2:00pm | The Long Beach City Council spent two hours during their weekly meeting on Tuesday to cover just under 30 items. Councilmember and Vice-Mayor Suja Lowenthal presided over the meeting and all council members were in attendance. Here is a round-up of most of the items before the Council.
Consent Calendar
The City Council took up 15 items under the consent calendar, which were all approved unanimously. All but three of the consent items were approved with a single vote and no discussion. Other than normal procedural items and the three items held for discussion, the consent agenda items included: a settlement of a $40,000 injury lawsuit against the city; a resolution supporting Proposition 22 which seeks to keep more local gas taxes in areas the taxes are generated; a Department of Development Service refund of just over $50,000 in permit fees and surcharges to a partnership that pulled out of a PCH development project; and, alcohol license transfers for Holdens Liquor store at 4th Street and Redondo Avenue, the Gaucho Grill at 2nd Street and Pine Avenue, and for an AM/PM convenience store at the intersection of Willow and Pacific avenues.
The three consent agenda items held for discussion were motions to approve sidewalk dining at three downtown businesses: Crema and the 4th Street Deli, both in the 400 block of Pine Avenue; and, the Congregation Ale House located at The Promenade and Broadway Avenue.
Councilmember Robert Garcia spoke briefly about the three items, saying that each would add to the dining experience in downtown. All three motions passed unanimously.
Regular Agenda
The Council took up 11 items under the Regular Agenda portion of Tuesday’s meeting. Among the items voted on were:
The Council approved a recommendation to have the City Attorney draft a resolution declaring October to be Filipino-American History Month in Long Beach.
The Council approved a motion to change the city Municipal Code regarding which contributions and expenditures candidates running for city office must report. Currently, candidates must report any contribution or expenditure over $50. The motion, which was approved unanimously, changes the Municipal Code reporting level to $100–meaning that any contribution or expenditure under $100 will not have to be reported. A separate item, also approved unanimously, changes the Municipal Code to increase the amount an officeholder can transfer from their campaign funds to their officeholder accounts from $5,000 to $10,000.
The Council also received and filed an audit from City Auditor Laura Doud of the Queen Mary capital improvement project. Doud told the Council that the Queen Mary operator, Save The Queen, has spent $4 million on the capital improvement project. Although Save The Queen’s obligations at this point were to have been $4.3 million, Doud told the Council that the group has pledged a commitment to follow through on the remaining work.
A motion was approved to secure a Letter of Credit agreement for the 2004 revenue bonds issued to cover costs related to the Long Beach Towne Center. The new Letter of Credit, through Wells Fargo, will offer better terms for the city and avoid potentially higher costs under the previous letter.
The Council approved the issuance of up to $75 million in Tax and Revenue Anticipation Notes, or TRANs. As stated in the agenda item, “A TRAN enables public agencies that receive revenues sporadically throughout the year (e.g., property taxes, property tax in-lieu of vehicle license fees and property tax in-lieu of sales tax) to have the cash on hand needed for expenditures while awaiting the receipt of these revenues.” The city utilizes TRANs each year and these notes must be paid back within 15 months of issuance.
A license to sell alcoholic beverages was approved for the Fresh and Easy market at Atlantic Avenue and 33rd Street.
The Council approved a $70,000 increase to the contract with the construction firm working on the Vista Street Bike Boulevard. The increase is to provide for additional street work due to “unforeseen poor soil conditions” and concrete removal.
Ordinances
The Council took up two ordinance items Tuesday.
The first motion was for a first read and lay over of an ordinance change related to overweight vehicles and cargo. The motion amends the city code by adding a line, under a section dealing with reasons why the Public Works Director might deny an overweight traffic permit, which reads: Potential negative safety or environmental impacts in the opinion of the City Traffic Engineer, Fire Marshall, or the Chief of Police.
The second item changed the city code to allow for quicker processing of requested amendments to an existing Public Walkways Occupancy Permit under certain situations, mainly in the case of citizens requesting changes to the hours individual permits allow sidewalk usage due to noise or congestion issues.
And that, dear readers, was the City Council meeting for Tuesday.
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