Image source: City management agendizing memo

The Feb. 18 Council agenda item indicates City Hall collected $4.3 million more than expected (paid by LB consumers) with the Measure A sales tax in FY19, producing a "surplus" that management recommends allocating to various items including $1.5 million for the El Dorado Park artificial turf field.

The Feb. 18 Council item doesn't formally allocate the $1.5 million to the El Dorado Park project; it indicates that action would come in a future Council vote, but it effectively enables Council discussion and direction on the recommended expenditures now..

A Council majority could allocate all or part of the $1.5 million sum elsewhere, including for a FY20 police academy class that management says won't be fully funded if it allocates $1.79 million (as now proposed) from the Measure A surplus. A Council majority could direct city management to use all or part of the $1.5 million proposed for ELB El Dorado Park artificial turf field to other uses, including funds needed to complete funding (management says not yet identified) for a planned FY20 police academy officer replenishment class.

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The $1,5 million El Dorado Park artificial turf field is part of the Feb. 18 City Council agenda item titled "Receive and file the Fiscal Year 2019 Year-End Budget Performance Report and increase appropriations in several funds across several departments for various purposes to reflect final expenditures and carryover clean-up." Management scheduled the item as LB voters vote (with mail ballots now circulating) on a March 3 ballot measure that would let City Hall continue imposing the 2016 Measure A General Fund ("blank check") sales tax by erasing its current legally specified reduction (2023) and elimination dates (2027.) In July 2019, the Council voted without dissent to put the Measure A extension on a special March 2020 citywide election ballot by declaring a "fiscal emergency."

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On Feb. 11, 2020, management's recommendations for allocating the FY19 Measure A "surplus" came to the Council's Budget Oversight Committee. In that meeting, Committee chair Mungo commented on a number of the management recommendations but didn't mention the El Dorado Park artificial field spending item. .Neither did Committee members Suzie Price or Al Austin. Accordingly, management's recommendations have now advanced to the full City Council's Feb. 18 agenda.

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City management's Feb. 18 Council item recommends allocating $1.5 million from the $4.3 million FY19 Measure A surplus for "Enhancement for the Public Works Department of $1.5 million for the funding needed for the El Dorado Field Turf conversion project, which was recently approved and recommended to the City Council on November 21, 2019 by the Parks and Recreation Commission and includes construction of a new artificial turf field similar to those recently completed at Admiral Kidd, Seaside, and Drake Parks."

[As previously reported in detail by LBREPORT.com, the November 2019 parks/Recreation Commission vote recommended the artificial turf field then-estimated to cost $1.46 million using $850,000 from Measure A plus $617,000 from City Council "one-time funds" budgeted in the Public Works Capital Projects Fund. Parks/Rec's staff acknowledged at the time that funds to maintain the artificial turf field hadn't been "identified" and would be "sought as part of City Hall's FY21 budget process" (and the lack of identified funding for maintenance of the artificial turf field led Commissioner Sievers to dissent on the recommendation.)

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Management's Feb. 18 agenda item also recommends allocating $1.79 million to support the FY20 police academy replenishment class but acknowledges that "additional funding is likely needed to fully fund this recruit class." It also recommends allocating $800,000 to contribute to converting a former land fill to expand NLB's Davenport Park, $100,000 for parks irrigation pumps and $100,000 for Public Works tree stump removal.

"These recommendations will be included in the FY 20 First Budget Adjustment Report for City Council's formal consideration, but the appropriation approval will be contingent upon the confirmation by the Measure A Citizens Advisory Committee that the proposed uses are in conformance with the intent of Resolutions No. RES-16-0018 and RES-16-0017 prioritizing spending," city management's agendizing memo states.

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The El Dorado Park artificial turf field (including the possibility of field lighting) has been controversial. Councilwoman Mungo chose not to mention the Nov. 21, 2019 Parks and Rec Commission meeting, or the Feb. 11 Budget Oversight Committee meeting she chairs, or (as of late afternoon Feb. 16) the upcoming Feb. 18 City Council meting in her periodic "Neighborly News" newsletter..

[LBREPORT.com has learned the project may have been recently discussed in at least one nearby neighborhood group meeting; if you or your neighbors attended that meeting, please contact us at mail@LBReport.com or via a private message to LBREPORT.com's Facebook page.]

The artificial turf field would include a 42" wire fence and soccer netting behind each goal on the north and south ends of the field with permanent perimeter boulders at the east and west ends to restrict vehicle access without blocking views into the Park. Electrical conduit would also be installed enabling installation of field lighting if approved by subsequent votes of the Parks/Rec Commission and/or City Council.

Image source: City management agendizing memo

Artificial turf fields have already been installed at four other LB parks: Seaside Park, Admiral Kidd Park, the Drake-Chavez Park greeenbelt and Molina Park. In its agendizing memo, Parks/Rec staff said "replacing natural grass turf with synthetic turf on soccer fields has several benefits, including providing a playing surface that addresses field safety issues and enhances playability to meet demand." Parks/Rec staff also stated during the Commission meeting that artificial turf would mean less "down time" for soccer fields.

The artificial turf sports field, similar to those installed at the four other LB parks to date and planned for others, will use cork and sand fill, not "crumb rubber" (the latter have drawn public pushback and prompting a 2015 Parks/Recreation Commission majority vote to recommend cork/sand fill.) A 2015 3-2 Parks/Rec Commission vote recommended more costly cork/sand fill over staff-recommended acrylic coated crumb rubber.)

At the November 2019 meeting, Parks/Rec Commissioner Thomas asked Parks/Rec staff if there'd been any pushback or negative responses to the other artificial turf fields in use now. Parks/Rec staff said response had been all positive and hadn't heard of anything negative.

Opponents and supporters both cited playability factors. Parks/Rec staff said the fields would be safer, provide state of the art surfaces and ensure citywide "soccer equity." Opponents said the playing surface would be hotter, required repeated cleaning and cited its cost.

The public was given only minimally required notice of the Parks/Rec Commission item, but Parks/Rec staff acknowledged during the meeting that it gave local soccer organizations access to staff's presentation on the proposal field in advance of the public meeting. No one speaking as a representative of the local soccer groups testified in person or submitted written materials pro or con on the agenda item.

Members of the public learned of the item via social networks and LBREPORT.com (which reported the item as newsworthy.) Nearly all public speakers who attended the Parks/Rec Commission meeting (scheduled at 9 a.m. on a Thursday morning) spoke in opposition to the proposed project. Ann Cantrell, Jill Brennan, Corliss Lee and Raman Vashishth also submitted written materials in opposition.

Ms. Lee, a former 5th dist. Council candidate (2018) and founder/president of the Eastside Voice) submitted an email asking the Commission to withhold action on the item, urging an evening meeting where the public could be more easily heard. (In December, Ms. Lee volunteered to serve as lead writer for the ballot argument in opposition to the march 2020 Measure A sales tax.)

William Worden, a former president of AYSO 177, 11-year boardmember and current AYSO volunteer, said work prevented him from attending personally but submitted an individual letter supporting the project. "We desperately need safe, flat surfaces for children to train and play on. Grass would be preferred, but the living organism can't survive the hours of use needed."

Fifth district resident Jon Schultz spoke at the meeting and submitted a letter dated Nov. 21 in support. In his verbal testimony, Mr. Schultz indicated he believes additional speakers would attended the meeting to speak in support if it had been scheduled at time other than during regular weekday working hours. In his written correspondence, Mr. Schultz called the proposed project a "state of the art playing field" with a "beautiful thoughtful and safe design" and added an ad hominem swipe:

There are a few people who share old data, cite long outdated dangers of artificial turf, and other scare tactics in an attempt to stop the project. These are the same who show up and oppose, or complain about, or sue over and over, anything our local councilperson and/or city of Long Beach proposes. Yet election after election it's demonstrated that their opinions are not representative of the residents of the city -- like my family who loves the investments our local leaders continue to make...They complain that the City does nothing, until the city does something, then they complain about that, too!

(On July 31, 2019, Councilwoman Mungo's office issued a press release that referred to Mr. Schultz in connection with a FY20 budget item related to another El Dorado Park location that can be viewed at this link.)

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