Recommendation to approve renaming the Convention Center Exhibit Hall as the “Ernie Kell Hall” at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center.
Motion carries. Thank you, Adam. 2121 is communication from Councilwoman Mangum recommendation to consider renaming the El Dorado Neighborhood Library, then the Ernie and Jackie Calle Neighborhood Library in honor of late Ernest Eugene Ko, junior city of Long Beach. First elected mayor. Councilman. Mongo. Thank you. I hope that I will have the support of my colleagues in starting a process to discuss the naming of the Eldorado Park Library on behalf of our first citywide elected mayor and his also committed wife, who served as a vice mayor of the city. Thank you, Vice me, Richardson. I wholeheartedly support this motion and I hope we can count on the Library Foundation and others to support this motion as well. Thank you. Public comment, please. Sounds like you may not mean to make comment at this time. Honorable Mayor Garcia and members of the City Council. My name is Elaine Hutchison. In my address is on file. And thank you kindly for this opportunity to speak in support of Agenda Item 21 to request the City Council to consider renaming the Eldorado Neighborhood Library to the Ernest and Jackie Hill Neighborhood Library in honor of the late Ernest Eugene Kell Jr, the first citywide mayor to be elected mayor in Long Beach. Thank you, Councilwoman Mongo, for bringing this forward. Mayor Kell was a visionary who worked hard for a Long Beach during the mid 1980s. The city was in decline. The previously strong shopping district on Pine Avenue was all but boarded up. When the stores moved to the malls, the car dealerships that line Long Beach forever moved out to Cerritos and Signal Hill. The red card no longer brought shoppers to Long Beach. There began to be discussions that Long Beach needed a way to bring focus and leadership for solutions for citywide issues. Representation in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. was urgent. If Long Beach was to compete with other cities, Long Beach was the only city our size not to have a citywide elected mayor in California. One proposal for a citywide mayor was put before the voters of Long Beach, but it failed at the polls. Mayor Calvin, a councilman from the fifth District and mayor elected from the council, envisioned that an independent charter amendment citizens committee should study whether there should be a citywide elected mayor. And if so, what model? Following months of study as chair of the committee, I had the privilege of bringing our report to the City Council, which was unanimously approved and the Charter amendment placed on the ballot. At the next election, the voters approved this recommendation by a margin of 2 to 1 for a citywide elected mayor. Two years later, the election for the first citywide elected mayor was held, and Ernie Keller was elected as the first citywide elected mayor. Because of Mayor Killorn, we have, among many things, our convention center, which was conceived, funded and begun during his tenure. Further, we have a legacy of wonderful mayors who have followed and each of whom have moved our city forward, including Mayor Beverly O'Neill, Mayor Bob Foster, and our own mayor, Dr. Garcia, who is overseeing our new city hall complex. Many new developments and new apartments to house our residents all highly talented and have endowed Long Beach with their unique accomplishments. It is fitting that we remember the team of Ernie and Jackie Kell, both of whom served two districts as council members of the fifth District and made many contributions to the residents of the district and therefore renamed the Eldorado Neighborhood Library to the Ernie and Jackie Hill Neighborhood Library. I respectfully ask for your support. Thank you. Thank you so much. Next speaker, please. Oops. Sorry about that. Yeah. No, it's all right. Don't worry. I know it's late. I can see Darrell's barely surviving right there in his seats. I will. I'm going to make this for three people. How about that? Two ladies beg me to say this one thing for them regarding this item, and I'll just throw my name in there. They want to have there's a current parks guideline that says that you can't that you shouldn't be able to put forward this after until a year after the person dies. And I know that Stacey, I mean, Councilwoman Margo is trying to speed things along and she's trying to do her outreach. But I'm just saying what these ladies want me to say it and I support that. I like Ernie Keller. I think he's a great guy. But I think that there's also people that may be more worthy of of that honor that are have been more closely associated with the library. I acknowledge all the good things that both the locals have done. That's it. I made it quick. Thank you. So, you know the public comment. There's a motion and a second. Members, please cast your vote. I think this is a great way to honor both the council. Thank you, Councilwoman Mongo. Thank you. Vice Mayor Richardson. Motion carries. Thank you. Next step is item number 25. Homelessness 20th five. Sorry, we did that. 125.