Council approves $186,000 for emergency repairs at Florence Village; residents press council on mobile-home purchases and displacement

The Bell City Council on March 11 approved a $186,000 budget amendment by the Bell Community Housing Authority to pay for emergency electrical repairs at Florence Village Mobile Home Park after a Feb. 17 electrical fire, and heard repeated public pleas to prevent displacement related to recent property acquisitions.

Staff reported Southern California Edison required replacement and inspection of damaged electrical panels and associated wiring before service could be reenergized. Staff presented a breakdown of costs and said the remaining estimated work would bring the total to roughly $186,000; temporary generators had been used in the interim. Staff estimated about 25 families were affected and said generator rental costs were approximately $7,200 per week.

After council discussion and questions about timing and funding sources, a motion to adopt a resolution authorizing a fiscal-year 2025–26 budget amendment to transfer $186,000 from the Bell Community Housing Authority reserve for miscellaneous and emergency mobile-home repairs carried on recorded roll call (Councilmember Quintana yes; Councilmember Romero yes; Vice Mayor Arroyo yes; the mayor yes; Councilmember Flores absent).

During public comment, speakers urged the council to protect mobile-home residents from displacement. Beatrice Gonzales, a registered nurse and SEIU member, said the council had not committed to preserving housing for residents of Bell and Florence mobile-home parks and asked the city to promote and participate in county emergency-rent-relief programs. Jasmine Gonzales of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice urged renter protections and documented an example in which a Florence Village resident received a three-day notice to pay or quit on Feb. 27.

Community Services Commissioner Gerardo Zuniga told the council he believed the city overpaid by roughly $2 million relative to an appraisal for two Woodward Avenue properties (12-unit sites) the city recently purchased and asked where funds for the purchase and interest payments would come from. He asked whether general-fund reserves would be used and requested more transparency about procurement and prior campaign-related contributions he found in public records.

Why it matters: The emergency repair action restored electrical service pathways for dozens of residents. The broader public-comment thread tied that immediate need to ongoing community concerns about displacement, recent property acquisitions on Woodward Avenue and the city’s purported transparency about housing strategy.

What’s next: Staff said the repair work will continue in coordination with Southern California Edison and that the funding will come from housing-authority reserves; the council directed staff to notify affected residents and will continue hearing public comments about displacement and planning processes.