Since 4th dist. residents temporarily had no Council representative (when the former incumbent left his Council office to seek and win Sacramento office), Councilmembers Austin and Uranga agendized an item to delay action regarding a requested customs facility until 90 days after the 4th dist. voters had elected a Council representative.

In response to residents who came to the Council meeting carrying signs supporting the Austin-Uranga agendized item, Councilwoman Mungo said that bringing the agenda item was "pandering to this crowd."

Councilwoman Mungo asserted that she effectively represents the 4th district, in the same way as all other Councilmembers, who vote on citywide-impacting items. Councilwoman Mungo added that she also regularly gets yogurt at a 4th district business.

Councilwoman Mungo made a substitute motion (seconded by now-exited Suja Lowenthal) to (1) begin study on a potential international customs facility and (2) request city management to prepare a memo by Aug. 2015, put it on the city's website and return to the Council for "discussion" after making the memo available. Before the Council vote, Lowenthal made a second substitute motion, seconded by Mungo, to begin study of a potential customs facility at the Long Beach Airport; and return to the Council with findings 90 days after the 4th District Councilmember had taken office, but Lowenthal and Mungo withdrew their second substitute motion.

Councilman Austin then made a second substitute motion, seconded by Uranga, to direct the City Manager to delay any action regarding requests for a customs facility until receiving further Council direction, and delay any request for direction regarding a customs facility until 60 days [reduced from 90 days on a "friendly amendment" from Councilwoman Price] after the 4th dist. Council member had been elected and seated. Councilwoman Mungo voted "no" on this motion.

The full vote was 4-3: Yes: Uranga, Austin, Richardson, Price; No: Mungo, Lowenthal, Andrews [4th dist vacant, Gonzalez out on maternity leave.] This was the sole salient Airport-related vote on which Price voted differently than Mungo.

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July 7, 2015: Councilwoman Mungo made the motion (carried 6-3, Austin, Uranga and Supernaw dissenting) that authorized conducting a "feasibility study" on a customs facility. In response to residents who'd come to the Council meeting to voice concern for their family home values, Councilwoman Mungo said she'd like them to remain in Long Beach but noted that the City would collect more property tax revenue if they left. p>The city management agendized item sought Council authority to proceed with the work necessary to determine the feasibility, financial or otherwise, of a federal inspection (customs) service facility at Long Beach Airport.

Public speakers opposed outnumbered supporters roughly two to one; half of speakers in support worked for or were associated with JetBlue. A number of opponents noted that internal Airport records (which and been obtained and published by LBREPORT.com) showed that Airport management had commissioned an internal 2013 Economic Feasibility Study, performed without voted Council authority, and charged that the City was pursuing new study because it didn't like results of first internal study. (City officials have since said the new study is more comprehensive and reached different conclusions in part because conditions that have "changed.")

After multiple residents came to the podium to speak about the importance of their home values and neighborhood quality of life, Councilwoman Mungo stated:

"I want all of you to stay in the homes you're in, but quite frankly if you moved, the city would actually increase its property tax revenue. Because of Prop 13 and your protections, we are not making a decision to get rid of you or move you and..."

Councilwoman Mungo's words triggered audible audience displeasure, to which she responded: "I'm a budget director and I just have to tell you the facts." As the audience reaction grew, Mayor Garcia intervened and effectively invited Mungo not to say more: "You're all done, Councilwoman?" the Mayor asked, to which Councilwoman Mungo replied "sure."

To hear an audio clip of this exchange, click here.

The full motion made by Councilwoman Mungo (seconded by now-exited Councilwoman Lowenthal) authorized city management to proceed with work necessary to determine the feasibility, financial or otherwise, of a Federal Inspection Service (FIS) facility. (It also directed that the study include at least two "community meetings" including communities and neighborhoods most impacted by the potential facility; a forecast of additional general aviation flights, including corporate and personal jets, that would use the facility; a risk assessment of potential threats to the airport noise control ordinance, and a plan to "mitigate" impacted neighborhoods and schools from environmental and health impacts should the airport noise control ordinance become invalidated; a study on additional security risks associated with international flights.) It directed that any decision regarding the FIS facility come back to City Council but didn't set a date. The vote was Yes: Mungo, Price, Lowenthal, Goinzalez, Andrews, Richardson; No: Uranga, Austin, Supernaw.

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Dec. 6, 2016: Councilwoman Mungo made a substitute-substitute motion, seconded by Price, that scheduled a Dec. 13 "study session" on the "feasibility study" (a proposal originally agendized for Council approval by Councilman Uranga) BUT THEN went on to authorize city staff to immediately work with JetBlue and airport interests/stakeholders on items that are prerequisites to approve a customs facility / international flights (an action not proposed on the Dec. 6 agenda that was awaiting future Council action on Dec. 13) AND scheduled a decision-making vote for Jan. 24 that wasn't on any written agenda. The two actions added by the Mungo-Price substitute-substitute motion advanced the international flights issue further.

The Mungo-Price substitute motion [1] set a Study Session for Tuesday, December 13, 2016; [2] authorized City staff to immediately begin engagement with Jet Blue and any other interested tenant at the airport that has an interest in the FIS, and engage with the Governor's Office, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, if necessary; and [3] set an item on January 24, 2017 for a potential vote by the City Council. This carried 6-3: Yes: Mungo, Price, Gonzalez, Pearce, Andrews, Richarson; No: Austin, Uranga, Supernaw.

(Retired Councilwoman Rae Gabelich submitted a complaint letter to the L.A. County District Attorney's office, alleging that the Council majority's actions, which weren't published on the agenda, violated the Brown (open meetings) Act by not providing the public with sufficient notice; the DA's office disagreed, concluding that the Council voted actions were allowable .)

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Dec. 13, 2016: Councilwoman Mungo asked no questions, made no statements, during a Council "study session" on a customs facility. Mayor Garcia briefly acknowledged an accompanying city attorney memo on the legal issues but didn't invite the City Attorney's office to make any presentation. No Councilmembers inquired about or questioned any aspects of the City Attorney's memo.

The study session was agendized for a 5:00 p.m. "time certain" but residents were forced to wait roughly an hour and a half for the item to be heard The Council meeting didn't begin until 6:10 p.m...and the study session didn't begin until 6:32 p.m.

City staff's presentation ran from 6:33 p.m. until 7:14 p.m.; Councilmembers spoke (Austin, Uranga, Supernaw and (asked brief quetsions) and the public wasn't invited to speak until 8:03 p.m. The next day on Facebook, a number of residents commented that they had to leave due to the delay in starting the Council meeting and getting to what had been promised as a "time certain" study session.

Public testimony ran from 8:03 p.m. until 9:50 p.m. Residents described the disruptive impacts of current flights. One woman played audio of what it sounded like inside her home as an aircraft roared overhead in the daytime and at 3 a.m. In addition to disruptive noise, a number of speakers cited health, safety and pollution concerns.

More than one speaker noted that the Airport-hired consultant's "feasibility study" listed only positive benefits and either didn't find negative impacts or portrayed them as "speculative." One speaker commented that the entire "feasibility study" was speculative. Others said the feasibility study should have included negative impacts on property values and potential impacts if the City lost its Airport ordinance.

Only five persons spoke in support: 4 from JetBlue (including Sr. VP/Assoc. Gen'l Counsel Rob Land), 1 from LB Area Chamber of Commerce. Both entities had waged email efforts seeking support at the meeting.

Mayor Garcia (who wasn't present until 6:18 p.m.) didn't explain or apologize for the Council meeting's late start. He acknowledged "concerns" by those living with Airport impacts, brieftly mentioned a memo by LB's City Attorney on customs facility/international flight related issues, and instead focused on what he called economic issues, voicing concern that LB's flight-slot-capped Airport ordinance means international flights by JetBlue might displace some of its current domestic flights favored by hotel and convention interests.

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