Recommendation to approve renaming the Uptown Dog Park as the "Gayle Carter Uptown Dog Park".
Thank you. Great work. Next up is item 30. Communication from Councilman Austin. Recommendation to refer to the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Housing and Neighborhoods Committee. The request to consider and make a recommendation on renaming the Uptown Dog Park as the Gail Carter Uptown Dog Park. Councilman. Thank you. So I'm honored to bring forward this recommendation to recognize the many contributions of Gail Carter to the Long Beach animal loving community since its opening. Gail Carter became an unquestioned champion and leader of the Uptown Dark Park community. Since she organized, she organized the friends of the Uptown Dog Park to raise more money for improvements at the dog park. She organized numerous events to foster a strong sense of community around the dog park, including wiener dog races, potlucks, canine fashion shows, photos with Santa. She also arranged obedience training, agility classes and spay and neuter clinics to be offered at the Uptown Dog Park. She helped create and establish dog parks at the Jackson Park and Coolidge Park. Her compassion and determination endeared her with many in the animal community and throughout the city of Long Beach. Gail was a tenacious advocate in her efforts, but her passion for the dog park community and caring for pets and people was really infectious. She worked to make all users of the dog park feel welcome, but also ensured that they understood their responsibilities as pet owners. She enforce the rules. She was generous in helping others when they or their pets were in need. Gail helped those who are experiencing homelessness, who had trouble taking care of their animals, and organized fundraisers for pet owners. They needed help and rescue efforts. She passed away on September seven, 2017, of congestive heart failure at the age of 69. And given the tremendous impact that Gail Carter had on the Uptown Dog Park and the compassion and support she provided so many pet owners throughout the city of Long Beach. It is only fitting that we honor her legacy by renaming the Uptown Dog Park as the Gail Carter Uptown Dog Park. I ask my colleagues for the support of this motion. This motion is long overdue, and there were a number of people who signed petitions and asked us to actually bring this forward. And so I ask my colleagues support. Thank you. And this item is referring this item to the committee, of course, and Councilman Price. The comments. Okay. Any public comment? Please come forward. My name is Brandy Gaunt, and I am here as a representative of the Friends of Uptown Dog Park. Councilman Austin, thank you so much for taking this motion forward and and for helping us see this. Potentially actually happen in. Honor of our friend Gail. When Gail left us. 14 months ago, we lost. A really vital life force. In the pet owning community. In Long Beach. She really reached out and touched not just Uptown Dog Park, but Coolidge Jackson. You couldn't go to any place Rosie's Dog Beach, even. You couldn't go anywhere with your dog without without feeling Gayle's. Influence and knowing that she was there and she had influenced dog owners and and had a lot to do with training pet. Parent behaviors. Uptown was her base of operations. That's where her heart and soul was with the dog park activities. From it being the central hub of all of the social activities she arranged for the pet parents and their and their babies. To actually putting her. Own sweat equity into the upkeep and and TLC from her that went into that park from painting the benches to, you know, buying the chairs. And she did a lot. She formed Friends of Uptown Dog Park. We we try to to. Carry that on in her honor. And, of course, we fall very, very short because, you know, Gail was a rock star. I thank you for considering this. It's it's so fitting that her. Base of operations be named in her honor. And again, Councilman Austin, thank you. Councilman Richardson, thank. You for your support in this as well. Thank you. Thank you very much. Moving back to the council, Councilmember Richardson. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And thank you all for for bringing this forward. And, you know, Gail was an amazing individual, and many of us knew her, and we were all shocked when she passed away. But I think this is appropriate. This is a great time moment to name our facilities after Gail. Brandi mentioned it. You know, I first met Gail. It was at Uptown Dog Park, but I built a relationship with Gail as she helped us to create the Coolidge Dog Park and to build a community around the Coolidge dog park. And that's the kind of person she was. She would you know, she this wasn't her dog park. This wasn't her neighborhood. But she was she knew that most of us were coming to her dog park. She said, you need your own, you know. And we ended up with a very beautiful, nice dog park and and an amazing legacy on her part. So thank you. Thank you, Councilman. Often bringing this forward, it clearly has my support and I look forward to this coming back to council. Thanks. Thank you. Councilmember Pierce. Yes. Similar story. I got to meet Gail twice. We were just in the conversations around our Bixby dog park and we had a lot of it was contentious, that dog park. And so we knew we had to build a community around it and we knew we wanted to engage people early on. And she really stepped up and met with Second District residents and and third District residents. So really congratulations to the community for having a place to honor her and Councilmember Austin for bringing this item forward. Thank you. With that, we'll go ahead and do the roll call vote. Madam Clerk. Councilwoman Gonzales. Councilmember Pierce. Councilwoman Price. Councilmember. All right. Councilwoman Mongo, I. Vice Mayor Andrews. Councilmember Urunga. I. Councilman Austin. Councilmember Richardson.