Long Beach Reveals $811K Price Tag For Controversial Library Fence Project

LONG BEACH, CA — Long Beach's controversial Billie Jean King Main Library terrace project is now expected to cost $811,449, according to a new city breakdown that details how hundreds of thousands of dollars beyond the fencing contract were spent.

The Aug. 25 City Manager memo provides the city's most detailed accounting yet of the project after questions were raised over its previously reported cost of about $790,000.

NBC4 Investigates reported Aug. 13 that Quality Fence Co. was hired to furnish and install the fencing for $398,168, with a $20,395.20 change order bringing that work to $418,563.20.

Where The $811K Went

The city's new breakdown lists $475,000 for fence construction, along with $55,142 for design, $50,196 for project management, $18,842 in indirect overhead, $10,740 for inspection, $7,780 for permits, $5,297 for labor compliance and $2,160 for construction management.

It also includes another $187,000 for what the city calls “additional fence expenses,” consisting of $181,000 for technology hardware and access controls and $6,000 for signage.

The access-control equipment was not anticipated when the project began, according to the memo. The city said card readers and other hardware became necessary to control access and allow people to exit secured areas, with the work requiring electrical infrastructure to be installed through concrete.

That work is being carried out separately by Civic Center operator JCI and paid for through the Civic Center Fund.

The city said the project is still in its closeout phase, meaning the $811,449 total could change as final expenses are reviewed and paid.

The memo does not explain why its new $475,000 figure for fence construction is about $56,000 higher than the $418,563.20 Quality Fence contract and change order previously reported by NBC4.

Long Beach initially allocated $723,000 for design and construction of improvements to the library terrace in March 2024.

The city announced in May that the renovated area would reopen as the Children's Terrace, a fenced outdoor space intended for children's programming and community activities. The fencing is six feet high along West Broadway and eight feet high along Pacific Avenue and Lincoln Park.

The project has drawn criticism from Long Beach's Homeless Services Advisory Committee, whose members argued that the money would have been better spent helping people experiencing homelessness.

In an August letter to Mayor Rex Richardson and the City Council, the committee said roughly $800,000 could instead shelter at least 10 people for a year, according to the Long Beach Post. Committee members also said they were not consulted before the project moved forward.

City Says Incidents, Costs Have Fallen

The city's new memo pushes back on some of that criticism, saying the fence has restored the terrace for library programming while reducing incidents and maintenance costs.

From April through July, compared with the same four months in 2025, library code-of-conduct incidents fell 46%, from 84 to 45, while the number of patrons suspended fell 58%, from 67 to 28, according to the city.

Terrace maintenance costs are projected to fall from $165,000 in fiscal year 2026 to $95,000 in fiscal year 2027, a reduction of about $70,000, the memo says.

Before the fence was installed, the library and surrounding area generated 592 calls for service and resulted in 99 arrests and citations between June 28, 2024 and Dec. 31, 2025, according to the city.

Long Beach has spent $193,000 repairing vandalism at the library since 2020, while terrace maintenance has cost an estimated $850,000 to $1 million since the building opened in September 2019, according to the memo.

The fencing project did not disrupt services provided by the Homeless Services Bureau, according to the memo, which noted that Long Beach's shelter system added 164 beds during 2025.