2026-10-20 - City Council

00:00Public comment on agenda items must relate to the subject matter of the item. General

00:15public comment is limited to subject matters within the council's jurisdiction. Public

00:22comment does not include the right to engage in a dialogue with councilor staff. We appreciate

00:28your cooperation in using respectful language and avoiding profanity so everyone can participate

00:34in a constructive environment. Members of the public may not interrupt the comments provided

00:50by other public speakers, staff and council members and may not engage in clapping, cheering,

00:56whistling or other such conduct that disrupts the orderly conduct at the meeting. Any person

01:05engaging in conduct that disrupts the meeting will receive one warning. Once a warning has

01:11been issued, if the disruptive conduct continues, the disruptive person may be removed from

01:16the meeting. If you witness conduct or behavior by other members of the public that disrupts

01:25your ability to remain engaged or participate in this meeting, please notify city clerk

01:31staff. Your efforts to maintain an orderly environment help ensure that all voices have

01:43an opportunity to be heard. Thank you for your cooperation. May we please have your

01:57attention. Long Beach City Council meeting. The meeting is about to commence. Maintain

02:16an organized and productive meeting. Please take a moment to listen to the following important

02:22information. Your participation in today's meeting is your right and the City Council

02:30strongly encourages and values your input. However, the right for the public to address

02:36the council must be balanced with the City Council's responsibility to conduct city

02:40business. We are reminded to adhere to the following rules. Speakers must conclude their

02:50remarks immediately when their time is up. Public comment on agenda items must relate

02:56to the subject matter of the item. General public comment is limited to subject matters

03:02within the Council's jurisdiction. Public comment does not include the right to engage

03:08in a dialogue with Council or staff. We appreciate your cooperation in using respectful language

03:15and avoiding profanity so everyone can participate in a constructive environment. Not interrupt

03:33the comments provided by other public speakers, staff and Council members and may not engage

03:38in clapping, cheering, whistling or other such conduct but disrupt the orderly conduct

03:43of the meeting. A person engaging in conduct that disrupts the meeting will receive one

03:52warning. One warning has been issued. If the disruptive conduct continues, the disruptive

03:58person may be removed from the meeting. You witness conduct or behavior by other members

04:08of the public that disrupts your ability to engage in the meeting. Please notify City

04:14Clerk staff for efforts to maintain an orderly environment. Help ensure that all voices have

04:27an opportunity to be heard. Thank you for your cooperation. Have your attention.

04:42Welcome to the City of Long Beach City Council Meeting. The meeting is about to commence.

04:58Maintain an organized and productive meeting. Please take a moment to listen to the following

05:04important information. Your participation in today's meeting is your right and the City Council

05:13strongly encourages and values your input. However, the right for the public to address

05:19the Council must be balanced with the City Council's responsibility to conduct city business.

05:25You are reminded to adhere to the following rules. Speakers must conclude their remarks

05:35immediately when their time is up. Public comment on agenda items must relate to the

05:40subject matter of the item. General public comment is limited to subject matters within

05:46the Council's jurisdiction. Public comment does not include the right to engage in a

05:52dialogue with Council or staff. We appreciate your cooperation in using respectful language

05:59and avoiding profanity so everyone can participate in a constructive environment.

06:03Members of the public may not interrupt the comments provided by other public

06:18speakers. Staff and Council members may not engage in clapping, cheering, whistling or other such conduct that disrupts the orderly conduct of the meeting. Any person engaging in conduct that disrupts the meeting will receive one warning.

06:37Once the warning has been issued, if the disruptive conduct continues, the disruptive person may be removed from the meeting. You witness conduct or behavior by other members of the public that disrupts your ability to remain engaged or participate in this meeting.

06:56If there are any members of the public in Zoom that would like to speak on the consent calendar, items on the agenda or second public comment, please use the raise hand feature.

07:26Welcome to the City of Long Beach City Council meeting. The meeting is about to commence. Maintain an organized and productive meeting. Please take a moment to listen to the following important information.

07:50Your participation in today's meeting is your right and the City Council strongly encourages and values your input.

08:01However, the right for the public to address the Council must be balanced with the City Council's responsibility to conduct city business. You are reminded to adhere to the following rules.

08:16Others must conclude their remarks immediately when your time is up. Public comment on agenda items must relate to the subject matter of the item. General public comment is limited to subject matters within the Council's jurisdiction.

08:32Public comment does not include the right to engage in a dialogue with Council or staff. We appreciate your cooperation in using respectful language and avoiding profanity so everyone can participate in a constructive environment.

08:59We are not in it for comments provided by other public staff and council members and may not engage in clapping, cheering, whistling or other such conduct and disrupt the orderly conduct within the person engaging in conduct that disrupts the meeting will receive one warning.

09:21Once a warning has been issued, if the disruptive conduct continues, the disruptive person may be removed from the meeting.

09:33If you witness conduct or behavior by other members of the public that disrupts your ability to remain engaged or participate in this meeting, please notify City Clerk staff.

09:50Your efforts to maintain an orderly environment help ensure that all voices have an opportunity to be heard. Thank you for your cooperation.

10:08May we please have your attention. Welcome to the City of Long Beach City Council meeting. The meeting is about to commence. Maintain an organized and productive meeting. Please take a moment to listen to the following important information.

10:38Participation in today's meeting is your right and the City Council strongly encourages and values your input. However, the right for the public to address the Council must be balanced with the City Council's responsibility to conduct city business.

10:55We are also reminded to adhere to the following rules. Teachers must conclude their remarks immediately when their time is up.

11:04Public comment on agenda items must relate to the subject matter of the item. General public comment is limited to subject matters within the Council's jurisdiction.

11:17Public comment does not include the right to engage in a dialogue with Council and staff. We appreciate your cooperation in using respectful language and avoiding profanity so everyone can participate in a constructive environment.

11:42Members of the public may not interrupt the comments provided by other public speakers, staff, and Council members and may not engage in clapping, cheering, whistling, or other such conduct that disrupts the orderly conduct of the meeting.

11:59The person engaging in conduct that disrupts the meeting will receive one warning. Once a warning has been issued, if the disruptive conduct continues, the disruptive person may be removed from the meeting.

12:17The conduct or behavior by other members of the public that disrupts your ability to remain engaged or participate in this event will notify city first staff.

12:34Your efforts to maintain an orderly environment help ensure that all voices have an opportunity to be heard.

12:40Thank you for your cooperation. May we please have your attention.

12:57Welcome to the City of Long Beach City Council meeting. The meeting is about to commence. Maintain an organized and productive meeting.

13:13Please take a moment to listen to the following important information. Your participation in today's meeting is your right, and the City Council strongly encourages and values your input.

13:28However, the right for the public to address the Council must be balanced with the City Council's responsibility to conduct sea business.

13:36You are reminded to adhere to the following rules. Speakers must conclude their remarks immediately when their time is up.

13:48Public comment on agenda items must relate to the subject matter of the item. General public comment is limited to subject matters within the Council's jurisdiction.

13:59Public comment does not include the right to engage in a dialogue with Council or staff.

14:05We appreciate your cooperation in using respectful language and avoiding profanity so everyone can participate in a constructive environment.

14:15Members of the public may not interrupt the comments provided by other public speakers, staff, and Council members, and may not engage in clapping, cheering, whistling, or other such conduct that disrupts the orderly conduct of the meeting.

14:39Any person engaging in conduct that disrupts the meeting will receive one warning. Once a warning has been issued, if the disruptive conduct continues, the disruptive person may be removed from the meeting.

14:56If you witness conduct or behavior by other members of the public that disrupts your ability to remain engaged or participate in this meeting, please notify City Clerk staff.

15:10Your efforts to maintain an orderly environment help ensure that all voices have an opportunity to be heard. Thank you for your cooperation.

15:26May we please have your attention. Welcome to the City of Long Beach City Council meeting. The meeting is about to commence.

15:53To help maintain an organized and productive meeting, please take a moment to listen to the following important information.

16:02Your participation in today's meeting is your right, and the City Council strongly encourages and values your input.

16:11However, the right for the public to address the Council must be balanced with the City Council's responsibility to conduct city business.

16:20You are reminded to adhere to the following rules. Speakers must conclude their remarks immediately when their time is up.

16:32Public comment on agenda items must relate to the subject matter of the item. General public comment is limited to subject matters within the Council's jurisdiction.

16:42Public comment does not include the right to engage in a dialogue with Council or staff.

16:48We appreciate your cooperation in using respectful language and avoiding profanity so everyone can participate in a constructive environment.

16:59Members of the public may not interrupt the comments provided by other public speakers, staff, and Council members, and may not engage in clapping, cheering, whistling, or other such conduct that disrupts the orderly conduct of the meeting.

17:23Any person engaging in conduct that disrupts the meeting will receive one warning. Once a warning has been issued, if the disruptive conduct continues, the disruptive person may be removed from the meeting.

17:39If you witness conduct or behavior by other members of the public that disrupts your ability to remain engaged or participate in this meeting, please notify City Clerk staff.

17:54Your efforts to maintain an orderly environment help ensure that all voices have an opportunity to be heard. Thank you for your cooperation.

18:10May we please have your attention. Welcome to the City of Long Beach City Council meeting. The meeting is about to commence. To help maintain an organized and productive meeting, please take a moment to listen to the following important information.

18:48Your participation in today's meeting is your right, and the City Council strongly encourages and values your input.

18:56However, the right for the public to address the Council must be balanced with the City Council's responsibility to conduct city business.

19:03You are reminded to adhere to the following rules. Speakers must conclude their remarks immediately when their time is up.

19:14Public comment on agenda items must relate to the subject matter of the item. General public comment is limited to subject matters within the Council's jurisdiction.

19:26Public comment does not include the right to engage in a dialogue with Council or staff. We appreciate your cooperation in using respectful language and avoiding profanity so everyone can participate in a constructive environment.

19:42Members of the public may not interrupt the comments provided by other public speakers, staff, and Council members, and may not engage in clapping, cheering, whistling, or other such conduct that disrupts the orderly conduct of the meeting.

20:10Any person engaging in conduct that disrupts the meeting will receive one warning. Once a warning has been issued, if the disruptive conduct continues, the disruptive person may be removed from the meeting.

20:23You witness conduct or behavior by other members of the public that disrupts your ability to remain engaged or participate in this meeting.

20:35Please notify City Clerk staff. Your efforts to maintain an orderly environment help ensure that all voices have an opportunity to be heard. Thank you for your cooperation.

20:53May we please have your attention. Welcome to the City of Long Beach City Council meeting. The meeting is about to commence. To help maintain an organized and productive meeting, please take a moment to listen to the following important information.

21:28Your participation in today's meeting is your right, and the City Council strongly encourages and values your input. However, the right for the public to address the Council must be balanced with the City Council's responsibility to conduct city business.

21:47You are reminded to adhere to the following rules. Speakers must conclude their remarks immediately when their time is up. Public comment on agenda items must relate to the subject matter of the item.

22:04General public comment is limited to subject matters within the Council's jurisdiction. Public comment does not include the right to engage in a dialogue with Council or staff.

22:15We appreciate your cooperation in using respectful language and avoiding profanity so everyone can participate in a constructive environment.

22:26Members of the public may not interrupt the comments provided by other public speakers, staff, and Council members, and may not engage in clapping, cheering, whistling, or other such conduct that disrupts the orderly conduct of the meeting.

22:52Any person engaging in conduct that disrupts the meeting will receive one warning. Once a warning has been issued, if the disruptive conduct continues, the disruptive person may be removed from the meeting.

23:06You witness conduct or behavior by other members of the public that disrupts your ability to remain engaged or participate in this meeting. Please notify City Clerk staff. Your efforts to maintain an orderly environment help ensure that all voices have an opportunity to be heard. Thank you for your cooperation. May we please have your attention.

23:48All right, thank you. Let's call the meeting of the Long Beach City Council to order. Roll call, please. Councilwoman Sandeja? Present. Councilwoman Allen? Present. Councilmember Duggan? Councilman Suprena? Councilwoman Kerr? Present. Councilwoman Sorrow? Present. Vice Mayor Uranga? Present. Councilwoman Thrashen Took? Councilmember Rix Ody? Here. Mayor Richardson? I am here. We have a quorum. Thank you. I'm going to ask Councilmember Sorrow to lead us in a moment of silence in the Pledge of Allegiance.

24:56Let us remember and honor all the individuals and families who've experienced profound suffering, separation, and loss. We hold in our thoughts those who have been detained, separated from their loved ones injured or who have lost their lives under the cruel action and policy of ICE.

25:16We recognize the deep trauma felt by families and communities, and we stand in solidarity with everyone impacted by the systemic harm and demand accountability. Thank you.

25:31For those who can rise, please stand and salute our flag. Raise your right hand over your heart and ready to begin. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

25:56All right, thank you Councilwoman. Thank you all for being here today for our October 20th meeting of the Long Beach City Council. We welcome you.

26:08I want to remind you that this is a business meeting of Long Beach City Council. We ask people to be respectful of each other and to the Council and to follow the rules of conduct for the meetings, which include comment on agenda items must be specific to the agenda items.

26:24Comments must be pertinent to items or issues within the subject matter of the Council. Stop speaking when your time is concluded. Public comments not a dialogue with Council with City Council or staff. Do not interrupt the meeting.

26:39If the meeting, if anyone does interrupt the meeting, I will give that person one warning. If the disruption continues, or if there's another disruption by the same person or group, you'll be asked to leave the meeting. Thank you.

26:51So we're going to start with presentations. We have two this evening. First is the 30th annual historic cemetery tour presented by the historical Society of Long Beach. I'm gonna go to Councilmember Kerr.

27:02Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Good evening, everyone. Tonight I'm pleased to welcome Julie Bartolotta, the executive director of the historical Society of Long Beach, and she will share information about the upcoming 30th annual historic cemetery tour.

27:15Welcome, Julie. Good evening. In the center of the city are two of the most interesting plots of land, Long Beach Municipal and Sunnyside cemeteries on orange between California and orange.

27:36These are the oldest official cemeteries in the city. Come out to the historical Society's 30th annual cemetery tour on Halloween this year, where the place comes to life with actors, singers, historians, exhibits and more.

27:52We tell the history of the city, the community and its people. 18,000 graves contain the stories of people who lived here. Some of them lived here before it was called Long Beach.

28:04The earliest burial and the, I'm sorry, the earliest marker at municipal cemetery is 17 year old Milton Nees, whose marker is from 1878. The tour includes 14 actors who recount the lives of people buried at the cemeteries, including Dick Lenares, who was the first Latino PGA champion.

28:28And he talked the city into purchasing the land that is now Recreation Park and making the golf course there a public course instead of the private Virginia Country Club that it was.

28:41Also on the tour this year is Arthur Branson. Arthur was the first person hired when the city created a water department.

28:51And there was a home built for him by the city in what is now Willow Springs Park, where he could watch over the water tanks and the equipment.

29:00Also on the tour are Spencer and Lily Decker. Spencer was hired in 1905 as the first manager of Sunnyside Cemetery, and the Decker family managed Sunnyside for the next 82 years.

29:18What happened in 1921 when oil was discovered is something you'll have to come to the tour to find out. And you'll also learn about how the city took over Sunnyside Cemetery and really saved it in 2019.

29:35Another story on the tour this year is that of Abram Klieg, who was born on a plantation, served in the Civil War, and after emancipation moved to Long Beach. He was employed by the city as a janitor in 1908, and unfortunately he died on the steps of City Hall.

29:54The city bought him a burial plot at Municipal Cemetery and marked his grave, but today that grave marker is missing. Other attractions at the event include an African American chorus singing a tribute to the colored Long Beach Community chorus from the 1920s.

30:16And 11 of the original members of the chorus are buried at Sunnyside Cemetery. We also have a Dia de los Muertos, a friend, a Cambodian memorial flags, and a Buddhist blessing.

30:30The story of how Grace Presbyterian Church became a haven for the Japanese community, and historical exhibitions, local authors signing their books, and much more.

30:42This is the 20th annual historical cemetery tour where Halloween and history meet. Support local history and this all ages event on Halloween by coming out from 830am to 3pm.

30:56I'd like to thank the city for their support. I'd like to thank Parks, Recreation, and Marine, and our sponsors, especially our presenting sponsor, Visit Long Beach.

31:08Just your tickets in advance and purchase before Sunday the 26th to save and you can purchase at HSLBE.org. Thank you so much.

31:19Thank you, Julie. I know so many of us look forward to this tour every year and is with everything that the Historical Society of Long Beach does.

31:26This annual tour helps bridge the gap of the past and the present and creating engaging stories for us to learn about the fascinating folks who helped build our city so happy to support this event and thank you for coming out to share it.

31:38We look forward to seeing the community out there on Halloween. Thank you.

31:41Alright, let's hear it one more time for our historical Society of Long Beach and the haunted cemetery tour. Thank you so much.

31:50Alright, our next presentation is National Arts Month and we're going to welcome up our Arts Council for Long Beach for a presentation.

31:59Good evening, Mayor, City Council, City Manager Tom Modica. We're very excited tonight to present for National Arts and Humanities Month.

32:10I'm going to go quickly through some of these slides just to save time, everybody's time here.

32:15I do want to share a little bit about this past year with the Arts Council and some of our accomplishments in the year looking ahead.

32:21We worked on a lot of public art through this year and some new projects that we're looking forward to are phase two of the Cambodia Town mural project.

32:33We've been partnered on the Vacancy to Vibrancy project and also we've been working on restoring and preserving public art in Long Beach,

32:42which includes a public art micro grant that supports graffiti and restoring public art.

32:48Our arts learning programs have served over 3,000 students in the past year and created 13 creative jobs and we serve four schools.

32:58I also want to really highlight our summer programs. So we were part of the youth power participatory budgeting process and had a summer camp called Healing Through Color that was for high school students.

33:09Students got to learn all different types of art. They got to go on a field trip to the Nature Center and do plein air painting and this all took place at MacArthur Park.

33:18So it was a really amazing program and we're grateful for that funding to be able to support high school students.

33:24We also did the Port Art Summer Camp that was for fifth graders and that was really successful as well.

33:29That was at the Michelle Obama Library and at Silverado Park.

33:34I want to share some of our grant making successes. So through Measure B with the city's support, we were able to give out 1.84 million in grants to Measure B organizations.

33:49The previous year, 60,000 in creative economy grants and 311,000 to 49 in annual grants.

33:59And I have some really exciting news for everybody tonight.

34:02This is hot off the press. Just announced today that the Arts Council is one of 29 recipients for the Night Cities Challenge.

34:10So we were one of 3,000 applications. So this is really exciting for the city and we wanted to make this announcement today.

34:17This news just came out. So looking ahead to the Olympics, this funding will give $144,000 in direct grants to artists as artists in residence with each of the different Olympic and Paralympic games.

34:33And so that funding is matched by the $135,000 that the city has put forth for the Imagine 28 grants, which we announced at State of the Arts.

34:42So there's 11 grantees for that that are currently doing the testing phase.

34:46We've also set aside with the support from the city $310,000 for activations during the games.

34:52So this is a great example of a partnership with the city that we're able to leverage and bring in outside funding from a foundation to be able to increase support and grants out to artists, arts organizations and community.

35:07So right now, just in grants alone, and this is money that we give out $589,000 for Olympic and Paralympic games that's been reserved from the city and from outside sources.

35:19And we're continuing to find more funds. So that concludes my presentation. I wanted to share this exciting news and share about National Arts and Humanities Month.

35:31All right, well, thank you, Lisa. And I introduced Arts Council. I should have introduced Lisa. Lisa DeSmit, executive director of the Arts Council for Long Beach.

35:42Thank you so much. Congratulations on the Night Cities Challenge Grant. We are one of a few Night Cities in America.

35:50And that challenge encourages us to be innovative about community, particularly about engaging the community into activities like the Olympics that are coming up.

36:00So we look forward to those grants, those Imagine 28 grants and all the work we will do to support our arts in our community between now and 2028.

36:08Congratulations. And thank you. Thank you so much. I also want to just thank our board and staff, some of who are here in the audience as well.

36:16All right. Stand up. Thank you so much. Thank you. All right. Congratulations. Thank you.

36:27All right. Well, that concludes our presentations. We'll have our report out from closed session, please. Thank you, Mayor.

36:34We have two cases that we settled a closed session. Irizarry versus City of Long Beach.

36:40That was settled in the amount of $250,000, vote 6-0. Three members of the council were not there.

36:47That was CD3, CD4 and CD8. And it was 6-0 for the rest of the council.

36:57The other matters were Tucker versus the City of Long Beach. That was settled for the amount of $292,500.

37:05Again, with a vote of 6-0 and CD3, 4 and 8 were not involved in that vote. They are not here tonight.

37:12The last matter is Needy's versus City of Long Beach. And that was settled in the amount of $70,000, vote 6-0 without CD3, 4 or 8.

37:21All right. Thank you. We'll now go to the consent calendar. We need a motion and second on consent, please.

37:28And is there public comment on consent? We have four speakers. Please administer public comment.

37:38Sam Wise, Dia de Muertos, Jim Hannigan, Ellie, can you please approach the lectern? Sam Wise is first.

37:57Okay. So another consent calendar.

38:11Item 1 is recommendation to suspend council rule contained in municipal code.

38:20Section 2.03.020. So just to go over that really quick, that is regular meetings of the city council shall be held in the city chambers of City Hall

38:32at 5 o'clock on Tuesday of each week, except the last Tuesday of each month on which there will be no regular meeting of the city council.

38:41So I guess my question is, what are you suspending? Like which part of that rule is being suspended or what ruling on that specific section is being suspended?

38:52I'm just not really clear on that.

38:54And then for item 2, it's about increasing appropriations for the general fund group in the city manager department.

39:05And 3 is also about increasing appropriations in the general fund group for the city manager department.

39:11And again, does the city manager's department not have enough money? Is it all going to Tom Modica's salary?

39:20$450, like you can probably find that in Tom Modica's back pocket. $1,300, honestly, that is also pocket change for Tom Modica.

39:30So why are we appropriating this from other city districts? Doesn't make any sense to me.

39:36And then in item 3, I see that there's $500 going to community partners for Orlais for the fourth annual liberation walk and run.

39:44This is actually a very good movement.

39:47Most of us that come here every week agree that we want a world where immigrant communities live in dignity and feel safe and have opportunities to thrive.

39:56Love it. But the city council is going to have to do a lot more than $500 to the walk and run for that, especially after what we saw happen this weekend.

40:07Yeah. And this dystopian bullshit that we had to sit in the beginning, like, that's not going to fucking work.

40:13I'll yield the rest of my time. Thank you.

40:16The clock is running. Yeah, no, I see it. All right.

40:44So if you're not going to speak, then we're going to no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

40:47This is my time. You have to actually speak during public comment.

40:51Don't talk because let's pause the timer for a moment.

40:54People with sexual harassment last time by kissing them. OK, no, no, no, I'm getting to what I'm getting to.

40:59Thank you. Please focus on the topic. Thank you.

41:02Why don't you focus on your city? Because it's being fucking taken over by ice.

41:06And you know what, I'm talking about twenty six dash five, six, four, seven, seven.

41:14And yeah, someone else said that what the fuck you should be literally giving more money to oral to, you know,

41:26leave it to other people and organizations that need it that are actually fucking doing something about what's going on in your city.

41:36And to newer that bitch is in here. And you know, Mary, fuck you for taking away the other Los Muertos again.

41:42You did it last year. And I'm wearing this because we can't get what we want when we're asking each and every one of you to do something.

41:51You're taking our first amendment right of speech away. You like to interrupt Rex. How come you weren't out there?

41:59How come you weren't out there Saturday? How come to know it was an out there Saturday?

42:02If you were to give more money to organizations such as or less, such as Libra, you know, Long Beach, LB are are an end.

42:12Basically, other organizations that are out doing your fucking job and fuck L.B.P.D.

42:17You guys are fucking ice, too, because you you let them be complicit in taking and trying to take someone.

42:24And not only that, breaking someone's arm. You know, we're lucky that it didn't escalate further.

42:31I I have this sign and I wear this Mexico shirt loud and proud because Viva La Raza. Fuck ice.

42:38Fuck you guys. And you know what? That is very dystopian. And it's a I, you know, a I is ruining our society.

42:45And I swear to God, you do that because they have you on tape. You know what? They should sue your ass for sexual harassment.

42:51Again, this has remained on topic. Fuck I Palestine Free Gaza. And you know what? More people are going to call the next speaker.

42:59And more people need to talk and let's bring the next speaker. Jim Hanegan, Europe.

43:09Thank you, Jim. You have the floor. OK, it's nice to have a chance to speak soon to be a vanished option.

43:27I'm speaking on consent item 13. I want to try to stay on topic.

43:31This is a weird contract with Optimizely company that you're extending for two years for half a million dollars, a little over that.

43:39The staff report is embarrassing. It basically there's no contract, but if you're extending some some contract that must exist somewhere.

43:48Staff report says that you've got, you know, a sole source because basically this company doesn't do web hosting.

43:56That's what they do for Long Beach. The only other company I could find in California where they do anything is Burbank.

44:02I guess Burbank has also got a problem with their management, but the company mainly does isolated testing.

44:11Basically sandbox work is what they call it when they test things in isolation from the rest of the Internet.

44:18So what you have is Apache one off bizarre system that's doing all the city's web hosting.

44:26And because it's so weird, you can't change. You can't get off of it.

44:30You're stuck with it with a single source and you have to do a sole source.

44:34You know, you don't put it out for for a bid like you should because the determination is just made that it's so strange you can't do that.

44:42I also want to talk on 14 and other data related thing with this company Kindrel for mainframe services.

44:50Nobody even does mainframe stuff anymore. This is supposedly it's a huge contract.

44:55I mean, it's twelve and a half million dollars. You're increasing at six and a half. It was it goes back to twenty twenty two when there was a contract.

45:04It's going up one point one million dollars a year. Just pocket change, whatever.

45:10And you're going to be hiring a new I.T. guru to try to make a make some kind of salvage out of this mess for two hundred and forty thousand a year.

45:20That position is open. What I see in the city is that you guys are politicians. You're activists, some of you, but you're not technocrats.

45:29You're not in the weeds. You leave that totally to the city management.

45:33And you routinely approve millions by consent with no analysis, with not even a whimper.

45:41You just had a huge deficit. And who's to blame when a protein is losing and they have a bad record.

45:50The owners fire the manager. Just saying, Tom, thank you. Ali is next.

46:02Hello. Hello. Thank you, Jim, for doing an excellent job of speaking on item 14.

46:10Honestly, probably better than I'm about to do. But I just want to read the whole thing.

46:17Recommendation to authorize city manager or designee.

46:20That's him to execute all documents necessary to amend contract number three six three eight one with kindle Inc.

46:26Of New York for continued hosted mainframe services, disaster recovery services, a mainframe operating system and platform upgrade.

46:33Mainframe application assessment and related services to increase the contract amount by six million four hundred ninety eight thousand dollars for a revised aggregate contract amount.

46:42Not to exceed twelve million four hundred and sixty four thousand dollars for the initial three year renewal term.

46:49And extend the term of the contract through September 30th twenty twenty nine with the option to extend it up.

46:55Increase appropriations in the general services fund group in the technology and innovation department by one million one hundred and six thousand dollars offset by funds available.

47:05So I am not understanding the math on how we are increasing the contract amount by six million.

47:14But we are only allocating one million to this department, even if it's a three year contract.

47:22That's still a difference of three million dollars.

47:25Also, just to do my due diligence, I looked at the budget book for this year and looked at the technology and innovation column in the general fund.

47:38And there was just a dash there.

47:41Nothing was listed as budgeted for the technology and innovation department.

47:46So it's strange that we budgeted nothing for this.

47:51And then right at the beginning of the fiscal year we're incurring a multi multi million dollar expenditure in this department.

48:00It feels just like extremely poor planning on the part of everyone who is involved in putting together the budget.

48:08Also just like to share some very brief research I was able to do into kindle.

48:15They do have a lengthy partnership with Microsoft who is actively involved in supporting the current genocide in Gaza.

48:24I just wanted to see if that was anything that the city had looked into before entering into this contract.

48:31In addition, as of very recently, kindle is applying a new agenda.

48:36So it's not a very strategic framework to their AI change management for Toyota.

48:45So there was no mention of any AI framework in the supporting documents with the agenda item.

48:52I wanted to see if there was any discussion of this with the city.

48:57We do want to start using AI among our city's I.T. what resources we have to stop because that's a very very clear data security issue for the city.

49:08Thank you very much. I'm sorry.

49:25Please continue. Your mic wasn't on. It's on now. Please continue.

49:32Sorry, she's not signed up for consent. Well, I'm sorry.

49:37I think what's your name. OK, Tamika, you might be signed up on general public comment.

49:42That's not that's coming up next. This is. Yeah, this is consent calendar public comment.

49:46So your name will be called soon. Thank you, Tamika. All right.

49:51Well, I think that concludes. All right, members, please cast your vote. Motion is carried.

50:00All right. Now we're on general public comment.

50:02What's going to happen is they're going to read 10 names.

50:05If your name is on the list for signing up, line up in that order and you'll have your time to speak.

50:10Please proceed. Following speakers, if you could approach the podium.

50:17Michelle Samwise FB Tamiko Robert in Zoom. We have CJ and Jeannie Gonzales. See more accountability.

50:28Matthew Gullah Ivan Martinez. Your name is called.

50:33Please proceed to the lectern.

50:35Michelle. Hi, Chris L. Dombrowski.

50:42I'm in District 2. Thank you Mary Zendahas for helping me with housing.

50:46You're the only one that did. I am Jane Doe.

50:51This is just one of the reasons that I have a problem with law enforcement besides them killing my old friends and neighbors with melatonin in their skin like that one and ice.

51:05Yeah, this is just one of the reasons when I was 14, I was skateboarding two and a half blocks from my house.

51:13My mom knew where I was there with my friends hanging out.

51:18Let's see. Let's see. I am Jane Doe.

51:23Yeah, there was a 30 something guy out there that was hanging out with the skate rats, buying beer, send him on tools errands.

51:32And oh, then the one guy that wouldn't leave me there by myself with the 30 something year old guy, he gave him some quaaludes and some beer.

51:42But then the 30 something year old man dragged me out to an open lot, beat the crap out of me, cut off all my clothes and left me for dead.

51:51Long Beach PD did nothing. Nothing.

51:57My mom pressed charges. Crickets. We're talking crickets.

52:04So what I do, because I am Chris L. Dombrowski, what I did, I went because I did not feel safe in my neighborhood.

52:12So I borrowed the gun, learned how to shoot it, told my skate back friends what I was going to do, showed him the gun, told him the day I would be there.

52:22Kind of like, okay, Corral, but guess what? By the time I got there, 30 something fled the state.

52:30Thank you. Next speaker is Sam Wise.

52:38So first of all, this is how you engage your public by filling the front rows with your cronies. So it's harder for us to get up here.

52:50Okay. Free Palestine. We will never stop. Not until US tax dollars stop funding Israel's genocide of the Palestinian people and all of the colonizers leave and Palestine is truly free.

53:01Meanwhile, Netanyahu still walks free and our country is sanctioning the ICC. Like what the fuck? Fuck Israel and fuck ice.

53:09This weekend we made a point of reminding the no kings people that kings do not happen in a vacuum.

53:15A tyrannical government takes hold and maintains power from the cooperation of a bunch of little kings.

53:20Oppression that faces no opposition doesn't stop. It grows.

53:24This council cannot pretend it's separate from the problems our dumbass president is creating when it isn't doing anything to oppose him.

53:30Trump is a fascist and his little mass goons are also fascists or at least underlings of fascism.

53:36And as long as this city council continues to hold contracts with companies that support the DHS and ICE like LexisNexis and General Dynamics and Andral Industries and Flock, then you're also agents of fascism.

53:48We all know what happened on Saturday. ICE agents broke Ricardo Gonzalez's arm.

53:53It's not lost upon us that this supposed arrest was far away from Bixby Park.

53:57I guess they were trying to avoid first hand witnesses. That did not work out so well for them.

54:02So after they struck Ricardo Gonzalez with their vehicle and attempted to kidnap him, they broke his arm.

54:07Luckily because the general public, the ICE terrorists were not able to get away with this.

54:11Thank goodness for Long Beach residents. I don't know what this city would do without them.

54:15And because the ICE terrorists weren't allowed to slip away, then who's gotten involved with this story?

54:20KTLA, ABC, freaking Al Jazeera reported on this story.

54:24It's not a good look, not here, not in Vibe City.

54:28Rex Richardson calls for an investigation into this botched arrest by immigration, customs and enforcement agents.

54:36Honestly, I just thought this was an attempt to get us off your back because you knew that we were going to come here this Tuesday and go at you hard about this.

54:43But I didn't realize at the time how big this story had gotten and how far it had gotten.

54:47I didn't realize Robert Garcia himself had to do a press conference to address this situation.

54:52Our congressperson had to come down to try to clean this mess up.

54:58Do you think he was disappointed? I was disappointed when I saw how freely ICE was able to operate in and terrorize this city.

55:04So I'm wondering, does he know what you've done?

55:07Because we've been here week after week telling you that you weren't doing enough to protect your residents here.

55:12We wanted you to stop wasting all of our money on police, police force that aids ICE.

55:17And everyone who was there on Saturday saw it.

55:19Local police were only there to protect ICE, to keep observers away from ICE, to threaten observers with arrests for interfering with ICE.

55:27We told you this was happening. We've been warning you every week.

55:30We have been warning you about ICE, about police collaboration and about mass surveillance, all of which led to this moment.

55:36And instead of listening to us, you vote to reduce our public comment. Does our former mayor know what you've done?

55:42Thank you. Your time has concluded.

55:44FB, next speaker is FB.

55:58Fuck you and fuck ICE, Rex, you fucking little bitch.

56:05So here's the thing. I don't have really anything written tonight except the same stuff that I come and discuss with city council.

56:14I want to thank the Long Beach community for stepping up and doing their part against ICE because your little bitch ass hasn't done shit.

56:24Except take on press conferences that lead to nowhere, lead to more of our immigrant communities being kidnapped, raped and killed by ICE.

56:36And this time, I mean, what's your excuse? There's no excuse. You show up for a press conference, get your flowers.

56:43Actually, I mean, like, thank you, Cindy Allen, for liking the video of Robert Garcia stating that he is going to stop funding Israel and he's going to do something about it because your coward ass is doing nothing about a genocide right now.

57:01Fuck Israel and fuck all of you. You will all go down in history as genocide supporters because you have not come out and said anything about what Israel is doing.

57:12In fact, you are actually giving Israel all the business. I mean, let's run it down again.

57:19We have LexisNexis, General Dynamic Information Technologies, CDW Government, GovInConnection, Andral, a weapons manufacturer, Flock.

57:30That, I mean, here's the thing. We've been doing this for about a year now and we keep giving you the same information.

57:37We keep making sure that you guys have an opportunity to do right by your citizens in our immigrant communities and you're failing horribly.

57:45You need to make a stance. Otherwise, I mean, your children are going to ask you and they grow older and are in college and see your ugly ass faces not doing anything about ICE, you fascist fucking cunts, and about a free Palestine because Palestine will be free.

58:03Mark my motherfucking words. And guess what? Your faces are going to be against that. And that's going to follow you for the rest of your fucking careers.

58:11Fuck ICE. Fuck Israel. Protect black workers always because we know wrecks don't do shit about black workers in this fucking city.

58:21Free Palestine always. Palestine will be free. Free the world of Jewish and white supremacy. ICE is the IDF. And once again, Gaza is a fucking blueprint.

58:34What I would like to do is hold a real yield my time to the ICE victims and all of the victims from all over the world from this fascist ass government and this little bitch ass fucking loser that's looking at his phone.

58:48And this fucking white supremacist piece of shit over there. Anyway, I'll be quiet because I want to be silent for ICE and Gaza.

58:57Thank you. Next speaker is Tamiko. Good evening. My name is Tamiko Hawkins, and I am the CEO and founder of Fuzzy Blankens Foundation.

59:23I want to start by saying thank you for Mr. Richardson and City Council for allowing me this opportunity to introduce Fuzzy Blankens a little bit about myself.

59:35I've worked under the Karen Bass Administration through Urban Alchemy and working through outreach where I have seen countless homeless population, mothers and children that were on house living in tents and there was not enough for nowhere for them to go.

59:56I actually will be engaging with our families and

1:00:00I would actually have to leave them there because they're too full and that really broke my heart and it caused me to have a strong compassion where I can help unhoused moms and children.

1:00:18So our website is fuzzyblankets.org if you want to learn more about it. It's a huge nice little program I have put together.

1:00:32I'm asking for for the city of Long Beach to become a partnership and funding and connections if you could help this cause that is so profound.

1:00:46Like I said, it just breaks my heart. And I understand the one that we do have in Long Beach is called Lydia House.

1:00:53And I did try to contact the director, Ms. Gutierrez, and I still haven't heard back from her.

1:00:59I wanted to connect with her to find out how does your program ran. But mine is incredible.

1:01:06And I just need some support and would like another invitation to visit this invite to help me in developing this program for these unhoused mothers and children because the children are being affected.

1:01:24They're not going to school. They're going to. It's causing the children to get behind in school with the moms are depressed. It's causing them to seek mental health.

1:01:33My program is going to have coaching. It will have mental health and vocational program where they would have to go back to get a certificate where they can get back into the workforce where they can become empowered.

1:01:48Lips self-esteem. We need to get these moms back on track again and transform their lives into a positive direction.

1:01:56Thank you so much. Thank you, Miss Tamika. I'll have one of our managers on duty talk to you and connect you with our Homeless Services Bureau so you can tap in with our group that our groups that are doing that work.

1:02:11Thank you so much. All right. Next speaker, please. Robert Collins. Good evening, Mayor Rex. Good evening, Mayor Rex. How are you doing? Good.

1:02:25Good evening, City Council. I just would like to begin by saying I do not stand with with the language that was used against your ex.

1:02:37I think we can have opinions, but I just don't. And I think it was really wrong with you. Again, can I have my time to speak?

1:02:47So I'm going to I'm going to state that you can't disrupt the meeting to the individual in the second row with the camera and the flowers and the hair.

1:02:56If someone has the microphone, that's a disruption. And if you're and this is a warning, if you disrupt again, I'm going to ask you to leave the meeting.

1:03:04Robert, please proceed. When City Council debated comments about public speaking, respect was brought up.

1:03:13Now, I believe it is disrespectful of a City Council member to not return a phone call from his or her constituent after the recent winds and rains.

1:03:25Palm fronds completely dotted Bluff Park. My car window has broken, has been broken twice by these branches.

1:03:34I called City Allen's office and was told she would call me back that day or possibly the next day. No phone call.

1:03:43I called again a couple of days later, again, saying they would let her know that someone called my issue again.

1:03:51No phone call back. AI has said that these trees should be trimmed every year.

1:04:00But the trimming cycle went from six years to every eight years.

1:04:06So I do have some questions that I would like to be answered.

1:04:10Number one, why can't Council Member Allen return phone calls to constituents?

1:04:17Are there press conferences and social media events that are more important than constituent concerns?

1:04:25What would happen if these palm fronds hit cars as they were driving down the street in Bluff Park?

1:04:33What would happen if these palm fronds hit the heads of people who are walking or the other animals in Bluff Park?

1:04:43I know that previous Council Member Susie Price actually gave some of her City Council money to help trim these trees.

1:04:53They couldn't do it at certain times of the year, but they got that done.

1:04:58I would like to invite Council Member Allen to drive down Second Street, our first street today, tonight when you go home,

1:05:07and see all the palm fronds in the middle of the road.

1:05:11Again, what happens if a car hits those palm fronds?

1:05:16So I'm looking forward to phone calls, and I'm looking forward to answers to my questions.

1:05:24Thank you.

1:05:25If you go right here to the side, I'll have one of my team members come out and talk to you right now.

1:05:29They're on their way out.

1:05:30Thank you, Robert.

1:05:31Great, thank you.

1:05:32All right, next speaker, please.

1:05:35The next speaker is on Zoom.

1:05:38CJ, can you unmute yourself?

1:05:47Can you pause for one minute?

1:05:49Can you speak louder?

1:05:53No, it's still very fake.

1:05:57No, it's still very fake.

1:06:07We'll come back to you.

1:06:10Next speaker is Jeannie Gonzalez.

1:06:16Jeannie, can you unmute yourself, please?

1:06:21Jeannie, on Zoom?

1:06:27Yes, we can hear you.

1:06:29You can begin.

1:06:30My name is from the Ninth Park.

1:06:39I was doing the tour of Ninth District neighborhood associations for a while,

1:06:45and then I had to do something else.

1:06:48And then I went back, and I saw what was going on.

1:06:51And I was disappointed that Hamilton Loop never happened for Hamilton neighborhood.

1:06:58You know, 10 years ago, it was laid out on paper what Hamilton Loop would be.

1:07:05And the neighborhood is disappointed.

1:07:08They have no green space whatsoever, and their kids ride their bikes on the streets

1:07:14compared to the area around Belmont pool.

1:07:18You know, they get a lot for their tax dollars.

1:07:21And Hamilton neighborhood pays the same rate of tax,

1:07:27and they get nothing in terms of green space.

1:07:30So I'm just complaining about that, and so I yield the rest of my time.

1:07:40Thank you.

1:07:40Next speaker is Seymour Accountability.

1:07:43Please step to the lectern.

1:07:49Good evening, council.

1:07:51I'm here tonight to, first off, say justice for Ricardo Gonzalez and every other person

1:08:02in our community and in the country that has been terrorized by ICE activity.

1:08:07Whether they have papers, whether they're documented or undocumented,

1:08:11no one deserves to be treated the way that we've been

1:08:14seeing people treated in our city this week and over the past almost two years now.

1:08:22So a couple of quotes from about a year and a half ago.

1:08:25ICE has no place in Long Beach.

1:08:29Rex Richardson, Mary Zendejas, fuck ICE, OK?

1:08:34Those are some strong words, OK?

1:08:36That's great.

1:08:37But a year and a half later, here we are with really not much

1:08:41to show for any demonstrable action.

1:08:44Other than, I do want to give some thanks.

1:08:47Mayor Rex, you made your strongest statement.

1:08:49And having a formal complaint to DHS for an investigation is something.

1:08:54So thank you for that.

1:08:56Megan Kerr, you came out right away and said some stuff against ICE.

1:09:01Thank you.

1:09:02I noticed Thrashen Took.

1:09:04I wish she was here today, Councilwoman Thrashen Took.

1:09:07She put out a really strong statement saying she wanted this

1:09:10agendized immediately to discuss.

1:09:14It's not on the agenda tonight, right?

1:09:16And she's not even here tonight.

1:09:18So it just leaves me like, how big of a deal is this for our city?

1:09:22The main reason I'm up here tonight is when this is agendized,

1:09:28I'm just a citizen, a resident, a person that lives around

1:09:32and comes to these meetings.

1:09:33But I have no idea who's in charge of our police department.

1:09:38I saw the statement that Police Chief Wally Habish or whoever

1:09:42puts that together.

1:09:44There was a lot of inconsistencies in there

1:09:46from what I firsthand saw on Saturday.

1:09:50But what I'm wondering is, at what point

1:09:52can our city police department be instructed not to assist ICE?

1:09:59And I know that many would say they weren't assisting ICE.

1:10:02What I saw was LBPD show up and immediately clear

1:10:07the streets of the community members who were the only reason ICE hadn't

1:10:12already escaped with the person that they had detained.

1:10:16Cops showed up and immediately wanted to clear the street.

1:10:20If that's not assisting ICE, I don't know what is.

1:10:23So who is in charge of directing our city police department?

1:10:27I've heard it's not you, Mayor Rex.

1:10:29We have a week mayor set up, whatever that is.

1:10:33We see a week mayor day in and day out over and over again.

1:10:37Is it strong City Council Manager Tom Modica?

1:10:41Is he in charge of the police?

1:10:43Is it just the chief of police themselves?

1:10:45We want to know, because we want to know who to blame for when LBPD shows up

1:10:50and helps.

1:10:50Thank you.

1:10:51Your time has concluded.

1:10:53Matthew is the next speaker.

1:10:58Matthew, yes.

1:11:00I just want to--

1:11:02the approach for the peninsula, there seems

1:11:05to be a lack of looking at the environmental sort of history

1:11:08and the geological history of that area.

1:11:11I'm just sort of wondering if we are going to start changing

1:11:15our approach to how we handle climate change and the coastal erosion

1:11:19along the peninsula, given that really since the '40s,

1:11:24that area with breakwater changed how wave functions work.

1:11:29So we don't really have the regeneration from sediment

1:11:31that used to come from the rivers.

1:11:34And I think it is well past time that the City Council change our approach

1:11:39to are we really going to spend ungodly amounts of money

1:11:44to try to protect this area?

1:11:46Or should we start looking at other alternatives

1:11:49given that we can't really engineer our way out of climate change?

1:11:53So all I really am asking is that we start looking at the science that

1:12:00has already been given by a lot of coastal experts

1:12:03about how we approach this.

1:12:05There is an approach that's being pushed by most coastal experts.

1:12:09I realize that it is a political can of worms that is managed retreat.

1:12:15However, I don't really see how our city can afford

1:12:19to keep kicking the can down the road with $100 million projects

1:12:24with returning sand to the beaches and all these other methods.

1:12:28So I only really ask is, what are we planning to do for the future?

1:12:33I know that there were some more original plans at looking at this

1:12:36for managed retreat.

1:12:38And I think with what's happened with El Nino

1:12:41that we need to really start thinking about that.

1:12:45I realize what I'm asking, it could end some of your guys'

1:12:48political careers.

1:12:49However, we're kind of out of time.

1:12:52So maybe we should start examining what

1:12:56we can do to start approaching and have real conversations

1:13:00with the community about what our future looks like.

1:13:04Because it seems very clear that a lot of people

1:13:07want to continue to live on the peninsula,

1:13:09continue living in low lying areas.

1:13:12However, that's not really an option in the next 20 to 30 years,

1:13:16not to mention it by the end of the century.

1:13:19Maybe we should start thinking about that now.

1:13:21Thanks.

1:13:23Thank you.

1:13:25Next speaker is Ivan Martinez.

1:13:31Thank you, everybody.

1:13:36Good evening.

1:13:37My name is Ivan Martinez, and I'm

1:13:39a refuse operator for the city of Long Beach.

1:13:42We've been bargaining for over 10 months on our contract,

1:13:46and it expired September 30.

1:13:49We keep Long Beach clean, yet the city continues

1:13:52to insult us with their offers.

1:13:55We show up every day and do our jobs.

1:13:58It's time to see the city leadership does theirs.

1:14:03The city and an expired contract, its offers

1:14:07tell us a different story.

1:14:09We handle hazardous waste, protect public health,

1:14:13and respond during emergencies.

1:14:16Stop calling us essential while treating us as disposable.

1:14:22Our safety is not negotiable.

1:14:25Every day, refuse operators risk their lives.

1:14:30We operate heavy equipment.

1:14:33We handle dangerous materials.

1:14:36And our contract expired September 30,

1:14:39yet we're still fighting for our proper staffing,

1:14:42safe equipment, fair treatment.

1:14:46Our safety should never be compromised

1:14:48because of the city's refuse to prioritize its workers.

1:14:58Long Beach needs experienced refuse operators,

1:15:01yet the city continues presenting offers

1:15:06that fail to recognize our value.

1:15:09How does the city expect to retain skilled employees

1:15:13when it refuses to offer competitive compensation?

1:15:17If you want quality service, invest in the workers

1:15:20providing it.

1:15:22Respect is more than words.

1:15:24For over 10 months, we've been negotiating in good faith.

1:15:29We're tired of being praised in the public

1:15:31while being disrespected on the bargaining table.

1:15:35Our respect isn't a speech.

1:15:37Respect is fair contract.

1:15:41Mayor's City Council, enough is enough.

1:15:45Long Beach refuse operators deserve better

1:15:49than the insulting offers.

1:15:51The delays, the disrespect, we're the workers

1:15:55who keep the city clean, and we refuse

1:15:57to be undervalued any longer.

1:16:00Enough delays, enough disrespect, enough excuses.

1:16:05We want respect, protect us, and pay us.

1:16:09Thank you.

1:16:10(audience applauds)

1:16:11- Thank you.

1:16:41The next speaker on Zoom, CJ on Zoom,

1:16:43we're gonna go back to you.

1:16:46- Can you hear me now?

1:16:47- CJ, can you unmute?

1:16:49- Can you hear me?

1:16:51- Give me one moment, CJ, give me one moment.

1:16:54- All right, all right, ma'am, ma'am, thank you.

1:16:58Just have a seat.

1:16:59Let's just get through the meeting.

1:17:02It's okay to sit right there,

1:17:04but we can't interrupt the meeting, okay?

1:17:06All right, thank you.

1:17:09- CJ on Zoom, can you unmute yourself?

1:17:11- Can you hear me now?

1:17:13- Yes, we can hear you.

1:17:15Your time starts now.

1:17:16- Amazing, thank you so much

1:17:18to all the folks giving public comments tonight.

1:17:20I am so inspired by all of you who choose to take a stand

1:17:23when the government we voted for is taking a shit on us.

1:17:26Last week, my friend in public comments said

1:17:29that they regret every second of sleep

1:17:30that the council is getting, and I agree.

1:17:33Your sleep is expensive.

1:17:34It's costing us precious fucking residents of this beautiful

1:17:38fucking city.

1:17:39I hope that this earworm that I wrote for you sticks

1:17:42in your brain and keeps you from sleep the same way

1:17:44that I know every organizer, activist, and person

1:17:46with a heart is struggling to sleep these nights.

1:17:49If you cared about your constituents,

1:17:51you would have chosen better.

1:17:53If you cared about your people,

1:17:55then you would have chosen us.

1:17:58We trusted you with power, but you didn't represent us.

1:18:02We're taking back your power.

1:18:04You'll regret not choosing us.

1:18:06You choke us at the dais and let ice kidnap our neighbors.

1:18:11We're taking back your power.

1:18:13Now you should have chosen us.

1:18:15Recall them all, y'all.

1:18:18- Thank you, that concludes non-agenda public comment.

1:18:23- All right, well, thank you for participating.

1:18:27Ma'am, just go ahead and have a seat.

1:18:29Thank you, thank you.

1:18:31All right, so let's hear item 15, please.

1:18:34- Report from disaster preparedness

1:18:36and emergency communications.

1:18:38The recommendation to continue

1:18:39the local emergency proclaimed in response

1:18:43to damage sustained from Hurricane Marie

1:18:46and the imminent and proximate threat

1:18:48to the safety of persons and property

1:18:51within the city of Long Beach,

1:18:53associated with the developing 2026, 2027 El Nino event

1:19:00and winter storm season.

1:19:02Approve extending the renewal period

1:19:04from 14 days to 30 days

1:19:06to support continued emergency response,

1:19:09recovery, preparedness and mitigation efforts

1:19:13during the 2026, 2027 winter storm season.

1:19:17Citywide.

1:19:19- All right, thank you.

1:19:20There's no real large scale presentation

1:19:22beyond what was read into the record.

1:19:24This is related to our proclamation of emergency.

1:19:29I will say that we've had three storm events

1:19:32during this El Nino season, potentially more to come.

1:19:36The El Nino season is an extended season.

1:19:40We want the whole city to prepare

1:19:42because there's more rain and other things coming.

1:19:44So we do wanna share that the city's partnering

1:19:48with Long Beach City College

1:19:49to host two upcoming sandbag distribution events.

1:19:53The first is on October 24th from 8 to 2 p.m.

1:19:57at the Trade Technology and Community Learning Campus.

1:20:00The second is on November 7th from 8 to 2 p.m.

1:20:04at the Liberal Arts Campus.

1:20:05And so residents are encouraged to prepare now.

1:20:08If you know that your property is flood prone,

1:20:11you can pick, just pull up, pop your trunk, volunteers,

1:20:14LBCC staff, city staff,

1:20:16will help you to load 10 bags at a time into your car.

1:20:20If you go home after getting those 10 and you need more,

1:20:22you can actually come back around

1:20:24and get more sandbags if you need them.

1:20:26So you just need to pull in and we'll help you.

1:20:28More information will be available

1:20:30on the City of Long Beach event calendar

1:20:32via the city's website and across social media channels

1:20:35and also we encourage everyone to sign up

1:20:37for [email protected].

1:20:40Azir, public comment here.

1:20:42- We have one speaker, Dave Shukla,

1:20:43if you could approach the lectern.

1:20:51- Thank you, Mr. Mayor, city council members.

1:20:54I support this item.

1:20:55I think it's incomplete.

1:20:57Sandbags are great.

1:20:58Everyone should get as many as they need.

1:21:00However, the city needs to examine its role,

1:21:06culpability, attributable share of climate impacts,

1:21:11such as supercharged storms during El Nino seasons

1:21:15and we know the problem is just starting

1:21:18to go up the global hockey stick curve

1:21:21of global temperatures.

1:21:23So it's something adaptation for is woefully woefully

1:21:31underprepared for in a city where over 50%

1:21:34of the land mass is flood prone.

1:21:40The city should look at things like clean energy

1:21:44instead of some of its uses currently in the city,

1:21:49but ultimately there's so much that the city traffic's

1:21:53in the way of mortal hazard that one has to wonder,

1:21:59just to extend really they should participate

1:22:01in it or seek redress.

1:22:03Thank you.

1:22:05- Thank you, that concludes public comment.

1:22:06- All right, members, please cast your vote.

1:22:12- Motion is carried.

1:22:14- All right, that's our final agenda item.

1:22:16We'll now go to closing public comment.

1:22:19- We have 10 speakers.

1:22:20With the following 10 speakers,

1:22:22please approach the lectern.

1:22:24- Henry Corso, Debra, Dave Shukla,

1:22:27Liv, Thi, Ruby, Jim, Amy is on Zoom,

1:22:34Ghetto, I'm sorry, Gecko and A-H-O-L-E.

1:22:42- All right, please proceed.

1:22:45- My name is Henry Corso.

1:22:47I'm speaking on behalf of the Long Beach Association

1:22:50of Engineering Employees regarding our ongoing

1:22:52contract negotiations with the city.

1:22:55Our presentation to the City Council,

1:22:58we chaired the city's own findings,

1:23:00showing that AEE faces significant recruitment

1:23:04and retention challenges.

1:23:05The city's data identified a 21% vacancy rate,

1:23:11while its compensation studies show that 87%

1:23:14of AEE classifications were paid below market, 87%,

1:23:19with some significantly behind comparable employers.

1:23:22Since then, inflation has continued to affect

1:23:25the purchasing power of our members.

1:23:28The latest federal data shows annual inflation at 3.7%,

1:23:32making it increasingly difficult for employees

1:23:35to keep up with the cost of living,

1:23:37while the city continues to face

1:23:39substantial compensation gaps.

1:23:41We also explained that the overwhelming majority

1:23:44of AEE salaries are funded through enterprise

1:23:48and other revenue generated funds,

1:23:50rather than the general fund.

1:23:52Competitive compensation is therefore not simply an expense.

1:23:55It's an investment in the skilled professionals

1:23:58who deliver the city's infrastructure,

1:23:59engineering, and essential services.

1:24:02We're talking about your port, your peer-be real facility,

1:24:06your airport, your public works, your water and utilities,

1:24:09your energy infrastructure.

1:24:11These are the assets and essential services

1:24:13that keep Long Beach going.

1:24:16We recognize that reaching an agreement

1:24:18requires balancing different considerations.

1:24:21However, a meaningful agreement must address

1:24:23both annual wage increases and the long-standing inequities

1:24:28affecting our classifications.

1:24:30We ask the council to provide its negotiating team

1:24:34with enough authority and support needed

1:24:37to reach an agreement that reflect these realities

1:24:40and meet our members' minimum expectations.

1:24:43Recruiting and retaining qualified employees

1:24:45is essential to the city's long-term success.

1:24:48We urge you to help ensure that Long Beach

1:24:50remains competitive in attracting

1:24:52and retaining the experienced workforce

1:24:54its residents depend on.

1:24:57Because without the engineering professionals

1:24:59who plan, design, build, operate

1:25:02our essential infrastructure,

1:25:04the city's ability to function and move forward

1:25:07will be severely compromised.

1:25:10Thank you.

1:25:12- Thank you, Deborah.

1:25:14Deborah, you're the next speaker.

1:25:20- Hello, everyone.

1:25:23My name is Deborah Mitchell.

1:25:25My reason for being here is I'm doing some

1:25:33relative searching.

1:25:35My father's name is Herman Dudley, supposedly.

1:25:41I don't know for sure, but he's a longtime army veteran,

1:25:46like five times.

1:25:49And I come here to search for my history,

1:25:54Hollywood, Ronald Reagan, Carter, all of those guys.

1:26:02And I'm trying to watch my property as I speak.

1:26:05So if you guys can be eyes for me behind my head,

1:26:09I would appreciate it.

1:26:10Because if they put their hands on any of my property,

1:26:13we're going out together.

1:26:16But anyway, yeah, so I come here from Columbus, Ohio.

1:26:22I'm from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

1:26:24I've been robbed down on Grand Street.

1:26:27The police wrote my case up and it's not me.

1:26:35It's not Debbie, not Deborah Mitchell.

1:26:38It might be Rachel Dolezal, Cindy Norton,

1:26:42Hattie Mitchell, Myra Dudley, Ronnie Mitchell,

1:26:45my family since identity, 1961.

1:26:50Anyway, my bank name is Tello, Ohio.

1:26:55They harassed me coming out of Columbus, Ohio,

1:27:00and they're harassing me now here

1:27:03in Los Angeles, California.

1:27:05Curly Bell, supposed to be a counselor of mine,

1:27:08a real good friend of my son.

1:27:11She had something to do with my son's murder

1:27:13in Columbus, Ohio, okay?

1:27:17So now I'm here being robbed by my bank

1:27:22that wouldn't give me license at the DMV in Columbus, Ohio.

1:27:26So I'm stripped of my conditionals right now.

1:27:30I haven't eaten.

1:27:31I'm begging people for little things

1:27:35like potato chips and popcorn and pop and juice.

1:27:41I had $4,000 on me.

1:27:44I went to sleep on Grand and 7th in between Hope

1:27:51and the police officer wrote it up

1:27:54as a whole entirely different situation.

1:27:57And this was going on since I know of myself 2015,

1:28:02Las Vegas, Nevada, Clark County.

1:28:05So my thing is this, I need my money.

1:28:09I'm trying to get my word out there.

1:28:11I know nobody has helped me

1:28:13and they're probably not gonna help me,

1:28:17but so long as I have breath, I'm looking for my children.

1:28:21- Thank you, your time has concluded.

1:28:25- All right, thank you.

1:28:28All right, let's call the next speaker.

1:28:29- Next speaker is Dave Shukla.

1:28:34Dave Shukla, Dave Shukla.

1:28:40- I'm gonna ask you all to clear that aisle.

1:28:43It's supposed to be a aisle for walking, not for gathering.

1:28:46Just moving, thank you.

1:28:48All right, Dave, you're up.

1:28:53All right, I'm gonna issue my final warning

1:28:56to you on the end.

1:28:58Please don't address the other community members

1:29:00and please don't interrupt the proceeding.

1:29:02This is a final warning.

1:29:03I'm gonna ask you to leave if that happens.

1:29:05Dave, you have the floor, thank you.

1:29:09- For the record, the recording of the new rules

1:29:16and culture that you want to try and establish

1:29:19is pretty dystopian, even though we can certainly sympathize.

1:29:28Reminded me of the New York City subway.

1:29:31When there's anything prescriptive,

1:29:32it's a friendly woman's voice.

1:29:34When there's anything that's a directive,

1:29:36in comes a man's voice.

1:29:42It's a real shame that the own goal

1:29:44of not managing to deal with legitimate public frustration,

1:29:49even if it's not expressed the way one might like

1:29:52or you may like as mayor or as city council members

1:29:55or as staff, you know, has led not only to these changes

1:30:02but also generally to furthering sense

1:30:04that less is possible in the city

1:30:07and it's not bound up in the economic project

1:30:10of the Olympics or increasingly taking people

1:30:15out of decision making by technology or by dumb choices.

1:30:22It's not really relevant to people's lives

1:30:26or the lives they may want to lead

1:30:31were it not for certain pressures.

1:30:36It's kind of hard to be a universalist

1:30:38and a generalist in certain environments.

1:30:40I can certainly understand the difficulty

1:30:42in making policy for large groups of people.

1:30:48I, for the record, would like to state

1:30:50before we take away my ability to say things

1:30:55after the meeting that there should be metrics

1:30:58on whether things actually improve

1:31:00according to who's ever standard or not.

1:31:03There should be ways to verify that the changes made

1:31:06serve legitimate purposes and not ways

1:31:08to criminalize things that should be said about the city.

1:31:14And you know, the funny thing is that people really cared.

1:31:16I mean, I come from a tradition of nonviolent direct action

1:31:20but people really cared.

1:31:21They'd find ways not only to make their media savvier

1:31:23but they'd do the thing that the city clearly doesn't want

1:31:26which is get arrested.

1:31:27Get arrested for having your voice taken away.

1:31:30You know, peacefully, non-violently,

1:31:32not in the way that's gonna cause problems

1:31:34but if you really wanna make the point

1:31:35and you really want to score media win

1:31:37and really wanna make the mayor look bad

1:31:38and win the battle of the story,

1:31:40there's ways to escalate, frankly,

1:31:41that it's not up to me to propose

1:31:48or to suggest would be necessary.

1:31:51But you know, it's kind of a shame that people,

1:31:55you know, if they really wanna get serious,

1:31:58don't find better and more effective ways

1:32:00of making the change that they want or that we all need.

1:32:04Thank you.

1:32:05- Thank you.

1:32:06Next speaker is Liz.

1:32:20- So this is what meeting this is,

1:32:25like my third meeting coming here.

1:32:28I've been in Long Beach my whole life.

1:32:32I did leave to Arizona for three years

1:32:34and I have been back since.

1:32:37I run a social group with the community.

1:32:42I just recently started a grassroots

1:32:44to try to do different things

1:32:45and kind of bring the community together

1:32:47and help just providing resources

1:32:48that we have certain gaps.

1:32:51I know we have food banks and whatnot

1:32:53but there are also families with kids with disabilities

1:32:56who can't physically go.

1:32:58And one of the things for me right now,

1:33:01it's like I'm in this gap from one state to another,

1:33:04trying to figure out how to bring my brother here

1:33:08'cause he's in Arizona and he's in a group home

1:33:11and my parents are seniors.

1:33:14So when I started coming here,

1:33:16it's just to understand more how this works.

1:33:19And as I've been learning about like the mental health,

1:33:23the situation and the response teams,

1:33:25finding out that there's only a handful

1:33:29of five response people, it does worry me some

1:33:33because the times that my brother has come

1:33:37and he does have, he has autism

1:33:40but he also has a communication delay

1:33:45where he can't fully communicate sentences to you

1:33:48but he will give you words

1:33:50to try to tell you what's going on.

1:33:53In Arizona, there's been situations

1:33:55that I am addressing, I'm bringing to the light

1:33:58about things and it's always, well, there's no proof.

1:34:02There's no, it's just like he said, she said

1:34:05with the group homes even though there's physical proof

1:34:08and bruising and it wasn't until a new employee recorded

1:34:15and then everyone decided to speak on it.

1:34:17Everyone was trying to give me answers and be on my side.

1:34:23And I think about how it is here with all the families

1:34:26that I am in communication with

1:34:29that have siblings and kids in mental states

1:34:34and right now it's like hearing them go through these things

1:34:38it's like, what can I do?

1:34:40What can we do?

1:34:40How can we help?

1:34:43Because anything I read about Mental Health Cup

1:34:46as it's all just like anything else is just budget cuts.

1:34:49There's much, there's, you know

1:34:50but here we have the request for money for other stuff

1:34:55and it's like once they age, once they come out of school

1:35:00and they become adults like my brother, he's 26,

1:35:04mentally he's a kid and everything is accessible to him

1:35:07when they're little, but once they're an adult,

1:35:10oh no, he's an adult, but mentally he's still a kid

1:35:12and there's no resources to help him.

1:35:14There's no help and I'm looking for things here

1:35:18and I'm in the same boat.

1:35:19So how and what can we do?

1:35:21- Thank you, your time has concluded.

1:35:23- I wanna connect you with our city management on team.

1:35:27Mental Health is mostly a county function

1:35:29but we work with them and we can try to point you

1:35:32in the right direction.

1:35:33Thank you.

1:35:35- Thi?

1:35:41- I'm loving the new courthouse Hunger Games

1:35:44and 1980 war vibes that you gave at the beginning.

1:35:49ICE is here by the way, North Long Beach right now

1:35:52just in case you guys cared, but Councilman Kerr,

1:35:56you mentioned how proud you are about the legacy

1:35:58you're leaving in Long Beach today

1:36:00as you celebrate the new fire station

1:36:03after closing the other one.

1:36:05A legacy will reflect the larger picture of your city,

1:36:08how it impacts all of us.

1:36:11We don't live in a small town in the middle of nowhere.

1:36:13The area breeds opportunity, advancement

1:36:16and potential for unlimited possibility.

1:36:18It holds a lot of power because we are many.

1:36:22It's been documented that equality is the arch enemy

1:36:25in a hierarchical society.

1:36:27I find this important when every dollar

1:36:30or $1 of every $3 is held by the top 1%.

1:36:34Council, your choices impact all of us.

1:36:38When you choose to ignore a portion of your community,

1:36:42ignore the struggles of your people,

1:36:44it leads to cognitive dissonance.

1:36:46By suppressing our right to speak at these meetings,

1:36:50by not shedding light on violence, racism, inequality,

1:36:54the citizens must fend for themselves.

1:36:57ICE is here.

1:36:59We have hit the 500th day of the siege

1:37:03in Southern California.

1:37:05We demand that you play an active role in our community

1:37:08and not just show up for photo ops.

1:37:10Hopefully Tanoo is there right now, I doubt it.

1:37:13We demand that you document these atrocities in the city

1:37:17and notify the public in real time, not six hours later.

1:37:21We demand that you activate your communities

1:37:23and educate them on how to stay safe.

1:37:26We demand that you provide adequate care

1:37:28and legal resources for the families that have been taken.

1:37:32It's that simple.

1:37:35We need leaders and not social personalities.

1:37:37You claim that power is not within your reach.

1:37:40Yet when there's an event that causes the media to swivel,

1:37:44you're all fresh with ideas and activism.

1:37:47We are having fucking concentration camps

1:37:50in our country right now.

1:37:51Our company, our community is being invaded by masked agents

1:37:55and you do not care that they're locking anybody up.

1:37:59Daily in Southern California,

1:38:00people are being brutally injured

1:38:02because of the color of their skin.

1:38:04Why is action not ignited until it falls on your doorstep?

1:38:08You recently decided to give less

1:38:10to the Immigration Justice Fund.

1:38:12Meanwhile, you have money to blow on your vanity projects.

1:38:16Allowing Andrew a genocidal defense contact company

1:38:19to house a new campus on the city.

1:38:22Meanwhile, asylum seekers are being kidnapped

1:38:24from their checking appointments.

1:38:26Children are afraid to go to school.

1:38:28Legal citizens are getting hurt for the mere audacity

1:38:31of to hold a phone and press record.

1:38:34Get in the game or step aside.

1:38:39Next speaker is Ruby.

1:38:41And after Ruby, it's Jim, a mayor, just a point of order.

1:38:54All right, don't start it.

1:38:56- So we're gonna ask this group to leave.

1:39:03- Mayor, just a point of order.

1:39:06- I'm sorry?

1:39:07- A point of order real quick.

1:39:08The cameras for the public are not showing their face.

1:39:11They're showing it from the back of their head.

1:39:13Is there a reason why it's being shown from the back?

1:39:16- Yes.

1:39:18- It is?

1:39:19Oh, is that the new policy?

1:39:21- It doesn't have to be zoned in on their face.

1:39:25Let me handle this.

1:39:27So just so we're clear, that's a disruption.

1:39:30So we're gonna pause and allow this group to leave.

1:39:35So we can give the attention to the next speaker.

1:40:26All right, thank you, you are recognized.

1:40:30Please proceed with your comment, thank you.

1:40:33- Good evening, honorable mayor and city council,

1:40:37council women and councilmen.

1:40:40I wanted to start with the vandalism

1:40:42that's been occurring in my neighborhood in district six.

1:40:45I noticed that the same little naughty characters,

1:40:49mostly unhoused are now they're spray painting our keypad,

1:40:54taking screws out of our gate and spray painting over

1:40:58all of the no trespassing signs.

1:41:01And the community is coming together,

1:41:06but also it's people are blaming each one another

1:41:12from their trash bins missing and so on and so forth.

1:41:15But there is a camera at the laundromat

1:41:17and it does document the characters.

1:41:21However, I would say in the homeless unhoused initiative,

1:41:27would it be possible to give areas funding

1:41:31because we've now had to pay for a $7,000 damage

1:41:36that cost our community $7,000.

1:41:39And they're stripping copper, brass,

1:41:43and I know their agency is probably accepting

1:41:46these stolen items so they basically should be flagged.

1:41:51I don't wanna say shut down because I do support business.

1:41:55But I also wanted to say that ICE,

1:41:59according to my historical knowledge,

1:42:03was created in 2003 by George Bush's initiative

1:42:09in regards to Homeland Security.

1:42:12So I was brought up where you don't blame,

1:42:16you question the messenger,

1:42:17but you do something about the community.

1:42:19I'm not from here.

1:42:21I'm actually from Ohio.

1:42:23I'm from Ohio.

1:42:24And my father was a doctor and he served the community

1:42:28regardless of their ability to pay.

1:42:32He served Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio.

1:42:36He had patients that were racist.

1:42:38He had patients that were rich.

1:42:39He had patients that were poor.

1:42:41But his goal was to save their life.

1:42:45It ultimately cost my dad his life.

1:42:48And I say that to say that my mother told me tonight,

1:42:52she said, please let the community know

1:42:55that when you threaten someone's life,

1:42:58then if something happens to them,

1:43:01you are part of the cause.

1:43:03I think as a community, as the city,

1:43:06we should be a part of the solution

1:43:09in terms of working within our homes

1:43:12and sprinkling that out.

1:43:16In the past, in the '60s, when my family was involved,

1:43:20you mortgaged homes, you saved money,

1:43:23you organized, but you were never threatening

1:43:26the life of congressmen and women and the mayor.

1:43:30My mother says this is awful.

1:43:33Thank you.

1:43:34- Thank you.

1:43:35Next speaker is Jim.

1:43:36- Thank you for saying that, thank you.

1:43:42- Hello, City Council again.

1:43:50It's good to be one of the last people

1:43:52that's gonna be able to comment at the end of a meeting.

1:43:56Just wanted to talk on two things.

1:43:57Item 26, last meeting, started as an ordinance

1:44:01for putting up a five minute clock,

1:44:03turned into an incomprehensible and very long series

1:44:06of amendments, friendly and otherwise,

1:44:08including comments like, could you repeat

1:44:10what you were trying to want to say?

1:44:13Then the city attorney, while they sat moot,

1:44:17or is it mute, the city manager

1:44:21offered a bunch of legal advice

1:44:23that now the vote was on a policy, no longer an ordinance,

1:44:26though there was nothing put into

1:44:29any of the parliamentary procedure about that.

1:44:31But with no text, nothing defined,

1:44:34a promise that something eventually would be written up,

1:44:37you all voted for it.

1:44:39Absolutely bizarre.

1:44:40You can go back and look at the video.

1:44:42It's a silly proceeding.

1:44:45All right, next item is what has become

1:44:49Saturday's media event, defining the city

1:44:52at the cost of millions of dollars to,

1:44:55if you were trying to do it for paid media.

1:44:58So Long Beach is now a city with waves

1:45:01hitting multi-million dollar homes

1:45:03and ICE breaking the arm of a citizen

1:45:05while Long Beach PD stood by.

1:45:08I really am shocked at the police cooperation with ICE.

1:45:12Media reports on ABC said LBPD responded

1:45:16to a call from ICE after a call gathered.

1:45:19My question is, will a FOIA request

1:45:21for the 911 calls and dispatch messaging

1:45:23produce that or those calls from ICE?

1:45:25How do they ID themselves?

1:45:27Hi, this is ICE, we're having a problem.

1:45:30Or does ICE have a back channel to LPPD

1:45:32that wouldn't show up?

1:45:34Body-worn cameras, where's that information?

1:45:37They just cleaned up ICE's mess.

1:45:39When LBPD responds and encounters ICE,

1:45:41why is the vehicle code not enforced?

1:45:44ICE violence almost always involves vehicles.

1:45:46Yet vehicles with no plates, swapped plates,

1:45:50mismatched plates operate in the city

1:45:52with absolute impunity.

1:45:54Can any of us take the plates off our cars?

1:45:56Great, registration costs a lot.

1:46:00It's incalculable why this happens.

1:46:03Wrong way driving, weaponizing a vehicle,

1:46:05attempted murder of a resident and citizen.

1:46:09Doesn't happen with trained professional law enforcement.

1:46:11Happens with these guys.

1:46:14So why is it tolerated?

1:46:15Some kind of professional courtesy, the thin blue line.

1:46:18The only thin blue line with ICE

1:46:20is a line striking through the rights

1:46:22enumerated in the Constitution.

1:46:25Enjoy your week off, next week and the week after that,

1:46:27and enjoy the silence of the community.

1:46:30Thank you.

1:46:31- Thank you, the next speaker is Amy in Zoom.

1:46:34Can you unmute yourself?

1:46:42- Hi, can you hear me?

1:46:43- Yes, we can hear you.

1:46:44Your time starts now.

1:46:46- Hi, my name is Amy.

1:46:48I am a resident of district two,

1:46:50and I just wanna say, fuck you, Rex,

1:46:53and fuck you, you raggedy-ass bitch, Tunua.

1:46:55You're not even here, but I hope you watch this.

1:46:59You guys have done nothing about ICE for fucking months,

1:47:03years, people have been coming and asking you to do more,

1:47:06and every single time, Rex, you stand up there

1:47:09with your dumb fucking face and your dumb fucking words,

1:47:11putting out these sorry-ass video ops,

1:47:14that do nothing for the community.

1:47:16Then you guys come in here and you wanna play,

1:47:19like you're some type of king,

1:47:21and you wanna have people stand in line

1:47:23as if they're kindergartners,

1:47:24and you guys wanna kick people out,

1:47:26give them one warning, then kick people out.

1:47:28When people are pissed, you don't wanna hear people cuss.

1:47:31Like you guys are mad at the wrong thing.

1:47:34You guys are mad that people are upset

1:47:35that you guys think you just failed a city,

1:47:37wasting money on who knows what, our budget is,

1:47:41we're in debt, and you guys continue to make dumb decisions

1:47:45that the community comes out and speaks out against,

1:47:48and you still continue to do whatever it is

1:47:50that you wanna do.

1:47:51Like what is it that you guys do?

1:47:53You guys obviously don't protect your community,

1:47:56you don't protect the immigrant community,

1:47:58you don't protect US citizens,

1:48:00you don't protect your residents, your constituents.

1:48:04The man who was injured on Saturday

1:48:06was a former Long Beach employee,

1:48:09and you guys did nothing to protect him

1:48:13for weeks, months, years, nothing.

1:48:16So what is it that you guys are gonna do moving forward

1:48:18besides putting out your stupid ass Instagram videos?

1:48:21Like how is it that you guys sleep at night?

1:48:24How is it that you guys think that you're doing a good job?

1:48:27Because like somebody said, fascism works by all you

1:48:33little puppets playing this part

1:48:36and continuing to do this and abiding

1:48:38by this authoritarian regime,

1:48:41because like who are these people?

1:48:43There's no warrants, they're targeting brown people.

1:48:47Like it's just completely wrong and it's so dystopian

1:48:50and you guys are just going on about your life

1:48:52as if this is normal.

1:48:54Go fuck yourself and do something for the city.

1:48:57And with that, I yield my time.

1:48:59Fuck you, Rex.

1:49:00- Thank you.

1:49:01Gecko is the next person.

1:49:08- Hello City Council, hello Rex.

1:49:11I am here to speak on incident that happened on Saturday.

1:49:14I arrived after the incident happened.

1:49:16Many people were frightened,

1:49:18many children were crying when I arrived.

1:49:20And like, where were you man?

1:49:23Like you responded six hours later with a sad video saying,

1:49:26"Oh, I'm here for the community."

1:49:28But you were not there, man.

1:49:30You were gone for like the whole day.

1:49:32You responded towards the end of the day.

1:49:34But besides that, an incident that you were useless for.

1:49:38I'm gonna say a poem that should impact the community

1:49:41and the entire country.

1:49:44Justice supposedly, I pledge allegiance

1:49:46to the flag of the United States of America,

1:49:48but the fabric feels heavy tonight.

1:49:50Soating questions we're told not to ask.

1:49:52And to republic which it stands, stands on whose backs?

1:49:55Exactly.

1:49:56Untired mothers counting days without their children,

1:49:59on working fathers breaking their bodies,

1:50:01just to keep a family barely together.

1:50:03Our nation, one nation learned to God.

1:50:06Yet families are separated by papers and power.

1:50:09Kids growing up learning goodbyes

1:50:10before they learned their time stables.

1:50:12Invisible.

1:50:13But tell that to the Hispanic communities

1:50:15leaving inferior tucked into the daily routines.

1:50:18A faith, a drive to work or school

1:50:21might be the last normal thing they do together.

1:50:23With liberty and justice for all, oh really?

1:50:26Tell that to the protestors met with batons and shields.

1:50:28Voices raised for dignity,

1:50:30answered with force instead of listening.

1:50:33Tell that to the United, to the US citizens

1:50:36who die protecting their neighbors.

1:50:38Who step up when systems step back.

1:50:40Whose courage is praised quietly and forgotten loudly.

1:50:43Tell that to the government that ties its grip

1:50:45when speak too clearly.

1:50:47That cause truth, disorder.

1:50:50That wants silence more than solution.

1:50:53Obedience more than justice.

1:50:56We don't hate the flag.

1:50:57We're asking it to mean something.

1:50:59We don't reject the pledge.

1:51:01We're demanding and keep its word.

1:51:03Because justice for all,

1:51:04ain't a line of memorize, oh my bad.

1:51:08It's promise to fight for fulfill

1:51:11and until every family is safe,

1:51:13every voice is heard and fear is no longer a policy,

1:51:16the pledge is unfinished and so are we.

1:51:19And I just want to say that you need to do

1:51:23a little bit more of helping out the community

1:51:26more like cleaning up the streets.

1:51:28Instead of just arresting the L.B.P.D., this directitude also,

1:51:32instead of just picking up the homeless people

1:51:35and when they're obviously having a mental episode,

1:51:41instead of arresting them,

1:51:43you should help them and take them to an area

1:51:44where they can get help and resources

1:51:47and help out the more unhoused.

1:51:50Like there's a bunch of unhoused

1:51:51and you're just letting them sleep on the streets,

1:51:53which is, they're not deserved, they're human beings.

1:51:56They're not animals.

1:51:57And you need help out more, listen more to your community

1:52:00instead of just watching your phone

1:52:02and making those little videos

1:52:04and making all those little faces I see you see, council.

1:52:06So I'm going to head out, I'm going to join my comrades

1:52:08and have a good night.

1:52:10- Thank you.

1:52:11Last speaker is A-H-O-L-E.

1:52:16That concludes second non-agenda public comment.

1:52:22- All right, well that concludes public comment.

1:52:25We'll now have any closing comments from the city council.

1:52:29Cue up now if you have comments.

1:52:32All right, council member Allen.

1:52:36- I have a question for the city clerk.

1:52:37Who authorized you to show the back of people's head

1:52:40during public comment and not their faces?

1:52:44- Better question for the city attorney, I think.

1:52:46City attorney, and this isn't on agenda.

1:52:50So say what you feel comfortable.

1:52:53- Well, this is not announcements for the council.

1:52:55So if you'd like to have a conversation, we can have that.

1:52:57But this is not announcements.

1:53:01- Okay, so then I will do my announcements.

1:53:03I think whoever I'm authorized to show the back

1:53:06of the public heads and not show people's faces

1:53:08on public comment is undemocratic.

1:53:11I think we need to look at that and change that.

1:53:13I think the public has a right to know

1:53:16who's talking at a public comment.

1:53:20And it was those watching online

1:53:23can't even see people's faces anymore.

1:53:25So whoever made that decision

1:53:28to show the back of people's head on public comment,

1:53:30I think it's something that we need to have a talk about

1:53:33because it is extremely undemocratic.

1:53:39- That's your announcement?

1:53:41Okay, just to be clear,

1:53:43we do have technical limitations.

1:53:45We can't show the audience and faces and all of that.

1:53:49And so, Madam Attorney,

1:53:51let's make sure you have a conversation offline

1:53:53about what our technical capabilities are.

1:53:56It's a very simple operation that we have.

1:53:59We can't capture the whole room and a face,

1:54:02but whatever we can do, we should certainly do.

1:54:04Council Member Sorrow?

1:54:07- Yes, I would like to invite everyone

1:54:09to the Paris Peace Accord commemoration

1:54:13this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. here at City Hall.

1:54:16This is a celebration of a historic milestone

1:54:19that opened the path for peace, national reconciliation,

1:54:23human rights and democracy and the rule of law.

1:54:26And it's hosted by members of the Cambodian community.

1:54:29Thank you.

1:54:31- Thank you, Council Member Carr.

1:54:33- Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor.

1:54:35There's a number of upcoming ways

1:54:36to celebrate arts, culture, and community

1:54:38in the Fifth District.

1:54:40Excuse me, this week, I invite you

1:54:42to historic Rancho Los Cerritos

1:54:44for either or both of their upcoming events.

1:54:46On Saturday, October 24th, celebrate Dia de los Muertos

1:54:51and learn about the symbols of remembrance

1:54:52that the artists had worked up from 10 to 12 p.m.

1:54:56And then on Sunday the 25th,

1:54:58you can join the BKBAA for salsa y sabor

1:55:00from one to five, a special cultural celebration

1:55:03complete with salsa, the dancing.

1:55:05Lessons, a live concert, and salsa the food, a competition.

1:55:09You can also continue your celebrations

1:55:10of October as Art Month supporting student performances

1:55:14at LBCC's Songs Around the Campfire Choral Concert

1:55:17on Sunday the 25th.

1:55:19We're connecting with Art and Nature

1:55:20at Willow Springs Park,

1:55:22experiencing painting in the park

1:55:24Sunday on the 25th at 3 p.m.

1:55:27Looking ahead, I invite you

1:55:28to two upcoming events hosted by my office.

1:55:29Our next CD5 community meeting

1:55:31will be on Thursday, October 29th at 6 p.m.

1:55:34At the Expo Arts Center, we'll be joined

1:55:35by guest speaker Senator Gonzalez

1:55:37and Assembly Member Lowenthal.

1:55:38And in partnership with Councilman Thrashenchuk's office

1:55:41and Jack and Jill Long Beach Chapter,

1:55:42we're holding a blood drive

1:55:44at the Expo Arts Center on Friday, October 30th

1:55:46from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

1:55:49There are gift cards in addition to giving

1:55:51the gift of life through blood,

1:55:52so please consider signing up at redcrossblood.org/give.

1:55:57Thank you.

1:55:58- Thank you.

1:55:59Council members in Dejas.

1:56:05- Thank you.

1:56:05Wanted to invite the community to Dia de los Muertos

1:56:09on November 1st at Rainbow Lagoon between one and five.

1:56:14Looking forward to celebrating this traditional holiday.

1:56:19- All right, thank you and Council Member Ixodi.

1:56:22- Thank you, Mayor.

1:56:23I'd like to invite everyone out

1:56:25to our Council District 9 virtual town hall.

1:56:28It will be on Thursday, October 29th from 4 to 5.30 p.m.

1:56:33It's a virtual webinar on Zoom,

1:56:35so you can email my office at [email protected]

1:56:38and we can send you all the information for you to sign up.

1:56:41And then additionally, on Friday, October 30th

1:56:44from 8 a.m. to 9.30 p.m.,

1:56:45we will have our Business Breakfast Club come.

1:56:48We're inviting North Long Beach businesses

1:56:50to come out and learn about loan and certification programs,

1:56:53business insight tools,

1:56:54and more from the City of Long Beach BizCare program.

1:56:57We are hosting this in conjunction

1:56:59with our Long Beach Economic Development

1:57:00and Opportunity Department.

1:57:02And so come on out,

1:57:03it will be held at the North Long Beach

1:57:04Higher Education Center at 635 East South Street,

1:57:08again Friday, October 30th from 8 a.m. to 9.30 a.m.

1:57:12- All right, well that concludes closing comment.

1:57:15We wanna thank you for participating.

1:57:17We won't see you again until the month of November,

1:57:20so we wish you a happy dell de los Muertos

1:57:23and Halloween and a safe end of the month.

1:57:27And make sure you get out,

1:57:29cash your ballots, and vote.

1:57:30It's election season, lots of important issues.

1:57:34So make sure you get out and cash your ballot

1:57:35and we'll see you in November.

1:57:37Thank you.

1:57:38Meeting adjourned.