TITLE
Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Economic Development Department by $4,000, offset by the Sixth Council District One-time District Priority Funds transferred from the Citywide Activities Department to support the Peace Garden Weed Abatement Project at Martin Luther King Jr. Park.
Decrease appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $4,000 to offset a transfer to the Economic Development Department.
DISCUSSION
In August of 2010, Vice Mayor Dee Andrews, the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services (LBDHSS), the Downtown Long Beach Lions Club, and youth from the Weed & Seed grant program established the Peace Garden at Martin Luther King Junior Park at 1950 Lemon Avenue. This community garden was one of the first in the City of Long Beach and serves as an opportunity to promote healthy eating and physical activity through educational activities while also serving as a healthy food source for the neighborhood. The Peace Garden plots are offered to local community residents for growing their own fruits and vegetables. Adopting a plot increases availability of fresh produce for the gardeners and their families and offers the community the opportunity for recreation and positive social interaction while promoting peace. The Peace Garden participates and hosts several community events and also offers: garden tours, meeting space, community workdays and harvest giveaways.
Over the years and as grant funding for these kinds of projects became limited, the garden has faced deterioration. With the current Stay at Home order brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become increasingly difficult to maintain the garden and prohibitive for community members to volunteer their time at this location. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has been the lead entity for caring and tending to the needs of the garden, thus the department has received a quote from Conservation Corps of Long Beach (CCLB) to restore critical areas of the garden before community efforts to restore the garden take place.
CCLB is a community youth development agency where young people have an opportunity to learn and grow vocational trades while also working on community benefit projects. The allocation of $4,000 would cover four days of weed abatement, replacement of timers and irrigation hoses, and the hauling fee of debris from the Peace Garden.
This matter was reviewed by Budget Manager Grace H. Yoon on September 22, 2020.
FISCAL IMPACT
This recommendation provides District Priority Funds to support the Peace Garden Weed Abatement Project at Martin Luther King Jr. Park. The Economic Development Department currently has purchase orders in place with Conservation Corps of Long Beach for these kinds of projects in the Sixth District. The total appropriation of $4,000 in the General Fund Group in the Economic Development Department will be offset by the Sixth Council District One-time District Priority Funds in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department. The requested action is anticipated to require a minimal level of staff hours beyond the budgeted scope of duties and is expected to have minimal impact on existing City Council priorities.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
BODY
[Enter Body Here]
Respectfully Submitted,
DEE ANDREWS
VICE MAYOR, SIXTH DISTRICT
MARY ZENDEJAS
COUNCILWOMAN, FIRST DISTRICT
SUZIE PRICE
COUNCILWOMAN, THIRD DISTRICT