET YOU THROUGH IT, HOPEFULLY PAINLESS. SO, BRIAN, BECAUSE WE WANNA HAVE THE COMMISSIONERS BE ABLE TO ASK QUESTIONS, IS CAN, AND CAN YOU AND ANDREA KIND OF GET TO THE, HOW YOU WORK WITH THE CITY, MAYBE ON THE PORT PORTFOLIO, AND THEN WE WILL GET THE COMMISSIONERS TO ENGAGE WITH YOU? SURE. THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT HERE. UM, YEAH, SO LET'S GO AHEAD. SO THIS, AGAIN, WE'RE JUST TRYING TO GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF HOW WE LOOK AT A BUSINESS AND ANALYZE IT. UM, AND THERE'S A COUPLE EXAMPLES HERE OF, UM, SOME LOANS THAT WE'VE DONE. UM, A MOTORCYCLE SHOP HERE IN, ON THE WEST SIDE OF LONG BEACH IS A RECENT BORROWER AS WELL AS A, A MANUFACTURER, MINORITY OWNED MANUFACTURER. UM, AND THEN THERE'S THIS SLIDE HAS A COUPLE OF, UM, ITEMS OF ADVICE LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING TO BUSINESS OWNERS AND YOU KNOW, HOW, IF YOU HAVE REFERRALS FOR US, 'CAUSE THIS, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S A LOT OF A WORD OF MOUTH TYPE OF A PROCESS. WE DO HAVE AN ONLINE APPLICATION AND THINGS LIKE THAT. UM, BUT THERE'S JUST SOME ADVICE THERE. THIS IS, AGAIN, GOOD INFORMATION TO SHARE WITH BUSINESS OWNERS [01:30:01] THAT YOU MIGHT TALK TO IN THE COMMUNITY. UM, BUT SO THE EXISTING PORTFOLIO, UM, IN THIS SLIDE THAT'S UP NOW IS, YOU KNOW, SO WE STARTED WITH ACTUALLY HERE, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE SO WE CAN TALK ABOUT KIND OF WHERE WE STARTED AND WHERE WE ARE TODAY. SO, LIKE I MENTIONED, THE FUND HAS BEEN AROUND FOR QUITE SOME TIME. THE CITY ORIGINALLY INVESTED $1.1 MILLION AND WE CREATED A $4.6 MILLION LOAN FUND. AGAIN, THAT WAS SOMETIME IN THE LATE NINETIES. WE'VE MADE OVER $11 MILLION IN LOANS, UM, SINCE THAT TIME. UM, 37 TRANSACTIONS WERE, HAVE A LEVERAGE RATIO OF 12 TO ONE, UM, AVERAGE LOAN SIZE $300,000, UH, JOBS CREATED AND RETAINED 570. AND RIGHT NOW THE LENDING CAPACITY IS, UM, JUST UNDER FOUR AND A HALF MILLION. SO WE'RE ON THE THIRD REVOLUTION RIGHT, OF, OF LOANS, OF, OF MONEY. SO YOU GUYS HAVEN'T MADE ANY ADDITIONAL INVESTMENTS SINCE THE NINETIES. AND THAT'S SORT OF THE SUCCESS STORY OF, AND, AND SORT OF THE POINT OF A REVOLVING LOAN FUND, RIGHT? YOU, AND YOU MAKE, UH, YOU CREATE THE FUND ONE TIME, YOU MAKE LOANS, THEY REPAY, YOU REVOLVE THE MONEY BACK AROUND AND YOU RELEA THE SAME MONEY, RIGHT? YOU MAKE GOOD PRUDENT LOANS THAT REPAY AND YOU RELEA THE SAME MONEY. UM, AND SO WE'VE BEEN USING THIS FUND, UH, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MICROENTERPRISE LOAN FUND, REVOLVING LOAN FUND, WHICH IS ALSO A REVOLVING LOAN FUND, UH, DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCE, UM, TO PARTNER ON TRANSACTIONS. SO WE JUST GOT ONE APPROVED EARLIER TODAY AT THE SUBCOMMITTEE, UH, LOAN COMMITTEE MEETING, UH, WHERE WE DID A, A SMALL MICRO LOAN OF $75,000 AND AN SBA LOAN OF 150,000 ALONG WITH SOME EQUITY FROM THE, FROM THE OWNER. IT WAS A STARTUP RESTAURANT LIKE WE WERE JUST DISCUSSING. WE DO A LOT OF THOSE. UH, TOTAL PROJECT SIZE WAS 275,000. SO WE'RE KIND OF SPLITTING THE RISK BETWEEN THE TWO PROGRAMS. THEY, UH, VERY MUCH WORK IN TANDEM. UH, THE FUNDS NOW IN THE GROW, THE GROW LONG BEACH FUND, YOU KNOW, THEY LIVE THERE, THEY ARE THERE FOREVER. AND WE'RE JUST GONNA KEEP REVOLVING THEM AROUND. BRIAN'S GONNA KEEP UNDERWRITING DEALS. UM, I WAS IN BRIAN'S POSITION PREVIOUSLY, , SO YOU'VE HAD SOMEBODY WORKING, UH, WITH YOU IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH TO, TO PROMOTE THESE LOANS. AND, UM, THEY KIND OF WORK ON A SPECTRUM, RIGHT? SO WE'RE LOOKING AT MAYBE HELPING REALLY NEW STARTUPS WITH THE MICRO ENTERPRISE REVOLVING LOAN FUND, SMALL TRANSACTIONS A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS OR LESS. AND THEN IF THEY HAVE MORE ESTABLISHED BUSINESS HISTORY, THEY CAN APPLY FOR THE, THE GROW AMERICA FUND. 'CAUSE THE SBA SEVEN A LOANS ARE LOOKING FOR BORROWERS THAT HAVE EXISTING OPERATING HISTORY, PREFERABLY TWO TO THREE YEARS OF FILED TAX RETURNS, ESTABLISHED BUSINESSES, UH, LIKE BRIAN MENTIONED, WE CAN DO STARTUPS. UM, BUT I'D SAY THERE ARE A SMALLER PERCENTAGE OF THE PORTFOLIO. I'D SAY PROBABLY 70 TO 80% ARE ESTABLISHED BUSINESSES. UM, AND SO WE JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THE, UM, THE COMPATIBILITY OF THE TWO LOAN PROGRAMS THAT THE CITY HAS WORKING TOGETHER. UM, THE DIFFERENCE IS IS THAT THE, THE GROW LONG BEACH FUND, UM, GROW AMERICA FUND IS THE ACTUAL LENDER. WE HAVE THE SBA LICENSE AND ARE THE CDFI WHERE THE MICRO ENTERPRISE LOAN FUND, THE CITY IS THE ACTUAL LENDER. WE ARE STILL PROVIDING YOU THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY SERVICES OF UNDERWRITING AND MAKING THOSE PRUDENT LENDING DECISIONS AND, UM, PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION. BUT THE CITY OF LONG BEACH IS THE ACTUAL LENDER ON THE MICRO ENTERPRISE PROGRAM AND THE GRANT HOLDER, UM, THROUGH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, ADMINISTRATION, EDA IS THE FUNDING SOURCE OF THE, OF THE MICRO PROGRAM. SO I KNOW THAT YOU GUYS GOT THAT PRESENTATION LAST TIME AND WE WERE HOPING TO BE HERE FOR THAT AND MAYBE DO BOTH AT THE SAME TIME. SO I APOLOGIZE THAT IT'S KIND OF, UM, DISJOINTED. BUT THE, THE TWO PROGRAMS REALLY DO WORK, UM, TOGETHER. THAT'S WHY, UM, BRIAN AND I ARE BOTH HERE. HE'S THE UNDERWRITER FOR THE SBA SIDE. I'M HELPING YOU GUYS ON THE MICRO ENTERPRISE SIDE, AND WE'RE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, HAVING THIS GREAT SYNERGY RIGHT NOW. UM, I DO HAVE SOME INFORMATION ON LOANS WE'VE DONE IN THE LAST YEAR, IF YOU'D LIKE TO HEAR, UH, SOME OF THAT. I THINK WE'VE DONE SIX DIFFERENT TRANSACTIONS THIS YEAR WHERE WE'VE PARTNERED WITH THE TWO FUNDS DOING LIKE, YOU KNOW, EITHER 75 OR 90 K WITH THE MICRO AND A HUNDRED TO 150 TO 200 WITH THE SBA. AND AGAIN, THAT DIVERSIFIES THE PORTFOLIOS ON BOTH SIDES AND ALSO, UM, SPREADS OUT THE RISK. SO NOT, NOT ONE POOL, NOT ONE LOAN FUND HAS ALL OF THE RISK OF THE LOANS. AND SO, YEAH, I GUESS WITH THAT, WE'LL JUST OPEN IT UP TO YOUR QUESTIONS. OKAY? OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU, ANDREA. THANK YOU, BRIAN. UM, ANDREA HAS BEEN WITH THE, WITH THE GROW FUND GROW AMERICA FUND FOR MANY [01:35:01] YEARS, UM, AND BEEN OF SERVICE TO THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT. UM, IF YOU COMMISSIONERS COULD LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS TO LIKE ONE TO TWO MINUTES AT THE MOST SO THAT YOU CAN INTERACT WITH THEM. UH, BUT ANYONE HAVE A QUESTION OR COMMENT? ONE COMMENT, UH, GREAT JOB. DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO TELL YOU THAT IN A MORE PUBLIC FORUM. YOU GUYS, UH, ADRIAN, YOU'VE DONE A GREAT JOB AND WELCOME BRIAN FOR, UH, COMING ON BOARD. UH, THAT'S EXCITING AND HOPEFULLY THE COMMIT ONE OF THE COMMISSIONERS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, BLAIR AND I ARE BOTH MOVING OFF THE BOARD. WE'LL VOLUNTEER TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS THING. I HAVE TO SAY THAT THE LOAN COMMITTEE, UH, WAS ONE OF THE MOST REWARDING THINGS THAT I'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH, UH, ON THE COMMISSION OTHER THAN THE BLUEPRINT AND SEEING THOSE ENTREPRENEURS AND BUSINESS OWNERS AND EVEN STARTUPS, UH, HAVE THEIR DREAMS REALIZED WHEN THEY'VE BEEN REJECTED BY BANKS. TRADITIONAL BANKING IS A, IS INSPIRATIONAL IN ITS OWN RIGHT, IS REALLY OLD STYLE, OLD SCHOOL BANKING WHERE THEY LOOK AT YOU IN THE EYE, SHAKE YOUR HAND AND FIGURE OUT WHAT KIND OF PERSON YOU ARE. AND, AND THEY'RE GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, THEY GROW THESE BUSINESSES. SO, UM, CONGRATULATIONS. I'VE ENJOYED, UH, WORKING WITH YOU AND I LOOK FORWARD TO MANY SUCCESSES. AND AGAIN, IT'S, UH, ANY COMMISSIONER'S INTERESTED IN THAT, UH, YOU'RE CERTAINLY NOT GONNA REGRET THE TIME YOU'RE SPENT. OKAY, THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER LARKINS, AND THANK YOU FOR TALKING ABOUT NEEDING NEW PEOPLE ON THE LOAN COMMITTEE, . RIGHT? OKAY. COMMISSIONER SANDOVAL, GREAT PRESENTATION. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT. AND EVEN THOUGH THERE, THE CARLA'S PRESENTATION IN YOURS, YOU MENTIONED IT WAS DISJOINTED. I THINK IT'S PERFECT WITH KIND OF THE, THE, THE, THE EARLIER PIECE, UH, AND THE PRESENTATION FROM THE DOB, UH, AUSTIN, UH, AND THE ALLIANCE. AND, UH, AND THIS, UH, I JUST WANNA SAY, UM, THE STARTUP PIECE, UH, LENDING, UH, TO STARTUPS IS A REALLY UNIQUE ONE THAT IT'S, IT HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE IN THE PAST. UH, I'M CURIOUS TO KNOW WHAT WORKED FOR THE STARTUPS AND DOES IT, IS IT FOR ALL INDUSTRIES OR PARTICULAR INDUSTRIES? UM, I JUST WANT, IF YOU CAN GIVE US SOME HIGHLIGHTS ABOUT THE STARTUPS THAT DID QUALIFY AND, UM, HOW YOU CAN, UH, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO KIND OF EXPAND THAT OR MARKET THAT OUT, UH, SINCE WE'RE WE'RE REALLY AIMING TO ATTRACT AND, AND RETAIN STARTUPS WITHIN THE CITY AS WELL. UM, YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION AND I'LL START, AND THEN I CAN LET BRIAN KIND OF CHIME IN FROM THE SBA SIDE. UM, FOR THE MICROENTERPRISE FUND, I THINK THAT THE STARTUP, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY LIMITING THE LOAN AMOUNTS ON, ON THE, ON THAT. SO USUALLY 25 OR 30 5K IS WHAT A START A TRUE STARTUP, YOU KNOW, I'M TALKING, UM, NO TAX, NO FILE TAX RETURNS, MAYBE HASN'T EVEN STARTED TRANSACTING, YOU KNOW, BUSINESS YET. UM, WE'RE LOOKING TO, AGAIN, MINIMIZE THE RISK BY PUSHING DOWN THE LOAN AMOUNT. THAT'S ONE WAY. THE SECOND THING WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS REALLY ANALYZE THAT CAPA THAT CHARACTER, UM, SORT OF, AND CAPACITY, UM, THAT THOSE CS OF CREDIT THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT IN SOME OF THE SLIDES WE'RE LOOKING FOR REAL INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE, RIGHT? SOMEBODY THAT DOESN'T JUST LIKE TO EAT PIZZA AND WANTS TO DO A PIZZA SHOP, RIGHT? SOMEONE THAT HAS EXPERIENCE, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY WORKING AT ONE IN A PREVIOUS, YOU KNOW, POSITION MANAGEMENT POSITION, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER. UM, ALSO POTENTIALLY RELEVANT, UM, EDUCATION, RIGHT? SO SOME WE'VE DONE LIKE A STARTUP ENGINEERING FIRM OR LIKE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FIRM WHERE SOMEBODY HAD AN ADVANCED DEGREE AND WAS REALLY WELL VERSED, YOU KNOW, IN THE BUSINESS, IN THE INDUSTRY THAT THEY WERE GOING IN. UM, SO IT REALLY GOES TO THAT CHARACTER LENDING, RIGHT? WE'RE LOOKING AT TAKING THE CHANCE ON THE PERSON, RIGHT? AND WE REALLY WANNA DELVE INTO THEIR PERSONAL BACKGROUND. THE PERSONAL CREDIT BECOMES A LOT MORE IMPORTANT IN THAT SENSE, RIGHT? SO YOU DON'T HAVE ANY BUSINESS CREDIT, BUT HOW DID YOU HANDLE YOUR PERSONAL OBLIGATIONS? YOU KNOW, YOUR, YOUR PERSONAL TRACK RECORD TRENDS? UM, WE'VE SEEN STARTUPS IN ALL DIFFERENT TYPES OF INDUSTRIES. I THINK THAT WAS PART OF YOUR QUESTION IS THE KIND OF LIKE, WHAT, WHAT INDUSTRIES ARE WE SEEING? OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF RESTAURANTS AND RETAIL, UM, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, REALLY INTERESTING ONES THAT ARE KIND OF OUTSIDE THE BOX, LIKE I SAID, LIKE THOSE LIKE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES TYPE ONES. THERE'S BEEN LIKE AN, LIKE AN IV BUSINESS THAT WE SAW, LIKE A REGISTERED NURSE STARTED A MOBILE IV BUSINESS. THAT WAS ONE THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT THAT WAS A TRUE STARTUP. WE DIDN'T, HASN'T GONE ANYWHERE YET, BUT AS AN EXAMPLE. UM, SO I, I THINK A LOT OF THEM ARE IN THE RETAIL RESTAURANT, BUT THERE COULD BE, YOU KNOW, MEDICAL SERVICES. UM, LET'S SEE, WHAT ELSE, WHAT COMMENTS DO YOU HAVE ON THE, IT HELPS IF WE HAVE LOAN OFFICERS AND UNDERWRITERS THAT ARE FAMILIAR WITH THAT INDUSTRY TO BEGIN WITH BECAUSE WE KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN THE PROJECTIONS IN THE BUSINESS PLAN. UM, WE JUST ARE ABOUT READY TO FUND ONE RIGHT NOW FOR A, UM, [01:40:01] A GENTLEMAN THAT IS MANUFACTURING THESE MICRO X-RAY TUBES FOR, UH, MACHINES THAT, THAT DETECT BREAST CANCER. AND WHILE WE DON'T HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH THAT, HE PROVIDED, UH, FOUR YEARS. HE OWNED A SIMILAR COMPANY FOR 10 YEARS AND PROVIDED FINANCIALS FROM THIS PREVIOUS COMPANY TO SHOW WHAT HE HAS DONE. AND SO THAT TO US IS A GOOD RISK MIT, AGAIN, FOR A STARTUP. SO WE'VE, WE ARE FUNDING THE, THE STARTUP OF THE EQUIPMENT WORKING CAPITAL, UM, AND SOME TENANT IMPROVEMENTS FOR HIS WAREHOUSE. UM, ON TOP OF THAT, HE IS INJECTING HIS OWN CASH INTO IT. SO HE HAS AN IRA THAT HE ROLLED INTO, THEY CALL IT A ROB'S ACCOUNT. AND SECOND OF ALL, HE'S PLEDGING A HOUSE, SO HE'S IN, WE'RE IN. AND, UH, WE DON'T, WE WOULD NEVER DO A STARTUP WHERE WE'RE THE ONLY ONE IN. AND SO, UH, WE DON'T WANNA BE AN OWNER OF THE BUSINESS. WE WANT TO BE THE LENDER. AND SO WE DO NEED SOME EQUITY INJECTION OR SOME SKIN IN THE GAME FROM, FROM SOMEONE THAT'S WANTS FINANCING FOR A STARTUP, ESPECIALLY FROM THE SBA SIDE, RIGHT? BECAUSE HE'S TALKING ABOUT A MUCH LARGER TRANSACTION TO THAN THE 25 TO 30 5K RANGE. UM, ANOTHER ONE I CAN THINK OF THAT HE JUST PRESENTED ON THE SBA SIDE, THAT WAS A TRUE STARTUP THAT WE ENDED UP DOING, I THINK $600,000 TIS AND, AND EQUIPMENT WAS A, UM, IT WAS LIKE A LIBRARY OR BOOKSTORE SLASH WINE BAR CONCEPT. UM, THE OWNERS WERE DOING, THEY HAD BEEN IN, UM, CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AND SO THEY HAD, THEY WERE VERY WELL VERSED ON A VERY EXTENSIVE BUILD OUT THAT THEY WERE GONNA DO. LIKE THEY LITERALLY HAD THE EXPERIENCE DOING THEIR OWN BUILD OUT AND THE WOMAN WAS LIKE ON THE LIBRARY COMMISSION AND HAD VERY DEEP ROOTS IN LIKE THE LITERARY COMMUNITY AND, YOU KNOW, RUNNING A BOOKSTORE AND LIKE, HAD RUN A SIMILAR TYPE OF BUSINESS, YOU KNOW, SO WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FOR LIKE SIMILAR EXPERIENCE. UM, BUT THAT'S VERY RARE. LIKE A BANK IS NOT GONNA DO A 600 K STARTUP TI DEAL , THEY'RE JUST NOT GONNA DO IT NO MATTER HOW MUCH EXPERIENCE AND HOW GOOD YOUR CREDIT IS. AND, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE JUST, IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN. BUT THAT'S WHAT THINGS THAT WE CAN DO WITH SBA AND THAT FLEXIBILITY. UM, BUT AGAIN, IN THAT ONE, THEY ALSO DID HAVE SKIN IN THE GAME PLEDGED THEIR PERSONAL PROPERTY, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE REALLY SHOWING THEIR COMMITMENT AND DEDICATION AS WELL. COMMISSIONER LARKINS, OH, YOU DONE, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A, I THINK THERE WAS AN INSURANCE COMPANY THAT WAS, UH, FUNDED THAT WANTED AN OFFICE, UH, FRONT AND THERE WAS A DAYCARE, UH, FACILITY THAT, THAT NEEDED, UH, MONEY BIKE COMPANY I THINK WAS DOING AN ELECTRIC BIKE TYPE OF, UH, ARRANGEMENT. SO HE IS BEEN IN QUITE A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT BUSINESSES. CHOCOLATE, I MISSED THAT. I MISSED THAT MEETING WHERE THEY GAVE AWAY CHOCOLATES, GET THIS CHOCOLATE. THAT WAS DISAPPOINTING, BUT, UH, YEAH. OKAY. OKAY. SO I'M GONNA WRAP UP THE QUESTIONS. IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? OKAY. SEEING NONE. SEEING NONE. UM, CAN WE CALL FOR THE VOTE? MOTION CARRIES. OKAY. I WANNA THANK, UM, ANDREA MARTINEZ AND BRIAN SALVA FOR JOINING US FROM GROW AMERICA, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO OUR CONTINUED WORK WITH YOU. OKAY. OKAY. UM, WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE FINAL ITEM? LAST ITEM NUMBER FOUR? ITEM NUMBER FOUR IS RECOMMENDATION [4. 24-55472 Recommendation to receive and file Executive Director’s Report.         Suggested Action:  Approve recommendation. ] TO RECEIVE AND FILE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT. THANK YOU, CHAIR AND COMMISSIONERS. BEAU MARTINEZ, DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. I'LL BE BRIEF ON MY, UH, UM, UPDATE. AND SO JUST WANTED TO COVER A COUPLE THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF THE 20 24 25, UH, BUDGET FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. AND ONE OF THE BIG THINGS IS, UH, CALLED RISE. IT'S THE, UH, NEW DIVISION THAT'S GONNA BE UNDER THE PRH BUREAU AND THAT'S, UH, STANDS FOR REVENUE INNOVATION AND STRATEGIC ENHANCEMENTS. AND THE GOAL WILL REALLY TO BE FOCUSED ON DEVELOPMENT, INVESTMENT AS WELL AS GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES ALONG OUR WATERFRONT AND SHORELINES. SO THINK EVERYTHING FROM THE QUEEN MARY TO PIKE OUTLETS TO, UH, SHORELINE VILLAGE, ALL THE WAY TO ALAMEDO BAY. AND SO WE'LL BE LOOKING TO STAFF THAT UP, UM, IN THE NEXT, UH, TWO TO ONE TO TWO TO THREE QUARTERS. AND SO THAT'S COMING SOON. THE OTHER THING IS THE NEIGHBORHOOD MARKETPLACE PROFILE PROJECT, AND THAT'S REALLY AN OPPORTUNITY TO HIGHLIGHT, PROMOTE AND MARKET OUR COMMERCIAL CORRIDORS, AS WELL AS OUR DOWNTOWN AREA AND WATERFRONT AREAS. THINK ABOUT AS A REAL ESTATE BROKER BROCHURE, BUT JUST REALLY MARKETING, DEMOGRAPHICS AND OTHER INFORMATION THAT WHAT THAT WILL SHARE, WHAT'S UNIQUE AND SPECIAL ABOUT [01:45:01] EACH OF OUR COMMERCIAL CORRIDORS. SO THAT WORK IS STARTED NOW. AND THEN ANOTHER ONE IS THE LEGACY BUSINESS PROGRAM, AND WE LAUNCHED THAT THIS PAST WEEK, AND THAT'S REALLY A FOCUS ON PROVIDING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND REALLY IDENTIFYING, RECOGNIZING ALL OUR LEGACY BUSINESS BUSINESS THROUGHOUT LONG BEACH AND THINK ABOUT A LEGACY BUSINESS THAT'S 10 YEARS OR MORE. AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'LL BE WORKING ON NOW AS WE MOVE FORWARD. AND THEN ANOTHER, UH, AREA THAT WE'RE GONNA BE FOCUSING ON IS WHAT WE CALL THE RAPID RESPONSE TEAM. AND SO THINK ABOUT THIS TEAM TO REALLY GOING OUT THERE AND BEING PROACTIVE AS IT RELATES TO SOME OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE IN DOWNTOWN, THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. WHETHER IT'S PROPERTY DAMAGE AND VANDALISM THAT'S BEING IMPACTED BY THEIR BUSINESSES. WE'RE GONNA GO OUT THERE AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THEIR VISUAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE THROUGH THEM TO PROVIDE UP TO $1,500 GRANT TO HELP COVER THOSE COSTS FOR, FOR THAT BUSINESS. AND ALSO BEING PROACTIVE WHEN WE WANNA GO OUT THERE AND MEET WITH OUR COMMERCIAL CORRIDORS, OUR, UH, CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS, OUR BIDS, AND DOING BUSINESS WALKS AS WELL AS MAKING SURE WE FOCUS ON, UH, MAKING SURE WE'RE VISITING WITH OUR BIG BUSINESSES TOO, OUR TOP 25 EMPLOYERS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP THEM HAPPY, HEALTHY, AND HERE IN LONG BEACH. UH, ANOTHER, UH, THING THAT WE'RE GONNA BE, UH, UH, FOCUSING ON IN, IN THE, UH, FIRST QUARTER OF 2025 IS ALSO THE, UH, SECOND COHORT, UH, SECOND LAUNCH OF OUR, UM, SITE SELECTOR CONFERENCE. AND SO THAT SITE SELECTORS ARE GONNA BE NATIONAL SITE SELECTORS WHO REPRESENT FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES, AS WELL AS, UH, ZALES, UH, THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY AS WELL AS INTERNATIONALLY TO HOPEFULLY BRING, UH, GROW, NOT ONLY GROW, BUT ALSO BRING NEW BUSINESS RELOCATIONS TO THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. SO WE'LL BE LOOKING OUT FOR THAT. AND THEN ANOTHER THING WAS, UH, OUR, ALSO THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS, WE, UH, RECEIVED $250,000 FROM CITY COUNCIL TO, UH, PROVIDE TO OUR BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS. AND THAT'S FOR SPECIAL EVENTS, ACTIVATIONS AND CLEAN AND SAFE ACTIVITIES, AS WELL AS GREEN OPPORTUNITIES. AND THEN ANOTHER THING THAT WE'RE GONNA BE FOCUSING ON IS, UH, PROACTIVE COMMUNICATION. AND SO WE RATHER MIKE SHARED THAT WE CONTINUE TO TELL ALL THE GREAT STORIES THAT ARE COMING OUT OF THE CITY OF LONG BEACH AS IT RELATES TO, UH, BUSINESS, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, ALL THE GREAT WORK THAT WE'RE DOING. AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE JUST RECENTLY CLOSED OUT THAT RFP FOR THE OUTDOOR AMPHITHEATER PROJECT, WHICH WE'RE HOPING TO HELP, UH, HELP COMPLETED AND CONSTRUCTED BY THE, UH, END OF SUMMER FALL OF 2025. SO, AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'RE VERY, VERY BUSY AS IT RELATES TO ALL THE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS, INITIATIVES GOING ON. AND THIS IS JUST A SMALL SNAPSHOT OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING. AND IF I COULD CIRCLE BACK ABOUT THE RETAIL DISCUSSION, I JUST WANT TO GIVE A, A SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO, UM, UH, AUSTIN AND HIS TEAM AT DOWNTOWN LONG BEACH ALLIANCE. THEY'VE BEEN GREAT PARTNERS WITH THIS AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE CHALLENGES, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, ESPECIALLY IN OUR DOWNTOWN AREA WHEN IT RELATES TO, UH, RETAIL VACANCIES. AND WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT LONG BEACH AS A WHOLE, WE HAVE A 5% VACANCY AND WE ALSO HAVE 19 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF RETAIL. SO THAT GIVES YOU THE BIGGER PICTURE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE RETAIL SCENE THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. BUT A LOT OF THE PROGRAMS THAT I JUST MENTIONED ARE REALLY MAKING SURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO DELIVER SMALL FOR SMALL BUSINESS. WE UNDERSTAND THAT ALSO BUSINESS RETENTION'S VERY IMPORTANT TO US AND WE'RE GONNA MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH AUSTIN AND TEAM TO FILL THOSE VACANCIES. ALSO, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE CREATING PROGRAMS THAT BENEFIT EXISTING, UH, UH, RETAIL, UM, RETAIL TENANTS AS WELL AS OWNERS. UM, ONE OF THE BIG EXAMPLES WE JUST MENTIONED TODAY WAS THE REVOLVING LOAN PHONE PROGRAM. AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, WHEN I THINK ABOUT SUCCESSFUL DOWNTOWNS OF THE FUTURE, THEY'RE REALLY GONNA FOCUS ON MAKING SURE THAT THEIR CENTRAL CONNECTIVITY DISTRICTS CONNECTING PEOPLE TO SPECIAL PLACES AS WELL AS, UH, SPECIAL NEIGHBORHOODS AND DISTRICTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY. AND SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT'S GONNA BE VERY IMPORTANT WHEN IT COMES TO DOWNTOWN. SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE THINGS THAT WE'VE ALL TALKED ABOUT AND YOU ALL MENTIONED ON, YOU KNOW, IS MAKING SURE WE LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, LAND USE OPPORTUNITIES, WHETHER, YOU KNOW, IT'S MIXED, USES A MIX OF DAY AND NIGHT USES, MAKING SURE WE HAVE FOOT TRAFFIC, SPECIAL EVENTS, ACTIVATIONS, UM, ALL THOSE THINGS ARE VERY IMPORTANT. BUT ALSO MAKING SURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO BUILD MORE ROOFTOPS. WE BRING IN MORE CONFERENCES AND CONVENTIONS AND FOOT TRAFFIC TO DOWNTOWN AND REALLY MAKE IT A SPECIAL, UNIQUE EXPERIENCE. SO PEOPLE WANT, WANT TO RETURN TO OUR, TO OUR GREAT DOWNTOWN. AND WHEN I THINK ABOUT SOME OF THE CHALLENGES AS WE THINK ABOUT UNHOUSED, YOU KNOW, WE CONTINUE TO BE VERY PROACTIVE ON THAT FRONT, WORKING WITH HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, WORKING WITH THE COUNTY, THE STATE, AS WELL AS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO RE RECEIVE FUNDING SO THAT WE, WE CAN CON CONTINUE TO ADDRESS THAT CHALLENGE. AND I CAN TELL YOU WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WHEN IT COMES TO COMMUNITY POLICING. YOU KNOW, THAT'S GONNA BE ONGOING. WE'RE NEVER GONNA BE COMPLACENT, WE'RE ALWAYS GONNA BE PROACTIVE. BUT THE IMPORTANT THING IS WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO MENTION IT'S ALL TO GREAT THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN LONG BEACH. WE UNDERSTAND WE HAVE CHALLENGES JUST LIKE ANY OTHER DOWNTOWN AND OTHER CITY ACROSS THE COUNTRY, BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, IOWA PUT ALL THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, HAS A CITY, HAS THE DEPARTMENT, AND WITH ALL THE PARTNERS AND THE COMMISSIONERS, I PUT US UP FRONT. SO THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION. HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. OKAY. I WANNA THANK BO BECAUSE HE REALLY DID TALK FAST, . YES. AND YOU KNOW WHAT, THAT'S A GREAT REPORT AND ALSO WE'RE GONNA PUT YOU AT THE FRONT OF THE AGENDA NEXT TIME SO THAT WE CAN, BUT COMMISSIONERS, DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, COMMENTS [01:50:01] FOR OUR DIRECTOR? GOOD JOB, . IT WAS REALLY, IT WAS REALLY GOOD. I HIT A LOT OF POINTS, BUT I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE TO GET YOU AT OUT ON TIME SO I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY OF THE QUESTIONS AND ALL THOSE POINTS. UHHUH, ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? OKAY. UM, AND THEN PUBLIC COMMENT. [PUBLIC COMMENT Opportunity to address the Economic Development Commission on non-agenda items. Each speaker is limited to three minutes to make their comments unless extended by the Chair.] ANYONE IN THE PUBLIC HAVE A COMMENT. IF YOU CAN TALK AS FAST AS BO THEN , YOU CAN MAKE A COMMENT. OKAY. CHAIR, IF YOU JUST, UM, WANNA MAYBE ACKNOWLEDGE THE UPCOMING COMMISSIONER WHO'S IN THE PUBLIC TODAY. YES, YES. UM, SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET, UM, KEVIN NORDIC. HE'S WITH AMPI, THE CEO OF AMPER. PLEASE STAND UP. KEVIN . HE IS, UM, HE'S BEEN, UH, APPOINTED TO OUR COMMISSION AND RIGHT NOW, AS ALL OF YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE YOU'VE GONE THROUGH THE PROCESS IS HE IS GOING THROUGH THE FORMS AND THE CITY PROCESS. SO, ANNA, WELCOME YOU KEVIN, THANKS FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT AND WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING YOU AT OUR NEXT MEETING. OKAY? OKAY. UM, AND CHAIR, UH, THIS IS ALSO COMMISSIONER LARKIN'S LAST OFFICIAL MEETING, UH, FOR THE YEAR. ALRIGHT, MR. A REMINDER. SEE YA, DON'T CRY. YES. ALREADY. . OKAY, WELL WE COULD DO A WHOLE ROUND AGAIN OF LIKE , NO, NOT CUPCAKE. WE DID THAT THE LAST TIME WE, YEAH. SO WHAT WE WILL DO IS, UM, DECEMBER, OUR NEXT DECEMBER MEETING IS GONNA BE A HOLIDAY GATHERING. OF COURSE, WE'RE GONNA CELEBRATE OUR NEW MEMBERS, OUR MEMBERS WHO HAVE BEEN SO DEDICATED, COMMISSIONER LARKIN, OUR PAST CHAIR, UM, LARKINS TO, UM, SO WE'LL BE CELEBRATING HIM THEN, AND YOU CAN, UM, YOU CAN ROAST HIM AT THAT TIME ALSO. OKAY. , THANK YOU. BUT THANK YOU COMMISSIONER LARKINS FOR ALL OF YOUR WORK WITH US. OKAY. UM, ANY OTHER PO PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AG AGENDA ITEMS BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD? OH, SURE. CAN WE CALL THE VOTE FOR ITEM NUMBER FOUR? OH, OKAY. YEAH, SURE. MOTION CARRIES. OKAY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM, ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON AGENDA ITEMS? OKAY, YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES. YEAH. OKAY. , I WON'T DO THE AUCTIONEER BIT WHEN I DO 16TH. UM, SO MY NAME IS SONAI KIN FE. I WORK FOR A FOUNDATION CALLED THE APRIL PARKER FOUNDATION. UH, WE'RE A MINORITY OWNED, UM, VETERAN RAN, UH, WOMAN LED, UH, ORGANIZATION BASED IN CENTRAL LONG BEACH. AND, UH, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A PRETTY GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH SAVE LONG BEACH, BUT RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A, UM, UH, A SURVEY OUT IN THE COMMUNITY. IT'S ON THE STATE OF BLACK BUSINESSES IN LONG BEACH. AND IT'S REALLY JUST AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO HAVE A QUANTITATIVE, UH, RELATIONSHIP WITH THE NEEDS OF, UH, ONE OF THE MANY COMMUNITIES OF THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, UM, WE WANT THE, THE DATA TO SUPPORT, UH, THE QUALITATIVE REPORT THAT WE'RE GONNA MAKE AT THE END OF THE CYCLE. UM, I THINK LAST NIGHT'S ELECTION IS A PRETTY GOOD IDEA THAT THE POLLS HAVE TO CONNECT WITH WHAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY DO. SO THAT'S WHY THIS IS A SURVEY BECAUSE WE'RE, WE NEED A LARGER SAMPLE, UH, A LARGER SAMPLE SIZE IN ORDER FOR THE NARRATIVE TO BE APPROPRIATE. AND SO, UM, WITH THAT BEING SAID, I'M JUST HERE TO, UH, MAKE AWARENESS AND HOPEFULLY YOU AND ALL YOUR, UM, NETWORKS, YOU CAN SPREAD THE WORD. UH, WE'RE ALSO COMPENSATING PEOPLE FOR THEIR TIME. I KNOW THAT'S A VERY ODD CONCEPT THESE DAYS. UM, BUT FEEL FREE. UH, SO IT'S APRIL PARKER FOUNDATION, STATE OF BLACK BUSINESS IN LONG BEACH. IT'S, IT'S, UH, APPROPRIATE TOWARDS, UM, BUSINESSES AS WELL AS NONPROFITS IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. SO THANK YOU. THANKS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM, AND THANKS FOR SHARING MORE ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION. OKAY. UM, ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON AGENDA ITEMS? UM, ANY COMMISSIONER [ANNOUNCEMENTS] ANNOUNCEMENTS? THERE MUST BE ONE . OKAY. I'LL, I'LL DO, UM, THANK YOU TO OUR TEAM. UM, OUR VICE CHAIR MADE A RECOMMENDATION IN ONE OF OUR MEETINGS ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT, UH, OUR COMMISSIONERS ARE AHEAD OF IT, UM, ES ESPECIALLY IN GETTING INFORMATION ABOUT PRESS ITEMS. AND SO I WANT TO THANK OUR TEAM FOR DOING THAT. SO ALL OF THE COMMISSIONERS, YOU'RE GONNA START SEEING THOSE EMAILS, UM, JUST TO INFORM YOU ON SOME OF THE PRESS ITEMS AROUND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. OKAY. UM, I MENTIONED OUR DECEMBER HOLIDAY GATHERING. YOU'LL GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT. AND THEN ALSO, UM, I GUESS IT IS LIKE POST-ELECTION TIME AND, AND, UH, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE KNEW HOW, YOU KNOW, CRITICAL THAT WE ARE ALL FOR, UM, NOT ONLY OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT, BUT [01:55:01] ALSO MAKING SURE THAT LEADERSHIP, WHETHER IT BE OUR LEADERSHIP OR THE PUBLIC'S LEADERSHIP, IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO THE FABRIC OF OUR COMMUNITY. SO THANK YOU ALL THE COMMISSIONERS FOR ALL THAT YOU DO TO BE ON THIS COMMISSION AND THE WORK THAT YOU DO IN LEADING OUR COMMUNITY. OKAY. AND IF THERE ARE NO OTHER COMMENTS, THEN I THINK I CAN JUST DO, WE HAVE TO VOTE FOR ADJOURNMENT. OKAY. THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED. [ADJOURNMENT] , WE'LL SEE YOU IN DECEMBER. * 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.