Recommendation to formally support the proposal by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to enter into a contract with the Long Beach Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department to perform security and safety services on the Metro Blue Line.
Item 25 Communication from Councilman Austin, Councilwoman Gonzalez, Councilman Andrews and Councilmember Durango. Recommendation to formally support the proposal by Metro to enter into a contract with the Long Beach Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department to perform security and safety services on the Metro Blue Line. Thank you much for this. Over to Councilman Austin. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And we ask that this issue be placed on the supplemental agenda due to the sensitive timing of the matter. Next week, the Metro Board will be considering this particular issue. So it's very important, I think, that the city council here tonight weigh in. Improving blue line safety has been and is a high priority for this council and for thousands of residents who use the public transportation moat of light rail in an effort to improve safety and quality of ridership. Metro staff has proposed entering into contracts with Long Beach PD and LAPD to partially replace the L.A. County Sheriff's Department and to increase coverage of policing during each 24 hour period. Response times in Long Beach would improve from 12 to 14 minutes to less than 5 minutes. This is a local policing approach that should be strongly supported by this council. And for that, I'd ask for your I vote and encourage our new MTA representative to support as well. And that is Dr. Robert Garcia, obviously our mayor. And so with that, I would ask for your support on this matter. Okay. There's a motion by Councilman Austin. Is there a second? Yes. Second by Councilmember Andrews council managers. Yes. Thank you. First of all, I want to thank councilman also for bringing this item, you know, forward. You know, I also want to thank and congratulate the mayor, Robert Garcia, as he's, you know, settled into his new Metro board seat. And congratulations, you may on that. Metro is a wonderful access to our city and we can't get from Long Beach law says in less than an hour. This thing you know, this kind of service requires safety and welcoming assets to the Long Beach residents. Also, our Long Beach officers know that the understanding our community and needs better than everyone else, it knows about the situation. I would also be wonderful to know them, to be a part of this process and make our station safer and actively patrolled and directed enforcement. You know, Law Order on these are on that platform. So thank you again is also bringing it forward. And again, Mayor, for receiving that, you know, position. Thank you. I know we can't log in or any other councilmember comments. Councilman Pearce. Yes. I just want to say how exciting it is to be able to finally have some great representation on our Metro Board and colleague support. I think reducing the travel times of someone who rode that blue line for 3 hours straight every day is going to be a big deal for folks that are traveling to downtown and public safety. Being able to take off some pressure from our PD is really exciting. And when we talk about mobility in our city, it's transparency, it's accessibility and dependability. And being able to do that with our blue line through the whole city is going to be really great for everyone. Thank you. Thank you. And just to add, I want to thank customer Austin under his leadership as president of the COG. They've been very involved in metro issues. And so I know that Councilman Austin as as president has been pretty involved in this issue and a bunch of other issues around Metro. And just to summarize, again, the Metro board of 13 members will vote on this not this Thursday, but next Thursday. And the vote is essentially to allow Ambridge Police Department to be able to control its own destiny when it comes to the Long Beach blue line and patrol the blue line ourselves, which is something that we've been wanting to do for for a long time. And so I've been on record supporting this already. I support the council's efforts tonight. I think it helps for the board next week, and I'd like to open it up for any public comment. Good evening, Mr. Mayor. Members of the city council. Craig Koch with the downtown Long Beach Associates. As the. Mayor articulated, there's been a strong effort for many, many. Years. To bring this to fruition. I strongly support this this movement. Our board strongly supports it. The community is very much behind it. We have joined forces with the Chamber and the CVB in order in order to support this this motion being. Presented to the Metro Board next week. We will continue to mobilize. Our community and encourage them to help support this initiative to make Long Beach as. Well as the Metro. Line, much safer than it is today. So I appreciate your consideration and look forward to your support. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Very good. You work as my address. My perspective comes from one who that is, I would venture to say, has a better understanding the blue line and every system that the MTA operates than anyone in this city and with the exception or two or three anyone in the tri county area, period. This is, I would say, one of those items. What I would in first reaction would say it would be divorced from intelligence. But the problem is it would never had a nexus with intelligence, period. That's separate and distinct from the fact that we don't even have enough police to police our own streets, let alone a paradigm that is entirely different. Then policing a city, period. No ifs, no ads, no buts. I had more knowledge of this blueline than any single person in this room. Period, as I said. But also the MTA system itself, as well as comparative systems within the backwash I transportation corridors, very policing of a transit paradigm is entirely different. No ifs, no answers, no buts. And anybody who says otherwise has their head firmly in a position that they need to see a proctologist buried. I'm absolutely sure there are serious problems. It no question. I think the answer and this is way out of the box thinking. The only way to really solve this problem. Is to enter into an agreement with the Holy See, hire a platoon of nuns, well-trained, know how to use a 12 inch wooden ruler and a bar of lava soap. And you give them the guarantee that the AFL-CIO will not be allowed to interfere in that, and only that, with the possible exception of ending the DNC program of encouraging people to get household income by popping out a kid every 18 months. That's the only way you're going to have the money needs to go to the trained professionals, i.e. those that Jim McDonald and captain and excuse me guy believes now Captain Thomas do a very well great job training. They're the ones that the county board of supervisors needs to funnel the money to not Long Beach police. That again cannot even protect its own streets period. There are only limited there are only the Long Beach police should only be in call. Call to take the purpose of this the station or out of a train. Beyond that, they should not set foot on a blue line. Thank you. See any other public comment? Please come forward. Karen replied. I live in the corner in seventh and Pacific Avenue. As someone who takes public transportation every day and regularly rides the blue line, I am very excited that our officers locally are going to assist in safety. I think it will stop a lot of the drug dealing that happens on the platforms and will keep a lot of people that come from other areas to our city on the blue line to do illegal activity and cause problems downtown from doing that activity. So I'm excited. I know this has been a long time in process that this is finally. Coming to fruition, and I believe that. Our Long Beach police will do a far better job than the sheriffs do because they will know. Who the local perpetrators are. Thank you. Thank you. Seeing no other public comment and no other council comments. Councilman Austin. Yes. Thank you. And before we take a vote, I'd like to just make sure that this this vote is married in intelligence and considers the the colossal paradigm shift that we are going to be embark on. I'd like to call the police chief up and just ask a couple of basic questions. Hello, Chief. So an understanding the motion before us. And I'm sure you are aware of the the the issue. Does Longbridge PD have the resources to effectively police the blue line should this measure passed MTA. So the question is tied into your previous vote, because of the leadership of this Council and the foresight, you have supported us in hiring back to back academies that started last year. We are going to hire two more academies this coming year. So as we are becoming more healthy, as we're considering attrition and some of the other factors, we are well-positioned to join in this multi-agency security plan. And I got to emphasize that it's not just Long Beach taking over the blue line, it's Long Beach taking over the blue line. And then the Los Angeles Police Department taking over a significant amount. Of the rest of the. Metro line. That's going to positively impact, I believe, the entire system. But for the city of Long Beach itself, to have our own police officers patrolling the the the rail itself or on the train itself and the platforms and the corridors adjacent only enhances the visibility up and down our primary corridors, which I believe, based on my experience, will positively impact not only crime but the quality of life. No one can patrol or knows their city as well as their own local police department. And I have heard for years for many of our stakeholders and our citizens that they're unhappy with L.A. County sheriffs, and they have wanted us, the Long Beach Police Department, to patrol this blue line. And through the mayor's leadership and all of yours. This sends a strong message. I'm not saying we're going to get it, but I think we're well positioned on February 23rd that the vote may go our way and the city our city is going to benefit greatly. Thank you for that. I don't think I have any other questions. I think, you know, that helps me make an intelligent decision this evening. Thank you, Chief. Okay. Thank you. Seeing no other public comment members. Again, the Granicus system is down. So all those in favor, please say I, i any oppose. Okay. Motion carried unanimously. Thank you. I'm going to go to think and thank you all for your support on that. I'm going to ask so the Granicus system is down. And so we've been trying to move some things around here. But if I can have an Cantrell, Larry Goodhue and Larry Boland all, please come up. And just one after the other.