Long Beach : $12,500 for ‘Hands’ Service

Stopping short of waiving fees for city services for Hands Across America, the City Council has agreed to pay the organizers $12,500 to promote Long Beach during Sunday’s coast-to-coast fund-raiser for the hungry and homeless.

The city has estimated the cost of police protection and other city services at $15,000, said J. Edward Tewes, assistant city manager.

Roger Carrick, California state director of Hands Across America, said he was “gratified by the vote of confidence by the council. Naturally we would have preferred all fees be waived,” he said.

Carrick said that if Long Beach charges for services, it may be the only jurisdiction in the state to do so. By Tuesday, Hands Across America had contacted all but two of the 34 California cities and counties the human chain will cross, and all but Long Beach had agreed to waive all fees, he said.

He said Hands Across America will promote Long Beach, the West Coast terminus, by mentioning the city’s name whenever possible. “We probably would have mentioned it a lot anyway,” he said. “But now we will be documenting it.”

Spurred by a complaint from Roger Erickson, former director of the Long Beach Food Bank, council members also asked staff to check into how much of the food collected here during the event will be distributed in the city. Food Bank Director John Knapp said the plan calls for food collected in Long Beach to be distributed in Los Angeles.