[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Hey hey hey. [Music] [Music] Hey, [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Oh hey. [Music] [Music] Hey. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Hey hey hey. [Music] Hey hey hey. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Open it. [Music] [Music] [Music] Sh. Happy day. [Music] Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. [Music] down. [Music] Down. Heat. Heat. [Music] N. [Music] [Music] Wow. Daddy. [Music] How you doing? [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] music. Hey Heat. Hey, [Music] Heat. Heat. Hey, Heat. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] ever. Hey, hey, hey. [Music] [Music] [Music] down. [Music] [Music] All right, folks. Welcome to the Long Beach City Council meeting. It is May 6th and 5:30. Let's go ahead and call the meeting of the Long Beach City Council to order with roll call, please. Councilwoman Zindas, present. Councilwoman Allen. Council member Dugen, here. Councilman Supernova, here. Councilwoman Kerr, present. Councilwoman Sorrow, present. Vice Mayor Oranga, Councilwoman Thrash Entuk, here. Council member Rickod, Mayor Richardson, I am here. We have a quorum. All right. Thank you. We're going to start off with the pledge of allegiance led by Council Member Dougen. Let's first take a moment of silence remembering those who have gone before us. Then we'll stand for the Let's take a moment of silence. All right. Please stand if you were able. Right hand over your heart. To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right. Okay. So, uh, just a few announcements. Vice Mayor Yuranga is attending the Coastal Commission meeting, so he won't be with us this evening. Council member Allen is attend attending a day of action in Sacramento with Southern California Association of Governments where she was named president last week. So congratulations to Vice Mayor Allen. So neither of them will be able to participate uh in tonight's uh region, but we certainly appreciate their advocacy on behalf of Long Beach at those two u uh regional bodies. Uh it's also uh we want to wish wish everyone happy Mother's Day because Mother's Day is this week. Uh so we want to start off uh the meeting by just recognizing all of you and our council colleagues uh who are mothers. So happy Mother's Day to everyone. Um I'll also announce that this May uh we're hosting Long Beach's annual spring cleaning. We just kicked that off. This is a call to action. All of our city departments, public works, and everyone's out doing their part. Uh but this is a teamwork, right? So, we want encourage our residents, our neighborhood leaders who already do a lot, uh, to go on our city's website and put your neighborhood cleanups there so we can support it. We can all get out to all of our nine council districts and, uh, or sign up if you don't have already a neighborhood cleanup. You can go visit our website, long beach.gov/sprcleing to find a neighborhood cleanup near you. Uh, we'll go ahead and get started. We have three presentations today and then we'll go through our agenda. First is Harvey Milk Park Prominade uh Harvey Mil Prominade Park Equality PRA Plaza 2025 honores. Uh and we're going to go to council members and dehas. Thank you very much mayor. This is one of my favorite times um especially here in May. Uh prioritizing inclusion and equity in our city is not a catchphrase um but a strategic commitment of investment in a better future for all of Long Beach. We know that all of our diverse communities that make up our city are are very invaluable and they bring invaluable contributions to our local economy, um our identity and culture as a city. Building a safe Long Beach includes building a safe Long Beach for our LGBTQ plus communities. An attack on one community is an attack on all of us and an attack on the safety and well-being of our communities. That is why I am so excited and so proud to continue um having this honor of hosting um the annual Harvey Milk Park Equity Plaza Equality Plaza Honores. Um, and I'm so happy to have you guys here today. And um, if you I'd like to invite you to come to the mic and say a few words. Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Councilwoman. Uh, my name is Corey Allen. I am the current chair of, yes, the longest committee name uh, in Long Beach right now, the Harvey Mil Prominard Park Equality Plaza Selection Committee. um where we get to uh we work throughout the year to nominate and select LGBTQ leaders from across the city uh who have done work within our community to um to go on the equality wall. Um and so we hope you will all join us. Um our celebration is uh also this weekend, Saturday, May 10th at 11:00 a.m. Um also happy Mother's Day uh for our Mexican mothers on Saturday and Mother's Day on Sunday. It's also Pride Kickoff weekend. So, uh, we'll start our pride week with this ceremony. Um, and now we're going to have some of our our committee members, uh, read you some brief bios about the honores that we are recognizing this year. So, we're going to start with Marshia Navy. Mayor and Council members, I'm very happy to introduce to you today Larry Heert. He is being honored along with his longtime partner, John Garcia. They both owned Ripples's nightclub here in Long Beach for decades, which is sort of a famous spot and um while they both retired recently and uh the club has been closed, we certainly remember it very fondly. Unfortunately, John Garcia passed away on May 7th. March 7th, I'm sorry, March 7th. Thank you, Larry. Sure. Um, so I'm gonna let Larry uh say a few words now about uh John and uh their time here in Long Beach. Thank you. Thank you, Marca. Thank you, Mayor and Council. Uh I just like to say a few things about mostly about John, not me. Um and thank you, Marca. Um, we've been together since August 17th, 1974 till March 7th when he passed away. It's going on 51 years. And, uh, he had started a lot of different things here in in Long Beach. He started the LBCM, which is now, uh, community, uh, it was Long Beach Community Business Network, and I don't know what it's called now, I forget. He started Pet Walk to go with AIDS Walk. He uh donated monies and time to the charities, the hospices, the churches, the food banks, customers, employees families friends and neighbors. He took care of everybody and I helped him along the way. I always stayed in the background. Um he he created a safe place for all people to be themselves and to feel welcomed and to be safe. He uh we had Long Beach's most popular gay bar ever. And it was a time when disco was big and we were all having a great time. I was 22 and uh now I'm 73 on on Saturday on the 10th. Um so we had the we had the nightclub. We turned it into also a cabaret and had entertainment and um then we bought the liquor store behind because we owned the land so we took we took it over when they left. Um let's see. It was a journey that you can't compare to. It was a wonderful life. It had its ups and downs like any relationship, but we made it work and I wouldn't change a thing. Uh, no other bar um or owner in Long Beach had the reputation we had and none ever will. I think I think that time is gone from uh bars being, you know, safe havens and places for people to go. It was a golden time and a fantastic, fabulous ride. And I have to say I miss him terribly. Thank you very much. Thank you for your testimony. Good evening, mayor, council members, city staff, and members of the public. Uh, my name is Rahul. I'm a founding member and committee member, and I have the honor to introduce Kevin Giri tonight. Unfortunately, Kevin could not be here with us tonight. So, I'll just share a little a little bit about him. He's a lifelong educator, activist, and one of the early trailblazers in Long Beach's LGBTQ community. In the 1990s and 2000s, when it wasn't easy to be out to be an outgame man in Long Beach, Kevin stood boldly at the forefront of our city and movement. As president of the Long Beach Lambda Democratic Club, he fought for representation, equality, and made sure our voices were heard in local and national politics. But Kevin's leadership extended far beyond titles. He served on the Lambda Democratic Club for eight years, led Lambda's human rights awards banquet, chaired the former AIDS Walk Long Beach, led the GLS caucus at the Teachers Association of Long Beach, and contributed to the LGBT history project at the Long Beach Historical Society. And this is just a selection of highlights of his contributions as a mentor activist and now in his 24th year of teaching. His work continues and so does his legacy. His courage and compassion exemplify the leadership and excellence worthy of induction to Equality Plaza at Harvey Mil Park. I hope you'll join us Saturday. Kevin will be there. And now you'll hear from my committee member Deb Cahoki. Thank you. Thank you. down a little bit. Hi, mayor, council people. Thank you. Today we proudly honor Isa McKinley. Issa McKinley Quirro Rashed, a beloved community leader, friend, and business partner. We unexpectedly, we didn't expect this, but Issa unexpectedly passed away this past January, leaving behind a powerful legacy of love, inclusion, and service. Issa, known for his unwavering commitment to his community, made a profound impact on the city of Long Beach. In 2014, alongside his mother, Rosio and sister Josie, he opened the B- Room, a familyrun barber shop that quickly became a cornerstone of downtown. The Broom was more than just a business. It blossomed into a cherished queer safe space, a refuge where LGBTQ plus individuals could gather, express themselves freely, and feel at home. Soon after, ISA launched It's a Drag to Give, a groundbreaking event that merged drag performance with philanthropy celebrating queer culture while raising vital funds for local nonprofits, supporting children, the unhoused, and the LGBTQ community. Issa said, quote, "The power of it's a Drag is bringing people from different groups together to celebrate inclusion, diversity, and love." His advocacy didn't stop there. Issa was a passionate supporter of immigrant rights, supporting and working with the Long Beach Immigrant Rights Coalition to make our city more compassionate and equitable. He often said, "The only way to success successfully is by giving back to your community." Issa lived that truth every day through his work, his art, and his heart. Today and Saturday we will affirm his legacy of kindness community building and unapologetic authenticity. Excuse me. Sorry about that. He lives in a spirit of Long Beach. His absence is deeply felt, but his legacy will live forever and will forever be remembered. And his sister Josie and mom are here. I just want to thank everybody for the continuous support and, you know, the honor. Thank you guys. Thank you, Josie and Rosio. Thanks for being here. Thank you. All right, Rosio. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right, Corey. Hi. Me again, Debb Kahelli. I'm here to present another inductee, Dr. Maria Cartier. Dr. Maria Cartier is a poet, playwright, scholar, and lifelong activist. whose work has preserved and elevated LGBTQ plus history through art, education, and public storytelling. A Long Beach resident of over 20 years, Marie has taught queer studies and women and gender studies for three decades, inspiring thousands of students to engage in real world activism and civic participation. She is the author of the groundbreaking book, a seminal work on lesbian bar culture as sacred place and is currently co-producing a documentary based on it. Marie's leadership has brought LGBTQ plus visibility to academic institutions, artistic platforms, and grassroot movements. Her public access show, Homo Files Present, the Dyke Dive podcast, and her proactive art installations have all pushed boundaries and amplified queer voices, especially those too often left out. Whether directing activist theater and prisons, archiving community stories, or mentoring future leaders, Marie's work bridges generations of and ensures that LGBTQ plus stories are not only remembered, but celebrated. She doesn't speak because it's easy, she speaks because it's necessary. Dr. Marie Cartiier's life work is the embodiment of the Harvey Milk spirit. bold, unapologetic, and rooted in justice and visibility. Thank you. Next will be Corey Allen. Thank you. Appreciate that. Um, our very last one, and I know we're going to have everybody come up to take a picture, um, is Alexandra Billings, who is a trans activist, uh, author, and educator as a professor. Um, and from her trailblazing roles in Transparent to her history-making run on Broadway and Wicked, Alexandra has shattered ceilings for trans performers, she teaches at USC, uh, and has been an advocate for those living with HIV and is a Long Beach resident and I'm proud to say also is our first trans person to be recognized on our wall this year. Um, so we continue to make strides in that representation. So, thank you all for indulging us in in hearing about the stories of our LGBTQ community. Um, and I think we'll all come up and take a picture now. All right. Well, I want to uh first congratulate um the planning committee, the longest committee title in Long Beach. We want to uh thank you and congratulate you on a a really thoughtful slate of honores this year. Uh very well respected, very well known. I I I I know and have met I think everyone who's been um an honor who's an honore this year and I think um a lot of thought and care has gone into that. So, um, congratulations to you on continuing this tradition, uh, and continuing to grow this tradition and we want to we have certificates for you. So, if you want to come on down, we'll come take a photo. Yes. And also, I just wanted to say thank you so much to the committee as well. Like the mayor said, I these individuals that are going to be honored are truly our heroes for our LGBTQ plus community. And um they will be joining um the rest of the one and the rest of our heroes that we have on the wall this Saturday. So don't miss out. I invite you to come join us. And at this time, we'd invite everyone to come take a picture with us, please. I'm coming. I'm following you. Are you going? Good. Yes. Yeah. Mhm. Good. All right. Well, we will now uh set up for our next presentation, building safety month with uh community development department. Mr. Modica or Yes, Mr. Monica. Good evening, Honorable Mayor Richardson and council members. My name is Ron Takiguchi. I am the interim superintendent of building in the community development department and pleased to present before the city council a recognition of the month of May as building safety month. Building and safety is the final step in the development process, confirming compliance in building design and construction. The 77 professionals in the building bureau include our certified permit technicians, customer service representative, licensed plant check engineers, and specialty certified building inspectors, of which several are here today. and all of whom have the responsibility of providing the safeguards for the protection of public health, safety, and the general welfare, including um in building construction and occupancy. Our staff members play an important role in keeping Long Beach citizens safe through our enforcement of state and local building codes and standards. In addition to a building structural system, we verify compliance of supported uh supportive electrical, mechanical, and plumbing systems and accessibility to ensure equal facilitation for persons with disabilities. The thousands of permits we issue annually are to assist homeowners, business owners, merchants, and the public in achieving compliance and leading to the final certificate of occupancy. As fac facilitators in the building and construction process, we work with developers and builders in providing housing in our city. and just sharing some of the active construction projects presently under construction, including the largest construction project in Long Beach, the Alexen West End mixuse project on Broadway adjacent to the World Trade Center, which will uh add an additional uh add 600 residential units to our city. Also, the 163 multif family apartment complex on Long Beach Boulevard and the Habitat for Humanity project on 14th Street, which will provide a home for 36 Long Beach residents. Our assistance for these and thousands of other projects start at our permit center where we provide over-the-counter plan review, virtual counter assistance, and hosting openhouse events. Our support helps businesses open the doors and plays a vital role in the local economy. Our assistance leads to the completion of single family homes, multif family uh multif family apartments and condominiums and affordable housing projects providing Long Beach residents with the home while allowing a safe environment in building occupancy. We also support innovative technologies and seek alternatives to energy efficiency and sustainable practices. And importantly, we help preserve the historic character of Long Beach through adaptive reuse and the reconstruction and remodeling of existed designated historic resources. Building Safety Month is an international event recognized worldwide as promoted by the International Code Council or ICC, the publisher of the building and choir codes. Here from ICC is licensed engineer and government relations regional manager Miss Karen BBE to say a few words. Thank you, Ron, and good evening, Mayor Richardson and city council members. It's an honor for me to be here this evening in recognition of the city of Long Beach's buildings bureau as they are celebrating building safety month. This is the 45th year that IC has had building safety month because of all the work that you just saw Ron presenting. It's often goes unnoticed if there isn't an issue. and gladly to say that you guys are successfully building and creating these sustainable affordable construction in your city and you're on the the cutting edge of adopting modern building codes here in the city of Long Beach. I'm as Ron noted the government relations regional manager for ICC based in San Diego also a California licensed engineer. So I'm know from my heart where we're coming from in California and the hard work that we have in building resilient construction. In fact, FEMA noted that with every $1 invested in modern building codes actually saves $11. And if all of the states around the country adopted the modern building codes that you adopt here in the city of Long Beach, we would save over $600 billion dollars by the year60. So kudos to the city of Long Beach building bureau and the recognition of building safety month. Congratulations and thank you. On behalf of our community development director, Christopher Coups, and the many dedicated professionals in the building bureau, we would like to thank the residents and the members of the Long Beach community. And to you, Mayor Richardson, a thank you as well. And to the members of the city council for this proclamation recognizing May as building safety month, and we'd be so honored to, um, have a photo with all of you. Thank you. Well, uh, thank you, Ron, for the presentation. Let's hear it for the building bureau in our community development department. So, we do have, uh, a certificate for you. Uh if you would like to come down, if you want to bring your your crew, you're more than welcome. All right. Next up, we're going to uh on our legacy business program, uh city manager. Yes, we'll bring up our economic development department. This is a great new program where we get to recognize our legacy businesses. Uh and uh so I will turn it over to the team for the presentation. Good evening, mayor and council. Um thank you for taking this time to recognize the legacy business program and the um businesses that we'll recognize this evening. Um we're excited to recognize and present this newly certified uh legacy businesses that spend Julian. That's where we give our presentations, buddy. This isn't a staff report. It's a presentation. Come on down. Thank you, mayor. You're 100% right. You're right. Don't be shy. We're here to celebrate our legacy businesses. We want you to stand up front. I'm done for some celebration. Let's do it. That's right. Okay. Let's start from the top. All right. Uh so uh honorable mayor and council members, thank you for having us today and uh have making the space and time to uh recognize one the legacy business program itself and then also to the businesses within uh this program that are going to be uh newly recognized this evening. So saying that you know Long Beach is home to several historic and culturally significant uh establishments here uh not only in Long Beach but they also impact the region and they span across all industries, right? You know, oftentimes we think about just the food service industry, retail, but it really goes far beyond that into, you know, recognizing our industrial manufacturing history, aviation, of course, we always talk about that, hospitality, and tourism. So, these 20 businesses that are being recognized tonight, uh, you know, we believe as staff, having vetted them and seeing, you know, their qualifications, eligibility for the program, really do a great job representing the best of Long Beach. You know, our entrepreneurs always call them our hustlers of the hustlers because they put it all in the line. You know, they put up their 401k, their retirement, they um put up their homes oftent time. So, because they believe in this dream and their business owners and entrepreneurs. So, this is a very special program that allows us to say, you know, thank you for all the hard work and for making our corridors a unique corridors all throughout Long Beach. So, with that being said, I'm going to pass over to uh Julio, our business liaison, who really spearheaded the launching of the program. And before I do that, just I do want to thank uh the Long Beach Heritage, because they're the ones that did start the program, and we've been working closely with them uh to hand it over and to continue this this program and enrich it and build off of their foundation. So, thank you. I'll pass over to Julio. All right, let's see the clicker here. So, uh, the legacy business, um, program aims aims to preserve the character and cultural identity of Long Beach. Um, this program really is to recognize and promote and provide a a a system of support uh, for our legacy businesses. Uh, we're focus is to for meaningful employment and enhanced tourism. And how does the program aim to to reach these goals? The program includes a pro promotional and technical and financial assistance um you know through through a list of uh our program registry. Uh we have a support systems uh marketing toolkit um also business less on service so oneonone uh support as well. So this legacy business program is really to provide a system of support for our legacy businesses that are um providing such a cultural impact in our community and need that extra support, extra recognition and it provides a vehicle for us to promote and really push these businesses and showcase what they do for Long Beach. So what is a Long Beach legacy business? So for the program we built a criteria um Long Beach legacy businesses are at least 10 years um established here in Long Beach and have made an impact in the community through the sense of history um and the surrounding neighborhood have a distinctive um architecture u they support the cultural life in u Long Beach and actively pursue equitable inclusive and sustainable um community efforts. And with that, I'd like to say that we have 20 businesses that we have newly certified as Long Beach Legacy businesses. It's a a great uh it's with great privilege and honor to mention these businesses here that have met that criteria for Long Beach legacy business. And if I may, I'd like to name these businesses uh to be recognized here. So, Caabri ambiance skincare taco shore deep blue uh swim school Dominic Dominico's um Molly Moon Salon Heather R Chamber CPA Incorporated Glassstones Long Beach Gems and Jewels Fine Jewelry Miguel Hidalgo Soccer League live with ease wellness center bar assist Assistance League of Long Beach Long Beach Ballet for the child mark Schneider better fine jewelry legends revers premier nursing service sooner or later. I'd like to highlight these newly certified legacy businesses and I'll pass it down to Julian. Yes. Yeah. So, there's some of those pictures here just, you know, again, just kind of highlighting the businesses that uh Julio just uh you know, um recognized here. So, have live with ease, you know, and then, you know, the the ballet here has been longtime contributing member for the arts, Deep Blue Swim School. They've been helping children to learn how to swim, you know, in areas of Long Beach that typically don't have that opportunity. So, it's really cool again to just recognize the long-standing um presence here in the community. And with that being said, we say thank you for your time. And I think we have the vast majority of the business are here uh to be recognized by by the council and the mayor tonight. All right. Great. Well, we're going to we're we are going to bring you all up and uh celebrate. Uh first of all, congratulations to all the newly appointed certified certified designated. Right. I think is this like our third co third cohort? Second second cohort. Right. Right. And I think this is the first time we brought them all down the city council. We didn't do that before. We I think we did something at Rock Sands last year, right? So, congratulations to all of you. I know Council Member Zehas wants to say something. Yes. I just want to say thank you, Julie, and thank you, Julio, um for identifying such amazing legacy businesses throughout the city. I think that it's so important that we recognize and that we support the contributions that they make to our city. I know that um the list is big and so congratulations to each and every one of you. I'm particularly very excited for for the child which is an agency. Yes, if you guys can say hi. Um which is an agency that just celebrated its 50th year um here in the city of Long Beach providing help and assistance to children and the families. So, thank you for recognizing all of these businesses. Um, I'm honored to sit on for the child's board and very honored that that's where I found out about them being recognized as a legacy business was at my board meeting. Um, so I was really thrilled that they were included. So, thank you very much and congratulations to all of the honores tonight. Thank you. We have a list of council members now. Council member Subnot. Uh, thank you, mayor. Um the original uh legacy group was mentioned tonight by the presenters and I just wanted to uh include that we have Lee Fukai Mana Icler and Joe Melo in the audience tonight. So thank you all for being here. Thank you council member Dougen. Congrat Congratulations to all the legacy businesses. Appreciate the work that's gone into this. I think it's important businesses are recognized for their uh longevity and their contribution to the community. And I want to especially thank all the third district legacy businesses. So appreciative of you being in the community and but congratulations to all all of the legacy businesses. All right. Well, legacy businesses are important part of our social fabric in Long Beach. It's important that we have our own program in Long Beach to recognize them. Our city has an annexation history. You know, some parts of our city are older than others. And so what is a legacy in in central Long Beach like VIP Records or in East Long Beach like Skooner or Later may be very different in North Long Beach like Sal's Gumbbo Shack or Robert Ear's Barbecue, but having our local uh way of recognizing them says they're a part of our culture here in Long Beach. Like what would Long Beach be without Joe Jos, right? So, so this is an opportunity for us as a city to lift that up, identify them and also support them so they continue their uh uh their leg legacy uh here in the city of Long Beach. So, if all the uh uh legacy businesses who are here, the honores could come forward. We want to recognize you. [Applause] Yep. [Music] I like it. and if you could meet Julio and I out uh outside the exit here of the chambers and we'll have your certificate for you to pick up. Thank you. All right, we can continue these photos outside in the lobby. All right, so much more fun. Thank you. You guys ready to start the council meeting now? All right, let's go ahead and uh pull up the consent calendar minus item 13, please. Okay, the consent calendar has been moved and second. Is there any public comment on consent? There's no public comment on consent. All right, members, please cast your vote. Motion is carried. All right, we now will handle item 13, please. Actually, it's just being withdrawn, right? So, we actually don't need to handle item 13. We're going to be ask for this to be withdrawn. Uh, spend a little more time with the council district on this and then we'll come back uh later. So, we're just going to withdraw that from the agenda. Oh, hey, mayor. I just noticed on the last vote uh I think it shows me is not here. We we've All right, we got you from the record. Yep. Thank you for noting. All right, let's have our close our report out from close session. In the matter of Pontton versus City of Long Beach, the city has settled the matter for $1.95 million. The matter of Thompson versus City of Long Beach has settled for $154,750. End of report. All right. Thank you. Well, now to go to general public comment number one. Just waiting on the system to cue. All right. So, it looks like we have 10 members of the public signed up to speak. You each have three minutes. When I read your name, please come forward. Anthony Holmes, John English, Cindy Sahagan. I always say that wrong. Cindy, please forgive me. Um Kanea Williams, Pierre Toiver, Lilio Compo, Laura Moso, Diana Norman, Gina Kim, and Martin Terronis. All right, Anthony is up first. And after Anthony is John and then Cindy. Free Rodney Hinton. I actually came to speak to Don Macintosh, but I see she's not here today. So, I'll speak to April Walker. You know, April, I don't come messing with these people. They come bothering me. Keep coming at me. keep coming at me. I mind my business. You know, I call that the bully table. I'm not gonna say you're a bully, but Tom Modica and Don Macintosh. Like, what would you do if you experienced the same stuff over and over and over and over again, you bring it to the council attention, they do nothing. Um, and with Rex, you lied to the public April 22nd about Christopher Garner retired a couple of years ago. He retired last year and y'all brought him back when all he did was argue back and forth with people on social media about me in a refuge department when he was supposed to be running the department making 33534,8136. But yet and still, he's worrying about the refugees department, but not worrying about his department that he have a sex offender working in that department and a retaliation y'all put against me, treat me like a criminal, interrogate me, hire outside investigators to come talk to me about a sex offender, level four sex offender, so I cannot let it go. I told myself in 2023 when I come up here and I step into the light, I come to win. I did not come to lose. So I encourage everybody that come down here and speak on the unjust that goes on in the city and the council members allow it. I can care less if you you guys all win in the back. I'll still be up here speaking. I come here to speak to the public. Although I direct certain stuff to you, Rex, because it's it's it's a it's a shame what goes on. I see the building and safety. They had no black people working in that department. They just came up here and it's still a lot of corruption that's going on in the refugees department. You guys have a nice day. Our next speaker is John English. I have a few words to say, but I want to start out by saying that uh if we are allowed the uh CPU license for our new location, we're going to have our Sunday morning prayer service every week from 8 to 10. So, good evening, Mayor and Council, and congrats to uh Cindy for her award. That's district two. This is my partner, Marcos Hernandez, and we are the eight. That's what we're going to call our business again, provided we have the blessing. We're on the Broadway corridor at 4711. I'm 1711, correction. And if we're granted our business permit, our priorities of our parent company, which is Automated Entertainment for this new location, we're going to call the eight will be to improve community involvement in our business with events and programs of a so at the sober location. We'll have food, drinks, games, and discussion every day from 8 to 8 the 8th. you can speak. We hope to we're hoping to help Long Beach fill vacant buildings and storefronts with our uh council person Cindy Allen. We want to continue uh working on the streets like the downtown program uh postco the sidewalk with the sidewalk dining, social events and stuff. We want to help improve cleanliness to the of space of uh the Broadway corridor and public access to uh a more welcoming environment. We want to welcome the hundreds of dog owners and dog walkers that come by the location. We've been working cleaning up the property for the last 90 days and it's amazing how many people have dogs in Long Beach. Sure. Marcos has So, uh, just, uh, heads up, um, my name is Marcos Hernandez. I'm John's partner. Uh, we currently own Good Times Billiards in Lakewood, California. Uh, we've been in operation for about 7 years now, postco. Uh, and we're looking at uh, 7101 as our new location uh, for a sober living third space style pool room. Um, right now we are working with Cindy to hopefully help us with some of the zoning. Um, but we um are just trying to put our foot in the table or I'm sorry, our foot into Long Beach. Uh, because 67% of our customers are from Long Beach and we think that it's time that Long Beach uh gets its own pool room or its own place. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for for being here. All right. Next is Cindy. Um, good evening, honorable mayor and council members. My name is Cindy Sagon. Um, I am the CVI program coordinator at Centrocha. On behalf of the one collab, one Long Beach Collaborative, I am here to bring to your attention that on April 22nd, 2025, the Trump administration announced the termination of certain community violence intervention and prevention um, CVIPI grants. These grants established under the bipartisan safer communities act have been instrumental in supporting local organizations that addresses violence through public health strategies. This abrupt cancellation of these funds threaten to disrupt crit critical frontline interventions jeopardize employment within these organizations and dismantle programs vital to communities disproportionately affected by violence. What is at cost is that these programs are proven to save lives. They strengthen neighborhoods and provide pathways out of violence for those who need it most. We know that cancelling uh the cancelling of awards from the Department of Justice for CVIPI threatens progress and puts communities at risk. As y'all may know, um, in 2022, Centrocha, um, was awarded a DOJ CVIPI grant for 1.1 $1.5 million, while Centrocha was a lead agency for this, um, grant, we, um, this was a gift to the city of Long Beach. Um, not only has this collaborative, uh, we were able to formalize the collaborative, one Long Beach with partners that we all know like the African-American Cultural Center, the United Cambodia Community, um, Justice for Murder Children, and more organizations. Um, I have pres presented to y'all a few slides of the impact that we've had through the one Long Beach where between 2023 and 2024, we were able to award 11 organizations 1,00 $196,000 and in April 2024, an additional one Long Beach Economic Justice Mini Grant um funding opportunity gave more organizations here in the city of Long Beach $300,000. this impact um by the Trump administration and the federal level impacts the city of Long Beach. And so I'm here today with our community um to to advocate. We need to protect CVI especially in our communities here in Long Beach because the work the work proves that it saves lives. And so I'm here to ask that as y'all, you know, do um your proposals for the budgeting for our next fiscal year to please consider CVI um because there are a lot of programs here that benefit our youth and provide opportunity to our communities. And I want to just say thank you to Councilwoman Tua and Dr. Joanie for your continuous support and having representations at our one Long Beach um meetings this year. Thank you. All right. Thank you. All right, Miss Williams. Um, good evening. My name is Kamia Williams. I am a student at Cababrio High School that attends the Safe Passages program. I'm here to ask that the city advocates for CBI programs such as Safe Passages and Central Child, etc. To me, Safe Passages is an amazing organization that helps students be safe and educates them on problems such as abuse in relationships, consent, and bullying. I think this is a great extracurricular for students to participate in to learn to be better people. Safe Passages provides a place for students to be rather than engaging in negative activities. They encourage students to build resumes, partake in positive activities, and more. Safe Passages is an organization that leads students down a better path. Thank you for your time. Thank you. All right. Next is Pierre. Uh good evening, mayor and council members. My name is Pierre Toiver and I'm a student at Cababrio High School. I'm here to ask you to support funding for CVI programs such as Safe Passages and Central Child. CVI programs have made a real difference in my life. Safe passages, for example, has helped me feel safe at school. Their workshops teach us how to deal with tough situations. One lesson that stuck with me was about being a good bystander to speak up or get help instead of just watching when something bad happens. Programs like these give students like me a safe place to be at, support, and tools to make better choices. CVI programs help prevent violence before it happens. That's why I believe they should be funded and supported. Thank you for your time. Thank you. All right. Next is Lilia. After Lilia is Laura and then Diana. Uh good afternoon or good evening uh mayor and council uh members. My name is Lilio Campo, a longtime resident of first uh district and a mother of two students at Cababrio High School that benefit from the safe passage. Um, and I'm here to ask you uh and tell you about uh how the funding cuts impact um our community. Um not that you don't know but I just want to remind you that uh violence is now the leading cause of death of all childrens in America undermining also undermining support for survivors. Uh this cut strips funding from the very system designed to help survivors of violence. Pulling dollars from the office for victims of crime corros the safety net for the people who are already hurt and who deserve care no abandonment. Um also green local safety infrastructure. This decision removes millions of critical funding from the local safety infra infrastructure sorry infrastructure tour well the frontline people and programs that community relied on is not just a budget issue is dismantling public health responses that saves lives. Um, it is a costly tradeoff because gun vi gun violence cost the public an estimated 265 billions annually in emergency responses. Medical care and long-term harm. CVI programs prevent that damage at a fraction of the cost. Um, prevention isn't just inhuman, it's cost effective. So I ask you please um support and protect the community b v b v b v b v b v b v b v b v b v b v balance intervention. Uh thank you. Thank you. Next is Laura and then Diana then Gina. Long Beach. Yes. emotional. Good evening, mayor and uh city council members. My name is Lara Moso and we're here in support of the one long beach CVI fund prevention and violence intervention program. Such program has helped many families uh preventing young adults from being involved in drugs, gang activity, vandalism, kids without a solid education base living in the streets while they should be studying, practicing sports, uh being involved in learning activities and exercising social emotional practices. Please consider allocating uh these funds since we would since we would like to live in a different world. We need to keep working ardously to prevent the loss of innocent lives who just wish to have a better life. Thank you. Thank you. Next is Diana and then Gina and then Martin. [Music] district. Proctovias. Good evening, city council members of Long Beach and Mayor Rick Richardson. My name is Diana Norman. Uh I work with as a promoter at Centrocha and a community member resident of district 2. I'm here today to ask your support for the prevention and violence intervention program uh a vital project for the well-being of our community. Violence affects us all starting uh with our youth to elderly and it is necessary that we take the preventive measures to address this issue. I ask uh insistently that you seriously consider this petition and approve the necessary uh funds so that this project continues forward. Thank you so much and good evening. All right, thank you. Next is Gina and then Martin. Yes, I'm been diagnosed with alastic anemia and epilepsy. I am waiting for going on five years for SSI. My seizures are not controlled right now at this time. I cannot get a job. I cannot be employed. I have seizures at least three or four times a week. So now I'm in currently in a homeless shelter and it's the first to serve shelter. This is the second one I've been in where I've been assaulted, abused, and my complaints and cries for help have gone unnoticed and unagnowledged. It's a not just a problem with me. There's a problem with a lot of different people in there. Some people are allowed to do what and say whatever they want. They can make the rules as they go. There's a few of us though that are really struggling. And at this point, I've chose to go back on the street than to be in an environment where there is somebody who did admit to assaulting me while I had a seizure and while I was unconscious. This has been reported to police. Unfortunately, there was not enough evidence to go I was unconscious when the episode happened. But this person is still walking around, walking up behind me and talking to me. Staff will not do anything about it. I've been complaining and complaining and complaining. It just goes unnoticed. I don't know. Something's got to be done with this problem. Not just for me. There's other people that going through the same thing every day. I'm not trying to, you know, pawn off my problems on somebody else, but at the end of the day, I feel like I deserve to be housed in a safe place where I can close the door and feel like nobody's going to come in, hurt me, attack me, assault me. Further pushed me this morning is I got up and I saw another female client there, two black eyes, barely could see out of her. Both her eyes were bloodshot red. What happened to her? Nobody has any answers. Nobody has any answers. She's in the same place that I'm in. I don't feel safe there. And I think something needs to be done about there's got to be a way for somebody like me who's got these kind of issues to to be safe to be in a safe place where I can close the door and not worry about who's going to come in and do something to me or threaten me, harass me. This has pushed me into seizures at least eight or nine times in a row where the paramedics had to pick me up unconscious and all paperwork is there. No drugs, no alcohol. I have epilepsy. They're def facing my name. On top of that, everything else. I don't do any of that. Really upset about this situation. It needs to get help. I need help bad. So, I'm asking please. Something's got to be done. It's not fair. It's not right. I'm not safe. Thank you. So, I I would encourage you to talk with uh our city manager on duty who can um point you in the right direction. Actually, Allison King, our services director, is here. She was right in the back room. Thank you very much. All right Martin. Good evening, Mayor and people of the council. This is my first time I've ever done something like this. I don't got no notes like everybody else does. I'm just very blunt, so excuse me if I pause, stutter, whatever the case may be. No periods, no commas, you know. I'm going to continue with um we call her Taz. She's I I live there, too. Well, I I got kicked out. I got kicked out, but they you guys need to thorough investigation of that ABC shelter. You know what I mean? It's a north it's in North Long Beach. I mean, there's various problems in there. I mean, there's things that, you know, I mean, I'm not being a snitch or a rat or anything like that, but when it comes down to me and my dog, when they start affecting us going back in the street, not wanting to go back to the street because we just came from the street because I've been homeless for five years. Five years. My sixth year, I you know what I mean? I got I said to the shelter, but for some reason that shelter has a way of manipulating people and just bringing up something just so they could kick you out just to make room. For some reason, I have no idea. Every day is a you don't know what to expect the following day, the following week or or whatever. I just recently got threatened. The people in the evening, the morning we have new we have a new director there and all of a sudden she's starting to, you know, push the issue on dogs and dogs. I'm the only one with the pet bull dog there. Okay. They didn't say anything about not having no kind of particular not accepting particular dog. They accepted all dogs because they're homeless. But when it came down to me because my dog was the last one there because everybody else got housing. They or either that or they just left it on their own and just went on to back to the streets which was not right. That's what the shelter for, bro. You know. So now they were picking on me the whole time. at the same at the same time uh the at the MSSE, Miss um Miss Betty Corales, she helped me into that into that that shelter and she helped me with everything with that whatever necessities I needed for the dog so they won't have any issues with the dog. But the new director came in, a different director came in and now they don't want the pit bull there. They're they're they're threatening me that you're gonna, you know, we got to kick you out. This and that. I go, I thought you guys were here to help us. Help me. You know what I mean? That's the that's the whole point of purpose. So by Wednesday I me and my dog had to get out. No, no, no. Excuse me. My dog has to leave. And she told, "Don't you have a family? Don't you have I'm homeless. What part of homeless does you not understand? I do not have family. I'm homeless." She insisted and she just started make calling her CEO. Trish, some girl named Trish. She's a COO, whatever. Whatever. You know, I just know CO. I don't know what the COO is. You know what I mean? So, so I got into Wednesday to figure out what to do. I do want I do not want to go back on the streets. I do not want to go to the streets. I had I have an opportunity right now at the Goodwill. I'm going to classes for my my guard card. You know, the teacher found out about it. Anyway, the point is I need help if it's going to happen. I know it's going to happen. They're they're going to kick me out and but I need help on housing somewhere where I could just finish my schooling because it's two weeks because a twoe course. It's a two weeks course to get my guard card. That's all I need is a two week course. And I asked him I can can I just stay here for two weeks? No, sir. Your time's concluded. Your three minutes is concluded. All right. Well, thank you for your time. Allison is in the hallway. I think when she's finished uh with the last speaker, you should talk with her about what alternative opportunities may exist. Thank you. Whoever puppy it is in the audience is very well behaved, by the way, I will say. Okay. All right. Cutiepie, I hear you. Thank you. All right, we'll continue with the agenda. All right, we have a hearing. Hearing item 24, please. Report from public works. Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record. conclude the public hearing and find that it is in public interest to underground utility lines along Sherry Avenue between 53rd Street to south side of the 91 freeway and adopt a resolution establishing underground utility district 42 districts 8 and 9. There is also an oath for this item. If those who are testifying in this, if you can please stand. Do you and each of you solemnly state that the testimony you may give and the cause now and pending before this body shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help you God. Thank you. You may be seated. All right. Uh, city manager. Yes. So for this presentation, we have Eric Lopez, director of public works, and Keith Hoey, city engineer. Mayor, members of the city council, uh this is an item that we brought back a few weeks back uh to uh talk about a proposal to underground utilities on Cherry uh Avenue. Uh we uh we got authorization to uh perform the um the the hearing uh notices and and to do the hearing and and we're here today uh uh for that hearing. So, uh, the the details are, um, as we've as we've previously discussed, uh, we have some funds, uh, available through our, uh, partnership with Southern California Edison. Uh, rule 2A. Uh, these funds are uh exclusively uh for undergrounding projects. Uh, this program is, uh, sun seting. Uh, and we have a few years to go through the planning, design, and and construction pro process and partnership with Southern California Edison, uh, to, uh, to underground. So, uh, we've we've done the mailings. Um, we are now, uh, ready to answer any questions that the council may have, uh, or the public may have as we work through a process that is a multi-year process. There will be multiple opportunities, uh, for, uh, for for input and to, um, and to educate and inform the public on on what this means. But, you know, this is a major effort. It is meant to have a major public benefit uh, through the undergrounding of uh, major utilities on a major corridor. Um, and we're happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you. All right, we'll now go to public comment. We have one member of the public signed up to speak. Dave Shukla. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, city council members. Dave Shukla. Uh, I'd like to state uh that I don't think this project is in the public interest. Not as it is written, not at this time. and I think that it merits another hearing. First, there's the issue of allocations and we uh council members uh really understand first why the program was discontinued 11 months early byce uh at exactly 21.2 2 million and then there's of course the issue of the current estimated cost through the uh rough order of magnitude assessment. Uh that happens just happens to be $21.1 million um with of course a uh 40% variance. Now the question is uh since public works capital fund has already put 150,000 towards this uh is the public works capital fund going to be on the hook for that variance or is that going to be uh passed on to the rateayers and uh if so uh the city needs to recognize its unique role in the region um because of its partnership so to speak with Edison um it can prototype certain things that other cities simply don't have the ability to do and especially in wildfire prone areas this very costly process of undergrounding is being proposed as a wildfire mitigation measure. Who should actually pay for that? The people whose business practices are sparking world wildfires or the fact that long ago when it was a public uh entity, Edison chose to make certain decisions over grounding large wires. Now there's a bigger issue uh since this project was conceived initially six to seven months ago world was very different. Um people are really struggling with utility costs. Uh sorry I don't see the timer. Um with rising costs generally but especially ba basic living uh cost of living costs. There's a substantial amount of residences in the project area. I don't know if an analysis has been done for what it's going to cost them to come up to compliance as is stipulated must happen within only 15 months. I don't think that timeline is fair. I think that has to be extended even if it pushes the project timeline back because you know you're talking in some cases you know $2 to $3,000 $4,000 $5,000 just to get up to compliance. Now there's a further issue that has happened in other cities with a lot of these tariff rate conversions which is very troubling and I'd like to note that the current resolution uh city attorney's office doesn't address this the current city resolution uh on this item. You have 30 seconds remaining. Thank you. CE uh often in other cities doing work uh infrastructure needed repairs needed work will assert that they now own all the way up to a customer's meter and panel they own not only that system electrical system but the rights of way connecting it to their system. Now for this district 42, this utility district, the city should be able to assert not only its governance rights but also whose rights of way are being affected when easements the issue of easements uh comes up. I I don't think it's fair to automatically give rights of way uh over to this entity. Um I believe merits another hearing and it should have more time to for residents to come into compliance. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Thank you. We will take it back behind the rail. We have a motion by uh Council Member Rick OD. Council member um uh director um correct me if I'm wrong. I know there is a um a a process for noticing the entities along that corridor of the impacts to their own electrical systems, what the undergrounding will mean for them, and any upgrades that are necessary. Could you talk to that process a little bit? Uh yes. So, you know, our the majority of our work for the project, it's a public benefit project, so it's in the public rideway. It is city of Long Beach controlled rightway. Um, there were obviously there are connections uh to private properties. Um the uh the noticing uh acknowledge that if there is known uh work on private property that needs to happen and usually owners uh of their property know when they have uh those uh uh that work required they they have to finish it before uh we get to a certain point in the project. So they they'll have 15 months or a certain amount of time to uh do their known improvements that are required uh so that we can uh we can proceed with uh with with with our part of the project. It's really few. Usually uh this is for uh m much older buildings and areas where there are uh major um issues with the electrical system. We don't expect a lot of these. Maybe there'll be a few here and there. We have to evaluate that. Obviously I don't have information on private systems. you know, I have information on what's on the on the on the rideway, but we would be collaborating with Edison. If they know of any any potential um uh residents that require some level work, then we can work with them to ensure they have uh the uh the ability to do the improvements by the required timeline. But this is not a project that's going to start tomorrow or next month. Uh this is a project that has to get designed, a very long process for that. uh and h and we have to do a lot of coordination with the community um before uh shovels will actually hit the ground. So we have some time to work through some of these issues. Uh we're used to working with these rightaway issues. We do it on major corridors all the time. Just for the clarity of the record, councilwoman, the municipal code does require I think this is part of your question notification for the undergrounding process and that's in section 15.48.070. And for the the preparation of this hearing, all um identified property owners along the corridor were notified pursuant to the municipal code. All right. Thank you. Uh council member in Okay. All right. Um we already did public comment. Members, please cast your vote. Because the screen is not reflecting, I'd like to just read into the record that the motion was made by Councilwoman Rick OD and seconded by Councilwoman Thrash Entuk. And the vote for the item motion passes 6. Thank you. We'll now move on to item 25, please. Report from economic development recommendation to execute an agreement and any necessary documents with the California government governor's office of planning and research California volunteers to accept and expend grant funding up to 2,670,649 for the economic development department, Long Beach Workforce Innovation Network, and Long Beach Youth Services Corp. Citywide. All right, just uh a few comments here. Over the past few years, we've developed a very fruitful relationship with California volunteers uh and uh California service director Josh Friday. This is Governor Nuome's arm that engages Californians in public service, volunteering, and civic action to tackle our state's most pressing challenges. Just last month, we co-hosted uh the a core to career fair with California volunteers on the Queen Mary. We had more than 300 core members from across the state of California and dozens of employers and civic partners here in Long Beach. And our partnership with Cal California volunteers has allowed us to launch a number of uh innovative fellowships including the Long Beach Public Service Corps. It is very unique. It is one of the first of its kind. uh municipal cores in California. Uh and we began this program in 2023. It places local college students, Long Beach State, Long Beach City College, and Cal State Dominguez Hills into city departments, embeds them into city departments to get a firsthand integrated look at public service careers and to encourage them to explore careers in public service. So, this program is now in its second cohort. Uh these fellows uh are are embedded all across our city. We've seen uh folks from the first cohort find permanent jobs with the city and in other agencies. Uh we ran into folks from the first cohort at SCAG and in Sacramento. And so it it's working. Um this second cohort was allowed to continue because of state funding. And this funding will allow us to continue this important fellowship program and other meaningful career development opportunities for local students and local youth. That said, is there a staff report on this present? Staff report on this item. Good evening, honorable mayor and council members. Uh, city council approval is requested to enter into an agreement with the California Governor's Office of Planning and Research, California Volunteers, and accept an expected up to 2,670,649 in funding made available under the state of California general funds to continue administering the Long Beach Public Service Corps program. This is this will be the third round of this funding made available to the city of Long Beach and all programs related to this funding will be administered by the Economic Development Department's Workforce Bureau, also known as the Long Beach Workforce Innovation Network and will do so again from the contract execution through December 31st of 2026. This program will once again provide paid work experience opportunities for up to 152 Long Beach youth between the ages of 16 and 30, helping to develop career interests and experiences in public service and high growth industries. The LBPSC program aims to increase your employment development interest in public service careers and build capacity in education, climate change, and food security. It will focus on engaging young people from Long Beach, preparing them for careers in high growth industries and connecting them with men mentors and real work real work experience opportunities. Uh the funding will once again support the following programs. The public service corps fellowship which offers paid fellowships to college seniors from CSUB, CSUDH and LBCC providing experience in city departments and public service career development. the fire corps that exposes young adults to fire fire service, emergency response, and disaster preparedness through hands-on public safety training. And finally, the urban planning and design program, which offers college students practical experience in urban planning, design, and civic engagement. Uh, this concludes my report. I welcome any questions. Thank you for the presentation. Uh the motion was made by council member exod. Anything? No. Mayor. Uh council member Kerr. Strong support. Thank you. Councilwoman Zindas. Oh, you queued up. Hands up. I did it. Okay. All right. Uh public comment. Dave Shukla. Thank you again, Mr. Mayor. I support this uh uh agenda item. Uh thank you for bringing it forward. I know that it was agendaized prior to this month, but I appreciate that it is uh being heard today uh given everything that's happening with the National Americanore. Um I think these uh monies are sortly needed. uh projects like this uh weren't around when I not only when I was in high school but when I was in college or graduate school uh interested in all these topics and since uh the projects are supposed to be funded to uh advance capacity on education climate change and food security um I think it's a great opportunity for uh practical engagements with some of the real problems that that Long Beach has uh not only in its municipal dependence on oil drill drilling and oil revenue but also So with you know it's this kind of nexus uh with the electrical system and really with you know a utility that has not worked in their best interests over time uh utility uh Edison which uh you know has uh directly contributed to the limiting of their their life potentials. So I I'd appreciate some honesty with not only these programs but also with you know what one can expect 10 15 20 years from now uh in this city. Thank you. Thank you. Members, please cast your vote. Motion carries 70. Thank you. 26, please. Report from Health and Human Services. Recommendation to execute all necessary documents and any subsequent amendments with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to accept and expend funding of 1,427,910 for public health infrastructure citywide. All right, we need a motion in a second. All right. And we uh certainly um uh glad to be able to accept and expend these dollars. We know it's an uncertain environment. So uh the fact that we can um count on these dollars is certainly uh recognized and acknowledged. It's been moved and seconded. Is there any public comment here? Seeing none, members, please cast your vote. Motion is carried 6. Thank you. 27, please. Report from Health and Human Services. Recommendation to execute an agreement all necessary documents with Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health to accept and expend Mental Health Service Act grant funding in an amount not to exceed 1,264,77 citywide. Thank you. This is this is more good news. We want to thank and acknowledge LA County for this important funding. It's going to support our health department's efforts to provide accessible prevention and early intervention of mental health services for transition age youth and LGBTQ plus youth at risk of homelessness. So, it's in alignment with two of our strategies. One is our focus on localizing mental health. And secondly, it's in line with our citywide goal of achieving functional zero and youth homelessness by 2030. So, this is good. And we have a brief staff report. Yes, Allison King. Good evening, honorable mayor and council members. Uh, we're excited to share this funding opportunity with recommendations laid out in the April 22 23 report establishing a robust mental health system in Long Beach, also referred to as our mental health report. We're happy to be here today to present information about this proposed project and how it ties into the goals and strategies in that report. Here with me today is Allison Winsky, our mental health program manager, who will provide you with a highle overview. Good evening. Um, so as you may remember, in November 2021, city council asked the health department to work with local mental health providers to examine the feasibility of establishing a more robust infrastructure for mental health services. The process began in May of 2022 and the report was released in April of 2023, a result of combined efforts of a mental health advisory group made of lo stakeholders and the expertise of a consulting group. In the initial convening of the mental health advisory group, members anchored their work in the following vision statement. That in Long Beach, all community members have an open path to access and receive mental health support they need to thrive. How do I do next? Sorry. Next one. Thank you. Um so the recommendations and strategies laid out in the report focus on four key areas. Treatment capacity prevention access to treatment and then two focus populations people experiencing homelessness and transition aged youth. These recommendations and the strategies outlined in the report are the focus uh the work of the mental health program within the health department. Uh the state is undergoing a significant transition in its mental health system from the mental health services act to the new behavioral health services act. uh the new framework and the health department is actively aligning these strategic priorities to to statewide reforms, funding changes, and housing and treatment expansions while continuing to prioritize improved mental health outcomes for the community. The department is is proactively engaged in planning efforts utilizing funding opportunities like Proposition One and ensuring Long Long Beach has a strong voice in shaping the future of behavioral health services. Next slide. Uh so while continuing to monitor and adapt to these funding changes, the health department continues to seek funding to accomplish the goals that are laid out in the mental health report, uh the health department is requesting for council to accept funding from the LA County Department of Mental Health, which would allow the city of Long Beach mental health program to develop and launch specific community requested resources and services to reduce the number of transitional age youth who may experience homelessness for the first time, especially Tay individuals who have exper experience in the foster care system and those who identify as LGBTQIA2S+. Prevention and early intervention efforts are among the most effective strategies in mental health care, reducing the severity of mental health, mental illness, lowering long-term treatment costs, and improving overall quality of life in Long Beach. These efforts are especially critical to improving mental health outcomes and reducing the likelihood that transitional age youth and LGBTQIA2S plus youth experience homelessness for the first time. By identifying and addressing mental health needs early through this funding opportunity, we can intervene before crises occur, strengthen community resilience, and create a more equitable create more equitable pathways to stability and well-being. as the state funding structure for mental health and substance use prevention efforts is being worked out. This is an especially important funding opportunity for the city. So this is an outline of the proposed activities um in the in this grant opportunity. The activities address three of the focus areas in the mental health report which is prevention, access to treatment and the focus populations of transitional age youth and people experiencing homelessness. Uh this is our proposed budget for the grant which would operate from the time of approval to June of 2026. Uh please note that this budget has no impact to the general fund realignment or health fund. In addition, the health department has requested a no cost extension to add an additional six months to recover the time lost in the contracting process. Lastly, this budget may be amended to cover personnel costs for for current staff rather than expanding this program in light of funding concerns in fiscal year 25. Thank you. That concludes our report. Thank you. All right. Thank you very much. Is there any public comment here? There's no public comment on this item. Thank you. Members, please cast your vote. Motion is carried. 28. And I'd like to read into the record that motion carried. 70. Thank you. Um 28. Report from human resources recommendation to adopt a resolution approving a letter of agreement to the 2023 through 2026ou with the Long Beach Management Association. Great. It's been moved and seconded. Is there any public comment? There's no public comment on members. Please cast your vote. Councilwoman Sorrow, sorry. Motion was made by Councilwoman Rick OD, seconded by Councilwoman Zindas. The motion carries 70. So motion motion carries 70. Yes. Great. 29. Report from human resources recommendation to execute an agreement with evolution risk for healthc care specific stop-loss reinsurance coverage at an estimated cost of 1,95,592 citywide. It's been moved and seconded. And is there any public comment? There's no public comment on this item. Members, please cast your vote. The item has been moved by Councilwoman Kerr, seconded by Councilwoman Sorrow, and carried 70. Great. Thank you. We'll now go to our closing public comment. All right, looks like we have five members of the public signed up to speak. Jose N, Lori Logan, Dave Shukla, Sai Kinfay, and Sandy Alvarez. If you heard your name, please come forward. All right, you can go first tonight. That's fine. All right, we're just going to get on out of here. All right, appreciate it. Uh, Kenface, six district president. Um, speaking today, um, a few months ago, you know, I was in a I had a civic duty moment as I always do daily. Uh, and I made uh an an a journey on the Go Long Beach app. Uh, if there was a a opportunity to count how many times in the city people are using that app, I think I'm in the top 10 percentile of that app. I probably use it about five to seven times a day. Um, that being said, there was recently um some graffiti on a property that I own. And um and typically with the gang graffiti, I just paint over it myself. At the time I was on my way to work. So I used the Go Long Beach app to take a photo of the graffiti and uh no response. Case was closed a couple weeks later. Graffiti was still in the building. So I said, "Oh, you know, clerical technical error. Let me try it again." I did it again. Couple weeks went by. Graffiti still in the building. Case was closed. So, we did this cat and mouse thing for a couple months. Uh, graffiti still on the building. And then, uh, eventually uh, I got a write up or I got a call first from code enforcement about how I was going to get cited for graffiti on my building. And so, at this point, I said, "Oh man, you know, I can't liken this to clerical error anymore. I don't have paranoia, although my mother sometimes suggests that I do. So, I said, "Let me send an email." So, I sent an email out. Who which department do I inter interface with in order to get this gang graffiti off of my building that I'm paying over $12,000 a year in property taxes in? Right. And so, uh, what I find out, uh, nobody knew. Was it was it code enforcement? No. Was it community development? No. Was it public works? No. So, I kind of for months and months just been bouncing around. Uh, and then Monday, this Monday, I got an administrative citation for $100 to take the gang graffiti off of my building. So, I'm coming today. Uh, ideally, maybe someone can direct me, deputy, city manager, someone can help me to get the gang graffiti off of my building. Uh, because I've used gold long beach. I actually have an open now. This time, they didn't close the the case this time. And I I'm so thankful that I had the case number memorized at this time because I've been calling so many times to get the graffiti off my building with no response. Um, but I found out today and I it helped me a lot because I found out today it's through a private contractor. And so I realized because that was one of the notes was that the private contractor said I couldn't get over the gate, right? Uh, as the landlord, I was surprised to learn I had a gate because I've never had a gate on the building. So, I still don't know how the the invisible gate was keeping the private contractor from getting the graffiti off my building, but I'm hoping that someone here in the city can help me. Uh, I duly appreciate it. I don't want to spend $110 for the citation. Thank you. Thanks. And I What council district is this property in? All right. So, make sure you just connect with Sulie. You guys figure that out. All right. She's right here. Okay. Uh, uh, next speaker, please. Um, I'm having problems at the shelter right now. It's getting terrible, terrible right now. It's awful. People are bringing drugs in the shelter. People are in and out of the shelter. Don't follow the rules. Don't listen to the rules. They don't follow the rules. And they don't listen to the rules. That's their choice. But once you don't follow the rules, they be kicked out because I'm tired of getting harassed by the by a by by the rooms. Each everyone has a room. Each and everyone has a boy's room. Some people has a couple rooms and some people are separate to the other ones. Boys and girls in the bathrooms. They don't even pick up their mess. Some people do, some people don't. And the staff is not doing their job right. Some of the staff is not doing their job right, not even checking on it or cleaning the bathroom or checking on people day and night, partying all night. I hear partying all night. And it's ridiculous. I didn't get no sleep at all last couple of days. No respect for the shelter. No respect. And where's the staff and where's the cop? I mean, come on now. This is ridiculous. I got to deal with it every day in and out. We get blamed for for everything and we have to pick up everybody else's mess and that's a goddamn shame and no respect. No respect at all. And I got to deal with it every night in and out. And people, oh, if you're going to do this, you do outside the community, outside the area. The security guard is in right here. And the dog park is right here. And I'm getting harassed by by this person harassing me. Oh, about my dogs about my dogs for certain reason or they're, you know, no respect. No respect at all. I'm tired of getting harassed. No matter where you go, you get harassed. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of it. No respect for the shelter or nobody Nobody follow the rules. Nobody's following the rules. Either you clean the bathroom or get some a different staff. Get a different staff. You got to get a different staff. Get a different style or get a different person to come in because this is ridiculous. I cannot deal with it. All night day and night. Last night they were having mumbling, bumbling, and I'm getting threatened by some couple. And these two couples running on that side, one of the other side and one the other side. I'm I'm just getting I I call them by names. Call me a these two couples supposedly and the other couples calling me names. I'm tired of it. And no respect and no And then we just had a meeting not too long ago at the shelter. We just had a meeting. This is ridiculous. And no respect. And they need some they need another you know. We just had a meeting not too long ago and they're not following the rules. Ma'am, you're tired. I'm tired. People are bringing drugs to the shelter. Ma'am, your three minutes is concluded. Well, Sandy, is it Sandy or is it Lori? Sandy sounds sounds like our team needs to look look into this situation. Uh Allison King is our health department director. Uh she's right behind you. She she's available to talk with you about the situation. And thank you for coming down. All right. Okay, Dave. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, and thank you for letting me go last. As you probably noticed, uh, I keep to my usual method, impromptu, just write it right in front of you. You know, you can examine the paper like you know what I'm going to say. And I, you know, been wondering what I should say, excuse me, what I should say, uh, if I should say anything in this, uh, kind of moment. Something I heard earlier today that uh struck with me uh is that uh we don't need to wonder what we would do under conditions of tyranny. Whatever we're doing, whatever we're choosing, there's your answer. Now at the federal level uh you know maybe uh you know many of the uh wholly unconstitutional efforts uh especially to arrogate data personals people's personal data uh to private uses uh with generative AI machine learning all the new toys uh it's pretty scary um you know so-called department of governmental efficiency has been uh anything but it's been wholly illegal corrupt and uh very damaging not only to this country but to certainly my future, everyone's future. Um, but at the local level, I refuse to believe that's true. I I wouldn't come here if I thought you'd uh disappear my ass. Um, truly, you know, um, you know, if I were to end up in a box somewhere, I probably wouldn't walk into it. Um, but I do think, you know, what we actually choose to do at the local and state matters. Not just on my jam on climate change, but uh, on how we want to live, on who we want to be in this moment really matters. And uh I'd like to thank you all for putting up with me. Right. Well, thank you for your public comment. Uh we'll now move on to announcements and adjournment. Uh I want to remind folks again we have kicked off Long Beach's annual spring cleaning all month of May. Go to long beach.gov/springcleing to find a neighborhood cleanup in your neighborhood. Or you can do do your part and you can sign up to host uh just add your event to the calendar. Uh secondly, I want to take a moment to acknowledge um uh the loss of animal care services employee Lieutenant Alfredo Magana. I want to close uh tonight's meeting uh in Lieutenant Magana's honor. Lieutenant Magana served as a LBACS um uh animal control officer and as a steward of the city for 27 years. He cared deeply for animals uh as demonstrated by his commitment to the city of Long Beach and to this department. He was a pillar of kindness in our community and was well-loved and highly respected by his colleagues. There's not an officer on the team that hasn't trained with him and uh learned directly from him. So, Lieutenant Magana is survived by his wife, his son, his daughter, and his beloved pup, Peach. He will dearly be missed and uh and we express our sincere condolences to his friends colleagues co-workers and loved ones. Next up is Council Member Sorrow. Yes. So, I want to give a special shout out to the Long Beach Poly girls beach volleyball team because they won the program's first CIF Southern Section title this past Saturday, May 3rd. Let's give them a round of applause. Go Jack Rabbits. Rabbits. One other thing is I have an event this Saturday. It's the 4th annual Long Beach Vacat Day which is going to take place here, the Long Beach uh city hall uh to commemorate um Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and passing. And it's going to be all day. So, drop by anytime between 8:00 a.m. to 1000 p.m. Um so, hope to see you there. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Kerr. Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh, this weekend I invite residents to visit the hangar at the Long Beach Exchange. They have pop-up markets both Friday night, a Friday night market from 5:00 to 9:00, as well as a Mother's Day market on Saturday the 10th from noon to 5. Uh, similarly at Parkview Village has their second Saturday's block party on May 10th from 11:00 a.m. to 3 with a Mother's Day theme. Also on the 10th, you can embrace your inner artist in the Up in the Clouds artist Workshop at Ranchelo Cerritos at 1 p.m. You can join featured local artist Nia Simone as she shares her work and provides hands-on tips and techniques for painting clouds. Uh, District 5 is hosting two blood drives coming up in May, so mark your calendar. Uh, blood is desperately needed. Friday, May 16th, and also Friday, May 30th. One at the Expo Art Center, one at Wllo Park. And also, it's beach streets this weekend, folks. this Saturday from 11 to 5:00 p.m. on the west side. Uh bring your bike. You can put your bike on a bus if you don't want to ride all the way to the west side. There's lots of ways to get there. Uh but come out and join the community. Enjoy local flavors and local shops and a great time in uh trafficree bike riding. See you there. All right. Thank you, Council Member Thrashuk. Thank you all. I just wanted to check in with you all. We've had a busy week and weekend and I wanted to highlight an event that just occurred in the district this past weekend. Uh our LBUSD celebrated the opening and ribbon cutting of the center for black student excellence. It was at Lindberg Middle School. We heard from incredibly bright students, parents, and educators uh who are looking to inspire our youth to strive for academic excellence. The Black Literary Society, which is a collection of high school readers, spoke about their experiences engaging the scholarly works of art um in our community, and it was really great to see our youth out tackling and thinking about big picture items in literature. We also had the chance to welcome Dr. Sean Harper. He was the founder of the Race and Equity Center at USC and serves as a professor there. I'm excited to see all the great work that the center will do to help our children succeed academically intellectually and professionally. I also want to take a moment uh to recognize and uplift our incredible mothers, grandmothers, and all the mother figures that are here listening tonight as well. I want to wish everyone a joyful and lovefilled Mother's Day. um and want to make sure that the mothers um in our lives are ones even if they're not here that we're also able to keep them in our memories and hearts. And for tonight, hi mom. Um and this week is uh public service appreciation week. I want to extend a thank you to all of the colleagues, staff, and the countless people who keep our city running every day. These public servants fulfill critical roles in our community um all year long and I wanted to extend my gratitude for all of your work and service. I especially even want to thank those who work on their birthdays as well um for making sure that they affect uh change in our city. May is so full of observances. You probably know that it's small business month as well um which celebrates the contributions of small business owners. Um, and my office will be working with local uh, entrepreneurs, city staff, and others uh, to put together a series of resources to be able to support uh, those small businesses that both currently offer services to the city and those who would like to do so. So stay connected to make sure you get an update on what's happening in the eth district as well as what we'll be planning for small business month. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Council Member Zendas. Thank you, mayor. I invite all of you to attend um the Wilmore City Community Association Volunteer Appreciation and Information Night um this Thursday, May 8th, 2025 at 5:30 to 7:30 located at Anna's Joint at 443 Pine Avenue. Also again, I would like to invite you to the 2025 Harvey Milk Equality Plaza ceremony on Saturday, May 10th, 2025, starting at 11:00 a.m. located at Harvey Milk Prominade Park at 212 East 3rd Street. Also, I would like to invite you to DTLB Alliance's Dance Downtown Revolution at Mosaic on the Prominad every Tuesday of May from 6:00 p. p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Hope to see everyone out in the community. Thank you. And Council Member Rick Sod. Uh, thank you, Mayor. Um, I would like to invite everyone out to attend the Star King Neighborhood Association meeting on Wednesday, May 7th at 7 PM. This meeting will take place at the Holy Trinity Church located at 200 East 68th Street, Long Beach, California. Uh, second, I would like to invite everyone out to my office's next um, District 9 town hall. That will be on Monday, June 16th from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. This event will be held at the McKinley Elementary School Auditorium located at 6822 Paramount Boulevard. Uh if you need any additional information about any of these events, please contact my office at 562-570-6137 or district 9 at long beach.gov. Um, and to to ditto uh, Council Member Threshuk, I would also like to um, say happy public service appreciation week to all of our wonderful staff and folks that basically make our our city run as well as it runs. Thank you for your service, whether it's your birthday or not. Um, whether it's raining or not, or whether we're in a hurricane or not, uh, thank you for all you do. All right. Well, that concludes the meeting. And thank you all for uh watching and joining us. And thank you to our incredible team and our uh city team and our clerk's team for uh you know helping facilitate. This meeting is now ajourned. Thank you.