Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to enter into Contract No. PS5862300LBPD24750 and any amendments thereto, with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, to provide Law Enforcement Services, in an amount not to exceed $30,074,628, for a period of five years; and Increase appropriations in the General Fund (GF) in the Police Department (PD) by $5,459,271, offset by contract revenue. (Districts 1,2,6,7,8)
Okay. And now we're going to do we'll come back to 16 in just a minute. We are going to go ahead and do item number 24. Believe it is. Hold on 1/2. It is. Yep. Item 24. A report from the Police Department recommendation to execute all documents necessary to enter into a contract with L.A. Metro to provide law enforcement services in an amount not to exceed 30 million districts one, two, six, seven and eight. Okay. Think you're going to make some some comments and then I might turn this over to our our chief of police to also make some some comments. So I want to, first of all, obviously thank the Lombard City Council for their unanimous support of doing this contract with with L.A. Metro. That happened, I know, a few weeks ago. As we as we now know, L.A. Metro has contracted with the Long Beach Police Department to for the first time be able to patrol our own metro system. The blue line here in Long Beach beginning this summer. The Long Beach Police Department will be transitioning into full jurisdictional control of the Long Beach Blue Line and all eight stations, as well as the the route between each station across the entire city of Long Beach, from old from north Long Beach, all the way through until the downtown. I want to just note that this is an incredibly significant moment for the city of Long Beach. We are not only gaining a $30 million contract, which which is obviously exciting, but this will be 30 approximately 30 new police. FTE. Personnel added to the Long Beach Police Department. And it's not every day that this council will get to vote on adding 30 new police officers to the Long Beach Police Department. These 30 officers will make up what will be a Long Beach metro detail for the city of Long Beach. And there will they will be assigned to the the Metro Division. We know I certainly know as a councilman that there are a lot of challenges on the blue line. It is not a safe experience for for most folks that that choose to write it. There's both a problem of safety and a problem of perception of safety when it comes to the Long Beach blue line. And so I know that our Long Beach police officers, our chief, are going to do a fantastic job of not just patrolling the blue line, but the synergy that will be created, as are patrolling the areas up and down. The blue line is going to be something that is going to be pretty great to see. And so I want to I want to ask the chief to say a few words. And I also ask the chief to invite his team that helped work on this. This was a incredibly difficult effort. A lot of manpower went behind this on from the chief's team. This was not an easy to get to. To get to the vote and where it went. And so I want to congratulate our chief of police for his leadership on this issue. And I want him to also introduce his team who did a fantastic job. And so let's give our chief of police and his team a big round of applause for their work. And, Chief, congratulations. You've just expanded both your force and your area of patrol. So, Mr. Chief. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, and members of the City Council. Any time something of at this level happens, it's so great. It is a team effort and it does start with all of you back there. There's so much work that was done to get us to where we're at today. And it's not every day that we can talk about adding approximately 30 officers to our police department. And for all of you who are sitting back there, you know how impactful it's been over the years in reducing our police department. But we're turning it around between Measure three and this blue line contract, if you guys approve it tonight, what an excellent opportunity for the city. And the city has been asking for this. There's many places I've gone our constituents, our community, our stakeholders, our business community. Everybody wanted the Long Beach Police Department to acquire this contract. And that's exactly what we did. So what I wanted to do is give credit where credit is due. And over my right shoulder is more of a law school. She is our financial our chief financial officer. And standing next to her is Brandon Walker. And both of them started this venture back in December. It was a very lengthy process going back and forth. There were a couple of times where, frankly, we were told the sheriff's department would retain this contract. As you're aware, that did not happen. So a lot of paperwork, a lot of planning, a lot of research. And throughout this process, I was contacted by several people who worked at Metro who continuously stated that the the request from the city of Long Beach was so much better than the one received from the city of Los Angeles and the sheriff's department. So I'm very proud of the paperwork that was done, the contract requests from Mara and Brandon. And then now we start transitioning into actually working if you guys approve this tonight. Now the operational part of this starts and standing over my left shoulder is Deputy Chief Mike Beckman, who runs our support bureau and Commander Joe Cook. And they'll be in charge of the daily operation of what I think is going to be one of the best well policed transit systems anywhere in the country. And they're responsible for it now. They've been working their tails off, putting plans together. So the team standing before me is what did it. Mara and Brandon will continue to work on it for the next five years and the 34 years that we have. Please remember that a couple of weeks ago, all of you voted on another measure re staffing proposal to upgrade our Academy staff. What you and in essence did is you assisted us in recharging our recruiting and hiring and training efforts. And that's how we're going to get there, where we hire the additional staff not only for the thefts we're talking about, but the other 17 for measure. So, yeah, good times. I think congratulations is in order for all of us. It was a excellent team effort and I'm really looking forward to this opportunity. Thank you very much for recognizing the people behind me. They truly worked their tails off and they will continue to do so. So thank you very much. Thank you, Chief. And congratulations again to to the team. You guys did a fantastic job. I know that our our management team also were very active in this whole process. I wanted to also just think I wanted to thank I asked Sharon Weisman, who's behind me to come down. Sharon is my new transportation deputy metro, and she spent a lot of time working with all the other board members and staffs of all the other board members just to ensure that they have the information and to me, to ensure that we would end up with a unanimous vote, which is which is what we did. And it wasn't going to be, I will tell you that for sure. But I think once the writing was on the wall of where it was going, everyone else came on board. And so Sharon behind me. Sharon, I wanted to thank you, too. Thank you for your work on this. Give a round of applause. And, Mayor, if I may, you're right. The city manager's office was instrumental in this. And financial management working from a city perspective, just working out the numbers so that everything would go our way, was very instrumental in getting this done. So I didn't want to forget about them. Great. And let me go to let me go to the Long Beach City Council, Councilmember Pearce. Oh, I'm sorry. Count's embarrassing. Well, it's okay. I could have gone after Councilmember Pearce, but I wanted to just take this opportunity, Chief, to congratulate you and your department on this new responsibility. I think it's great for the city of Long Beach. I think it's more of a congratulations to the residents in the riders of the Blue Line. Yes. Because this this this agreement will make our blue line, I believe, much safer. I think one one key point that was raised that was pretty compelling is that how response times will be improved from having local police department patrolling and assigned to the blue line. Response times will be cut from 15 minutes to 5 to 6 minutes, and I think that is a a number that is very, very compelling and and one that we should all look forward to to see it. It will speak to a real change and a much safer experience on the blue line. I also want to remark on just our mayor and Mayor Garcia and his his work. Early work on the on the MTA board on this this agreement came about I think he was he had been on the board for maybe a month, a little over that. These conversations obviously were being had prior to his joining the board. But I think it speaks to having a seat at the table and the importance of having a seat at the table. And for those of you who know me, for a long time, I've been a strong advocate for a Long Beach, having a seat at the MTA board. And so I'm glad that we finally have a strong leader there to speak for Long Beach. And obviously he's yielding great results immediately. And I honestly think that there are still great announcements ahead of us and the best is still yet to come. Again, congratulations to everybody involved here. Thank you. Thank you, Councilman. Councilmember Councilwoman Gonzales. Yes. Thank you, chief, and to all of you for being here and for your hard work. I know the next five years is going to be we're going to have a great start. It will be a lot of work. But I really do believe that having our own Long Beach Police Department, enforcing on the blue line and hopefully just being there, of course, as a positive element to the riders along the blue line, especially when they come into the Grand Prix and they're coming here for amazing events that they'll be able to see. Our own police department there is going to be fantastic and thanks for Mayor and Supervisor Horn as well. I know that they were integral in that this whole situation happening and this is a huge, huge win for downtown, a huge win for the city. So thanks again. Thank you, Councilwoman Councilmember Pearce. Well, now I'll start everything that I needed to say. And I'm kidding. I do want to just congratulate you guys and congratulate the mayor and everybody that worked really hard on this. I know seeing something turn from a maybe to a big victory with a unanimous vote is really important. And I was honored to speak at Metro that day, and it was only a minute which maybe we need. No kidding. It was really hard to speak for only a minute, but the one thing that I think was really enlightening is that our response times are going to change. As Councilmember Austin mentioned, I think it's, what, 7 to 10 minutes difference, which can be really important for people riding the metro, riding our blue line. And as someone who's written that for many years, I know how important that is. I listened to the comments that were made at Metro that day, and I just want to say that I'm really proud to have our PD on our metro line. I think that the training that we're doing, the equity lens that we're talking about, the investment that you guys are making in the community to be able to have that throughout our entire city on our metro is really exciting. So I just wanted to make sure that I mentioned how proud I am of all the work that you guys are doing. I did have one question that I probably could've asked offline, but when tickets are given on the Metro, where where do those dollars go? They do go to the county. We in the past, when we've given very Bayesian tickets, it now is change where it's a civil action and it's all done within the county. But there is going to be a process that we're following where Metro wants to do a different job, or they want to approach fare evasion in a very different way. But I think one of the things that we're very attractive to them is we have an outstanding juvenile diversion program. So it does involve juveniles. We can enter them in a diversion program that we have here in the city with our private partners. You know, maybe we should look at free rides for youth. I don't know, Justin, but just thank you for the information, guys, and congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Councilwoman Price. Thank you very much, Mr. Mayor. And a big congratulations and appreciation to our mayor. Like everyone has said for leading the effort on this, I think this is fantastic. And Chief, there is a few questions that we are getting from the community as we're out there. And I thought this probably would be a good time to ask you about it right now. One of the things that we've been telling the community is this is this is a great development for the blue line in our ability to enforce in those areas. But in addition to that, it's going to relieve pressure citywide for the police department. And that's something that we've heard. Can you speak to that a little bit? Yes. When we have more uniformed presence along our corridors, which would be primarily Long Beach Boulevard in Pacific, if you can picture at least a half a dozen more officers per shift in those areas. That improves the visibility, which in turn will have a positive impact, we believe, on crime and the quality of life. We're going to have to work up to those numbers, of course. But when we get there, when you're adding 30 new officers to our department, how can you go wrong? And that's what we're really looking forward to. Now, will these officers also be available to respond to citywide emergencies or things that may be called upon for their services and their assistance? Absolutely, yes. On both ways, when we need help anywhere in the city, they can respond. And when Metro needs help, we respond just like we currently do with any contract that our police department serves now. Well, that's fantastic. I think it's a win win for the whole city. So thank you. Congratulations to your department. Thank you. Thank you, Councilmember Ringo. Thank you, Mayor. I want to add my voice to the kudos that are being distributed here today, especially through the great staff work that was done today by not only your command staff, but also by your civilian staff as well. And I think that the AKUTAGAWA in this whole thing was getting the mayor on the MTA board. And I will congratulate you, Mayor, on your efforts on making sure that this happened. Good job. Thank you. Councilman Andrews. Yes, thank you, Mayor. Also, I want to congratulate everyone you know who has been able to make this contract happen. But most of all, I want to thank the mayor for you and your hard work and efforts on the board, you know, being a board member. And thank you, too, for the Long Beach Police Department, you know, able to embark on this process. You know, public safety, the metro line is important, I think, to all of us and the residents who rely on public transportation, and they deserve to feel very safe and free. And I know you individual will be the one that makes that possible. So I'm glad that the city is able to provide this type of service to our residents and everyone is playing on right on, you know, our metro. So thank you guys again and keep up the good work. You haven't started yet, but I'd tell you to keep up the good work because you have to start somewhere. Thank you, Councilman Orson. Yes, I did have a quick question for the chief, more of an operational type of question. I rode the blue line just the day before yesterday, a couple of days ago downtown, and there were several announcements being made. I was reading some of the signage in the blue line. Some of the signage said, it's okay if there's a problem, contact the sheriff's department at this number. Will there be a pass through for those that information for for Long Beach PD on the metro train? Will people have to contact the sheriff's department to get to Long Beach PD or will there be something specific for for us, for for our city? Or have we worked those details out yet? Yeah. We're still in the process of working all that out. That's part of the next several months where the L.A. County Sheriff's Department is demobilizing what they're doing. Then figure out exactly how our system's going to integrate with them. But I anticipate that whatever model we come up with is going to be a whole lot better than what they had. Well, it's important to note that that currently to boot that line runs through several jurisdictions. And so. Correct. That's one of those issues that need to be worked out. Thank you. Vice Mayor Richardson. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Just want to chime in and say congratulations to everybody. This is. We shouldn't sort of we should be reminded of how difficult this actually was. A number of people in the county did not think this was going to happen. And, you know, I had conversations as early as recent as last week with, you know, different folks on supervisors that they didn't believe this was going to happen. And, you know, having this this seat on the MTA board had a real a real shift in the attitude about this this proposal. And then I would say, you know, the blue line, you know, cuts west and north. Long Beach doesn't connect the blue line. But we border Compton, Bellflower, Lakewood, Paramount. We we travel east, west plenty off pretty often. And we pick up a lot of times we pick up at the Compton station. And so our colleagues in Compton, they're actually really excited about this. And I think it really says something for North Lambie's residents. When they do hop over to a different city, they're going to be greeted by a friendly face. They're going to see that Long Beach PD is, you know, from that Compton station, you'll sort of have some kind of seamless connection there to make it a little bit less forum for our local riders. So congratulations to everyone. Welcome and keep up the good work. Thank you. Great. Thank you. And I think, you know, Mr. West, I'm trying to remember, but the last time that we added 30 cops, it's got to be not even with. It's got to be 20 years more. I don't know. I mean, it's been a long time. It's been a long time. So. Okay. Congratulations, Chief. And to the longest PD. Any public comment on this item? Of course, Mr.. Good to you. Come on down. Very good. Clark has the address. As I said last week, there's probably 3 to 4 people, none of which are in this room that has more experience with the blue line in mass transit. This is an absolute disaster, period. This will take the police. And you laugh, sir. But you don't understand the death rate now. In the city. Is equal to that, the shooting rate of the city of Chicago. The Long Beach Police can't do that. Period near the council. The public has been used to seeing disingenuous members of this council go in different directions. To back programs that make little sense. But wasn't. What was surprising last week is the number of people that are there are not elected officials. Our representatives as a city that disgraced themselves. By the hue and cry. All our visitors coming to Long Beach need that are the restaurant patrons the Grand Prix people. The mantra for the and the understanding that's come out of the visitor and convention bureau is that what everybody knows is is the truth. The delivery comes to Long Beach. To fill our coffers, we need filled in terms of entertainment, in terms of restaurants and hotels that ride the blue line. The only mass transit use is the Grand Prix when it is so packed. That there's no criminal activity because there's not enough room for it. And they know that. Period. What you're doing is taking the officers away that would be otherwise patrolling and keeping a lid on the shootings and killings. In your own neighborhood. Nobody comes to a downtown restaurant. A five star hotel riding on the blue line. When I say nobody. Probably less than one half of 1%. Period. This is a money grab. You haven't even and so long as this line has been over the able to negotiate a deal with Caltrans to green light trains period that's very simple to do. You could reduce the travel time by some 22 minutes if they didn't have to stop at every red light. But you sat with your head up your rear ends for 20 some years, as long as the blue eye has been there. Watch and compare the death rates. And when your neighbors ask why the police aren't there, well, tell them they're on the blue line. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Good here. Again, I want to thank you for making the personal trek down to Mexico to speak out against the city, hiring 30 more police officers like you did a week ago as well. And again, this is 30 new police officers on top of the budget officers we have currently that we didn't have before . So thank you for coming down to meet you. I appreciate that. Next Speaker Yes, sir. Hello, Mr. Mayor. City Council members. I think this is a great opportunity. I think it's a great opportunity to integrate the police department, have them follow the traffic that comes in and out of the blue line and have more control over the city. So I think this is a great thing and I'm really happy to hear it. That's it. Great. Thank you. See no other public comment. Well, go ahead. One more condenser. Good evening. My name is Joe Collins. I was here on a completely different issue. I think it's a great idea. I don't know if they're going to take the the blue line to a hotel, a five star restaurant. But I do know from. Experience that with law enforcement officers around that area, they will make contact with citizens. They will have a better handle on gang members. They will see them. Coming and going. And this particular apparatus is kind of like an artery. Which brings people in that maybe you don't. Want in you need to keep an eye on. So I think it's great that you have 30 extra officers. That you can bring into the department. And train them up and move them on. And I think at the end of the day, it was the right decision. Thank you. Thank you. With that members, please. Gordon Castro votes. Councilwoman Mongo. Motion passes. Okay. Thank you. And congratulations to Long Beach Police Department. And now we're moving on to item 18.