Speaker 1: Item 20 is communication from Councilwoman Price, Councilman Andrews and Councilmember Richardson. Recommendation to require city manager to write a report within 60 days identifying the fiscal impact associated with installing a looping system.
Speaker 2: There's been a motion and a second councilmember price.
Speaker 9: Thank you. I would like to thank Bram, and I don't know if I'm pronouncing his last name right, but Khokhar for introducing the hearing loop system to me through a letter that was sent to my office in September. Additionally, in May of 2014, Richard Hernandez, chair of the Citizens Advisory Commission on Disabilities, recommended to then-Mayor Foster and the City Council members the installation of the hearing loop system within city facilities. This system would allow people with hearing loss to fully participate in civil civic activities and to contribute to the productivity of this great city. And I think we need to explore the financial impact of installing such a system throughout our city facilities. I think you.
Speaker 2: Thank you, Councilmember Price. And since we have our public speaker cued up, Councilmember Andreescu, would that be okay? Go ahead, please. Please state your name.
Speaker 10: MAXINE Barton. I'm with the Hearing Loss Association of America Long.
Speaker 4: Long Beach, Lakewood chapter. And I want to thank the councilwoman, Susie Price defenders and Rex Richardson.
Speaker 10: For.
Speaker 4: Bringing this back on to the agenda.
Speaker 10: This matter has been going on since the last city council.
Speaker 4: I've given each of the members a packet.
Speaker 9: Giving the history and.
Speaker 4: What's transpired thus far. And my only comment and I would like to add, since you're considering a new civic center, that all of the developers, when they submit their bids or proposals, include looping within certain areas of the building. So that the general public that frequents those areas are able to hear. It's great that you have the captioning. But with regard to the captioning, there's a seven minute delay so that people with hearing loss can not only always follow it. Right now, there are 48 million people in the United States with a hearing loss. One in seven adults, one in five teens, and three and five returning veterans within. By 2003, that 48 million will have doubled in order to have proper representation.
Speaker 9: We need to have.
Speaker 4: Facilities that allow this unseen disability. To go forward and let the general public participate in all of your events.
Speaker 9: And.
Speaker 10: City affairs.
Speaker 4: So I thank you, Councilwoman Pryce. And I've listed at the bottom of my packet for the city manager.
Speaker 9: And did you get a copy of my packet?
Speaker 4: Good. Yet it I've listed references. U.S. here now USA has it has twice presented a proposal to the city council and I've listed.
Speaker 9: Brown Kakar.
Speaker 4: Who is the state looping chairman of the State of California. If you go anywhere in Europe, you were looped. If you go to three, the city council where looped looping as.
Speaker 10: The technology of the future very.
Speaker 4: Inexpensive and it certainly.
Speaker 3: Is. An improvement over.
Speaker 4: What is provided now under the ADA. By the city for people with hearing loss. Thank you.
Speaker 2: Thank you. Councilmember Andrews.
Speaker 3: Yes. Thank you, Vice Mayor. First of all, I think Councilwoman Price for bringing forward this with this item being cosigner and hearing loss is a tremendous barrier to effective communication. I'm very supportive of seeing how we can acquire looping systems in our city public facilities to assist our residents that are hearing impaired. And I want to thank you again, Mrs. Price, for being a part of this.
Speaker 2: Councilmember Richardson.
Speaker 13: Thank you. Councilmember Price. I think this is definitely in line with the work that we're doing around becoming better advocates for language access in our city. I'm going to support this item and I'm proud to sign on. My belief is that everyone has access to should have access to our government. And this would be theoretically, I'd love to see what the costs would be to implement. I would imagine it's going to be a lot of senior citizens, a lot of caregivers, a lot of disabled folks that might take advantage of this. So thank you.
Speaker 2: Thank you. Are there any other members of the public that wish to address council?
Speaker 3: Thank you for the opportunity. My name is Warren Willard. My partner, Rick ARCHBOLD, and I operate a business called Hearing Now USA, and we install hearing loops all throughout Southern California. I wanted to give you an opportunity to ask any questions, specific questions you might have about hearing loop technology. But primarily, I wanted to let you know that Long Beach has an excellent opportunity to become a leader in Southern California municipalities and providing quality hearing to those that have hearing impairment. We call it Silent or the invisible disability. And it's rampant. It's all around us. I've suffered with hearing disability for a number of years. I retired from another business and decided this would be my mission. We are also the firm that loop the first facility in Long Beach, DRC offices. So I want to thank you for your consideration. We look forward to working with the city in any way possible to help make this happen.
Speaker 2: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
Speaker 3: Tengku Imam, you know, like mayor and council members, I'm glad that you have taken up this issue, but I won't repeat what I had been already given. I tell that the City of Cerritos had already located, and there are as many as 17 more cities in California. In California.
Speaker 8: They have looped.
Speaker 3: Their council chambers. And also, I find there are 36 other cities in the whole USA. They also love their council chambers. And there's not only that in Europe you have to do that happening.
Speaker 8: And I'd like to inform.
Speaker 3: That some of the cities, what they are using about the funding that capital city received, community grant and a home grant from the U.S. Department of Housing. And they have been using those funds that qualify for community enhancement projects. And this project qualifies under the category creating decent living environment by removing existing barriers to help improve accessibility to persons with disability in accordance with in accordance with the ADA. I think Golden City absolutely had already senior center salmon growing in the senior center. They're also going to loop their library and they are performing arts center. So if they left it on and on, that's what it did. I have got some at the door of a hearing association. We don't sponsor any vendors. We can I can only give you a list of some of the member and some of the information about this technology. If they want to pursue I have those papers so they can go there. And I also I also gave the names of the cities who have it. And Turkey can always contact them for that information. They can also contact the city engineering city of Cerritos. They will provide a lot of help on this one. By the way, my name is Veronica Carr. I live in the city of Cerritos. Of course, I have been advocating the cause because I am I have been suffering and I have been just feeling isolated. I thought that we should help this community. Thank you. In the papers for the city.
Speaker 2: And so, Mr. Cathcart, I.
Speaker 3: Would like to.
Speaker 2: May I ask you to give that to the City Clerk? To your left.
Speaker 3: We already give you, dear. Pass. Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2: Now I don't.
Speaker 3: Any question if standing there, I mean.
Speaker 2: Is it the same packet that that. No, it's not. Okay, we may not have it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, our thing. Okay, that's fine. I mean, I have got the names of the city. You have something else you need to worry about. The papers.
Speaker 8: For the.
Speaker 3: Um. Yeah, I mean, they're talking all about the technology if they want to review it. But this is definitely a new technology. This is the only one which is helping us like this one. It's a wonderful building, but because of this reverberation, we were virtually lost. We were not knowing where the sound is coming from, which way we should look. We were only reading this and then barely I could hear and the council member asked him talking something. Okay, that's fine. But time he has to look down his paper. So we were lost. What is happening? I well, I would suggest council should take up the funding because really it's about the quality of life for the resident. It's about it. It's about giving the equal opportunity to the minority they have not able to do is happening. So.
Speaker 2: Thank you. Your time. Your time is up.
Speaker 3: Political process.
Speaker 2: Thank you.
Speaker 3: Thank you.
Speaker 2: Thank you, Mr. Corker. Thank you, Councilmember Austin.
Speaker 8: Thank you, Vice Mayor. I just want to commend Councilmember Price Andrews and Richardson for bringing this forward. I want to thank the speakers who have come out and speak in support of this looping system in our public facilities. You know, whatever it takes to to to open up access to to residents to participate in government. I support I can imagine on a personal note that this looping system might even help a council member or two. So thank you very much for for bringing this item forward, and I plan on supporting it.
Speaker 2: Thank you. Seeing no further public comment or member comment members, please cast your vote at Miss.
Speaker 1: Motion carry eight zero.
Speaker 2: Item 21.
Speaker 1: Item 21 is a communication from Vice Mayor Lowenthal. Lowenthal Chair, Budget Oversight Committee Recommendation to approve the revised Financial Policy on Fiscal Impact Statements.
Recommendation to request City Manager to provide a report to the City Council within 60 days identifying the fiscal impact associated with installing a looping system in our public facilities such as the City Council Chambers, police stations, senior centers, and public libraries.