Tuesday, May 7, 2024

The council's largest new contract approval was $996,368 to ACCO Engineered Systems for HVAC systems and security cages at eight city facilities (Item 16, 5-0); ACCO appears across five line items in two agenda items (Items 16 and 17), totaling approximately $3.44M including ARPA-funded budget allocations, making it the meeting's most prominent repeat vendor. Additional spending approved included a $210,707 payment to The Arroyo Group for an MTA-funded transit-oriented development plan (Item 17, 5-0), a $226,000 contract with the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority for the Artesia Bridge project (Item 19, 5-0), release of $317,918 in contractor retention to All American Asphalt upon acceptance of Street Rehabilitation Phase 2B completion — a project with $6.36M in prior expenditures to that vendor (Item 18, 5-0) — and a $100,000 grant to Cressey Park Legends for a baseball memorial at Gonzalez Park (Item 15, 5-0). A $46,000 purchase order to El Gran Torino Corporation for street sweeping signs appeared on the action agenda sitting $4,000 below the $50,000 threshold that triggers additional council scrutiny; a $75,000 budget amendment for temporary staffing at the City Controller's office (Tandym Group LLC and Robert Half International Inc.) was pulled from the consent agenda by staff and received no separate vote, with at least one speaker questioning why the city repeatedly funds temp agency contracts rather than making permanent hires. The lease agreement with CHIRLA for city-owned space at 700 North Bullis Road — generating approximately $39,139 annually in revenue to the city — passed 4-1 with Councilman Bowers dissenting, after the city manager recommended striking 'civic engagement' language from the staff report. More than twenty residents addressed the council during public comment, raising concerns about gun violence response, prostitution near Long Beach Boulevard, street conditions, controller's office staffing, and difficulty contacting city officials.