In a five-hour-plus meeting Tuesday night, the Long Beach City Council made several moves toward addressing homelessness, heard the results of a parking study for the downtown and beach areas, and discussed efforts related to suicide prevention in the city, whose rate is higher than both the county’s and the state’s.
Homelessness
The council received and filed a final report from the Everyone Home Long Beach Task Force, which was formed earlier this year to mobilize the community to create new pathways into affordable homes and to increase efforts to prevent residents from becoming homeless.
Mayor Robert Garcia said that staff consider the report the most significant one of its kind from the last 10 years.
City Manager Patrick West explained the three key goals of the task force. The first concerns financing and governance, the second is to increase housing access and the third is to reduce homelessness through prevention and immediate intervention.
Homeless funds
The city council authorized the city manager, or designee, to execute agreements with the Long Beach Community Foundation to: establish and administer the Mayor’s Fund to End Homelessness; transfer the balance in the Mayor’s Fund-Homeless Trust to the Long Beach Community Foundation Mayor’s Fund to End Homelessness; and authorize the Health and Human Services Department to receive and expend funds from the Long Beach Community Foundation for Homeless Services Division programming.
“I think there’s been, for decades, a mayor’s fund for the homelessness,” Garcia said. “It’s existed [but has] not been active– it’s been active, but it hasn’t been proactive, I guess– in the last 10 or 15 years or so. It collects, in any given year, maybe $25,000 to $30,000 a year through the utility giving program that’s there, as part of the long-term efforts around homelessness. There’s a strong interest to activate the fund, and the staff’s recommendation, which I support, is to move the fund to the [Long Beach] Community Foundation. They are willing to fundraise, manage the fund and then maximize their work around homelessness to support that fund.”
The mayor explained that the foundation would work with the City to manage the fund, instead of that responsibility continuing to be under the purview of the health department.
The motion passed 7-0.
Parking study
Linda Tatum, director of the Development Services Department, and staff presented the findings of a parking study conducted for downtown and the Alamitos Beach area.
They said the study, which was the result of a settlement related to the sale of successor-agency properties, involved working with the community to gather data to chart a pathway forward concerning parking issues.
The four aspects of the study include collecting data, identifying strategies to increase parking availability, a public-outreach component and the recommendation report.
One finding from the study is that there is an “excess” amount of parking available downtown. However, staff clarified that that finding does not necessarily mean that, at any given time, every resident is able to find the ideal parking spot when they want it. Rather, the number of available spots surpasses the number of people looking for a place to park.
The report also indicates that drivers have trouble locating the parking spots and that the city lacks signage that would help them.
The council voted 8-0 to receive and file the study.
Entertainment permit
The council voted 5-0 to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude a public hearing and grant an entertainment permit with conditions on the application of Green Apple Event Company, Inc., doing business as The Loft on Pine, 230 Pine Ave., for entertainment with dancing.
The venue would serve as a rental hall, and Councilmember Jeannine Pearce, whose 2nd district encompasses the business, said she supports it.
Suicide prevention
After hearing a presentation on suicide rates and prevention by Kelly Colopy, director of Health & Human Services, the council voted 5-0 to receive and file the Department of Health and Human Services report on suicide prevention provided in a memo on Oct. 16.
The vote also directs staff to: participate consistently in the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health Suicide Prevention Network and its response to existing suicide-prevention plans; increase the number of trainings available for Long Beach residents, businesses and city staff; and report back annually on the progress and effectiveness of recommendations.
“Long Beach has resources to address the suicidal ideation, but the money doesn’t come directly to us, nor do we control or manage it,” Colopy said. “LA County Department of Mental Health is the agency responsible for providing mental-health services in Long Beach and administers state and federal funds for mental-health services.”
Colopy said the age-adjusted death rate from suicide for Long Beach during the three-year period of 2014 to 2016 was 10.5 for every 100,000 people. She added that the rate for LA County was 7.8 per 100,000 and the statewide rate was 10.4 per 100,000 for that same period. Colopy also said the rates appear to be highest among those who are elderly, white, African-American, LGBTQ or veterans.
Contract amendment
In a 5-0 vote, the council also authorized the city manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to amend contracts with Merrimac Energy Group of Long Beach and Falcon Fuels, Inc. of Paramount for the purchase of petroleum fuels, to increase the annual aggregate contract amount by $1,150,000, for a total annual aggregate amount not to exceed $4,150,000, for the remaining two years of a three-year contract term, for a revised total aggregate contract amount not to exceed $11,300,000.
The vote also increases appropriations in the Fleet Fund in the Financial Management Department by $572,251.
Water meters
The council voted 5-0 to enter into a 15-year lease-purchase agreement with Banc of America Public Capital Corporation of San Francisco for the financing of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure Project for the Long Beach Water Department, in an amount not to exceed $36,000,000, including interest costs and fees.
The new “smart” meters will upload information automatically, saving the City money, according to the staff report.
New-hire exception
The city council also adopted a resolution approving an exception to the 180-day waiting period for public agencies, pursuant to Government Code 7522.56 and 21224, to hire Gamal Elgaali for a limited duration to work in the Harbor Department.
Health care
The council also authorized the city manager, or designee, to execute an agreement with VOYA, for healthcare-specific stop-loss reinsurance coverage with a $500,000 deductible level, at an estimated cost of $1,190,502, for a 12-month period effective Jan. 1, 2019. The council also authorized any subsequent amendments necessary to maintain current benefit levels and remain in compliance with state and federal laws.
Grant application
The council also adopted a resolution authorizing the city manager, or designee, to submit a grant application to the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy (RMC) for the Long Beach Municipal Urban Stormwater Treatment Recycle Facility, and execute all document and agreements necessary to apply for Proposition 1 funding throughout RMC territory grant funds.
The council also authorized the city manager, or designee, to execute an agreement with the Gateway Water Management Authority to accept and expend Proposition 1 grant funding for the Lower Los Angeles River Corridor from the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles RMC, for the design and construction of the Long Beach Municipal Urban Stormwater Treatment Expansion Project.
Equality Plaza
In a 7-0 vote, the council approved a management agreement with Long Beach Center, LLC, for the maintenance of the City-owned property at 185 East 3rd St., commonly known as Harvey Milk Promenade Park and Equality Plaza.
Parking structure
In a 5-0 vote, the councilmembers also adopted plans and specifications for design-build services for a public-safety parking structure and to award a contract to W.M. Klorman Construction Corporation, of Woodland Hills for $9,279,400, with a 10-percent contingency for $927,940, for a total contract amount not to exceed $10,207,340.
It also authorized the Public Works Department to initiate the realignment of the public-safety fueling facility and the preliminary design for a new fleet-maintenance facility, previously housed in the Lincoln Garage, in an amount not to exceed $500,000.
Short-term use
Additionally, the council authorized a license agreement with The Boeing Company for the short-term use of the visitor and employee parking lot located at 4020 N. Lakewood Blvd., as overflow parking for an upcoming evening holiday event.
The next Long Beach City Council meeting will be at 5pm on Tuesday, Dec. 18, in council chamber, 333 W. Ocean Blvd.
