Recommendation to approve renaming the Convention Center Exhibit Hall as the “Ernie Kell Hall” at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center.
Thank you very much. And thank you for being here. Well, going on to item 20, please. Item 20 is communication from Vice Mayor Andrews, chair of the Housing and Neighborhoods Committee. Recommendation to approve renaming the Convention Center Exhibit Hall as the Ernie Kennel Hall. Thank you. There's a motion and a second vice mayor interest. Okay. Thank you very much. Because this is being the chair of this housing and neighborhood committee, I do put this in recommendation to approve the renaming of the Convention Center and exhibition hall as the only called the Long Beach Convention Entertainment Center. And now I'd like to would like to turn it over to Councilwoman Mongo, and then she will go to comments. Thank you. I'm pleased that we have the opportunity to recognize Ernie Kell, our first elected mayor of Long Beach. Many of you know that over a year ago, when Ernie passed, there were a group of residents who approached me about naming something after him and made some recommendations on some items. I've really appreciated the process and the community input. I really appreciate and commend the neighborhood committee. It's been vetted through the committee and it has been in alignment with the city process and policies of a year since the passing, which has allowed us to take the feedback of the residents who care very deeply about our city assets . I want to express my thanks to Mayor Garcia and the Convention Center and all those who helped make this happen. Ernie Kell played a key role in envisioning the improvements and expansion that turned into the convention center and into an incredible hub for our community and a real center for tourism. So I think it's appropriate that this is the space that was finally agreed upon for which he will be honored and remember. And for that, I would like to state my full support for this item. And I really appreciate everyone who weighed in on all sides of the matter. Thank you so much. Thank you. Councilwoman, I want to make a few remarks. Let me just begin by thanking the members of the committee. That, of course, was Vice Mayor Andrews, as well as Councilmember Lawson and Councilmember Darryl Supernatant, who all moved the item forward. And I also want to thank both council woman Stacey Mungo, who has been working on this for for the last year, but also Councilmember Janine Pearce. The convention center, while a citywide asset, clearly is also in the second district. And I know that her and I had some conversations and I want to thank her for for supporting this as well. Ernie Kell was our city's first citywide mayor and made history when he was elected in that position. He has known as someone that was dedicated across the city. But his roots, of course, as we know, were in the fifth District and in Long Beach, East Side. He also is well known for spending a lot of his time out in his field office and going door to door and talking to neighbors across the fifth District , but also across the city. As mayor, he was known for being a kind person, a good leader and a good legislator. Of course, Mayor Kell also served on the city council before his time as mayor. Mayors, America's election was clearly a big step in the city's journey towards progress and a huge change in the way the city ran. Prior to that, as we're aware, the council was very different and Mayor Cal transitioned the council into a citywide and perspective and also a really took the city forward in many, many ways. He was a successful businessman who also served the city well. And of course, we know that his wife, Jackie, Jackie Kelly, also served the city of Palm Beach as a councilmember and in the fifth District. Besides being being known for being very focused on infrastructure and fixing potholes on a daily basis. He also had a love of flying, which is well documented and was instrumental in the creation and construction of the Long Beach Convention Center and Entertainment Center. It was during Ernie's time, first on the council, but then that and then as mayor that he led efforts not always supported by all across the city to construct what we know today as the modern Long Beach Convention and entertainment center of the building and all of its construction and plans were were constructed and created during his time. And the building opened just a few short months after he left office. And he was very proud to be able to go back and see all the work that he and the council, as well as the staff and the community put in building what is today a very successful convention center. I would also say that this naming of of Ernie Keel Hall, which essentially is the large exhibition hall that you see on Pine Avenue, is a is a substantial and important building in our city. And it really, I think, serves to remember someone that left that left us with a lasting legacy of service, but also left us with a strong tourism economy. This naming is supported by Jackie Kell and the Kell family, but it's also supported, I think, very importantly, by the Long Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau. They submitted a letter of strong support to rename the hall after Mayor Kell, and they are also very excited that it's a way to bring his legacy and his work in building that hall and that center back to where we are today. And so with that, I want to thank all the council members that have been involved in this. I want to thank the Kell family, especially Jackie, for for working with us. Sometimes this process takes longer than we would like, but it's important. And and we honor Ernie's memory tonight and every day. And so with that, if there any public comment. So could you. I fully support this concept. Ernie Cal was the quintessential type of mayor this city should always have. Unfortunately, that's not the case. He was never involved in any criminal complicity. He was never in queue to be arrested, tried and sent to prison as our current mayor is. He was absolutely fantastic. And this should always. You can't say enough about. Ernie Kell. He embodies. What every single elected official should be like and how they should conduct itself. Personally and in terms of civic affairs and so forth. And it it'll be a pleasure to see his name on that and a constant reminder. Unfortunately, of how far we have slipped. Thank you. Thank you. There's a motion and a second. Members, please go ahead and cast your vote.