Trade, Travel and Tourism Committee - February 25, 2025

e thank you madam clerk so that takes us to public comment members of the public wishing to give public comment can sign up at the kiosk in the back you'll be given one minute for general public comment and up to two minutes for multiple items I am going to call the names on my list and then you can come here to the podium goat what do you want to be heard on today please well all the goddamn items and general public comment all right go ahead so let's see here number 12 you got to look at Pat mccosar have you you've been drinking again a number 12 he you know mo cow you won't believe this and number 12 him and neran want to make a fireboat and they want to put a boat out in the Pacific Ocean and shoot water to fight fires from the sea what kind of delusional Psychopaths do these people think they are I mean you know well I'm captain mosar I mean what the do you think you're GNA do Tim that's saltwater you can't shoot saltwater into an act of fire it's got bromine in it bromide is a accelerator of fires Tim they don't shoot bromide into those boats they have fire retardant and they have a filtering system and they F they put filtered water you don't just shoot the goddamn ocean water from Dolphins into the fire from the what in the is this how desperate do you lying have to be it's unbelievable and then we got Timothy Buckethead again he's going to raise the parking fees why the are you raising parking fees on innocent why are you doing that don't pay enough don't they pay enough taxes don't they run around and take bad buses and and put their cars over your bumpy roads I'm I'm sorry what is what is this your Lang tax number eight the tax we're going to move you into General comment no it you can't do that Parky park because I'm on topic it says you're not parking fees you dumb don't you understand what I'm saying I'm talking to you talking to you so you know this is what we got we got Mo cow over there on CH channel five every day slamming maresi slamming the mayor we got Tracy Irene Beach who now calls herself Tracy arene park for some reason and I've got those two names down don't worry in our court system you use both and you're on TV yesterday in front of a fire station well I didn't do it the mayor did it and then you want to go and reinstate the lesbian fire chief why do you two want to reinstate a lesbian fire chief so she can burn more down don't you understand that maresi in his limited mental capacity as a slaver called Steven from Jango Unchained is trying to do something right you got to fire the fire chief right so support your big and keep the fire chief fired Donald Harland Donald Harin going once going twice all right so you're up how about Herman come on up um Herman go ahead what would you like to be on today keep it down because we don't want people to know that Miss what would you like to be hurt on today if you want to me like I said just keep it down we'll do it later somewhere what what would you like to be heard on you can call me a but you said you want to Herman that's scary you know I didn't make that up youer what would you like to be heard on or we're going to move along what items would you like to be I'm on number eight talking about parking rates so one minute for number eight and a and I'm going to speak on all items and non-agenda public coming you so now that I'm parking rates uh I realize that uh parking uh charges are are are not worth my time here in La anymore because I don't want to pay these City attorney reports for some Baldhead over there to tell me what parking rates on item number eight you get it baly now you understand what number him on right baly good now pay attention DC to number 12 look at here Los Angeles Fire Department Miss Crowley is is is being fired over the fact that she did her job and some bimbo from USC a stupid black mayor who's a didn't even give her the opportunity to continue to make her statements that you guys are falsely accusing her of something that she had no control of because you had that Jango Mr marari Dixon who is running the the mayor seat speak please stay on topic you're on item number 12 regarding mccosar and aarion on the Wildfire response as far as I'm concerned the response and you for interrupting me at number 12 please move along speaker now I'm on number 10 regarding report of the Los Angeles paa motion under again mcoser and that dumb Jango Dawson relative to the available Wilmington property inventory well we already know there's no inventory the goddamn fire has burned most of the city of Los Angeles it's going to up the airport flights during the Olympics and we can't we can't settle for less but we want more and how do we get more well let's look at item number 13 again another mosar regarding the baly City attorney regarding the implementation or the articulated ordinance under 54950 the brown app which under the leasing policy for the goddamn chapter three of the godamn division of the goddamn Los Angeles La AC so if you want to clarify my opinion on this you could just suck a dick and go yourself because as I was told earlier what name do you want to talk about well I'm not the beach that told me to go myself she's asking me what name you signed up of so if you know the goddamn name let's let's put it on the airport matter of fact let's name LAX airport on behalf of Armando Herman for the record that would be an interesting name to draw in everyone from every country that's trafficking those fenel drugs that you white to know about so stop it stop being a okay audit la come on up ma'am and to those of you joining us today my apologies to all of you for having to listen to that um that language is disgusting and inappropriate and I apologize to all of you who come here to do serious work in this committee who have to sit through that what would you like to be heard on today um definitely public comment and all items and I'm a little because they had said it was um uh cancel so I don't have an agenda um so I'm a little stuck sure one of the sergeants can get you one but um if not I'll try call me on topic I accept it because I I don't have one um but I I think I know there was animals on there right and there's the airport you want me to bring you back when you've had a minute no because I want to go downstairs we we'll do the best we can at the very least we'll do sounds good thank you okay um anything with airports and travel I just want to keep reminding you that there is such a thing as human trafficking that is you may think you're volunteering to come here but and I'm going to keep keeping it real the Church of Scientology they bring people here they think they want to come here they're going to put them in their sea orgs and then they hold their um all their stuff their documents or they can't just leave and they make it impossible for people to leave and I I just want to bring that I'm going to keep bringing that to your awareness um I could SW I saw something about animals if I'm if I'm wrong protect the animals regardless um you know and then when it comes to you know I'll just go to um public comment because I don't know what's on there I didn't great okay um I I I want to thank uh miss Monica I'm sorry I'm gonna take a little I take a different approach I am in support of the chief I I feel that uh the mayor is kind of just throwing her under the bus to divert attention from herself and her failures I think is the biggest failure and I think there's failures probably to go all around if truth be told I'm sorry I think a lot could have been prevented that wasn't prevented and a lot could be done in the meantime that maybe is not being done correctly but to throw one person under the bus um you know to to to deflect the attention is wrong so if the chief should be fired then so should the mayor that's my opinion fire so she needs to step down and resign if she resigns then fine I'll support you know whatever but till then no I'm going to stand and the person who's with me he want they he also wanted to um he's known her for many years would also like to support um the chief and I also uh want to remind you that um I guess I don't have time I'll have to do it next time thank you all and thank you for standing up and I hope the rest of you stand up thank you Brenda Lee okay Brenda Lee did anyone sign up named Brenda Lee okay okay good to know chenan what would you like to be heard on today good morning my name is Miss Chan Yun and I would like to speak on item number seven item number 12 and then General um start with item number seven is a 16 month lease between um world airport and then United Airlines um it's very concerning to me because I saw several viral videos online that a United Airline dragging people off the plane because they double book their seats um I really wish that if our uh World Airport want to have a contract have a lease agreement with an airline I wish that we can uh servicing an airline that has that prioritize Customer Service Customer Support instead of an airline has a reputation on Tik Tok on the every year on the month basis that you know taking people off the plane arresting someone off the plane or or whatever all those drama we don't see those uh same amount of drama on Delta Airline just to give you a random example and I know there are plenty of good airlines that deserve a lease instead of just the United Airline currently has a 1.5 star reading on consumer affairs uh item number two uh item number 12 is about the fire department um uh operational status well I am not a firefighter but I can give you this operational status pretty easily number one we don't have enough firefighter number two we don't have enough uh fireboat number three we don't have enough money that's it that's the end of my report um so whenever um firefighter uh under the chief Crowley whenever she needs to make a report it's always three reason no firefighter no fire engine no money that's it so I already know before listening to the report it seems like I already know um Los Angeles Fire Department are not capable dealing with large scale uh wild fire or any sort of emergencies because it's always the same reason three times always the same reason no money no power no Manpower uh no engine uh talk about the general public comment I want to uh um um support our council members uh in this committee is because I just realized that in the Los Angeles airport that uh currently in the year of 2025 still nobody is checking the luggage uh that means a lot of my drug friends come from all over the world they can uh put whatever heroin fantano inside of their bags and then their luggage was never being checked so this will provide easy access for people on the SK roll uh people in need of fantinel people in need of heroin people in need of whatever drugs uh that's I I call it a really uh community service I call it really especially a lot of tourist all over the world are coming to La we gonna support them with the drugs I think that's a really good idea all right Gary Herrera come on up Mr Herrera what would you like to be heard on today uh item nine please all right how about it uh good afternoon my name is Gary Herrera president ilw Local 13 thank you councilman mosar chair Park and council member Rodriguez I'm here today to speak regarding agenda nine uh report from the port of LA in response to the motion Council file number 231356 relative to the PO Port of Los Angeles leasing policy as you're aware the underlining motion called for the city council to direct the executive director of the the Port of Los Angeles with coordination with the city attorney to report to the trade travel and Tourism Committee with proposed amendments and processes need to revise the Port of Los Angeles leasing policy specific language that details establishment and implementation of an application for leasing includes lease extension or Amendment Andor development of harbard Department property that measures how the proposed project would impact both direct and indirect jobs associated with the pro with the premises I'm sorry I forgot my glasses including the number of types of jobs impacted and identifies the ver verifiable proof of whether the employee affects whether the neutral increase or decrease the Baseline job count the procedural change needed for the port plans or policies in order to codify these changes to the leasing policy specific for its application to all development applications and leasing transactions including without limitation lease agreement for example leases permits and revocable permits all lease agreements amendments terms extensions assignments and sub leases such amendments to the ports leasing policy are critically needed I'm going to go off record a little bit we know that there was a permit that was given to somebody in the port of LA and it cost hundreds if not a thousand jobs at the time when we were asking to be very specific to what would a job loss look like we couldn't get any answers we sat at Harbor commission meetings we went and we and we wanted to have these answers and the the company at the time could not give us the answer so this policy this this right here what I'm reading what's on agenda 9 it's imperative for the communities the Port of Los Angeles has a ultimate responsibility to its community and also to the port but to respond to job losses so this is why we're here today we're saying we're in favor of item number nine thank you thank you sir Marcus hogn come on up Sir what would you like to be heard on today uh item nine Madam chair all right go ahead uh thank you chair Park council member moscar and council member Rodriguez my name is Marcos and I serve as Council for ilw locals 1363 and 94 uh here to speak on agenda item number nine uh just pick up where brother Herrera left off uh amendments to the ports leasing policy are are critically needed as you may know according to recent data the Port of Los Angeles alone is responsible for millions of jobs throughout the United States hundreds of thousands of jobs within the counties of Los Angeles orange Riverside San Bernardino Ventura as well as jobs in the city of Los Angeles within the city of Los Angeles Port jobs are of immense importance to the communities within Council district 15 or the5 and Beyond further in 2022 jobs related to Port funded critically needed programs and initiatives throughout the city and Beyond thus based on the immense importance of Port of Los Angeles jobs and the fact that the port land is held in trust by the city for the people of the State of California pursuant to a series of tiand Grants it's critical to understand how proposed Port projects would impact jobs we were disappointed to read the ports response to C Council motion file 23-1 1356 in the response uh the the response does call for limited analysis but it does not give any direction on what will be done with the data more specifically what recourse is there if a project is found to result in a loss of jobs thus we urge the committee to recomend the item for a full Council vote with eventual recommendation to amend the city Charter thank you all right thank you s De costanzo good afternoon sir what would you like to be heard on same item number nine all right go ahead sir thank you madam chair honorable uh council members uh I just like to Echo the sentiments that brought forward by Gary and Marcos don't have a whole lot more to say except that know jobs are critically important to the local community Port is the largest provider of jobs uh the fishing fleet the caner all of those ship building ship repair all those jobs are gone uh it's all based in supply chain or largely based in supply chain so uh this this recommendation to amend the charter I think will help plug a hole that is uh that needs plugging thank you very much all right thank you sir and again thank you to everyone who signed up for public comment that exhausts the list I have in front of me but I'll do one Open Mic call anybody here that wants to be heard that didn't sign up going once going twice we are closing public comment um so unless any of my colleagues object I would like to move items 2 through 13 on consent hearing no objections um Madam clerk would you please call the role council member Park yes council member mccosar yes council member Rodriguez I three eyes these items pass excellent that brings us to item number one if you would please read the item for us item one is for verbal discussion only the portable Los Angeles quarterly update all right Mr Soka come on up always look forward to hearing directly from you with our updates on all things Port related we appreciate you being here the floor is yours sir thank you chair Park council members I appreciate the invitation as always uh this serves as approximately our quarterly update from the Port of Los Angeles to this committee U and in starting based on input from staff on the topics that the principles would like to discuss we'll begin with a very brief recap on our calendar year close of 2024 which was the second best year in our shipping business in the 117-year history of the Port of Los Angeles and for the 25th consecutive year we remain as the largest container port in the Western Hemisphere uh the work that's been done through 20124 with great thanks to friends colleagues and the gentlemen who just spoke with the international Longshore Warehouse Union locals 1363 94 and assorted others that do work around the port uh it has to be said they're the heartbeat of what we do and without them the cargo would not move the levels of efficiency the work the institutional knowledge is all a great credit to them and the other stakeholders that work around the PT 2024 was a strong year for several underlying reasons number one the US economy continues to be stronger than many experts had thought we is consumers are buying at higher and faster Paces than observed before manufacturing Community remains very strong several geopolitical issues helped us as well a protracted labor negotiation with Doc workers on the East and Gulf Coast drought conditions in the Panama Canal and security issues in the Red Sea impeding cross through the Suez Canal all pushed fractional amounts of cargo to the west coast of the United States and specifically Los Angeles in in fact year over year as we concluded 2024 our cargo business was up 20% and we had the largest incremental gain of containers ever in the history of the uh of the ported about an additional 1.6 million container units versus the previous year but I think of all the statistics that I can geek out on and would be mind-boggling to everyone in the room is that we moved more cargo during our traditional summertime peak season as we get ready for the year end holiday we moved more cargo during that time than we did at the peak of Peaks during covid when you may remember that all those 109 ships were backed up more cargo was moved without one ship backed up and it's great thanks to these guys the terminal operators the trucking firms and so many others that continueed to process this cargo at record levels as we start off year 2025 we began with a very fast start more than 922 th000 containers in that first month which is about 8% better than a year ago 133% better than the 5-year average which is important to look at because we've had a lot of ups and downs during that time period since the campaigns began at the federal level last summertime a lot of our import Community got a little worried about new trade policy tariffs Etc so we have seen a lot of inventory moved into the country quicker than we normally would during this time of the year to avoid Whatever May be implemented from a tariff perspective we've started to see that with 10% on Goods coming from China instituted tariffs of 25% on Canada and Mexico that were paused for 30 days but are being said to uh ramp up here again pretty quickly reciprocal tariffs retaliatory tariffs and tariffs of every variety that you can imagine what I'm concerned about in all of this is that one a lot of product has been moved into the country which means the second half of this year I think shipping volume goes down because inventory is very high we saw that during 2018 and 19 in the first round of tariffs and trade policy changes so we have a little bit of experience in that fewer containers mean less work we understand that very well the other piece to this is as the city continues its very fast effort to rebuild in Pacific Palisades and the county along with City and other help in Altadena prices for materials of homes and buildings and businesses will go up think of softwood lumber from Canada appliances and electronics from Mexico Furnishings from China just to name a few so we've got to continue to look at ways to mitigate those price spikes and taxes as we continue to forge at a very fast pace to help those communities rebuild Disaster Recovery efforts were the next topic we were asked to discuss and and three pieces here uh one from the Los Angeles uh Port Police we offered up 50 uniformed officers on 24-hour Cycles to help in the Palisade specifically uh with perimeter containment traffic control and making sure that unauthorized Personnel did not breach the uh the affected areas so the experts and First Responders could continue their work unimpeded uh secondly you may remember Logistics Victory Los Angeles a volunteer program that was still up during covid by the harbor department and two dozen volunteers was reactivated to help distribute n95 masks and other uh personal protective equipment to First Responders workers volunteers and residents alike to date we've distributed almost a million masks in the Palisades uh all to Dina through the Chamber of Commerce and various NOS to help with those who were in need of protective gear as they went back out to the sites uh to evaluate their properties work on cleanup Etc and we also had strong participation in work at the emergency Operation Center uh with experts civilians who were on uh 12-hour shifts working all the way through up until about 10 days ago so did whatever we could and we remain on uh on call for any work that's necessary separate from that about 150 of our Harbor Department employees we staff about 916 today about 15 15 uh volunteered for the disaster service worker program most of which have been designated to the West Los Angeles Pico Bullard uh Relief Center in work around the clock to try to help out folks whether they were uh trying to go back and get certificates or diplomas driver's license anything we could to staff that building and help residents who were in need Goods moving training facility uh as you may remember in part and parcel of what the gentleman just talked about technology is moving faster in our industry than ever before much like other segments in our case it's really twofold one this very polarizing conversation around robotics or automation on ports around the world and right here at home and secondly on Green Technology whether it be electrified hydrogen or other renewable energy and some years back we saw the idea of trying to assist with a labor force who is not our own not Harbor Department employees with those throughout the industry to help upskill and res skill talented folks for the jobs of the future in addition we thought for the next generation of Workforce and Leadership we needed to attract recruit and retain talent for that future so along with the Port of Long Beach the ILWU the Pacific Maritime Association that group of employers along the west coast of the United States and the California Workforce Development board and the great thanks to the governor and legislature we received $110 million in line item budget uh over a multi-year distribution period to help build the first Goods movement training campus in the United States and I will say there's a lot that we don't know at this point there not a lot of replicable ongoing operations but the sheer will and determination of these and other stakeholders around us show that we're going to have something very special here uh we're moving along with after a public bid aeom the uh world-renowned engineering firm on design and support studies for the facility itself and if you in your mind's eye you could imagine a marine terminal that's built in a safe and secure location that can train people of all types without the fear of injury or being in a live Marine Terminal setting with cargo flying all around that's the basic premise and the ilw brand is much like if again if maybe you're uh my age you remember a mall with an an or tenant like a Macy's or a big department store that would help Drive traffic through the mall to maybe smaller stores and restaurants and shops that's kind of the broader Vision we had by partnering with the ilw so well known and with a Workforce of about 15,000 registered members that that could help gain interest we'll have a storefront in Wilmington with counselors so that youngster who's riding their bike to school and sees the port every day could say I I I'd like to do work here I'd like to get a job here I just don't know how they could have experts and adults who have been in and around our space help guide those youngsters so a lot more work to do scheduled for opening towards around 2029 most of the heavy lifting is around the sequin environmental uh review process so necessary here um that should be put out for public comment and and public discussion at about the third quarter of this year so moving along there probably with a little faster Pace than some had imagined which is good still working on a cost sharing agreement with the Port of Long Beach and I feel confident that we'll reach agreement on an equitable solution there too but can't do it without them nor the Dock Workers or the state of California this city council and the private sector partners that we have in addition to the way we want to invest in this so 110 million from the state about $40 million from both ports split in half to help build the property out and then private sector investment beyond that the Pacific Maritime ass Association that employer group has already pledged $15 million and we have equipment manufacturers think of the people who make the big cargo handling equipment Trucking firms and others looking to supply in kind assets for uh helping with training and and education across the board so the next step is going to be inviting those private sector Partners to come in with investment too uh next topic is the terminal Islanders this is a group of of descendants from folks who were interred on Terminal Island during World War II and have made Outreach to council member mosar and many in our community to find a very supportive and spiritual way to uh make sure that the legacy of those who came before us and The Descendants who will follow is Remembered in a very inspiring and respectful way I most recently had a meeting with representatives of the terminal Islanders in my office on on February 4th to discuss what they would like to see and what options may be on the table um both members uh Paul and Donna came to me with a very strong request a plea to enter the premises on buildings uh on Terminal Island and tuna Street which are in a state of disrepair asbestos build and not really good for human beings to walk in but I offered to uh make the premises accessible to them and and uh so whether they find a small artifact or they have a vision as to what the future could look like would be uh very appropriate for us to continue discussions and in addition to that the uh the two folks who were in there talked about other possibilities you may know that on Terminal Island near Southwest Marines facility and just north of Pier 300 there's a Japanese Fisher uh Fisheries Memorial and that may be one location that we look at to expand or again memorialize in different ways but as I've come to find out and leaning on some folks that know a lot about this studying and reading on my own this physical property itself is very important uh to the people that I've been talking to the the councilman mosar has been talking to so we want to be as sensitive as we can to how we manage this in a very industrial setting but that so many people can have access to share learn about and take forward with their families and friends now we come to the uh the point on the agenda of the city council motions and I'll I'll defer to the chair councilman mccosker if you'd like to go through with specific topics of discussion but happy to talk about what you'd like sure would you like me just to walk through some of them sure sure so on the is that okay with you m thank you very much so on the leasing policy we actually have for our especially for our audience um our Council our board our committee members uh just passed through two motions uh one was item nine which was a request for response on the leasing policy with a request because that's all we can do is a request to amend the leasing policy uh and that's been returned the other was item 11 which was a a request for this body to process a charter amendment to make the modifications through the charter to the leasing policy in each case what the Motions are looking for is um a modification to the leasing policy which is a standing document amended from time to time uh to take into consideration as the speaker said the existence the the an analysis by the board of the number of jobs at the time that an applicant comes in for a change of use or a new lease uh typically those are going to be the big ones um analysis of how many jobs are there now an analysis of what the construction jobs would be for the for the term of the implementation of whatever the project is and then analysis of the number of jobs at the tail end and the as you know because you've been intimately involved in this uh this goes back to some past actions where it wasn't as transparent to the community anyway about what what happened and the issue all revolves around what the effects of automation are um the return back uh which will go to the council now now on item number nine uh indicates that and this is a positive move that the port has modified the application process uh and it reads almost like under penalty of perjury it comes close to that uh where that analysis is done in the application which does give the Commissioners the opportunity to discuss this issue ask questions go behind the application question the application so that is a positive move but not as far as what was recommended in the motion and again for folks keeping score at home under the charter that's all we can do is recommend in anticipation of that because we've had really open and really good conversations with the mayor's office and with your office uh seeing that this is the way it was going to go I put in the motion which was now passing to the F city council to look at a charter amendment to actually require the thing that I as one member am looking for and that's a modification to the leasing policy so that we be very very very transparent to the community to the public and to the Commissioners that this is what they are to analyze they would be putting a rule well in the first case it maybe a rule on themselves but in the second case with a charart Amendment a rule by the people of the city of Los Angeles that this is what we're going to analyze and the that's really not a question is it speech but the the hot core of this I'll just ask you to respond because you've been very great about responding to this issue and we we have regular meetings we talk about this issue at almost every meeting the underpinings of this is that the people of the State of California every single one of our tens of millions tens and tens of millions of folks in the state of California own the coastline own this property and the city of Los Angeles holds it as a trustee we manage it very well as the first slide showed us we manage it very well but the issue becomes if it is if we are holding in trust for the people of the State of California as we are advancing these industrial uses and making sure the economy moves and making sure Goods move are we also making sure that we are doing right for the people of the State of California and that is in my mind one of the things is protecting jobs it's also protecting the environment and creating a good interface between people who you know live work and play so sort of your response on what we did today we have we are passing along the action that your board took or your staff took to change the application process my assertion as one member is that that's not enough and then we're also passing to the council a question of whether or not we should put it into the chter there's a lot here but I'll say first off just like I did when I talked about our numbers at the Port without the Dock Workers of the ilw the locals I mentioned and many others this port wouldn't happen right that's plain and simple during my tenure of nearly 11 years now at this great Port of Los Angeles in our city Longshore doc workers in numbers are up 27% I understand how important this is from my heart to what I know on the ground to business that I've been in for 36 years this is super important and again I used the term polarizing earlier there's no more polarizing conversation in this industry or in our business than it is around Automation and jobs there are ways that we can do this really well like the CTA terminal in Hamburg Germany that now has more employees on the terminal with automation than they did to begin with when they were conventional automation by many studies or robotics on Marine terminals at ports like ours can double or increase capacity by two and a half times meaning you can move two and a half times the number of containers through there I don't see any reason why you have to cut 80% of the Staffing on the terminal if you can grow your top line by two and a half so there's got to be a way and it's not just just up to me I'm only one staffer at one department but there are a lot of people that have to be brought into this discussion policies and Charter amendments I think have a lot of value but we've got to get real life business application promises made or Promises Kept and I think Gary and the others can tell you a lot about that and how we got in the position we did as an industry rois of three years Returns on investment of three years versus four maybe there's a little bit of a change needs to take place there too right and as we've shown we can grow the business because of efficiencies and for every four containers we move at the Port of Los Angeles it creates one job right so this is a discussion that I think is absolutely 100% valid there's not one lever we can pull that will make all people move in the same direction it's still a relationship based business all the way from policy makers to Dock Workers to administrators like me and private sector guys but let's forward this conversation it has tremendous Merit and protecting the jobs of today protecting those of tomorrow and making sure that our commitments as a city and as a port toward zero emission and a cleaner environment have the great capabilities of managing that in the future right and you're correct the application process to say a project is either going to yield more jobs not change them or reduce them has to be front and center and I'll close with this and I we've talked about this on regular basis with Gary s Danny Marcus and so many others Danny Miranda over at local 94 I have said very clearly to Gary and I've said to the private sector companies staff at the harbor Department of Los Angeles will not entertain a project that automates a marine terminal facility until we see the ilw and that private sector company come in unison together to staff so that we could forward to the harbor commission and then through the city process that's a way to get the discussion going one of many ways and I I appreciate all thank you very much Madam chair I appreciate all of that and um and I and I believe you on that that last especially on that last statement my I want to be really super super clear to my colleagues especially um that I've put forward this thought um outside of the council process and formalized it in the council process asking very specifically very specifically that the leasing policy be amended and it is quite true that we do not have as a council the authority to force the port to amend its leasing policy and the executive director is one person in this Cog and this conversation is also involved very very very directly the mayor's office very very very directly the mayor this representative had to finish that sentence um and it was very clear that the breaking point was no we don't want to get into the leasing policy we would rather amend the application and that is an improvement but it is only a modicum of an improvement because we know going back to the last big automation project that applicant put down on their application and it was under penalty perjury so they were entitled to buy although if I tested them I bet you they would lie under perjury under penalty of perjury they said how many jobs are going to are going to exist after this and they said we okay this is a one of the largest logistics companies on Earth said we don't know there's no way they didn't know no way absolutely no way but that put the public in a position where we had no nothing to push up against and as Mr Herrera said we lost hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of jobs although we could also say that maybe there's other types of jobs out there we could debate that all day but the debate that all day is exactly why I want it in the policy it's exactly why I want it in the policy and I think we are at the point where the way to get the it in the policy is the charter amendment I I think that's where we're at In fairness and I have enjoyed every one of these debates and I respect the position that you take and the position you're in but at a certain point the people get to decide thank you Mr mccosar I share your frustration about policy making sometimes with nothing to push up against yes I do indeed uh really appreciate that there a couple other things on the slide uh the property inventory public investment plan fireb do you want to ask any questions about any of those Mr M just briefly on the Wilmington property inventory very helpful thank you I think it is a little bit aged does it need to be updated it does need to be refreshed we've also got some uh aerial video that we can keep as uh needed for people to do research and also as we normally do down the harbor let's go off for a site visit and see what the latest is um it's kind of complex it looks like a checker board of parcels that we have today uh the services are underwhelming whether it be from the the uh dirt roads to lack of plumbing and electricity Etc we got to start somewhere so happy to help and work with you on what the vision may be for the future I think I think it's a great start I think when it gets to the full Council I'll probably um ask for a direction from the full Council to because I forgot to do it before we acted uh to you know update the the list of properties this issue comes up quite a bit because the port is a gigantic property owner and especially with this idea not this idea with this goal of making sure that we um Electrify and change our change our Technologies and have human operated equipment these types of properties are really really helpful for folks to build charging stations for just as one example so that's why we had asked for it I get asked all the time the port have property so we'll probably men that on the floor I'm just want to I I I won't mention uh lafd fireboats I think that we'll we'll find out there are some agencies that use boats from body bodies of water and wildlands protection it's a stretch but it's it's something I really want to see especially around the Palace veres Peninsula where we have mutual Aid and we have we've burnt right down to the right down to the water line in past times and you've had that experience most recently but on pip I just want to say and just get your observations that we've modified over the last two years the way the PIP the public access investment plan is being processed and we're going through right now and we've had good experiences so far but we're going through right now where we're going to have a presentation in the coming weeks what the next tranch will look like and what um uh what I'll ask for in that is a continued you know public continued public process but then when it gets to the to the board we'll we'll find out how well it all worked I think it's going to work out well but I'm also looking to see whether or not we can put in something like a piip into the charter okay great and this is another area that we've been extremely proud of 10% of the ports operating income goes directly to Public Access investment projects green spaces retail dining entertainment the infrastructure associated with bringing people closer to the Waterfront over the last 20 years uh it will be about a billion US dollars that we've invested and the public access investment plan which solidified this approach and made it less discretionary has been in place now for 10 years and has contributed in excess of $400 million to projects that will service our community and those visitors from many other locations uh always looking to raise the are but really proud of the work that we've done together and the community input building these projects from the voice of the community upward has been something special to be a part of councilwoman Rodriguez do you have any questions I do well first of all Jean it's always wonderful hearing your presentations I always like I was teasing him earlier you know Joe dubbed him America's Port director and so I always enjoy and I I say it just to make you blush uh but thank you Gary and everyone for coming out I I appreciate uh the refreshers of some of the conversations that we've had in the past and I know how important it is to our economy and frankly no more so given uh the impacts and the economic Devastation of the fires we need to shore up our local economy and the port is a critical part of that but I was very intrigued by the conversation around the goods movement training and uh so can you unpack that a little bit in terms of uh procedurally how that's going to work uh the $110 million that you indicated from the state and then you indicated some other financial resources that are coming together and how is that how is that all comprised and how is that going to be executed yeah so uh councilwoman think again of a real Marine Terminal with cranes and you're on the waterfront but you're operating in a training environment not a real life terminal with cargo moveing by experts and seasoned professionals so you can train people up the first thought was as we move to this zero emission strategy that we have all terminal handling equipment cargo handling equipment being zero emission by the year 2030 and then heavyduty trucks by the year 2035 we're going to have to find new ways to teach the skills you may no longer work with a wrench on a piece of equipment but a computer to fine-tune it we may have to operate differently because as the guys will tell you when a new machine comes out of the manufacturer's uh location with the handbook it shows everything from maintenance requirements to operating instructions Etc folks are going to have to get up to speed as to how to run repair and maintain the equipment that was the basic premise so we donated 20 acres of land at the Port of Los Angeles and we came up with between the ports of LA and Long Beach a commitment on $40 million plus the 110 from the state to build this terminal got it and call so they Capital Improvements C capital a capital investment yes and then there has to be a building for administrators so the next stage of this as we get through the physical plant itself will be the governance structure you're going to have to have an oversight committee you're going to have to have someone who works at this place every day to make sure the lights are on and the plumbing works and the customers who will be the workers that are being trained are attended to the proper way with the right respect we're going to have to have curriculum Builders right who understand our industry enough but also understand Education and Training and Outreach and human decency relationship building Etc we've looked at a couple of places one in antp which is a uh 55,000 square meter facility which is really really good it not only shows the work on the container side of the business and simulators of how you would drive a crane but also break bulk automotive and other parts of these ports business the bcmc up in Vancouver British Columbia partly invested by the I LW in Canada is also another bellweather for how these types of training facilities go now similar to what we say about ports if you've seen one port you've seen one port because they're all so different so we're going to have to tailor make this training facility to the needs of today's workers those that they have for tomorrow and then the young people that want to come and join us in the industry but that 150 and 20 acres is meant to get that terminal build and then we start bringing in private investment and building up curriculum and governance from there so is it possible as you're uh as you're building out the facility to do the concurrent development of the some of the training you know in terms of the the programming so that it can launch sooner and I asked because you know Workforce Development is a critical part of what we need to be investing in for young people in Los Angeles and so to the degree that you can kind of stand up that overarching and we have many examples of some of these similar types of programs uh but to the extent that that could right now uh begin the work of building out that Workforce Development piece with uh you know the partners which I presume ILWU and you've got probably the uh you know Trade Tech or what have you some of the academic Partners to be able to assemble all of those pieces yeah absolutely and that was the the idea that was started when Gary and many others along with our aen Sharma aen could you stand up please pleas and be recognized aen is the head of the ports Workforce training and development now also government Affairs and policy we along with the ilw and the Pacific Maritime Association started a lashing Center these are the big steel poles that connect containers on a vessel that take very specific training because we had a very large fail rate and they're heavy pulls you can have small uh smaller folks that know the Angles and how to do it you get a big Burly guys that don't know how to do it it's like firefighter throwing ladders kind of it is an art and a science but it also requires training health and safety are important because one false move and you can get hurt and be out of work so this was one of the first trium rants that tried to get together the port the employer and the Dock Workers to say we could put training together and it took us about two and a half years to work through the rules of the road all the way to the physical location similar and maybe a good outcome of some other discussions although it took way too long along with the Pacific Maritime Association the ILWU and the port we built up a 16,000 square foot mechanics training center on the coastline of piure 400 at the outer reaches of the port just opened last year the idea there was that those mechanics who were working on primarily combustion engines and maybe six other varieties of equipment would learn how to upskill and res skill to this newer techn technology imperfect as it is it was yet another advance of a community working together on uh on trying to develop programs both of those can be folded into this broader campus when it's open but it doesn't stop us from continuing to attempt to introduce more and more training while the physical program of building the uh the terminal is in motion now it gets a little tricky and sometimes folks say we're getting out of our lanes as the Port of Los Angeles because there is a collective bargain agreement between the ILWU and their employers but there are about 9,000 firms in Southern California that handle the transport of goods many of which are either underrepresented or not represented by organized labor those are a lot of the folks that we're concerned with too that need to get the skills and training and that's the Outreach that aen and many others are doing with support from the union and experts in this field so it's an ongoing process and you're a th% correct we're not just waiting for this shiny building to open up we're going to keep pushing ahead well that's very exciting I look forward to it monitoring the progress because that's all up my alley on Youth Development work and love it thank you thank you and we really do appreciate the's commitment to the Workforce Development the training the reality that we have to confront issues around Automation and the environment you do a tremendous job of balancing all of those needs and demands council member mccusker yeah thank you thank you very much uh and and to underscore this to be really clear there is a at Pier 400 there's this uh mechanics upskilling reskilling Center and we're learning a lot from that uh how to put together curriculum and how to make sure that we that it has the effects and there's growing pains with anything has the effects that we want to make sure that folks are getting out of the hall and getting to work or getting into the training and then getting straight to work and not just going back to the hall um on the uh Goods movement training facility uh a lot of moving pieces um I I know that we are pushing ahead with all the environmental documentation uh which is the sort of the the longest uh path in the in the critical path um but we also have this this uh joint agreement or hopes for a joint agreement with Long Beach LA and Long Beach have to agree on or stay agreed on where the resting place is for the facility because it's literally at the border between the two jurisdictions and I think we have a tentative agreement there but we also have this issue with the cleanup of the property every time you touch a piece of property in the Port High likelihood of Environmental Compliance or environmental cleanup and I think that is the thing that makes me the most nervous that we don't have a final agreement with LA and Long Beach um on how to do that cost sharing and I know that negotiations take time but I would ask you what is the c critical path for us to be sort of the without exposing a negotiation strategy what's the the drop dead by which we have to absolutely know that we have a deal on the cleanup of the property so the cleanup can happen and so that we do not put ourselves in a position that a document gets finished and we have no dead time between certification of the E which will happen and pulling the building permits yeah I I would say without being flippant we're on a good timeline here and there's no drop dead date on an agreement with the Port of Long Beach on cost sharing which I have full confidence we'll get to Gary and and the guys just convened a meeting a couple weeks back and we're on the right track we're being very open with each other again a strong trium of of friendship the reason we want to get this done quicker is maybe we can open the place faster yeah and secondly maybe we can if we show this being solid we can get that private sector investment rolling in faster so we're not just going to rest on our Laurels and say hey we're okay from a construction stamp Point everything in this case time is of the essence yeah and we're treating that with the same urgency so would it be fair to say if I may would it be fair to say that we were charging ahead on the environmental documentation we're negotiating on another track to uh putting ourselves in a position for a negotiation which really requires executive leadership of the two off the two cities mayor mayor to Mayor sure I mean the fact is that's where the decision is going to finally be made when it gets made so tick tock on that right but is it fair to say that we're not going to wait because we know what cleanup is going to look like and money is money money is fungible but a project timeline is not yeah the the project timeline is not going to have any delays any stops because we're working on administrative side in fact part of the meeting that I just referenced that was chaired by Gary we've got a follow-up meeting at the end of next week to make sure we chart that progress and all involved know what's going on yeah and I'm just going to suggest that the principles should get together should be mayor to Mayor and not have ambassadors without portfolio running around and saying what what my boss the mayor says or what my boss of the mayor doesn't say understood we've got to get this done and this is no time for Amateur hour we really just have to get it done we understand the sincerity that we approach it and we know our friends in Long Beach do the same thank you all right colleagues any other questions all right Mr Soka as always thank you for the very informative and thorough presentation it's a pleasure to have you here and just Seely on behalf of council District 11 thank you so much for the support and the assist uh during those uh days of fire response and Recovery um my team personally got to work with some of your Port police officers on the ground and it was an absolute pleasure to have them with us uh in my neck of the woods great to have them and we really appreciate the entire city coming together you're welcome we stand ready if there's any any further assistance and thank thank you as always for welcoming us here as part of this port Community every quarter thank you thank you Mr Soka uh since this was a verbal update no action to be taken Madam clerk anything else pending before the committee the desk is clear all right great we're adjourned thanks guys that's

2025-02-28 02:25

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