* 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. [00:03:42] OKAY, GOOD AFTERNOON. I WOULD LIKE TO CALL THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND OPPORTUNITY COMMITTEE MEETING TO ORDER FOR TUESDAY, APRIL 14TH AT 3:00 PM UM, MR. CLARK, CAN YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLE YES. CHAIR, OR, I'M SORRY. UM, COUNCILWOMAN ZENDAY HOUSE PRESENT VICE CHAIR ALLEN AND CHAIR SORROW. AND I AM PRESENT. WE HAVE A QUORUM. THANK YOU. COULD YOU PLEASE READ THE FIRST ITEM? ITEM ONE IS THE RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND OPPORTUNITY COMMITTEE MEETING OF TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16TH, 2025. UM, DID WE DO A BULK, A VERBAL MOTION AND SECOND? OH, NO. ARE WE OKAY? [CALL TO ORDER] [REGULAR AGENDA] UM, OKAY. IT'S BEEN MOTION. AND SECOND, IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? AND IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM? SEEING NONE, LET'S DO THIS. VOTE. MOTION CARRIES. OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU. UH, [ROLL CALL] SO CAN YOU PLEASE READ THE SECOND ITEM? ITEM TWO IS THE RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE AND FILE AN [00:05:01] UPDATE ON BUSINESS OUTREACH AND EDUCATION, INCLUDING BUSINESS WALKS, KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS. THANK YOU. AND IT'S BEEN MOTION. AND SECOND, [1. 26-54864 Recommendation to approve the minutes for the Economic Development and Opportunity Committee meeting of Tuesday, December 16, 2025.         Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] UH, COULD I, UM, ASK MR. DIRECTOR MARTINEZ HERE FOR REPORT ON THIS? THANK YOU, UH, UH, CHAIRWOMAN SORO BEAU MARTINEZ, DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY DEPARTMENT, AND WE ARE VERY PLEASED TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON, UM, OUR BUSINESS OUTREACH AND EDUCATION. AND IT'S, UH, SPECIFICALLY TO, UH, OUR, OUR BUSINESS WALK PROGRAM, AS WELL AS OUR, UM, RIGHT, UH, KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AND PARTNERSHIP WITH CENTRAL CHA AND THE, UM, O LA FOUNDATIONS. SO I'LL START WITH THE BUSINESS WALK PROGRAM. UM, THIS IS A PROGRAM JUST REALLY IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO WORK WITH OUR CITY [2. 26-54865 Recommendation to receive and file an update on Business Outreach and Education including Business Walks, Know Your Rights, and Economic Impacts.         Suggested Action: Approve recommendation.  ] COUNCIL DISTRICTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY TO MEET WITH OUR BUSINESSES, TO HEAR FROM OUR BUSINESSES, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, TO THANK OUR BUSINESSES FOR NOT ONLY INVESTING IN LONG BEACH, BUT ALSO CREATING JOBS AND WELL THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY. AND SO, THROUGH OUR BUSINESS WALKS, WE'VE ACTUALLY COMPLETED EIGHT OUT OF NINE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS WITH ONE REMAINING, WHICH WE'LL, UM, COMPLETE, UH, IN MAY OF THIS YEAR. AND WHAT WE'RE HEARING AMONG OUR BUSINESS, UH, AS WE DO OUR BUSINESS WALK, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT OUR BUSINESSES ARE TELLING US IS THAT, UM, OUR TOP TAKEAWAYS ARE GONNA BE PUBLIC SAFETY AND THE UNHOUSED. UM, BUT THEY'RE ALSO VERY APPRECIATIVE THE CITY EFFORTS AS IT RELATES TO BOTH OF THESE ISSUES. SO, UM, WHAT WE DID IS WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH THEM TO ADDRESS SOME OF THESE CHALLENGES AND ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES AS IT RELATES TO THOSE TWO ITEMS. IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'VE ALSO HEARD FROM OUR BUSINESSES THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE SEEN A DECLINE IN, IN, FROM, UH, SALES AS WELL AS FOOT TRAFFIC COME TO THEIR BUSINESSES. AND A LOT OF OUR IMMIGRANT OWNED BUSINESSES, AS WELL AS THOSE LOCATED ALONG COMMERCIAL COURTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY, HAVE SAID THAT A LOT OF IT HAS TO DO WITH, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT THAT'S GOING ON THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY. AND WE'LL SHARE A LITTLE BIT LATER ON WHAT WE'RE DOING ON THAT FRONT. AND THEN THEY ALSO SAID, YOU KNOW, IS THERE OPPORTUNITIES TO PARTNER WITH THE CITY, VISIT LONG BEACH SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER AND OTHER CITY PARTNERS TO ADDRESS ON HOW THEY CAN LEVERAGE SOCIAL MEDIA TO MARKET AND PROMOTE THEIR BUSINESSES? AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE TAKEN VERY SERIOUSLY IN WORKING WITH THEM. WE'VE ALSO MET WITH LOTS OF BUSINESSES WHO HAVE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR A VERY LONG TIME, LEGACY BUSINESSES THROUGHOUT THE CITY. AND ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT THIS, UH, LEGACY BUSINESS PROGRAM IS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO WORK WITH THEM AND PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FROM ACCESS TO CAPITAL TO SOCIAL MEDIA AND SUCCESSION PLANNING. AND WE'VE ACTUALLY WORKED WITH A COUPLE LONGTIME BUSINESSES. UM, ONE TO MENTION IS JOJO'S TOO, YOU KNOW, HAD A SUCCESSION PLAN IN PLACE, WORKED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THEM, AND THEY'RE VERY SUCCESSFUL IN TRANSFERRING OWNERSHIP TO, UM, SOMEONE THAT'S GONNA TAKE, CARRY THAT LEGACY FORWARD. SO THAT'S JUST A ONE GREAT EXAMPLE OF WHERE WE HELPED A LEGACY BUSINESS, INCLUDING, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE RECOGNITION THAT WE CONTINUE TO OPERATE THROUGHOUT THE CITY. ANOTHER THING THAT WE'RE HEARING IS ALSO THE, SOME OF THE CHALLENGES FOR OUR STARTUPS, AS WELL AS SECOND GENERATION OF RESTAURATEURS AND OWNERS THAT WANNA OPEN A SECOND LOCATION LONG BEACH IS PERMITTING. AND SO I THINK THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME ONGOING, UM, UM, TOUCH POINTS AND INITIATIVES AS IT RELATES TO PERMITTING AND ENTITLEMENTS. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE LAUNCHING VERY SOON IS A, A, UM, A 10 STEP GUIDE TO STARTING A BUSINESS. AND SO HOPEFULLY THAT'LL, UM, SHOWCASE A ROADMAP FOR BUSINESSES WHO ARE LOOKING TO START UP OR OPEN A SECOND OR THIRD LOCATION IN LONG BEACH. AND THEN, UM, ANOTHER ONE WAS JUST HOW IMPORTANT IT'S FOR US TO GO OUT THERE AND MEET WITH THEIR BUSINESSES AND REALLY EDUCATE THEM ON ALL THE GREAT SMALL BUSINESS RESOURCES AND PROGRAMS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THEIR RESPECTIVE BUSINESSES. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, I JUST WANT TO, UM, THANK THE, UM, CITY COUNCIL OFFICES AND ALL THE CITY TEAM AND PARTNERS THAT HAVE JOINED US DURING THOSE WALKS. SO WE'VE HAD, UH, POLICE DEPARTMENT ON THE WALKS WITH US, PUBLIC WORKS, FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, OUR BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS OFFICES, OUR BUSINESS SUPPORT OFFICES, CITY MANAGER'S, OFFICE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. AND WE'VE ALSO HAD REPRESENTATIVE FROM SUPERVISOR JAN HAN'S OFFICE. SO IT'S BEEN REALLY A REALLY GREAT PROGRAM AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO, UH, DOING THIS AS WE CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD TO REALLY ENGAGE IN MOST IMPORTANT THING BUSINESSES FOR INVESTING IN LONG BEACH. AND SO WITH THAT, THAT'S THE FIRST PART OF MY PRESENTATION ON THE BUSINESS WALK PROGRAM. I DUNNO IF YOU WANT TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS OR, UH, PROVIDE, UH, FEEDBACK. YEAH. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE UPDATE. DIRECTOR MARTINEZ, WHO APPRECIATE, UM, YOU AND YOUR TEAM'S, UM, WORK IN ORGANIZING THESE BUSINESS WALK IN ALL OF THE DISTRICTS. I KNOW IT TAKES A LOT OF TIME TO, UM, PLAN THESE OUT, AND I THINK THAT IT'S BEEN WORTHWHILE BECAUSE SO MUCH HAS CHANGED, UM, IN THE MIDST OF THESE VARIOUS, UH, RATES THAT'S HAPPENED WITH ICE, UM, AT LEAST AS FAR AS JUST OTHER UNEXPECTED ACTIVITIES AS WELL. UM, I DID ALSO, UM, WANNA JUST ASK A FEW QUESTIONS AROUND THE KNOW YOUR [00:10:01] RIGHTS. IT SEEMS THAT AS FAST AS ACTIVITIES ARE OCCURRING, THE CITY'S GETTING UP TO SPEED AS MUCH AS WE CAN TO RESPOND. AND NOT MANY PEOPLE KNOW THAT YOUR DEPARTMENT ACTUALLY HAS, UM, A PERSON WHO DOES RAPID RESPONSE TO THESE BUSINESSES, BUT IT IN AS WELL AS THE KNOW YOUR RIGHTS, UH, EDUCATION BEING DONE BY THE GROUP. COULD YOU SHARE, UH, A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW THOSE TWO PROGRAMS AND A LITTLE BIT OF HOW THEY WORK? YES. UM, SO ON THE BUSINESS RAPID RESPONSE FRONT, WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR BUSINESSES THAT ARE IMPACTED BY VANDALISM, PROPERTY DAMAGE AND, AND THE, UM, IMMIGRATION RATES. AND SO I CAN TELL YOU THAT WE TRY TO RESPOND THE SAME DAY OR WITHIN 24 HOURS ON OUR WEEKEND, WITHIN 48 HOURS. BUT IF IT'S A TRUE EMERGENCY, WE'RE GONNA BE OUT THERE WITHIN, UM, THAT DAY. I CAN GIVE YOU SEVERAL EXAMPLES. YOU KNOW, DURING SOME OF THE IMMIGRATION RAIDS, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A LOT OF OUR CAR WASHES THAT WERE IMPACTED BY THOSE RAIDS, AND OUR TEAM WENT OUT THERE, MET WITH THE OWNERS, MET WITH THE IMPACTED EMPLOYEES, AND REALLY TO PROVIDE THEM SERVICES AND CONNECT THEM TO CENTRAL CHA AND ALL THE DIFFERENT RESOURCES THAT ARE OUT THERE TO HELP THEM, YOU NOT, NOT ONLY STAY OPEN, BUT ALSO HELP THEM FOR, TO THOSE EMPLOYEES THAT WERE IMPACTED. MM-HMM . COULD YOU SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT'S BEEN DONE WITH THE, AS FAR AS OUTCOMES FROM THE WORK THAT CENTRAL THAW AND AUTO HAS BEEN ABLE TO DO, AS FAR AS HOW MANY BUSINESSES THEY'VE REACHED? UH, DID THEY HAVE LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY WHEN THEY'RE DOING, OR DID THEY PROVIDE ACCESS IN OTHER LANGUAGES WHEN THEY'RE DOING THESE EDUCATIONAL, UH, KNOW YOUR RIGHTS? UM, OUTREACH. UM, GREAT QUESTION. UH, UM, UH, CHAIRWOMAN, SORRY. UM, YES, THEY PROVIDED MULTIPLE LANGUAGE ACCESS POINTS, UM, FOR IMPACTED BUSINESSES THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY. AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, THEY'VE ALSO DONE A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE TRIED TO DO WORKSHOPS. AND WHAT WE LEARNED WITH THE WORKSHOPS IS THAT A LOT OF OUR BUSINESSES, UM, ESPECIALLY OUR IMMIGRANT OWNED BUSINESSES, THE PROPERTY, I MEAN, THE OWNERS ARE THE IMPACT EMPLOYEES. THEY'RE SCARED TO COME TO A WORKSHOP. SO WHAT THEY'VE DONE IS REALLY DO BOOTS ON THE GROUND. SO THEY'RE MEETING, YOU KNOW, WITH THEM, UM, VIA PHONE, VIA AT THEIR BUSINESSES, DOING WALKS, AND JUST REALLY MEETING THEM AT THEIR PLACE OF BUSINESS SO THAT WAY THEY CAN SHARE ALL THE INFORMATION AS IT RELATES TO NO YOU RIGHTS. AND SO, UM, TO DATE, UM, THEY'VE MET WITH OVER 300 BUSINESSES, UM, ON THE NO YOU RIGHTS. AND THEN THEY'VE, UH, TYPICALLY AVERAGED ABOUT 75 BUSINESSES PER MONTH. AND SO IT'S NOT JUST REFERRAL BASED, BUT IT'S ALSO PROACTIVE, UM, OUT THERE MEETING WITH OUR, OUR BUSINESSES THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY. THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO KNOW. THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT, BECAUSE I THINK THAT THEY'RE DOING THE WORK ON THE GROUND IN THE COMMUNITY AND REALLY APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO DO TO BE RESPONSIVE TO WHAT OUR IM, OUR IMMIGRANT BUSINESSES OWNERS NEED. UM, THE LAST QUESTION I ASKED BEFORE I HAND IT OVER TO, UH, COUNCILWOMAN DEJAS IS HOW LONG, UM, IS THIS PROGRAM GOING TO CONTINUE ON TILL UNTIL THE FUNDING RUNS OUT? AND HOW WOULD FUNDING, HOW, HOW WOULD WE BE ABLE TO CONTINUE THE PROGRAM WHEN THE FUNDING RUN RUNS OUT? UH, SO THE PROGRAM WILL CONTINUE AT LEAST, UH, THROUGH SEPTEMBER OF 2026 OR UNTIL THE FUNDS RUN, RUN OUT. UM, THERE ARE POTENTIAL OTHER, UH, RDA, UH, LINE ITEM BUCKETS THAT WE COULD USE FOR FUNDING TO MAYBE, UH, PROLONG THE PROGRAM, UH, AS WELL. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, COUNCILWOMAN, THANK YOU. CHAIR SORROW. UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH, DIRECTOR MARTINEZ, TO YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR ALL THE INCREDIBLE WORK THAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING. AS YOU KNOW, I'M A BIG FAN OF THE WALKTHROUGHS WITH THE BUSINESSES. UH, I KNOW THAT THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT, UM, WE INITIATED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH YOU THROUGH MY, UM, ALSO WITH MY OFFICE. AND THE, WHAT WE REALLY WANTED TO DO WAS MAKE SURE THAT THE BUSINESSES FELT SUPPORTED BY CITY STAFF, AND WE WANTED CITY STAFF TO ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT OUR BUSINESSES WERE GOING THROUGH. AND I THINK THAT YOU GUYS HAVE DONE EXACTLY THAT, UM, THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, AND YOU'VE BEEN SO GREAT IN NOT ONLY UPLIFTING THEM AND SHOWING THEM ALL THE RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THEM, BUT ALSO TAKING THE TIME AND LISTENING AND REALLY ANALYZING AND COMING UP WITH IDEAS TO ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES THAT THEY'VE BEEN FACING. AND I THINK THAT THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT. I WANNA THANK YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR CONTINUING TO DO THAT. I THINK THAT THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT. I FEEL THAT OUR BUSINESSES ARE FEELING HEARD, ESPECIALLY WITH THE RAPID RESPONSE. UM, YOU DID SUCH A GREAT JOB WITH CREATING A RAPID RESPONSE TO ADDRESS VIOLENCE IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, WHEN IT CAME TO SMALL BUSINESSES. AND I THINK THAT THAT'S REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT. AGAIN, ESPECIALLY, WE DIDN'T KNOW THAT WE WERE [00:15:01] PREPARING OURSELVES FOR ICE RAIDS MM-HMM . WE DIDN'T KNOW THAT. BUT WHEN WE HAD THAT RAPID RESPONSE IN PLACE ALREADY, IT WAS EASY FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM TO, UM, JUST GO JUMP INTO ACTION RIGHT AWAY AND SUPPORT THOSE BUSINESSES. SO IT, THAT JUST SHOWS ME THAT, UM, THIS IS NEEDED FOR OUR BUSINESSES. AND SO I JUST WANNA THANK YOU FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE. UM, MY ANSWERS WERE ACTUALLY, UM, MY QUESTIONS WERE ACTUALLY ANSWERED BY, UM, BY YOU ALREADY. I WANTED TO SEE HOW MANY BUSINESSES HAVE WE BEEN ENGAGED, AND IT'S, YOU HAVE SAID THAT WE'VE BEEN ENGAGED IN OVER 300 BUSINESSES, WHICH IS WONDERFUL. UM, AND THAT YOU AVERAGE LIKE 75 A MONTH, AND I KNOW THAT THAT NUMBER IS GROWING. SO I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU. AND I, I'M HOPING THAT WE CAN FIND MORE FUNDING TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE THIS PROGRAM. SO THANK YOU. IT'S REALLY MAKING A TREMENDOUS DIFFERENCE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COUNCILOR SEN DEJA, UM, IS THERE, UH, ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM? SEEING NONE. NONE. OKAY. SO LET'S RECEIVE AND FILE THIS REPORT. MOTION CARRIES. WONDERFUL. UH, THANK YOU. SO COULD YOU PLEASE READ THE NEXT ITEM? ITEM THREE IS THE RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE AND FILE A PRESENTATION ON THE LONG BEACH ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP. YES. AND I JUST WANNA, UH, WELCOME COURTNEY. UH, YOU JUST STARTED PROBABLY ABOUT 60 DAYS, 60 DAYS AGO, AND I FIGURE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO PRESENT YOURSELF AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO, TO THE COMMITTEE, BUT ALSO OVERALL TO LONG BEACH. SO THANK YOU FOR, UM, HITTING THE GROUND RUNNING TO PREPARE THIS PRESENTATION. SO I'LL HAND IT TO DIRECTOR MARTINEZ TO SEE IF HE WANTS TO, UM, PROVIDE ANY REMARKS BEFORE HE HANDS IT TO YOU. UH, THANK YOU, UH, UH, CHAIRWOMAN SORROW AND, UM, COMMITTEE MEMBER ZENDEJAS. UM, WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, COURTNEY COMING ON BOARD AS THE NEW, UH, PRESIDENCY OF THE LONG BEACH ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AND SOON TO [3. 26-54866 Recommendation to receive and file a presentation on the Long Beach Economic Partnership.         Suggested Action: Approve recommendation.  ] REBRAND IT. AND I'M NOT GONNA, YOU KNOW, STEAL HIS THUNDER ON THAT ONE, . BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, UM, IT'S REALLY MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE A PUBLIC PRIVATE ORGANIZATION THAT SERVES THE COMMUNITY. BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE, AS GOVERNMENT, WE LOVE TO, YOU KNOW, WORK WITH SMALL BUSINESSES AS WELL AS BIG BUSINESS AND EVERYONE IN BETWEEN. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THEY ALSO WANNA HAVE A TRUSTED PARTNER AND THAT TRUSTED PARTNERS AND, UH, AN ORGANIZATION THAT'S GONNA BE LOOKING AT IT FROM A BUSINESS RETENTION, EXPANSION, EXPANSION AND TRACTION PERSPECTIVE. UM, SOMEONE THAT'S GOING TO BE, YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY AN ADVOCATE, BUT ALSO BE A CHAMPION FOR LONG BEACH BUSINESSES AND FOR THOSE THAT ARE YET TO COME. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, ALSO MARKETING, PROMOTING THE CITY, UM, FROM A DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL LEVEL. BUT, UM, IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT PARTNERSHIP. AND THIS PAST YEAR, YOU KNOW, WE SAT DOWN WITH THE BOARD AND WE REALLY LOOKED AT A FUNDING MODEL THAT NOT ONLY INCLUDES, YOU KNOW, CITY FUNDING, WHICH IS WE'VE COMMITTED FROM NOT ONLY THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, BUT ALSO AT THE AIRPORT AND A SOON TO BE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PORT OF LONG BEACH. SO WE REALLY FEEL THAT THIS ORGANIZATION IS KEY AS WE LOOK AT HOW WE NOT ONLY, UH, GROW LONG BEACH, BUT ALSO CONTINUE TO IMPLEMENT THE GROW LONG BEACH ECONOMIC BLUEPRINT. AND SO WITH THAT, UM, WE'RE VERY EXCITED WITH, UH, COURTNEY RUSSELL BEING ON BOARD, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO TAKING THE ORGANIZATION AND, AND THE CITY TO THE NEXT LEVEL. YEAH, APPRECIATE THAT, BO. THANK YOU. UH, THANK YOU COUNCILWOMAN SORROW. COUNCILWOMAN ZENDAY FOR HAVING ME HERE TODAY. EXTREMELY EXCITED, UH, TO PRESENT ON THE LONG BEACH ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP, SOON TO BE IN BEST LONG BEACH. UM, THAT'S BEEN ONE OF OUR PRIORITIES SINCE I TOOK OVER, UH, IS PULLING THROUGH THE REBRAND. UM, SO IN THE FIRST 60 DAYS, I'VE REALLY BEEN FOCUSED ON BUILDING A FOUNDATION, SO WE'LL HAVE SOMETHING TO STAND ON AND REALLY, UH, A FUNCTIONING ORGANIZATION FROM THE START. SO MY FOCUS HAS REALLY BEEN ON BUILDING THE FOUNDATION, AND WE'RE, WE'RE PRETTY MUCH THERE, UH, BEEN WORKING HARD, AND, AND WE SHOULD BE READY TO RELAUNCH BY EARLY JUNE. COUPLE SOFT RELAUNCHES HERE AND THERE, UH, COMING UP. AND WE'LL KEEP YOU GUYS INFORMED OF THAT. I'D LOVE TO INVITE YOU TO SOME EVENTS. UH, BUT YEAH, WE'RE, WE'RE PRETTY MUCH THERE AND WE'RE EXCITED TO BE THERE. UH, SO I, I, I WANTED TO GIVE YOU A, A HISTORY OF LBEP, AND SORRY IF I'M TELLING YOU STUFF THAT YOU MIGHT ALREADY KNOW ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION, BUT I'LL TAKE YOU THROUGH THE HISTORY. UH, SO LBEP WAS OFFICIALLY ESTABLISHED IN 2019 AS A 5 0 1 C3 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION COMPOSED OF CROSS SECTOR LEADERS. THIS IS OUR, UH, MISSION STATEMENT HERE. UH, AND THIS IS OUR CURRENT LEADERSHIP. IT'S MYSELF AS CEO WESTON [00:20:01] LEBAR AT CURRENT BOARD CHAIR RYAN ALTOON IS OUR PAST BOARD CHAIR. AND RANDALL HERNANDEZ IS OUR, UH, FOUNDING BOARD CHAIR. AND THEY'VE REALLY HELD THIS THING TOGETHER IN THE INTERIM WHEN THERE WAS NO CEO. SO JUST WANT TO GIVE A, A BIG THANKS TO THE CURRENT LEADERSHIP, AND THEY'VE BEEN SUCH A HELP TO ME, GET ME INTEGRATED INTO EVERYTHING. AND PREVIOUSLY, THIS IS WHAT OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS LOOKED LIKE. UH, WE HAVE MEMBERS FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR, FROM THE PUBLIC SECTOR, ACADEMIA, AND OUR NONPROFIT, UH, OUR NONPROFIT PARTNERS. UH, PRIVATE SECTOR IS GONNA BE SO IMPORTANT AS WE MOVE FORWARD ONTO A PATH OF SUSTAINABILITY. AND I'LL GET MORE INTO THAT, UH, SUSTAINABILITY LATER. BUT THIS IS SOME OF THE PEOPLE THAT WE, SOME OF THE, UH, SECTORS AND PEOPLE THAT WE'VE WORKED WITH IN THE PAST. UH, WE DO HAVE THREE EX-OFFICIO SEATS ON THE BOARD FOR THE, UH, PORT, THE AIRPORT, AND THE CITY. UH, AND THEN, UH, NONPROFIT PARTNERS WILL BE ON THERE, ANY AS WELL, LIKE D-T-L-B-A AUSTIN, AND A FEW OTHER ONES. SO, AND TO TAKE IT BACK A LITTLE FURTHER, SO ORIGINALLY, UH, LBEP, THE LONG BEACH ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP STARTED AS THE DDC, THE, UH, DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION. AND AS I, UM, SHOWED EARLIER, IT EVOLVED INTO LBEP TO ALIGN MORE WITH THE, UH, CITY GOAL AND FOLLOWED THE BLUEPRINT FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. WHEREAS BEFORE IT WAS JUST FOCUSED ON DOWNTOWN, UH, 2021, WE PARTNERED WITH THE CITY ON $207 MILLION ECONOMIC RECOVERY PLAN DURING THE PANDEMIC TO ASSIST WITH, UH, BUSINESSES ACROSS THE CITY. UH, AND IN 2022, SIGNED AN MOU WITH THE PORT TO RELAUNCH THE WORLD TRADE CENTER OF LONG BEACH THAT WILL FOCUS ON FDI AND DRIVING FOREIGN DOMESTIC INVESTMENT. SO HERE'S A FEW OF THE MODERN IMPACTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS. FROM 23 TO 25, WE WERE PART OF THE, UH, ECONOMIC RESPONSE AFTER COVID THAT PROVIDED A SENSE TO SMALL BUSINESSES WITH THE, UH, GRANT PROGRAM FUNDED BY WELLS FARGO, UH, SUPPORTED EMERGING ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY INDUSTRY WITH THE NATION'S FIRST ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY IMPACT STUDY, UH, BEVERAGE LONG BEACH GRAND PRIX TO HOST BACK TO BACK SITE SELECTORS, WHICH I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO WORK WITH BOW IN MY CAPACITY AT VISIT LONG BEACH ON THAT, ON THE, UH, TWO SITE SELECTORS, UH, CONFERENCES THAT WAS HELD, HELD HERE, UH, CORRIDOR REVITALIZATION, UH, SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENTED PROJECTS ALONG THE SANTA FE AVENUE CORRIDOR, WHICH CONVERTED 200 K INTO $1.2 MILLION OF DIRECT INVESTMENT. UH, AND THEN GLOBAL POSITIONING, AS I MENTIONED, RELAUNCHED THE WORLD TRADE CENTER, LONG BEACH, WHICH IS FOCUSED ON DRIVING FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT AND LEADING MORE BUSINESS MISSIONS AHEAD OF THE 2028 OLYMPICS. SO, JUST A FEW UPDATES. SO I WANT TO TAKE YOU THROUGH PART OF THE VISION HERE. UH, SO OF COURSE, WE WANT TO ALIGN WITH GROW LONG BEACH AND INITIATIVES CONTAINED INTO THAT. AND AS WE MOVE AWAY FROM OIL, IT'S GONNA BE SO IMPORTANT TO DIVERSIFY THE LOCAL ECONOMY. I MEAN, THROUGH AEROSPACE, HEALTH TECH, ENTERTAINMENT, UH, THE BLUE ECONOMY AND SO FORTH, MANUFACTURING, WE GOTTA HAVE A DIVERSE ECONOMY IF WE WANNA SURVIVE IN THESE DAYS AND TIMES. UH, SO, AND THE, THE THING ABOUT LONG BEACH IS WE ALREADY HAVE A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE, UH, WITH OUR INFRASTRUCTURE. WE GOT A STRONG TALENT PIPELINE WITH OUR INSTITUTIONS, UH, AND WE GOT STRONG PRIVATE SECTOR INTEREST IN LONG BEACH RIGHT NOW. WE REALLY HAVE WIND IN OUR SAILS RIGHT NOW. UM, SO IT'S NOT JUST, IT'S ABOUT TARGETED GROWTH, YOU KNOW, GOOD PAYING JOBS, WHICH IS GOING TO EQUATE TO A STRONGER TAX BASE. SO IT ALL TRICKLES DOWN. YOU KNOW, YOU BRING THE JOBS, THESE PEOPLE CIRCULATE THEIR MONEY THROUGHOUT OUR NEIGHBORHOODS THAT OUR RESTAURANTS THAT ARE ESTABLISHMENTS, AND THAT JUST ESTABLISHES A STRONGER, UH, TAX BASE FOR US. UM, SO, AND WHERE LBEP COMES INTO THIS, WE'RE GONNA BE THE CONNECTOR FOR BUSINESS ATTRACTION, INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS, UH, SITE READINESS AND MARKETING POSITIONS, SO WE CAN BE IN A POSITION TO, UH, BE READY WHEN WE HAVE THESE, THESE TOP DOLLAR INVESTMENTS WHEN THEY COME INTO OUR CITY. AND THEN MOVING ON. OH, AND JUST TO MENTION, I DID WANT TO SAY IT'S MORE THAN JUST ABOUT OUR CITY AS WELL. UH, IT'S ABOUT OUR REGION, UH, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. SO I HAVE BEEN IN TOUCH WITH THE F-A-E-D-C ALREADY. AND THEN ON THE STATE LEVEL, I'VE ALREADY, I'VE ALREADY CONNECTED WITH GOPI. UH, SO ANY LEADS THAT THEY GET THAT THEY CAN DRIVE TO US WILL BE ON TOP OF THOSE AS WELL. AND THEN ANCHOR LB, SO ANCHOR LB, AND ARE YOU GUYS FAMILIAR WITH ANCHOR LB, THAT INITIATIVE? SO CONNECTING BUSINESS, UH, [00:25:01] CONNECTING, UH, BUSINESSES THAT ARE DOING, COMPANIES THAT ARE DOING BUSINESS WITH THE PORT TO ESTABLISH ROOTS IN LONG BEACH SO IT DOESN'T FEEL SO TRANSACTIONAL. UH, SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY ESTABLISH ROOTS HERE IS, IS, YOU KNOW, WE GAIN JOBS, UH, PRIVATE IN INVESTMENT. THERE'S LONG-TERM OCCUPANCY, YOU KNOW, CLASS A OFFICE SPACE IS A BIG FOCUS RIGHT NOW. WE'RE 40% DOWN IN CLASS A OFFICE SPACE OCCUPANCY. SO IF WE CAN ESTABLISH MORE AND DRIVE MORE OF THAT HERE, AND EVEN BEYOND CLASS A, YOU KNOW, CLASS B MIGHT FIT, CLASS C MIGHT FIT IN DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE CITY. SO IT'S FINDING OUT WHERE THESE COMPANIES FIT AND PITCHING, UH, WHAT WE HAVE TO OFFER TO 'EM. UH, BUT THIS IS GONNA BE A COORDINATED APPROACH BETWEEN THE CITY, THE PORT, AND THE AIRPORT, AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR, UH, AS ONE BIG INTEGRATED, UH, INVESTMENT DESTINATION. AND THEN MOVING ON TO ACCELERATE BY 28. UH, SORRY FOR THE TYPO. WE GOT SEVEN IN THERE. UH, WE WERE JUST AHEAD OF OURSELVES TRYING TO GET, GET INVESTMENT IN BY 27, UH, , PUTTING THE, PUTTING THE PRESSURE ON THERE, . SO, UH, BUT NO, UH, THIS IS GONNA BE MEASURABLE BECAUSE THERE'S A GOAL OF 8,000, 8,000 NEW JOBS BY 2028. SO THAT IS A MEASURABLE GOAL. UM, AND IT'S GONNA BE THROUGH A AGGRESSIVE BUSINESS, UH, TRACTION AND TALENT ALIGNMENT WITH OUR INSTITUTIONS. I'VE ALREADY MET WITH, UH, L-L-B-U-S-D, I MET WITH KEVIN SMITH. UH, THEY GOT 33 PATHWAYS THROUGH OUR SCHOOL SYSTEMS, MAKING SURE THEY ALIGN AS WE GO UP THE PIPELINE, UH, LEADING INTO WHAT OUR INDUSTRIES ARE GOING TO NEED, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO ALIGN TALENT WITH OUR INDUSTRY NEEDS IF WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO ATTRACTING. UH, AND JUST THE, I WANT TO JUST SAY THIS, IT'S NOT ALL ALL ABOUT THE BIG INDUSTRIES, IT'S ALSO ABOUT THE SMALL BUSINESSES ACROSS LONG BEACH, BECAUSE THEY PLAY SUCH A VITAL ROLE AND THEY EMPLOY SO MANY PEOPLE. UH, SO WITH THAT SAID IS IN TERMS OF THAT, IT'S GONNA BE SUPPORTING BO WHAT HIS TEAM ALREADY HAS IN PLACE THAT'S SO SUCCESSFUL. UH, BIZ CARE, UH, UH, MR. OTHER ONE, BO, UH, LEVEL UP PROGRAM, WHICH WE PARTICIPATED IN WHEN WE WERE VISIT LONG BEACH. I JUST PARTICIPATED IN A PITCH FEST WITH, UH, D-T-L-B-A DOWNTOWN, WHERE WE AWARDED $10,000 TO THREE LOCAL BUSINESSES DOWN HERE. SO STUFF LIKE THAT IS VITAL TO SHOW THEM THAT THEY'RE HEARD, THEY'RE SUPPORTED. AND, YOU KNOW, SMALL BUSINESSES, I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT NUMBER, BUT THEY EMPLOY, I'M SURE WELL OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND PEOPLE IN THE CITY. UM, SO IT'S GONNA BE VITAL JUST TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE SEEN AND HEARD. UH, AND, YOU KNOW, OUR, FOR OUR ROLE, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALIGNING EMPLOYER DEMAND, LOCAL INSTITUTIONS, AND CITYWIDE, UH, RECRUITMENT SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO DELIVER SMALL BUSINESSES AT SCALE FOR OUR LARGER INDUSTRIES. AND THEN MOVING ON TO OUR LAST ONE, ECONOMIC RESEARCH. UH, WHEN PEOPLE WANT TO INVEST, THEY WANT DATA AND THEY WANT ACCURATE DATA. EVERYTHING IS DRIVEN BY DATA. IT'S BIG BUSINESS. UH, PEOPLE ARE SELLING DATA, SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE GOT THE BEST DATA. UH, YOU KNOW, I, I, I MET WITH THE ECONOMIST, UH, , WHO PREVIOUSLY DID OUR ECONOMIC PROFILES FOR US, UH, ACROSS OUR FIVE SECTORS, UH, HEALTHCARE, EDUCATION, TOURISM, UH, AEROSPACE AND LOGISTICS. UH, AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE CONTINUING TO CAPTURE THIS DATA, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S PART OF WHAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE TO DRIVE THIS PRIVATE SECTOR MONEY. I'LL MAKE SURE THAT ALIGNS WITH BO HOW HE WANTS THAT DATA, UH, AND HOW WE PRESENT THAT DATA. BUT IT'S GONNA BE KEY TO, UH, CAPTURING AND RECRUITING AS WE'RE OUT HERE SELLING LONG BEACH IS TO HAVE ACCURATE AND COMPLETE DATA. UH, ANY QUESTIONS SO FAR? I'LL STOP FOR A SECOND. UM, I WAS THINKING WE CAN ASK OUR QUESTION IN THE END BECAUSE WE MIGHT ASK QUESTION. YOU'LL ANSWER THROUGH THE PRESENTATION. OKAY. YEAH, LET'S DO THAT. OKAY. SOUNDS GOOD. OKAY. SO, MOVING ON. AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF REBRANDING. UM, SO WE HAD A GOAL FOR OUR FIRST 60 DAYS, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, EVERYTHING IS CHECKED OFF SO FAR. WE GOT OUR TRADEMARK PROTECTION, WE HAVE OUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT SECURED, AND WE HAVE A TARGET TRANSITION WINDOW, WHICH, LIKE I WAS SAYING, WE'LL START ROLLING OUT SOFT ROLLOUTS EARLY MAY, AN OFFICIAL ROLLOUT IN JUNE. UH, WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH A LAWYER ON OUR, OUR BYLAWS TO REESTABLISH OUR BOARD. SO WE'RE ROLLING. UH, WE'RE RIGHT ON TARGET FOR THE REBRAND. AND LIKE I SAID, THAT'LL, THAT'LL BE COMING HERE SOON. I, NEXT I JUST WANTED TO GO THROUGH HOW WE'RE FUNDED CURRENTLY [00:30:01] AND OUR RUNWAY. SO WE GOT A, A THREE YEAR RUNWAY, 200,000 FROM THE CITY, 100,000 FROM THE AIRPORT, AND 200,000, UH, FROM THE PORT. AND WE'RE ALREADY HALFWAY THROUGH THAT FIRST YEAR. SO REALISTICALLY, WE HAVE ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF, TWO YEARS MAX. UH, AND WE'D LIKE TO BE ON A PATH TO SELF SUSTAINABILITY BY YEAR TWO. I MEAN, YOU, WE CAN'T WAIT UNTIL YEAR THREE TO BE SUSTAINABLE. UH, SO I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT DIFFERENT WAYS TO DRIVE THAT, AND I'VE BEEN STUDYING DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS. UM, ONE OF THE ONES THAT STOOD OUT WAS THE GREATER SACRA, UH, GREATER SACRAMENTO ECONOMIC COUNCIL. THEY'RE ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL IN THE WORLD. UH, AND THEY'RE ABOUT 80 TO 85% FUNDED BY THE PRIVATE SECTOR. I GOT A CALL WITH BARRY BROOMS, THEIR CEO NEXT WEEK, AND WE'RE GONNA BRAINSTORM AND WORK THROUGH STRATEGIES ON HOW WE CAN GET LBEP TO THE POINT THAT HE GOT HIS ORGANIZATION TO. UH, ANOTHER ONE THAT I LOOKED AT WAS, UH, THE ONE IN NEW YORK. SO I'M TRYING TO GET ON HIS, UH, HIS, HIS SCHEDULE AS WELL TO BRAINSTORM THROUGH SOME THINGS. AND OF COURSE, I GOT GOOD, UH, PEOPLE LIKE BO AND THE ECONOMIC TEAM TO BRAINSTORM OFF OF TOO. BUT WE DON'T HAVE A BIG RUNWAY. SO THAT'S GONNA BE, TOP OF MIND IS DRIVING THAT. AND YOU GOTTA HAVE A GOOD PROGRAM IN PLACE, WHICH IS GONNA HELP. THESE WERE THE PROPOSED MEMBERSHIP TIERS THAT WAS PASSED THE CITY COUNCIL ON JANUARY 20TH. THESE ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE, AND, AND WE'LL PROBABLY BE TWEAKING THEM A LITTLE BIT. UH, BUT THE, THIS IS WHAT WAS PROPOSED, AND IT'LL GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF HOW THE STRUCTURE IS GOING TO BE. UH, YOU GOT YOUR STANDARD MEMBERSHIP CHAMPION MEMBERSHIP, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE SIDE SPONSORSHIPS SIMILAR TO LIKE A MEMBERSHIP, UH, STRUCTURE AS WELL THAT YOU CAN BUY INTO, AND THEY CAN GET ACCESS TO CERTAIN THINGS AS WELL. SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO BUILD THAT. AND THEN HERE'S A SNAPSHOT OF OUR NEXT 90 DAYS, UH, RELAUNCHES AND BEST LONG BEACH NEW GOVERNANCE. UH, WE'RE GONNA ROLL OUT OUR NEW MEMBERSHIP TOURS, WANT HAVE A STRONG COMMUNICATION STRATEGY AND DEVELOP A GOOD SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY BECAUSE THAT'S, IT'S ALMOST LIKE FREE MARKETING, YOU KNOW, BUILDING AWARENESS, INVEST. UH, ATLANTA IS A GOOD ONE. THEY GOT 22,000 FOLLOWERS. SO I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THEM AND ACTUALLY COUNCILWOMAN, UH, NU ADJUSTED THAT. SO WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT INVEST LONG BEACH AS WELL. THEY HAVE A STRONG SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE, AND WE'D LIKE TO DUPLICATE, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING WHERE WE CAN FOLLOW IN LINE WITH THAT. AND THEN THAT FALLS IN LINE WITH OUR DIGITAL, UH, REBRANDING AS WELL. HOW DO WE LEVERAGE OUR WEBSITE? YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE GET AWARENESS OUT THERE? CAN WE GET TO A POINT WHERE WE'RE SELLING, YOU KNOW, MARKETING THROUGH OUR WEBSITE? UM, SO JUST THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX ON DIFFERENT TYPES OF REVENUE STREAMS. AND THEN, UH, UPCOMING PRIORITIES. UH, AND I'VE ALREADY SAID SOME OF THESE BRAND AND RECRUITMENT, UH, GLOBAL TRADE AND FDI AS WE GET THE WORLD TRADE CENTER BACK UP AND FUNCTIONING, ADVOCACY. UM, SO THESE STATE AND FEDERAL ADVOCACY EFFORTS. UH, I ALSO, UH, ALONG THE, THE, UH, ADVOCACY, I'VE ALSO MET WITH BIZ FED AS WELL. SO THEY DO A LOT OF ADVOCACY FOR THE REGION. SO I'VE CONNECTED WITH THEM ALREADY. UH, OPERATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY, WHICH I JUST COVERED. AND THEN JUST ACCOUNTABILITY, MAKING SURE THAT YOU FEEL LIKE WE'RE BEING ACCOUNTABLE. UH, WE WANT TO PULL OUR WEIGHT, UH, FOR EVERYBODY IN THE CITY BECAUSE WE WANT THE CITY TO SUCCEED. UH, AND THAT'S WHY I WANT TO BUILD SUCH A STRONG FOUNDATION TO GET THIS RIGHT FROM THE START. SO WE GOT SOMETHING TO STAND ON. AND THEN, UH, GOING INTO ACCOUNTABILITY, AGAIN, THIS WILL JUST BREAK FURTHER DOWN INTO IT, UH, TRACKING AND QUALIFYING HOW HIGH VALUE BUSINESS ATTRACTION LEADS, UH, HOSTING PROSPECT MEETINGS, MARKETING DEVELOPMENT, MEASURING THE, UH, AMOUNT OF PRIVATE FUNDING THAT WE HAVE COMING IN OUR INTERNATIONAL REACH. AND THEN JUST TRACKING JOB CREATION, WAGE AVERAGES, AND VENTURE, UH, CAPITAL INVESTMENT BY INDUSTRY AND PROVIDING THAT DATA, UH, THAT THE CITY AND THE OTHERS CAN USE. AND THAT IS THE END OF THE PRESENTATION. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING. THANK YOU. I THINK THAT IT WAS GREAT TO JUST HAVE YOU DO AN OVERALL PRESENTATION. AND IT'S ALWAYS GREAT TO ASSUME WE DON'T KNOW, BECAUSE I ACTUALLY DIDN'T EVER HAVE A PRESENTATION OF LBEP ACTUALLY OF WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT DOES. I KNOW THAT BOSE SHARE WITH ME, BUT I THINK THAT, UM, THAT JUST GOES TO SHOW HOW MUCH IT'S NEEDED TO HAVE NEW LEADERSHIP THAT CAN REVISION THIS ENTITY. THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT. [00:35:01] I THINK SOMETIME IT'S CONFUSING BECAUSE IT DOESN'T HAVE THE NAME, IT'S NOT A LONG BEACH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, WHICH IS PRETTY COMMON IN MANY CITIES, OR, AND, OR EVEN JUST COUNTIES, RIGHT? THAT HAVE THESE ENTITY THAT REALLY DOES, UM, KIND OF SERVE THE INTERIM BETWEEN BUSINESSES AND THE CITY, OR JUST PUBLIC SECTOR IN GENERAL, RIGHT? YES. SO, UM, APPRECIATE THE OVERVIEW. AND I KNOW THAT YOU'RE HITTING THE GROUND RUNNING, BUT IT'S, I, I THINK THIS IS A VERY EXCITING OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT ALL OF THE POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES AND, UH, WAYS TO, I THINK, STRATEGICALLY ALIGN WITH WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS, I CAN SEE IT'S A GLUE, AND YOU'RE KIND OF GETTING THERE WITH THIS GENERAL PRESENTATION FROM WHERE YOU'RE AT, WHICH IS BUILDING THE FOUNDATION, WHICH IS THE SUSTAINABILITY, AND, AND SOME WAYS LOOKING AT, WELL, WHAT IS IT THAT WE NEED VERSUS MAYBE RE REPLICATING WHAT'S ALREADY OUT THERE RIGHT. IN THE CITY. AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT. AS YOU KNOW, FOR ME, I, I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS JUST ABOUT, I KNOW THAT THIS IS REALLY ALIGNING PUBLIC, PRIVATE SECTOR TOGETHER, AND THAT WE HAVE AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT THAT'S GOING TO BE ABLE TO WORK WITH OUR SMALL BUSINESSES AND HELP BUILD PATHWAYS. BUT WHERE I, I'M INTERESTED IN IS, THERE IS OBVIOUSLY THE BENEFIT OF JOB CREATION, BUT ARE YOU, HOW ARE YOU GONNA PARTNER WITH, UH, PACIFIC GATEWAY AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AROUND THE LONG BEACH JOB PROMISE? IT'S LIKE, WELL, THESE JOBS WILL BE CREATED, BUT HOW DO WE MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE TALENT PREPARED ACTUALLY FOR THESE JOBS? MM-HMM . BECAUSE SOMETIMES THERE'S DISALIGNMENT, RIGHT? YEAH. UH, INSTITUTION, EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION OR TRADES, THEY DEVELOP PEOPLE, BUT THEY, THEY'RE OUT OF DATE WITH THEIR TRAINING, OR THEY'RE NOT PREPARING THEM FOR THE JOB THAT THEY'RE CREATING NOW. YEAH. SO WHAT IS THAT BRIDGE THAT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE WE'RE DEVELOPING THE WORKFORCE AND TALENT FOR THESE JOBS THAT WILL BE COMING IN 2028? . YEAH, . SO I WOULD SAY IT STARTS WITH WHO WE'RE TRYING TO ATTRACT, UH, KNOWING WHAT NEEDS THEY HAVE AS FAR AS A WORKFORCE. AND I'M ALSO A COMMISSIONER ON THE LONG BEACH WORKFORCE INNOVATION, UH, NETWORK. MM-HMM . SO I'M PLUGGED IN THERE WHERE I CAN COMMUNICATE WHAT I'M HEARING HERE TO THERE. AND THEN OF COURSE, WE HAVE THE MAYOR UP TOP IN SACRAMENTO NOW. UH, SO IT'S REALLY COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE INDUSTRIES, THE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, AND LIKE I I SAID BEFORE ON DOWN. 'CAUSE WE WANNA START THEM IN HIGH SCHOOL THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES AND REALLY BUILD THAT PIPELINE EARLY SO IT TRANSFERS FROM HIGH SCHOOL TO OUR, UH, COLLEGE INSTITUTIONS AND BEYOND. SO OUR WORKFORCE IS READY, AND THAT'S GONNA BE PART OF THE PITCH WHEN WE'RE PITCHING TO THESE, UH, INDUSTRIES. AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A SYSTEM IN PLACE WHERE WE'RE DEVELOPING EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED. AND NOT ONLY JUST LONG BEACH, BUT UH, WE, WE CAN PULL FROM A REGION THAT'S THE STRENGTH THAT WE HAVE HERE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. UH, WE'RE CLOSE TO LOS ANGELES, SO WE'RE IN CONTACT WITH, UH, PEOPLE OVER IN LOS ANGELES. LIKE, UH, I MENTIONED BEFORE THE L-A-E-D-C, WHAT, WHAT EFFORTS ARE THEY DOING, UH, WORKFORCE RELATED WISE? SO IT'S GONNA BE ALL COLLABORATION COM, A LOT OF COMMUNICATION. UH, SO THAT'S WHAT I WOULD SAY THE STRATEGY IS CURRENTLY. OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, YOU ALWAYS WANT TO UPDATE AND STAY ON TOP OF WHAT TRENDS, BUT YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I WOULD SAY. YEAH. I HOPE THAT THERE'LL BE CONTINUOUS CONVERSATION AND PLANNING AS YOU, UM, YOU KNOW, SET UP THE FOUNDATION, BUT AS WE ALSO BILL OUT PLANS IN THE WAY THAT WE'RE GONNA STREAMLINE OR AT LEAST COORDINATE TRACKING ON THE OUTCOMES. THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE IS AROUND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE MEMBERSHIP IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE BENEFIT THAT COMES WITH IT. SO I DO SEE YOUR TEARS, AND I THINK THAT THAT IS A, YOU KNOW, A GOOD LAYOUT OF THE WAYS THAT, UH, PEOPLE CAN CONSIDER MEMBERSHIP. BUT I, I'M JUST WONDERING, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE, WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN IN THESE OTHER, UM, ECONOMIC CORPORATIONS ARE ENTITIES AND WHERE THE BENEFIT IS APPEALING FOR ATTRACTING, UH, PEOPLE TO BE A MEMBER AND AT THESE DIFFERENT LEVELS? RIGHT. YEAH, AND I'M JUST GETTING INTO IT AS FAR AS WHAT I'VE SEEN IN OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, UH, I'M JUST STARTING TO SPEAK TO PEOPLE. UH, BUT WHAT I ENVISION IS A STRONG PROGRAM AS FAR AS HAVING ACCESS TO CERTAIN THINGS, UH, A ROUND TABLE WITH THE MAYOR ONCE A YEAR OR TWICE A YEAR, UH, LEGISLATIVE ROUND TABLES, THINGS OF THAT NATURE. SO AS I GO THROUGH, AND THIS WILL BE EVOLVING AS WELL, UH, BUT THAT'S WHY I REALLY WANTED TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING AND TALK TO THE EXPERTS AND SEE WHAT, WHAT PROGRAMS DO YOU HAVE IN PLACE. UH, I WAS, I WAS ON A CALL EARLIER, AND I THINK IT WAS, IT WAS EITHER SANTA CLARITA, THEIR BOARD WAS HUGE. IT [00:40:01] WAS, IT WAS 50 BOARD MEMBERS, UH, WHICH IS A LITTLE TOO BIG FOR, FOR MY TASTE, , THAT'S LARGE. BUT I, I WANT TO FOCUS ON WHAT THE PROGRAM IS, ASIDE FROM THE BOARD, KEEP A TIGHT BOARD, BUT BUILD A, A TIGHT PROGRAM ON THE SIDE. SO I'LL REALLY BE FOCUSED ON WHAT IS THE PROGRAM TO DRIVE, WHY DO YOU WANT TO BE A PART OF IT? AND, UH, YOU KNOW, AND MY FORMER, UH, BOSS SAID VISIT TOLD ME, UH, THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS HE SAID, YOU BETTER HAVE A TIGHT PROGRAM. AND THAT'S WHAT WE HAD AT VISIT. UM, YOU KNOW, WE OFFERED, ASIDE FROM THE BOARD, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A STRONG MEMBERSHIP OF 350 BUSINESSES. HOW DO YOU GET THOSE BUSINESSES TO BUY IN? YOU HAVE A STRONG PROGRAM. AND A LOT OF THAT IS ACCESS. THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE WANT. THEY WANT ACCESS NOT ONLY TO PEOPLE THAT THEY CAN INVEST WITH, BUT TO OTHERS TO NETWORK. UM, SO YEAH. AND, AND THAT IS A GREAT SEGUE TO MY, MY NEXT QUESTION, AND THEN I'LL HAND IT OVER TO COUNCIL HAS, IS IT'S TOTALLY ACCESS. SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WOULD LOVE, AND I KNOW THAT A LOT OF OUR LARGER CORPORATIONS, OUR BUSINESSES ALWAYS WANNA BE ABLE TO ACCESS COMMUNITY. SO I'D REALLY LOVE IT IF YOU CAN EXPLORE, UH, PARTNERING WITH LONG BEACH NONPROFIT PARTNERSHIP AROUND HOW DO THESE, UM, CORPORATIONS OR BUSINESS ENTITY CAN CONSIDER THEIR SOCIAL IMPACT OR GIVING PROGRAM THROUGH GETTING TO KNOW THE DIFFERENT, UH, NONPROFITS PROFITS, GETTING TO KNOW THE DIFFERENT, UM, NEEDS. BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, BEING A, A NEIGHBOR, A GOOD NEIGHBOR AND BEING A PARTNER IN THE CITY IS WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO TO GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AND THE NEIGHBORHOODS? SO EVEN CONSIDERING WAYS THAT THEY CAN EVEN GET TO KNOW NOT ONLY THE MAYOR, BUT MAYBE THE COUNCIL DISTRICT, THEY MAY DO BUSINESS IN TO LEARN, WELL, WHAT ARE THE NEEDS AND WAYS THAT CAN PARTNERSHIP COULD OCCUR TO REALLY MAKE THE MOST IMPACT THAT THEY CAN FROM THEIR GIVING? 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, THERE'S LIMITED RESOURCES, BUT I THINK THAT WOULD ALSO BE APPEALING FOR THEM SO THAT IT'S LESS WORK ON THEIR END TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHO DO THEY TALK TO. AND LONG BEACH NONPROFIT PARTNERSHIP HAS DONE AMAZING WORK IN BEING ABLE TO ORGANIZE, UM, OUR NONPROFIT COMMUNITY AS WELL AS WORKING ON OUR COMMUNITY. AND I SEE THAT'S A GREAT SEGUE INTO MAKING SURE THAT IT COMES BACK TO CONNECTING THE COMMUNITY MM-HMM . BECAUSE MANY PEOPLE WILL BE ASKING, WELL, WHAT EXACTLY DOES LONG BEACH ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP DOES? HOW DOES IT BENEFIT ME AS A RESIDENT? AND I THINK THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO DOING THAT THROUGH THAT PARTNERSHIP SO THAT IT IS BENEFITING OUR NONPROFIT PARTNER WHO IN THE END SERVES OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY AS WELL. SO, UM, THAT'S ONE MY, MY RECOMMENDATION. I LOVE TO SEE THROUGH AROUND HOW WE CAN EVEN DO A CIRCLE AROUND THAT. SO, HEY, COUNCILWOMAN, CAN I ASK YOU ON THE, WHEN YOU SAID A NONPROFIT PARTNERSHIP, IS THAT TMP? YES. UH, DID THEY CHANGED THEIR NAME? I'M SORRY. LONG BEACH? UM, YEAH. L IS IT, I KNOW I HAVE A, I HAVE A MEETING WITH MICHELLE AND YES, YES, YES, I HAVE, I HAVE A MEETING WITH HER AND WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET ON EACH OTHER'S CALENDARS, BUT WE DO HAVE A MEETING, UH, NEXT WEEK, SO THAT IS TOP OF MIND AS WELL. SO, UH, FOR SURE, I, I, I, THAT'S A GREAT RECOMMENDATION AND I'LL DO EVERYTHING I CAN TO STAY PLUGGED IN WITH OUR NONPROFITS. YEAH, I'M SO GLAD TO HEAR THAT BECAUSE THEY DO THINGS WHERE THEY BRING, UM, PRIVATE SECTOR TO TALK TO NONPROFITS AND HOW THEY CAN, UM, APPLY TO THEIR CHARITABLE GIVING PROGRAM, OR HOW DO WE GET SPONSORSHIPS FROM SOME OF THESE CORPORATIONS. SO THERE'S A REALLY, A GREAT WAY TO BUILD THAT PARTNERSHIP THROUGH THE COMMUNITY. YES. UM, AND ACCESS FOR THEM AS WELL TO BUILD THEIR NAME AS A GOOD NEIGHBOR AND A GOOD PARTNER IN THE CITY. SO YES. YES. THANK YOU FOR THE RECOMMENDATION. THANK YOU. YOU WELCOME. UH, COUNCILWOMAN DEJA. THANK YOU CHAIR. UH, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU, COURTNEY, FOR THAT GREAT PRESENTATION. UM, I'M SO EXCITED TO HAVE YOU AS THE CEO FOR THE LONG BEACH ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP. I THINK THAT YOU COME WITH A EMBEDDED DESIRE TO MAKE THE CITY BETTER. AND SO I REALLY DO APPRECIATE IT, AND I KNOW THAT YOU'RE GONNA DO FA I ALREADY CAN SEE THAT YOU'RE GONNA DO FANTASTIC. UM, I, I REALLY LIKE THE, UM, THE WAY THAT YOU ARE EXPLORING OTHER WAYS OF GETTING THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO GET INVOLVED AND, AND HOPEFULLY BEING, YOU KNOW, FULLY PRIVATELY FUNDED, WHICH WOULD BE IDEAL. UM, BUT THIS WORK IS IMPORTANT. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT. SO I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR THE COMMITMENT US AS A CITY, FROM THE PORT, ALSO FROM THE AIRPORT, BECAUSE THIS WORK IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE FUTURE OF OUR CITY HERE, HERE. SO, UM, I, I REALLY DO APPRECIATE ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU ARE WORKING ON. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I, UM, THAT I NOTICED IS THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE BEEN TRYING TO, UM, UPLIFT SOME OF THE [00:45:01] BUSINESS CORRIDORS, LIKE IN THE SA SANTA FE AREA. SANTA FE CORRIDOR. UH, DO YOU HAVE MORE, UM, CORRIDORS THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW, OR IS THAT NOT YET PART OF THE PLAN? UM, OR MAYBE YOU CAN EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT, UM, WHAT YOU WERE ABLE TO DO OR WHAT THE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP WAS ABLE TO DO IN THE SANTA FE CORRIDOR AND MAYBE WHAT SANTA THE PLANS COULD BE FOR THE FUTURE. YEAH, WE, I, I DON'T HAVE ANY PLANS RIGHT NOW AS FAR AS SPECIFIC CORRIDORS. AND I, I'LL LET BO JUMP IN HERE, UH, TO GIVE A LITTLE MORE HISTORY AND SOME MORE INSIGHT ON IT. BUT, UH, I DON'T CURRENTLY, UH, COUNCILWOMAN ZENDAY HOSPITAL, I'LL LET BO EVAPORATE ON THAT, IF YOU WOULD FOR A SEC. YEAH. UH, COUNCILWOMAN ZENDEJAS, UM, SO THE COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR WORK WILL HAPPEN THROUGH THIS, THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. WE REALLY WANT THE LONG BEACH ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP TO REALLY BE LASER FOCUSED ON, UH, BUSINESS RETENTION, EXPANSION AND TRACTION, UH, MARKET AND PROMOTION AT THE END OF PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PORT ON WORLD TRADE CENTER, LONG BEACH. AND REALLY LOOKING AT HOW WE CONTINUE TO DIVERSIFY AND GROW, UM, OUR ECONOMY AS BOS NINO LOOKING AT AN OPPORTUNITY FROM A TALENT PERSPECTIVE. 'CAUSE WHEN YOU MEET AND TALK WITH ALL THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE HERE, AND ONES THAT JUST HAVE RELOCATED HERE, YOU ASK 'EM, WHY LONG BEACH? AND THEY'RE GONNA TELL YOU IT'S ALL ABOUT THE TALENT. AND SO, UM, THE COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR WORK, I WOULD SAY IT'S JUST GONNA BE IN A CONTINUING WORK, UH, WITHIN THE CITY, BUT ALSO PARTNERING UP WITH THE CITY COUNCIL OFFICES AND, AND THE BS AND SO ON. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THAT, BO. UM, I KNOW THAT THERE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT REALLY EXCITES ME IS JOB CREATION. I THINK IT EXCITES ALL OF US. WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE, WE PROVIDE JOBS TO OUR, OUR RESIDENTS IN PARTICULARLY. SO I'D REALLY ENCOURAGE, UM, TO MAYBE DO A LOCAL PREFERENCE. LIKE I, I REALLY LIKE YOUR IDEA OF WORKING WITH THE DIFFERENT INSTITUTIONS AND GETTING THEM STARTED IN HIGH SCHOOL, GETTING THEIR INTEREST IN SOME KIND OF MENTORING PROGRAM, SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT WILL REALLY CONNECT OUR STUDENTS WITH THE ACTUAL, UM, PRIVATE SECTOR THAT'S OUT THERE TO SEE WHAT THE POSSIBILITIES ARE. I THINK THAT THAT'S VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. SO THANK YOU FOR MENTIONING THAT. YEAH. UM, I JUST WANNA WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK AND, AND JUST KNOW THAT YOU HAVE MY FULL SUPPORT, UM, GOING FORWARD. AND I KNOW THAT YOU'RE GONNA DO AN AMAZING JOB IN THIS POSITION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND, AND THANK YOU BOTH FOR YOUR TIME. COUNCILWOMAN SORROW, COUNCILWOMAN ZAHA, UH, ABOUT TO GET ON YOUR CALENDARS AS WELL, UH, AT SOME POINT JUST TO, TO SPEAK THROUGH SOME THINGS TO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION. BUT I TRULY THANK YOU. I'M TRULY EXCITED, UH, TO GET STARTED AND WE'RE GONNA DO SOME BIG THINGS, SO THANK YOU. YEAH, THANK YOU. COUNCIL WINS, DEHA. I'M MATT. I HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION BEFORE YOU GO. YES. UM, AND I DEFINITELY WANNA HEAR A LITTLE BIT MORE. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S ALSO EXCITING TO ME IS TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OUR, OUR PORT, RIGHT? WHICH ATTRACTS SO MANY DIFFERENT FOREIGN, UH, YOU KNOW, INVESTMENTS AS FAR AS THESE DELEGATION THAT COMES. AND I THINK IT'S ALWAYS, UM, I'M NEVER QUITE SURE WHAT COMES OUT OF THOSE DELEGATION. AND SO I'M JUST CURIOUS IF YOU'RE TALKING TO SISTER CITIES, WHICH ALREADY DOES A LOT OF THESE THROUGH SISTERS CITIES TO CITIES, UM, YOU KNOW, ENGAGEMENT AND, UM, AT LEAST ON THE BUSINESS SIDE. SO I'M JUST WONDERING, WHAT, WHAT ARE SOME WAYS THAT YOU'RE GONNA APPROACH DOING THE GLOBAL TRADE COMPONENTS ON THE UPCOMING, GIVEN THE OLYMPICS COMING AND ALL OF THAT? YEAH, SO, YEAH, SO, AND, AND I HAVE WORKED WITH SISTER CITIES IN THE PAST. I WAS PART OF THE, UH, THE VISIT FROM YOKAI, JAPAN. YEAH. AND AS WELL AS KING DOW, UH, FROM A TOURISM STANDPOINT. UH, SO I'M FAMILIAR WITH SISTER CITIES AND WE'D LOVE TO PARTNER WITH THEM IN ANY TYPE OF WAY. UH, FROM, I'LL BE WORKING CLOSELY WITH BARROW OUR CITY PROTOCOLS OFFICER. UH, SO WE'RE ACTUALLY PLANNING AN EVENT, UH, SHE'S PUTTING TOGETHER, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU, YOU GUYS REMEMBER LAST YEAR SHE DID THE CONSULAR TOUR, UH, THAT WAS ABOUT 53 CONSULAR GENERAL GENERALS FROM LOS ANGELES REPRESENTING, YOU KNOW, CLOSE TO, YOU KNOW, 50 SOME ODD COMP COUNTRIES. THIS YEAR WE'RE GOING TO DO, UH, TRADE COMMISSIONERS. SO IT'S FOCUSED ON TRADE. UH, LAST YEAR IT WAS MORE DIPLOMATIC. UH, SO NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT IT FROM A TRADE STANDPOINT. AND THAT'LL REALLY DRIVE UP THE INTEREST IN LONG BEACH. UH, THESE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN THEIR INDUSTRY FROM THEIR COUNTRIES AND TRADE. AND, UH, ONCE SHE GETS THE, UH, THE DATE AND EVERYTHING, WE'LL SEND THAT OUT TO THE COUNCIL AS WELL. UH, SO FOCUSED ON THINGS LIKE THAT AND REALLY LETTING THEM KNOW WHAT LONG BEACH HAS TO OFFER, UH, AND ENCOURAGING THEM TO ESTABLISH OPERATIONS IN LONG BEACH. BUT WE GOT SUCH AN ADVANTAGE HAVING THE PORT RIGHT THERE AS OPERATIONALLY. AND IF THEY ESTABLISH A HEADQUARTERS HERE, NOW THEY GOT A DIRECT LINE OF SIGHT. SO IF ANYTHING GOES WRONG, YOU ALREADY GOT DIRECT COMMUNICATION, [00:50:01] YOU'RE HERE IN OUR CITY. AND LIKE I WAS SAYING EARLIER, THAT'LL JUST TRICKLE DOWN TO WHERE NOW THEY'RE HERE, THEY, THEY'LL CREATE MORE JOBS AND IT'LL GIVE THEM MORE OF AN INVESTMENT IN THE CITY. SO IT'S NOT JUST A PASS THROUGH. SO I'LL BE WORKING THROUGH, UM, THOSE CHANNELS. AND THEN, LIKE I SAID, WHEN WE GET THE WORLD TRADE CENTER, UH, LONG BEACH UP AND RUNNING, THAT'LL BE A MAJOR FOCUS IN BRINGING DELEGATIONS IN AND DISPLAYING, YOU KNOW, AND LIKE I SAID, ENCOURAGING TO ESTABLISH, UH, OPERATIONS HERE AND IDENTITY. YEAH, THAT'S, OH, SORRY. THAT SOUNDS VERY EXCITING. NO, SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN TO INTERRUPT YOU, BUT THIS IS VERY EXCITING. I THINK THAT IT'S REALLY CAPTURING OUR GREAT ASSETS, NOT WITH THE PORT, BUT ALSO HAVING AN INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY THAT ALSO, UH, DOES BUSINESS WITH THE HOMELAND THAT THEY COME FROM AND WANT THINKING IN WAYS THAT THEY CAN REALLY SET THEIR ROOTS HERE. AND THEN HOW DO WE GROW, UM, THIS SECTOR. AND I THINK THAT THERE'S A LOT OF POTENTIAL GROWTH AND I LOOK FORWARD IN HEARING MORE ABOUT THAT TRADE COMMISSION AS WELL AS OTHER UPCOMING STUFF AS WE GEAR UP. YES. UH, FOR THESE VARIETY ACTIVITY. 'CAUSE I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I REMEMBER HEARING FROM SOMEBODY WHO, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR AT SALT LAKE CITY, WHEN THEY HAD THEIR OLYMPICS THERE, WAS THAT THEY HAD ALL THESE AMAZING CONTACTS, BUT THEY NEVER DID ANYTHING WITH IT. AND I HOPE WE CAN LEARN THE LESSON FROM THEM AND WHAT WE COULD DO POST, BECAUSE THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL OF US. SO, YES. WITH THAT, THAT, SO THAT'S THE LAST THING I WANTED TO MENTION 'CAUSE UM, THAT STOOD OUT TO ME AS JUST SUCH AN EXCITING, UPCOMING OPPORTUNITY. AND AS COUNCIL WINS SUNDAY HAS SHARED, UH, I TOO WISH YOU, UM, SUCCESS AND ALSO HERE AS WELL LOOKING FORWARD IN HOW WE CAN TALK AND, AND, UM, HOW I, I, AS WELL AS OTHER COUNCIL MEMBER CAN ASSIST YOU IN, IN, IN SHARING WITH YOU SOME OF THE PRIORITIES WE HAVE. SOME OF OUR DISTRICTS MAY NOT BE THE HUB OF SOME OF THESE, UM, YOU KNOW, BUSINESSES, BUT YOU NEVER KNOW RIGHT. DEPENDING ON OPPORTUNITIES. AND SO THAT'S WHERE I LOOK FORWARD IN HAVING CONVERSATION AND JUST GETTING TO, TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE VISION AND, AND THE PROGRESS OF, UH, THE NEXT STAGE OF LONG BEACH ECONOMIC ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP. SO THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. TALK TO YOU SOON. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, MAN. UM, MR. CLERK, IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM BEFORE WE VOTE? SEEING NONE. OKAY, WONDERFUL. SO WE'LL GO FOR A VOTE. NEXT. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. UM, SO WE'LL GO TO JUST GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT. IS THERE ANY GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT? I DON'T SEE ANY, SO, UM, IF THERE'S NO OBJECTION, I I JUST WANNA THANK THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMITTEE. UM, ACTUALLY TEAM, YEAH. THE, THE TEAM FOR, UH, STAFF THERE FOR HELPING US ORGANIZE TODAY AND ALL YOUR WORK. UM, AND WITH THAT, I DECLARE THE MEETING ADJOURN. THANK YOU. * 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.