Long Beach City Council News

The Long Beach City Council on Tuesday confirmed the appointments of Long Beach City College executive Lou Anne Bynum and former City Councilman Doug Drummond to second terms on the Board of Harbor Commissioners. Mayor Robert Garcia announced the reappointments last month. Both Bynum, the Harbor Board Vice President, and Drummond, a former Board President, were originally appointed by Garcia’s predecessor, Mayor Bob Foster. “These commissioners have done outstanding jobs helping to lead the Harbor Department,” Garcia said. “Their commitment to continuing public service will provide stability and consistency to the decisions governing Long Beach’s most important economic engine.

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners has approved an $829 million budget for the Harbor Department’s next fiscal year, including more than a half a billion dollars for capital improvements at the Port of Long Beach. The budget, which will be presented to the Long Beach City Council for its consideration, designates $555 million for capital investments including the Port’s major terminal redevelopment and bridge replacement projects. For the fiscal year starting Oct. 1, 2015, the budget anticipates a 6.1 percent increase in operating revenue over the current fiscal year’s income.

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners on Monday, July 14, approved an $858 million budget for the Port of Long Beach in the upcoming fiscal year, with two-thirds of the spending set aside for a robust building and modernization program. For the fiscal year starting Oct. 1, 2014, the Harbor Department plans to spend $579 million on capital projects ? part of a decade-long, $4 billion investment in Port upgrades and efficiency improvements. The ongoing Desmond Bridge Replacement Project and Middle Harbor Terminal Redevelopment will continue to be the Port’s largest construction projects. The budget was unanimously approved by the Commission and will be presented to the Long Beach City Council for approval.

The Long Beach City Council voted unanimously to confirm Mayor Bob Foster’s appointment of the City’s former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Lori Ann Farrell to the Board of Harbor Commissioners, which oversees the Port of Long Beach and the staff of the City’s Harbor Department. Farrell, a 14-year resident of Long Beach, will fill one of two vacancies on the five-member Harbor Commission. The commissioners are appointed by the mayor to a maximum of two six-year terms and are compensated $100 per board meeting.

Despite opposition from state officials, the prospects have improved for a proposed $700-million liquefied natural gas terminal that would be built at the Port of Long Beach in California, according to a Los Angeles Times report. The Long Beach City Council has no immediate plans to take a stand on the project, and local opposition has dwindled in recent months. Even so, state Public Utilities Commission officials oppose siting a terminal in the densely populated harbor area, warning that a terrorist attack, earthquake or accident could cause catastrophic damage. A nationally known expert hired by the commission recently concluded a fire could kill or burn people within three miles, an area that includes downtown Long Beach and 130,000 residents, according to the report.