At its Dec. 18 meeting, the Long Beach City Council heard a presentation about a day commemorating homeless residents, accepted numerous appointments to several non-charter commissions and approved a 20-year agreement with Verizon Communications.
Homelessness presentation
Steve BeCotte, president of the Long Beach Area Coalition for the Homeless, gave a presentation in honor of Mayor Robert Garcia’s having proclaimed Friday, Dec. 21 as Homeless Persons Memorial Day.
“Dec. 21 is the longest night of the year, and this date symbolizes the struggle persons experiencing homelessness face on the streets every night,” BeCotte said. “Homeless Memorial Day, an annual event commemorated in over 150 communities across the United States, is a call to action to address and alleviate homelessness in our nation. An important step in addressing homelessness is to acknowledge dignity of all persons who are in situations of homelessness or poverty and who work tirelessly to protect their basic and civil rights.”
BeCotte said communities often try to devise solutions to homelessness but having a special day to commemorate those in need is important for developing compassion for all individuals.
Commission appointments
The council approved numerous appointments to several non-charter commissions, including the newly restructured Commission on Youth and Families, the Board of Health and Human Services, the Senior Citizen Advisory Commission, the Taxes and Use Citizens Advisory Committee and the Marine Advisory Commission.
“I want to thank that whole group of incredibly impressive citizens that want to be engaged in their city,” Garcia said, after announcing the appointees.
Budget adjustments
The council also approved the Fiscal Year 2018 fourth departmental and fund budget appropriation adjustments in accordance with existing city council policy.
Exception
In a 7-0 vote, the city council also approved an exception to the 180-day waiting period for public agencies pursuant to Government Code 7522.56 and 21224 to hire Dale Hutchinson for a limited duration to work in the Technology and Innovation Department.
Construction contracts
The council adopted specifications and awarded contracts to Kalban, Inc., of Santa Clarita, and CJ Concrete Construction, Inc., of Santa Fe Springs, for construction of curb ramps and concrete-related improvements, in an aggregate amount not to exceed $30,000,000, for a period of two years, with the option to renew for three additional one-year periods, at the discretion of the city manager.
Before the council voted on the item, 1st District Councilmember Lena Gonzalez inquired about previous wage-compliance concerns related to CJ Concrete Construction regarding lawsuits against them.
Craig Beck, director of Public Works, said staff had looked into the matter.
“On the wage-compliance concerns […], we did meet with the Center for Labor Compliance, and we did meet with CJ Construction and addressed all those issues,” Beck said. “There were two items where CJ was out of compliance [but] not in the city of Long Beach.
These were in other jurisdictions where they had to make corrections in their prevailing wage-payment structure, but we’ve reviewed what was provided in Long Beach and, thus far, we’ve not been able to identify any situations where they did not pay prevailing wage.”
Verizon agreement
The council also unanimously authorized the city manager, or designee, to finalize and execute a master license agreement with Verizon Communications, Inc., for the non-exclusive use of City-owned properties, including street lights citywide, for wireless telecommunications facilities, for a 20-year term.
“There was a change at the national level regarding how some of these small cells are instituted, and so I really want to thank– and appreciate– Verizon for stepping up and providing the conduit and infrastructure as a trade in terms of the ability to move forward with this project in a meaningful way,” said 5th District Councilmember Stacy Mungo. “I know there’s still a lot going on at the national level, and for [Verizon] to move forward for the residents of Long Beach in this agreement is very helpful to us, and we really appreciate your generosity.”
Technology
The councilmembers also voted unanimously to authorize the city manager to amend a contract with Plenary Properties Long Beach, LLC for critical technology-needs infrastructure, in an amount not to exceed $4,300,000.
The vote also authorizes the city manager to execute multiple lease-purchase agreements, in a total principal amount of up to $1,600,000, and authorize related financing documents with Banc of America Public Capital Corporation for the financing of critical technology-needs infrastructure, in an aggregate amount not to exceed $1,975,000.
Additionally, the vote increases appropriations in the General Services Fund in the Technology and Innovation Department by $3,300,000, offset by lease-purchase financing and funds available, as well as increasing appropriations in the Special Advertising and Promotion Fund in the Technology and Innovation Department by $1,000,000, offset by funds available.
Part of the funds will go toward a large “media wall” at City Hall that will showcase videos from various communities in the city, as well as live-stream city council meetings. Staff said they hope to have the project completed by the Fourth of July holiday.
Third District Councilmember Suzie Price expressed concerns about how the media wall would be used and said she would not want it to be too “flashy” or for the City to use it in a self-aggrandizing way.
Eighth District Councilmember Al Austin suggested that, at some point, parameters be established for how exactly the wall could be used.
Transferred funds
The city council additionally voted unanimously to increase appropriations in the General Fund in the City Manager Department by $50,000, offset by the 6th Council District one-time district priority funds transferred from the Citywide Activities Department, to support the 2019 Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration and decrease appropriations in the General Fund in the Citywide Activities Department by $50,000 to offset the transfer to the City Manager Department.