Tuesday, April 23, 2024

The council approved a $101,500 contract with County Leak Services for repairs at the Luders Park city pool (5-0), though the structured agenda records two identical $101,500 line items for the same vendor under the same agenda item—one unrestricted and one from Measure A—flagging a combined $203,000 attributed to County Leak Services; no council member raised this discrepancy. Also approved were an $80,000 two-year contract with Mariposa Eco Consulting Inc. for SB 1383 compliance services (5-0) and a $50,000 amendment to an existing Cintas Corporation uniform services contract (5-0), with the structured agenda similarly showing two $50,000 Cintas line items under the single item—a pattern flagged as a possible split payment keeping each entry below the $100,000 threshold. Items 10 and 11 initiated FY2024-25 assessment proceedings for the lighting/landscape district ($4.2 million) and sewer service charges ($913,506); these are revenue collections, not new spending approvals. Personnel Board business generated the evening's most procedurally contested votes: Jennifer Grant was removed 5-0, then reappointed 5-0 after the city attorney stated that a verbal motion withdrawal does not reverse a vote already taken; Yawande Ayodele was removed 4-0-1 (Bowers abstaining); Merkelyn Black was appointed 4-1 (Spicer dissenting); and Alicia Rivers was appointed on a 2-1-2 vote (Bowers no, Darden and Sharif abstaining). Twelve residents spoke during public comment, the bulk of which addressed Long Beach Boulevard prostitution, Compton Creek maintenance, and trash pickup reliability—none addressed the spending items on the agenda.