City Manager’s Office
Heat Wave Safety Tips — During periods of extreme heat conditions, extra precaution should be taken to ensure the safety of older adults, infants and children. Two other at-risk types: Participants in outdoor activities and persons sensitive to the heat. High temperatures mean an increased risk of heat exhaustion, heat cramps or sunstroke.
Los Angeles County Extreme Heat Cool Centers are available during periods of extreme heat. Dial 2-1-1 on your phone, visit your county 2-1-1 website, or see www.sce.com/coolcenter. The Senior Center serves as a Cooling Center from noon to 4 on Saturdays and Sundays.
Tips from the County Dept. of Health:
- Drink plenty of water regularly and often, even if you do not feel thirsty.
- Do what you can to stay hydrated.
- Stay indoors as much as possible. Limit exposure to the sun. Consider spending the warmest part of the day in public buildings such as libraries, schools, movie theaters, shopping malls and other community facilities.
- Check on family members, seniors, friends, neighbors and people with disabilities or those who may not have access to air conditioning and who spend much of their time alone.
- Avoid unnecessary sun exposure. Wear a hat. Use sunscreen.
- Cover windows that receive morning or afternoon sun with drapes, shades, awnings or louvers.
- Dress in loose-fitting, lightweight and light-colored clothes that cover as much skin as possible.
- Avoid strenuous work during the warmest part of the day. Use a buddy system when working in extreme heat. Take frequent breaks.
- Never leave children in closed vehicles. It is illegal to leave an infant or child unattended in a vehicle (California Vehicle Code Section 15620).
- Infants and young children can get dehydrated quickly. Make sure they are given plenty of cool water.
- Keep children indoors or shaded as much as possible. Dress children in loose, lightweight, and light colored clothing.
- During peak heat hours stay in an air-conditioned area. If you do not have access to air conditioning in your home, visit public facilities such as cooling centers, shopping malls, parks, and libraries to stay cool.
- Older adults and those on certain medications may not exhibit signs of dehydration until several hours after dehydration sets in. Stay hydrated by frequently drinking cool water.
- Wear loose-fitting, light-colored clothing with long sleeves and pants to protect against sun damage. Be sure to use sunscreen and sunglasses.
- Never leave a pet unattended in a vehicle, even with the windows cracked or open.
- Outdoor animals should be given plenty of shade and clean drinking water. Do not leave pets outside in the sun. Pets should not be left in a garage. Garages grow very hot due to lack of ventilation and insulation.
- If your pet spends time in the yard, make sure he or she has access to shade. Shaded trees, a covered patio or a cool spot under the porch can help keep your pet comfortable.
Community Development Dept.
Culver Crossroads Shopping Center – Staff has been working with the owner of Culver Crossroads, at Washington and Sepulveda, to implement physical improvements to the shopping center to address issues related to deliveries and ingress/egress conflicts on the residential Commonwealth Avenue side of the Center. To alleviate traffic congestion and illegal turning movements for vehicles exiting the center onto Commonwealth Avenue, the Commonwealth driveway has been converted into a one-way ingress only driveway with a gate arm to ingress — and to prevent egress from the driveway. The reconfigured driveway has resulted in the addition of two parking spaces to the Center’s parking lot. In addition, the city has created a 24-hour, 7 days a week loading zone on Sepulveda Boulevard in front of the shopping center to eliminate deliveries and loading on Commonwealth Avenue.
The Planning and Enforcement Services Divisions will continue to monitor the on-site parking and vehicular circulation as well as loading and delivery activities. Their goal: To ensure that they are not creating a nuisance.
Hayden Tract Spur – Construction of the Hayden Tract Spur Parking Lot Project, which started April 11, is due for completion July 15.
Fire Dept.
CPR Event – When the department hosted a Sidewalk CPR event, firefighters were successful in training several passers-by. The American Heart Assn.’s Hands-Only CPR is cardiopulmonary resuscitation, without mouth-to-mouth breaths. It is recommended for use by citizens who see a teen or adult suddenly collapse. Immediately providing Hands-Only CPR to a cardiac arrest victim can double or even triple survival chances. To learn more, go to www.handsonlycpr.org. For information on conventional CPR, or to find a nearby CPR class, visit the American Heart Assn. at www.heart.org or the American Red Cross at www.redcross.org.
Strike Team –Engines 1 and 2 were deployed with a strike team to assist at the Old Fire in Calabasas. The strike team was comprised of firefighters from Culver City, Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills. The team assisted with structure protection and returned to the city early the next day.
Emergency Preparedness – The department thanks staff from the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Dept. and Housing Division for attending a Family Assistance Center Training to better prepare them to serve the community. In the aftermath of a mass fatality incident or mass casualty incident, families may seek assistance.
Parks, Recreation and Community Services Dept.
Plunge – The Aquatics staff began teaching group swim lessons for swimmers of all ages. Experienced instructors provide lessons for beginning up to advanced swimmers. Students are tested on the first day and assigned to the appropriate class for the remainder of the session. A maximum of 50 students are accepted per class, per session. When a class reaches maximum registration, a waiting list is created. Swimmers are notified when space becomes available. Classes meet Monday – Friday for two-week sessions. Cost is $50 for residents and $60 for non-residents. Swim lessons run through Aug. 5. https://activenet020.active.com/culvercity.
Swim Meet – On Saturday, June 4, the Plunge was the site of a fun novice-level swim meet. Forty youths, from 6 to 16, from Culver City and Manhattan Beach competed. The free event open to novice swim teams. It helps to prepare swimmers to participate in the Bay Area Municipal Athletic Assn. meet on July 30 and the Southern California Municipal Athletic Federation meet on Aug. 13.
Vets’ Rental Operation – Upcoming public events: Culver City Rock & Mineral Club’s Fiesta of Gems returns to the Vets Auditorium Saturday and Sunday. http://culvercityrocks.org/fiesta.htm. The Chamber of Commerce presents Culver Expo 2016 at Vets Auditorium on Wednesday. http://www.culvercitychamber.com/events/details/culver-expo-2016-894.
Police Dept.
Special Olympics — On June 6, department members, including Explorers, participated in the Special Olympics Torch Relay. Runners covered three miles and handed the torch off to runners representing the LAPD’s Southwest Division.
Studio Estates and Tellefson Park — Lt. Sam Agaiby held a Neighborhood Watch meeting combining both Tellefson Park and Studio Estates groups. He discussed current crime trends, crime prevention tips and a K/9 demonstration.
FBI National Academy – Lt. Jason Sims has graduated from the FBI National Academy, Quantico, VA. Lt. Sims participated in the 10-week academy where he attended classes and participated in physical fitness training. His class had 221 police managers from 40 states and 21 foreign countries. The FBI National Academy is recognized as one of the premier training for police executives in the area of leadership and academics.
Explorer Participant – On June 10, Sgt. Dan Sukal and Det. Toby Raya stopped by the Hamilton High School graduation ceremony to congratulate Explorer and graduate Dashawn Matthews, before he heads to Cal State, Dominguez Hills, in the fall. Dashawn has been an Explorer since January. He plans on pursuing a career in law enforcement when he graduates from college.
Public Works Dept.
Alley Maintenance & Cleanup — The department will begin its annual alley maintenance and cleanup on July 11. Three months will be needed to complete cleanup of all alleys. Maintenance generally begins in the alleys in the western portion of the city and progresses through the eastern and southern portions. Maintenance will include grading unpaved alleys, performing weed abatement, picking up abandoned items and filling potholes. The work will not include paving alleys.
Owners with properties adjacent to public alleys received notices earlier this month through the city’s Code Enforcement Division requiring them to clear back vegetation that overhangs into the alleys to expedite the maintenance and cleaning.
Rotating Outages – Southern California Edison customers may experience rotating outages this summer due to the recent restricted operations of Southern California Gas Co.’s Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility. Edison encourages the community to conserve energy use and to sign up to receive Flex Alerts. These are voluntary calls for their customers to conserve electricity by going to http://www.flexalert.org/. For tips, see http://insideedison.com/stories/sce-encourages-energy-conservation-this-summer.
Water Efficient Fixtures — As part of the city’s Water Conservation Plan, the water fixture retrofitting and replacement project was completed at 24 facilities. The project has reduced the city’s potable water use and included replacing 25 water-using urinals with waterless urinals, retrofitting 123 toilets with 1.6/1.1 gallons per flush dual-flush diaphragms (which provides persons the ability to flush solid waste using 1.6 gallons and liquid waste using only 1.1 gallons of water), replacing or retrofitting 83 toilets, installing 52 low-flow shower heads and installing over 100 low-flow aerators on faucets.
Transportation Dept.
Operator of the Year – At last week’s City Council meeting, Jonathan Culbert was honored as the Earl Barr Culver CityBus Operator of the Year award. Mr. Culbert achieved this by being in full compliance with all city and departmental rules and regulations and maintaining an excellent safety and attendance record. Mr. Culbert was previously named the Operator of the Quarter for the First and Second Quarter for 2011, the Second and Fourth Quarters for 2013 and the Third Quarter for 2015. He has served for six years.
Distinguished Operator – At the same Council meeting, Steve Sanceri was honored as the recipient of the Culver CityBus Distinguished Operator of the Year award. The award acknowledges his unmatched performance, outstanding safety, attendance, punctuality and customer service record. The award also acknowledges his past Bus Operator of the Year awards. He has previously been named the Operator of the Quarter in 2011, 2014 and 2015. He was honored as a recipient of the Earl Barr Culver CityBus Operator of the Year Award for 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008. A truly distinguished employee, Mr. Sanceri has been the recipient of the Culver CityBus Distinguished Operator of the Year award since its inception in 2009. Mr. Sanceri has served as an operator for 15 years. He said this is the best job he’s ever had.
Application Approved — The department has been awarded $56,805 in Low Carbon Transit Operations Program funds through the state’s cap-and-trade program. The low carbon program is one of several funding sources that are part of the Transit, Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program established by law in 2014. It draws proceeds from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to support transit agencies in their efforts to increase transit ridership and meet the statewide greenhouse gas reduction goals identified in multiple California legislative actions, including AB32. Culver CityBus will utilize these funds toward the operation of its Line 6 Rapid bus service, which covers the 12.5-mile route along Sepulveda Boulevard, from UCLA at the north to the Metro Green Line Station southeast of LAX. Project requirements include transit service that benefits the disadvantaged communities identified along this corridor. Service provided by Culver CityBus Line 6 Rapid reduces greenhouse gas by 736 metric tons of CO2 annually.
Multimodal Circulation Improvement Project — The project includes planning, preliminary engineering and design, and environmental analyses of a package of improvements to the 10 Freeway/Robertson Boulevard on/off-ramps and arterials streets in the area. It is anticipated that the project will result in a number of near-, mid-, and long-term transportation improvement projects that will improve the access to and the operation of the 10 Freeway. This project will improve traffic safety and circulation conditions for all modes of transportation in the area and to the light rail Culver City station.
The City of Los Angeles awarded the contract for the project study to Michael Baker International in November. The project began in January, with participation from LA, Culver City and Caltrans staff. The project is in the feasibility study stage. It is expected to go through project initiation documents and the environmental impact review process in the next four years.
Community Meetings — The City Council has approved the implementation of a Bus Signal Priority System. It will improve the efficiency of bus service by providing traffic signal priority to buses at signalized intersections along their routes in Culver City by extending the green time a few seconds. A Culver City bus running late may catch up to the schedule. Thirty-five existing nearside bus stops are recommended to be relocated to the far side of the intersection. This is necessary to maximize the effectiveness of the new system. The relocation away from nearside will provide the opportunity to regain some parking spaces, in most instances, in the nearside, and will cause the loss of parking spaces in the new far side.
Three community meetings will be held on Saturday, at 10, 1 and 4 in the Dan Patacchia Room at City Hall. The meetings will be open house style. Visitors may come in at any time. The purpose is to provide information on the bus stop relocations, answer questions about specific locations, and receive input from the public. .
If you have questions or comments, contact staff at traffic.engineering@culvercity.org. or call 310.253.5634.
Mr. Nachbar, the city manager, may be contacted at john.nachbar@culvercity.org
