City Manager’s Office
Fundraiser – Next Wednesday, the Cultural Affairs Foundation will stage a fundraiser Downtown at Akasha, and the restaurant will donate 10 percent of its receipts between 4 and 8 p.m. to the cause. Proceeds from this “dine, drink, and donate” fundraiser will specifically benefit the city’s Music in the Chambers Program, a free classical chamber music concert. Friends and family are invited for Happy Hour, from 4 to 7. www.culvercity.org.
Making a Bid – Staff from the City Manager’s office, the City Clerk’s office, Information Technology and Public Works met two weeks ago with vendors interested in submitting proposals to improve the operations of the city’s Audio Visual Room. Bid 1525 may be downloaded at http://www.culvercity.org/Services/BidNotices.aspx.
Community Development Dept.
Tilden Terrace – As David Voncannon reported at Monday night’s City Council meeting, the Tellefson Park Neighborhood Assn. has collected household items/city information (paper products, kitchen towels, map of the city, directory of city businesses) to stock gift bags for new-to-Culver City Tilden Terrace residents. to the neighborhood. Seventeen of 33 tenants are in place, the remainder in the final stages of the certification process.
Culver Villas, Irving Place – Fourteen hundred and forty-eight online applications were filed two weeks ago for the 12 available affordable housing units in the new mixed housing development across from the School District headquarters. The goal is to have them leased by Sept. 1.
Christmas in July – Assemblymember Holly Mitchell invited four Culver City families living in low to moderate income housing to participate in her third annual Christmas in July party on Saturday, July 13, at Kenny Hahn State Park , a half-day family event celebrating literacy, health and wellness.
Expo Station – The Planning Division is monitoring and providing input on the City of Los Angeles Expo Corridor Transit Neighborhood Plan, which includes concept plans for the area north of the Culver City Expo Station, across Venice Boulevard at Robertson Boulevard – which is in Los Angeles for potential redevelopment. Los Angeles is evaluating public input and analyzing a variety of potential environmental impact areas. A draft environmental impact report is due near the end of the year.
Reorganization – David Voncannon and Dana Sayles were sworn in on July 12 as new members of the advisory Planning Commission. They succeed Commissioners John Kuechle and Anthony Pleskow, who served on the Commission for seven years and five years. Messrs. Voncannon and Sayles join Scott Wyant, Linda Smith-Frost and Kevin Lachoff on the five-member board, Mr. Wyant was named Chair and Ms. Smith Frost was named Vice Chair.
Gravlax – The new restaurant,12042 Washington Pl., is a partnership between Arda Koca and Lars Magnus Stefansson, who was the former chef of Ken Hansen's high-end Scandinavian restaurant, Scandia on Sunset.
Sage Bistro/Kind Kreme – The new restaurant will open soon at Culver Crossroads, offering a full complement of beer, cocktails, ice cream, and gourmet farm-to-table cuisine touting a mix of salads, sandwiches, bowls, burgers and wraps.
Blue Bottle Coffee – The coffee house signed a lease at Runyon Group’s Platform project near Washington and National boulevards. Blue Bottle is regarded as the pioneer of boutique coffee-roasting. It will include a coffee roastery, tasting room, café and garden.
Long Range – The city’s Long Range Property Management Plan has been approved by the Oversight Board, authorizing transmittal of the document to the state Dept. of Finance pursuant to Assembly Bill AB x1 26. The plan is 2,000 pages and required months to produce. It identifies all former Redevelopment Agency real property assets, including those that have been redeveloped or are proposed to be redevelopment and the sales price, tax generation and ownership chain of each parcel. With approval of the plan, the city will be able to proceed with several significant redevelopments, including the Washington National Transit- Oriented Development, the Parcel B office retail complex across from the Culver Hotel and the Washington- Centinela Market Hall.
African Gourmet Food & Wine Festival – It has been postponed until Saturday, Aug. 31 at Parcel B.
Bucato Italian Restaurant – It replaces Beacon at the Helm’s Bakery complex and will feature bread baked in-house, a wood grill, rotisserie, pastry kitchen and handmade pasta.
Fire Dept.
Safety Stand Down – The recent loss of 19 firefighters in Arizona is a reminder of the dangers faced by firefighters. It was imperative that each of us reviews the basic wildland fire safety principles that help protect California’s firefighters. All members of the California Fire Service were encouraged to participate in the Safety Stand Down this month. The Fire Service partners asked every agency to make a safety review, not so much on tactical skills but on the fire crew’s situational awareness and overall safety.
CERT Training – Twenty-four members of the community completed the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training this month, 40 hours over three weekends and one evening. . They participated in nearly 40 hours of training taking place over three weekends and one weeknight. They focused on emergency preparedness, along with skills to assist their family, neighbors and community. They learned basic first-aid, basic search-and-rescue techniques, basic incident command structure, proper utilization of a fire extinguisher, the importance of an emergency kit and plan. The training culminated with a final drill that replicated some of the challenges to be faced in a disaster. Anyone interested in obtaining additional information should visit the city’s website, culvercity.org.
Parks, Recreation and Community Services Dept.
Fiesta La Ballona –Fiesta on the final weekend of Augist will feature Jumpin’ Joz Band, Mariachis Voces de Mexico de Raul Sanchez, Instant Replay, Kiss Me Deadly, The Bricks, Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca, Upstream, Lisa Haley & the Zydecats, Katia Moraes, the World’s Grooviest Live Disco Band, and the Funky Hippeez at the Entertainment Tent. The sponsorship campaign is underway and information is available by visiting www.fiestalaballona.org or contacting fiesta.sponsorships@culvercity.org.
Police Dept.
National Night Out – The Department is hosting its first National Night Out Event – to combat drugs and crime – on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 6 to p p.m., at Lindberg Park, 5401 Rhoda Way. We also want to make our neighborhoods safe by working together, building strong ties and opening a line of communication with the community. Hot dogs and raffle prizes.
Public Works Dept.
Metro’s Bicycle Safety Classes – As part of ongoing efforts to educate road users, Metro is offering free bicycle traffic safety classes through the end of September. Safety is a major concern for cyclists. Workshops will teach skills needed for riding a bike safely and confidently with traffic, on city and residential streets, or just about anywhere in Los Angeles County. There are two different classes: 1) Street Cycling Skills, an in-depth, eight-hour course, and 2) Bicycling on the Road: Need to Know, a shorter, more basic three-hour course. The three-hour course is available in Spanish, Seguridad en tu Bici. Metro has partnered with the Los Angeles Bicycle Coalition, Bike San Gabriel Valley and Multi-Cultural Communities for Mobility to teach the classes. Registration is required and participants must be over 18. All class members receive a free helmet, a set of front and rear bike lights and a safety manual. See http://thesource.metro.net/2013/07/16/metros-bicycle-safety-skills-classes-are-filling-up-fast/.
MTA Call for Projects Update – The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has completed its preliminary recommendations for the Call For Projects applications. Public Works has the two projects listed below that were recommended for funding. They will undergo a 13-week review period before adoption by the MTA Board scheduled in September. Next week, the MTA’s Technical Advisory Committee will hear brief presentations from applicants who wish to appeal their project ranking.
Traffic Signal Synchronization – This project is for upgrades along regional arterials: network-wide signal synchronization and upgrade of 16 intersections with advanced detection capabilities and performance measurement system for planned Automatic Traffic Control System real time operations. Funding is anticipated to become available in fiscal year 2015. Culver City initially requested $996,884. MTA has preliminarily recommended $989, 517, with a city match for the project being $247,379 and a total cost for the project of $1,236,896. This project was ranked fourth out of 23 projects submitted.
Bike Path Connectivity Project at Higuera Bridge – This project will increase bicycle connectivity by constructing a new ramp to the Ballona Creek Bike Path at Higuera Street and adding associated wayfinding signage. Funding is anticipated by fiscal year 2015. Culver City has requested $584,749. MTA has recommended $615,625, with a city match for $205,502 and a total cost of $821,127. This project was ranked fifth among 43 projects submitted.
County Recycling Zone – The County Public Works Dept. has announced that the expansion for the County Recycling Market Development Zone, recently approved by CalRecycle. The zone consists of nine cities, and Culver City is one of nine new additional member cities. The Recycling Market Development Zone program combines recycling with economic development to fuel new businesses, expand existing ones, create jobs, and divert waste from landfills. The program provides business and technical assistance, product marketing, and financial assistance to businesses that manufacture a recycled-content. For information, 310.253.6411.
Alley Maintenance – Public Works began its annual alley maintenance program a month ago today, grading unpaved alleys, filling potholes in paved alleys, weed abatement, litter removal, and watering down unpaved alleys to control dust pickup. It will take until late August.
Transportation
Service Alert – UCLA’s Ackerman Turnaround will close for three years due to the construction of a new conference center. Culver CityBus Line 6 and Rapid 6 will utilize the northbound bus stop at Westwood Medical Plaza as the ending point for northbound trips and the starting point for southbound trips. Bus stops at Westwood/Strathmore and southbound Westwood Medical Plaza will be closed.
See the Culver CityBus website, www.culvercitybus.com
Mr. Nachbar, the City Manager, may be contacted at john.nachbar@culvercity.org
