Recommendation to approve the Uptown Property and Business Improvement District Annual Report and Assessment for the period of January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017, automatically extending the current agreement with the Uptown Property and Community Association for a one-year period; and, authorize payment of $54,561 in City property assessments from the General Fund (GF) and $3,668 in City property assessments from the Successor Agency Fund (SA).  (Districts 8,9)
Thank you so much. So that concludes public comment. So we're still a little out of order. So we're going to we're going to take item 21. Madam Clerk, please queue up item number 21, please. And I'll make the motion on this item. Report from Economic and property development. Recommendation to improve the Uptown Property and Business Improvement District Annual Report and assessment for the period of January 1st, 2017 through December 31st, 2017. An authorized payment of $54,500 in see property assessments from the General Fund and $3,700 in city property assessments from the successor agency fund districts eight and nine. Thanks. Please have a staff report, please. Jim Fisk. Honorable Vice Mayor and City Council Members. This item is the annual approval. Of the Uptown Property and Business Improvement District. And report and ongoing assessment. The recommended action on this item continues the assessment for another year. There are no proposed changes to the basis of the assessment, nor any significant changes with the proposed activities or programs. Therefore, staff requests that City Council received the supporting documentation of record and approve the recommendation to continue the levy of the assessment and authorize the. City manager to extend the agreement for one additional year. And that concludes my report. Thank you. And what I'll do right now is we have a presentation from the Uptown Business District Manager, a brief presentation. So I want to just introduce Tasha Hunter. Great. Thank you. Good evening, Vice Mayor. Council members and city staff. Okay. Let's see if I can work this. Okay. This is our annual report. And this is our Uptown Business Improvement District right there in North Long Beach from Atlantic and Artesia, as far south as Atlantic and Market. And we go east on Artesia to Orange Street. So we encompass Council District, a portion and Council District eight and in council a larger portion in Council District nine. So here is our annual report. I'm very excited to say that so many wonderful things are happening in Uptown. We are having monthly security meetings where we bring together public safety stakeholders, private security teams of businesses and properties, as well as our own private security team. CSI, the Long Beach Police Department and Long Beach Police Department for Jordan High School, or I should say officer at Jordan High School and other businesses with security. And we take the recommendations of the businesses and the property owners, and one of them is increase security patrols. So that's one of the things that we've done. We've increased our bike patrol as well as added a mobile patrol during weekend hours. And our businesses and our property owners and our community, business community are engaged, bringing all of these security stakeholders, safety stakeholders together as key. Another thing we'd like to talk about is that our our police department is giving literature and information to our business owners about how to remain safe. We have also increased our cleanliness. When I came on board some months ago, we were utilizing the services of one porter to clean the entire business improvement district. We've since contracted with the Conservation Corps, and the Conservation Corps is doing a phenomenal job. It's been awesome having them there. So we're averaging about 5 to 10 young people. They are young adults in a program which is environmental preparedness, and they're helping us clean the area. And we're averaging about £3,000 of trash and debris monthly. So that's over a ton. That's incredible. We have increased our pressure washing instead of twice a year. We're pressure washing weekly so that the visibility and the and it's noticeable that it's being cleaned throughout the bill. The bid's, the business improvement district, we're reporting graffiti. We had about 128 reports of graffiti over the course of six months, averaging about 18 a month. And working with the city to get that cleaned is, is is very important also working with the businesses and the property owners to let them know that there are some where they can remove that themselves. And we're working on Fridays with the city prosecutor's office to have community service workers come and help us clean the bit. So we're really excited about the work that we're doing as far as the the security, the safety and the maintenance in Uptown, £3,000 of trash is is is a big number and we're excited. The Uptown Renaissance, we've heard these words and it's all happening. We are we have some great developments that are coming. We do have some that are here, I should say the Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library. We partnered with Council District nine and Long Beach First and our Foods, the Business Improvement District. We were able to create our learning garden at the Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library, and it is for the community to come and take some of the fruit and vegetables that are there. It's a nice garden. We have tomatoes and strawberries grown right now. We'll into strawberries. And the Conservation Corps has been trained on how to maintain this beautiful garden. Also, it's available to for classes. I'm moving along community. We have amazing developments that are happening throughout the business Uptown Business Improvement District. We have coffee shops coming. We have a financial institution coming, a neighborhood brewery, sit down, restaurants and much more. And we're going to be seeing a lot more of these grand openings happening. We have businesses that are coming to North Long Beach in the Uptown Business Improvement District. And when businesses come, we have an increase in jobs and that's always wonderful. At this time, I'd like to say thank you to Vice Mayor Rex Richardson and the city staff for the facade improvement funds which have been given. One of the developments that we've done is El Pollo Imperial, which is there. That's what it looked like before. And this is what it looks like now. Nice renovation to that that business improvement district. It's a major it gets a lot of traffic there. So this is one of the many improvements. We also have Robert Earl's Barbecue, which is our first sidewalk extension and patio dining in the Business Improvement District. So it's a little look of what it looked like before. That's the sidewalk extension. And this right here is the outside dining patio, which is right there is absolutely gorgeous. And we're about to enter our third phase where we're going to do a complete facade improvement for the majority of the block. So these are some of the things that we've been doing with the funds. There's a lot and there's Robert Earl right there, a lot of improvements throughout the Business Improvement District. With one time funds, we were able to bring on a creative consultant, Ryan Smoller, who helped secure a grant. He's been helping with programing and media exposure, social media exposure and developing ideas for the bid. One of the some of the funds also went towards our new office space. We had to move because our building that we're in, city property is in the process of being sold. So we were able to move and we had a nice event up there in the business district and we created the first co-working space in North Long Beach, which is it houses the bid and this is what it can look like, a shared office space for those individuals that may want to save some money and just have a space. Co-working space is the way to go. Very inexpensive. This is our grand opening. We had a lot of community members that came up to support us and take a peek. We have a couple of renters and we have more space available. Got some awards for that. That's the team. And once again, we're excited about what's happening in Uptown and excited about what's to come. If you're ever in North, the Long Beach, Uptown Long Beach, come and take a peek. Give us a call. Visit us at uptown Long Beach dot com and thank you all. And we're available for any questions. Thank you, Tasha. And so I'll be the first to say it's the Uptown Business District. Is has come a long way. I remember was just a twinkle in the eye of a few people. And and now it's it's clear that we can put our faith in you when we give you and partner with you and give the best business district support. You can turn that and transform that into real results. And so I want to just say thank you for coming back to the council and saying thank you and acknowledging that support the council has given you. So we're going to go ahead and have comments from the councils. We have Councilmember Turanga. Thank you very much, Mary. Wonderful job. This is a great presentation. Keep it up. It's looking wonderful up there. Thank you. Next. Councilwoman Mongo. I want you to know how much your success means to other business groups since your original inception. Another group in the city decided that they would come together and work on a business association. And we have two more coming as well. So I appreciate you making this presentation from the materials like this really help when we go out and meet with other businesses that are in a geographic area together, they're not necessarily a bid. They do theirs more as a5013. But the work that you're doing is really what's important. So thank you for that. Thank you, Councilwoman Price. Thank you. I want to echo the sentiments and just you have a certain energy that you bring to the work that you're doing there that is really infectious. In fact, hearing you do the presentation made me think how valuable it would be for us if we had a presentation like that from all of our business districts or business collaborations in the city, because we we don't get to see the work that is happening in the individual districts unless we have a presentation like this, even if we go to the district. I know I've had the opportunity to meet Vice Mayor Richardson in his district, and he has driven me around in the past. But just hearing you kind of summarize everything you're doing is really valuable for me, at least as a council member. So I appreciate you doing that. I love that you're using the Conservation Corps and that you're getting such great, you're getting such a great service that you're able to talk about. I share an office with them in East Long Beach, and I'm always trying to promote us, hiring them whenever we can, because they do excellent work and do it with a very great purpose and intent. So I'm glad to hear that feedback. The Learning Garden at the library. First of all, though, you know, a lot of times we talk about big projects in the city and sometimes the discussion gets to like, this is only for this district or that district, or just because we don't visit something daily doesn't mean it's not a city asset. The Michelle Obama Library is such a sense of pride and joy for all of us in the city, regardless of what district we live in. I mean, it's just phenomenal. Yes. Let's give it a round of applause. And they're open on Sundays, which I love. Yes. But I love that you incorporated a learning garden out there because we are trying to incorporate that more into the Long Beach Unified School District Education. And I think we just recently had a chance to go and see it. And I'm just so incredibly proud of the work that you guys have done. It's a tremendous source of pride for the city. I'm excited for all the changes that are coming. I want to thank my colleagues who represent North Long Beach for the excellent work that they've done individually and together to make it such a great source of pride for the city. And I look forward to you helping them get to that vision in the years to come. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Councilman Austin. Thank you and thank you, Tasha, for the excellent presentation. Thank you for sharing it with the city. I've actually lived and breathed this and been a witness to the great work that the bid has done, as well as being an original author with the Cubs and starting the the bid. I'm really happy to see where it is today. In in your board, the development of your board. It's a very, very important that that chemistry stay engaged and strong today are our corridor along Atlantic and north. Part of our city is much more cleaner it's safer in the community is is far more engaged than it was just a few years ago and in the presence of a business improvement district has certainly paid dividends thus far. I want to just say that I have in the bid has my full confidence and you know, you always have had my full confidence as the manager there and will continue to enjoy that and look forward to working with you on projects even outside of the bid. And to Suzy's point, I really appreciate your energy, your commitment and professionalism. You've taken the bid to another level or just in the short time that you have been the manager. And it's important to note for the city and city council that the city, because of the former redevelopment agency, the successor agency Properties, is really a major stakeholder in that bid. And, you know, hopefully you in a very short period of time in the very near future, that won't be the case because the properties will be sold off and we'll have new stakeholders. But right now I think we are almost a third of the bid. And that's a that's a that's an important point to bring home. So keep up the great work and I look forward to working with you in the future. Thank you. Councilwoman Pearce. Well, everybody. Already said everything, so I have to have a faster finger, but just congratulations, everybody that's doing work in Uptown. It's great to be in downtown and know that we've got great work up there and everything about connecting us in between is really important. And just I know, Jim, you nerd out on these things. So also congrats to you. And I'll say lastly again, I mean, I thank you for coming in presenting. I think that I remember when they were looking to hire in your position and I just feel it fills the energy up and it's really exciting to be a part of that. And we have a lot of things to learn from what you guys are doing. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Councilwoman Gonzalez. Tasha, congratulations. You do great work in uptown. I know we've talked about some policy items that have been very important for small businesses. And I think, you know, in downtown, I think you all have created such an amazing, unique place for uptown. And now we're kind of modeling what you're doing in downtown in some ways because we were like, okay, how do we get more creative? So I think you're doing a fantastic job. And someone who has been raised in North Long Beach when I was younger, I am so proud of all the work and all of the residents I know and Vice Mayor Richardson and Councilmember Awesome have a lot to be proud of too. So congratulations. Great job, Jim. Always. Thank you, Councilman Andrew. Yes. And Tasha, I don't think you need any more. Congratulations. What you really need is a consultant's job to come to all the districts and show us how this is done. Congratulations. And you're doing a great job. Keep up the good work. Fantastic. You know, you need to start getting paid. And that's a thank you. Thank you, Councilmember. Super now. Okay. From the slowest finger on the dais. Thank you from all of us. And we have two bids and a business association in my district. So I'd like to echo what my colleagues said. We'd love to have you out to demonstrate what you're doing. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So I'll just what we have public I'll say thank you again for coming down that presentation. I do want to acknowledge also, you know, Councilmember Gavlak has been a part of this as well. When she was when she was here, it started as a twinkle in the eye of Steve Neal and Ray goblets and happy to continue to support this moving forward. We haven't had anything like this in District nine and to see how far has come has been fantastic. So at this point, I just ask for any any public comment. Seeing nonmembers, please cast your vote. Oh, there was a comment. Okay. Come on for sir. Thank you, Tasha. Hello, Vice Mayor and council members. Hi. My name is Enjoyment of. I am a legislative intern for Lena Gonzalez. My question is actually directed to you, uh, Councilmember de Andrews. I do not live in Long Beach. I do live in Signal Hill, but I do frequent. The sixth District a lot. So is this related to the Uptown Business District presentation? Yes. Okay. I was just wondering, is there any type of development just like that happening in the sixth District, specifically on PCH? Not on PCH, but on Anaheim? Okay. We're working on as you as we speak. Okay. Thank you so much, PCH. I don't think so. Yeah. In our business. Well, okay. We'll talk about that and some of that. Thank you. Thank you. Members, please cast your vote. Toshi, we need to get with him. He wants to know some. Go ahead. You got it. And I mean yes obviously. On some an Andrews Councilman Andrews okay but here's. Thank you. Motion. Okay. Motion. Pass around. Good. Thank you. A little slow. Let's go ahead and have our number 15 clerk please read.