Recommendation to request City Manager to develop a plan and vision for a Long Beach COVID-19 Memorial that will be dedicated to those lost during the pandemic. A community advisory group should be formed for the selected project.
Thank you. Item 17, please. Communication for Mayor Garcia. Recommendation to Request City Manager to develop a plan and vision for Long Beach, COVID 19. COVID 19 memorial. But yes. I just wanted to object. First of all, just thank the staff and the WHO has also been working on this and have had some conversations. Um, we've talked about this already I think in public and there's been a lot of community conversations around how we honor really just a horrific event that's happened in our city and of course in the history of our city appropriately. As of today, we've lost 933 members of our community. And I've said this before many times, that the single largest loss of life we have ever experienced through an event in the history of the city since the beginning of the founding of language. And so how we honor will be more than these 933 lives, but also provide a space that is healing for their families and for the community. It's something that could be very important for us to do as a city in the years ahead. Just thinking about it as a community. The fact that we have responded in the way that we have, I think also gives us an opportunity to respond in a very powerful way through this memorial process. I've talked to our city manager, and this certainly is not going to be a fast process. It's one that has to be done very respectfully and thoughtfully engages the community and community leaders from across the city. I also want to make sure that in this process that whatever is developed is really something that comes from the community and especially so the those that have survived the pandemic and seen other folks that have passed . The families of those that have been victims of COVID 19 should absolutely be involved in what this would actually look like for us as a city. There is no set idea what whatever this memorial would look like or where the location would be or what it would represent. I think it's all up for for for our city wide conversation in the months ahead. The recommendation asked the city manager and and our team to develop a process and a vision for what the COVID 19 memorial would look like. I've also asked city manager to select individuals from the city to form a advisory group to the city to help give ideas and will need to be involved at some point, also in outreach and possible raising of funds for a project of this magnitude. I've also engaged Ron Arias, who all of us know as the former director of the Long Beach Health Department, to be involved and take a leadership role. Having been, you know, kind of the someone that guided and created the modern health department that we know today. But beyond that, it's important for the public to also know that this item is just to move forward with the process as far as location and what the cost would be. Those would be conversations for the future. We don't know. A project like this could have significant costs in the future. We just don't know what those what those would be. And certainly there will have to be some serious fundraising efforts to get support and even federal and state support to be looked at as well for a project of this magnitude. I want to thank again the team for this. And with that, I would like to get a motion, please. I see it as a motion by councilwoman that they have trying to get a second piece. And second by Councilmember Ringo. I got some of the deals. Thank you very much, Amir. As as you well know, this has been an incredible time that has taken some of our loved ones way too early. COVID has has been, like you stated, one of the hardest hit things that has ever hit Long Beach, the city of Long Beach, and not the one that has also taken the most lives in such a short period of time. So I really thank you for for your efforts in in making this memorial as special as possible. And the only way to do that is, like you said, getting everybody involved, especially the victims of COVID 19. Every single person that was taken from us was a child, a father, a mother, an uncle, a grandparent to somebody. And with their loss, they leave behind devastation that it cannot be replaced. And so having a memorial and having it be community led, I think it's going to be extremely important. And it honors those that that unfortunately lost their lives to COVID 19. So for that, I just wanted to thank you and your staff and thank in advance our advisory committee and also thank Ron Arias for accepting this this opportunity to be a leader in providing this kind of special memorial here in our city of Long Beach . Councilwoman Catherine Tauranga second. Thank you, Mayor. And I want to thank the comments and I agree with the comments that the council members and their has put forward every single one of us. Was touched by COVID 19 in one way or another. Personally, I had my my daughter and my son in law contract COVID. Thank goodness that they were able to get over it very quickly without any major symptoms or anything underlying with them either. So I appreciate the effort, Mayor, that you're putting forward on this. I strongly support the fact that we're going to make it community based. I think it's something that we need to memorialize how we went through a pandemic in 1918, that unless we read the newspapers and go into the archives, we we would have forgotten about it. And I think that this event in our history needs to be memorialized and never forgotten. Thank you for putting this forward. Thank you. Council member Sara. Thank you, Mayor. I want to thank your leadership in helping our city navigate. And the best, I think the motto in the way that in how to how to manage the pandemic. Right. And as best as we can, and also bringing forward this proposed. Opportunity. To do a memorial, given that, you know, it's it's going to be it's going to be more than a lifetime to process the impact of this pandemic. And I think it's still helpful to have a process to heal through this development of memorial. And I also would like, if we can consider to ensuring we have members of the heroes at the front line that's helped us, such as possibly health care workers and and others that could contribute to the memorial, given how much they. Have helped us. And save lives as well. So that that is a suggestion I'd like us to consider in addition to our residents. Our health care is in the front lines as well. Thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman. Councilman Allen. Just thank you, a mayor, for your incredible leadership. During this time, losing over 900 people to COVID is just unbelievable number. Just a lot. You know, so many friends and neighbors and loved ones that we lost here in Long Beach. I know that we have absolutely never seen or would never possibly expect to even be in a position that we're in today. But I think that it's going to be important that we memorialize all of these lives. I think it's also going to be important that we develop a plan that helps everyone grieve and also is the kind of place where people can start that that healing process. And I think a memorial is a perfect point for us, for us to do that. I also agree, I think it's important that we find a way to honor all of those that were on the front line and help us get through this really tough time in our community. So I just look forward to seeing how the committee does that, and I just thank you very much. Thank you, Vice Mayor Richardson. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I agree with everything my colleague said. I would I would just underscore, you know, the city's this this event changed our city, changed our region. And, you know, when we look back on this moment, you know, we want to we want to make sure that this sort of represents how we came together as a community to really overcome this challenge. And so I certainly am most interested in this as a device for healing and sort of allow people to cope with what we just went through because there will be trauma from for years to come. Based on what we just experienced. But I agree with what what everyone said. I look forward to helping be a part of this. Thank you. Thank you. And I just wanted to just add. I really love what was said about finding ways to honor our healthcare workers within the memorial space, because that's something that I personally also believe is would be great to see. And obviously all of those ideas will be part of the broader conversation. But I do think that is really a really great and really appropriate. I think the other charge I would just leave with Mr. America and the team is just to recognize that. A moral of this type is is significant from a healing perspective for our community. But it will also reach a lot of folks from outside our community. And the truth is, is that not every city is going to have a memorial. There will there will probably be few of them in the state. And so it's also an opportunity for us to provide this healing and special space for those of us in the city. But also we have to be prepared that many others will visit this visit this memorial from, you know, from across the state and in other places. And so that that's going to be an important space for those folks as well, who also had similar experiences and similar trauma. So I think it's a big it's a big charge, but I think all of us look forward to seeing the progress and what what's developed in the months ahead. And so with that, is there any public comment on this item? No. There is no public comment on this item. They will do a roll call vote, please. District one. I district to my district three. My district for. My. District five. I District six. I District seven. I. District eight. All right. District nine. All right. Motion carries. Thank you. Is there regular public comment, please? You want to do that now? Thank you.