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(562) 570 5555 | district5@longbeach.gov | |
Weekly Updates | Jan. 3, 2025 | |
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Happy Friday, District 5, and happy new year! 2025 is officially here, and I hope everyone is feeling rested and energized post-holidays, as we gear up for what the new year has in store. Be sure to keep reading for updates and reminders from city departments, including details about holiday treecycling, special pick-ups, the next city budget process, and more.
For many, the new year is a time to make small changes and start new positive habits. If this sounds like you, you can join community members this Sunday, Jan. 5th, at KUBO Long Beach for a Journaling Workshop, designed to help you get organized and find inspiration for the coming year. If you’re considering ways you can give back to and alongside your community this year, save the date for the following Saturday (Jan 11th)’s community clean up with the Bixby Highland/Ridgewood Triangle Clean Streets team. See the flyers below for more details.
Looking ahead, save the date for Mayor Richardson’s State of the City address on Tuesday, January 14th, where he’ll provide an overview of what the city accomplished this last year, and where we are setting our sights for continued growth and progress in the next. Learn more and RSVP at longbeach.gov/stateofthecity. Save the date, as well, for the upcoming MLK Parade & Celebration on Saturday, Jan. 18th! See the flyer below for more information.
Finally, I’d like to remind you that the next City Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, at 5pm in the City Hall Chambers. A list of items of interest can be found at the bottom of this newsletter. I encourage you to attend or watch online.
As always, I am grateful for your continued engagement with me and my office, and I look forward to seeing you out in the community.
The work continues,
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Megan Kerr, Councilwoman
Long Beach, District 5
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Upcoming Meetings & Events | |
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Public Works
Holiday Treecycling Dec. 26 - Jan. 10
The Public Works Dept. will once again offer Holiday Treecycling, providing an accessible and responsible way to recycle live trees for Long Beach residents. From Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, through Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, residents can drop off their used trees at 12 locations throughout Long Beach, at no charge.
Convenient options for CD5 residents include our own Wardlow Park, as well as nearby Sherer Park and El Dorado Park West.
Please note that residents are asked to remove decorations and tree stands, cut trees in half if they are over 12 feet tall, and leave trees unwrapped.
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Residents are strongly encouraged to drop-off used trees at the citywide locations to reduce the strain on refuse collection services following the holiday season. However, there will be a special collection on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, for those unable to visit a drop-off location.
Visit longbeach.gov/lbrecycles or call (562) 570 2869 for more information.
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Storm Season - Street Sweeping Reminders
Street sweeping is conducted weekly by the Department of Public Works to improve the cleanliness, health and safety of the city. Street sweepers remove debris from our streets and prevent it from entering our storm drains and ocean.
Here are a few friendly reminders to ensure street sweepers can do their job as effectively as possible:
- Avoid raking or blowing leaves into the street or gutter: Leaves and lawn clippings are too large for street sweepers to collect. Instead, sweep them up and place them in your refuse bin or consider composting them for a sustainable option.
- Keep gutters and streets clear: By preventing leaves and debris from entering the storm drain system, we can protect our waterways from pollution. Remember, placing leaves or debris in the street, alley or gutter is a violation of federal law.
- Dispose of litter properly: Litter in gutters and alleys contributes to blockages and pollution.
- Keep streets dry on street sweeping days: Wet streets reduce the effectiveness of street sweepers, so try to keep the area in front of your home dry.
- Never pour oil, antifreeze or any other hazardous materials in the street, gutter, alley or on the ground. Residents may call 562.570.2890 for information on proper disposal of these materials.
For more information visit lbcity.info/StreetSweeping.
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Long Beach Recycles
Special Collections Reminder
Want to clear up space in your home and get rid of your unwanted bulky items this year? If you can’t reuse or donate, use a special collection! The City of Long Beach provides city-serviced refuse customers with 12 special collections per year at no additional cost! To request a special collection, use the online form to submit a request or call the Refuse Hotline at (562) 570-2876 to schedule a pickup of your bulky or oversized items.
Special collections can be used for furniture, appliances, computers and monitors, TV sets, tires, tree branches, or other oddly sized items, with some restrictions. Learn more with Long Beach Recycles’ Special Collection 101 page.
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Using special collections helps keep our streets and waterways clear of illegally dumped items. If you observe any such items around the city, don’t forget you can make a report on Go Long Beach, using the app or website. Specific location details and photos always help ensure these dumped items can be addressed and removed in a timely manner. Thanks in advance for your help in keeping Long Beach safe and clean! | | | |
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City of Long Beach
Join the Budget Conversation
The City is kicking off the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY 26) Budget development process, which prepares for the fiscal year starting October 2025 through September 2026.
Members of the community are invited to participate in the City’s fiscal year 2026 budget development process by sharing their service priorities at one of the upcoming community budget meetings or by completing the Long Beach Budget Priority Survey.
For more information, visit the FY 26 Budget website: longbeach.gov/FY26.
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Long Beach Fire Dept
Paramedic Assessment Unit (PAU) Pilot Program Begins
As of Jan. 1, 2025, the Long Beach Fire Department has launched an alternative medical services model called the Paramedic Assessment Unit (PAU) Pilot Program. Assigning a paramedic to a fire engine allows the engine to serve as a PAU and provide advanced life support services to the community.
The PAU Pilot Program, which was approved during the FY25 Budget adoption process, is a strategy that involves deploying Fire Captains & Fire Engineers with active State paramedics licenses to serve as paramedics, where before, only Firefighters with State paramedic licenses did so. This will increase LBFD’s pool of paramedics and increase the number of active PAUs serving the city daily. Learn more in the recent memo from Fire Chief Buchanan.
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Long Beach Public Library
Youth Poet Laureate Applications Are Open
Are you a poet between the ages of 13-18? Are you a future leader who champions community advocacy and aspires to make a social impact that promotes the quality of life in Long Beach? If so, we want to hear your voice!
The Long Beach Public Library (LBPL), in collaboration with the Arts Council for Long Beach and supported by Urban Word NYC, is now accepting applications for the 2025 Youth Poet Laureate Program (YPL), an initiative offering young residents of Long Beach the chance to inspire positive change in their communities through the power of activism and poetry.
Applications are now open until Feb. 15; visit the YPL info page to learn more and apply!
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California Department of Transportation
Vincent Thomas Bridge - Upcoming Community Meeting
Want to get involved in the Vincent Thomas Bridge Deck Replacement Project? Caltrans is asking for your input at the upcoming Traffic Management Plan Task Force in-person meeting on Thursday, Jan. 9th from 6 – 8pm at the BJK Main Library. The purpose of the Task Force is to gather public input from stakeholders, residents, and motorists on the development of detour routes to be implemented during the bridge’s forthcoming closure. Learn more on Caltrans’ project page.
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Animal Care Services
Coexisting with Coyotes - Reminders & Tips
Seeing a coyote walking down a busy street is not as uncommon as most would think. Contrary to popular belief, coyotes do not require open space to survive, and have successfully adapted to living in close proximity to humans.
Coyotes can be seen anytime but are most active at dusk, nighttime, and dawn. Residents are reminded to follow safeguards to protect pets and property against coyotes.
An Animal Control Officer will respond to coyote calls if the coyote is sick or injured or if there is an attack or threatening behavior toward a person or pet.
Learn more at ACS’s Living with Coyotes page, where you will also find the city’s Coyote Management Plan, and report coyote sightings. If a coyote is posing an imminent threat to life, call 9-1-1.
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Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson Hosts State of the City Address Tuesday, Jan. 14 | | |
City Invites Public to Share Their Priorities for the 2026 City Budget at Upcoming Meetings | | |
Long Beach Public Library Celebrates Grand Reopening of the Bay Shore Neighborhood Library | | |
City to Host Community Meeting to Share Updates on the Belmont Beach & Aquatics Center Project | | |
Memos to the Mayor & Council
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To continue to enhance the way we keep neighbors informed of city news and updates, we are now including the recent Memos to the Mayor & Council in our weekly newsletters. These memos will range in topics as various department heads and city teams develop and post reports or updates as needed to inform the Mayor, the Council, and the public. These also include reports requested through Council agenda items, such as the Skatepark Feasibility Study below. We may feature certain memos in our information blocks above (as we have in this issue with LBFD's PAU Pilot Program), but otherwise we will share the most recently posted memos below. The full list (and all archived memos) can always be found at the City Manager's webpage. | |
Upcoming
City Council Meeting
Tues. January 7, 2025, 5:00pm
411 W Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90802
Link to Full Agenda
Item 19 Recommendation to adopt Specifications No. RFQ AP24-407 and award contracts to CDM Smith, Inc., of Boston, MA; Polytechnique Environmental, Inc., of Bellflower, CA; Ramboll Americas Engineering Solutions, Inc., of Syracuse, NY; and Trifiletti Consulting, Inc., of Los Angeles, CA, for providing as-needed environmental and sustainability program support, in an annual amount not to exceed $350,000, for a period of two years, with the option to renew for three additional one-year periods, at the discretion of the City Manager; authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to enter into the contracts, including any necessary subsequent amendments; and Increase appropriations in the Airport Fund Group in the Airport Department by $50,000, offset by funds available.
Item 20 Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary, including any necessary amendments, to enter into a Non-Exclusive Operating Agreement with Turo Inc., for an initial one-year period to provide peer-to-peer vehicle sharing services at the Long Beach Airport, with the option to renew for three additional one-year periods, at the discretion of the City Manager.
Item 25 Recommendation to strengthen the Long Beach’s Values Act and reaffirm the City’s commitment to protecting its local diverse immigrant communities by requesting that each separate appointing authority including; the Harbor Department, Utilities Department, City Clerk, Police Oversight, and the elected offices of the City Prosecutor, City Auditor, City Attorney, and Legislative Department to formally commit to the Long Beach Values Act via a letter to the City Council; Request City Attorney to draft language to integrate the City’s Data Privacy Guidelines into standard contractual language, and to implement formal Data Transfer and Use Agreements for all agreements involving data transfers; Support City Manager’s authorization of an additional $200,000 for removal defense support via the Long Beach Justice Fund as part of their Fiscal Year 2024 Year End recommendations to the Mayor and City Council; Request City Manager’s office to develop and amplify informational materials, resources, and community partnerships to help educate community members on their rights and protections; and Request City Manager’s office and City Attorney to review and determine the feasibility of additional community requests and report back to City Council.
Item 26 Recommendation to adopt resolution approving the Annual Report for October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025, for the Long Beach Tourism Business Improvement Area, declaring its intention to levy the annual assessment, and setting the date of hearing for February 4, 2025.
Item 27 Recommendation to receive a presentation to evaluate options for modernizing existing wage rates for Long Beach Airport and Long Beach Convention Center concession workers and request City Attorney to prepare ordinance amending Long Beach Municipal Code, Chapter 16.60, Payment of Living Wage to Workers at the Airport and the Long Beach Convention Center, based on direction from the City Council.
Item 28 Recommendation to declare ordinance amending the Long Beach Municipal Code by amending Chapter 5.77 relating to short term rentals, read the first time and laid over to the next regular meeting of the City Council for final reading.
For more details and supportive documents on any agenda item, they can be found at the item number in the full agenda.
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