City Manager’s Office
A Few Hours Away – In about 24 hours, Culver City’s Boulevard Music Summer Concerts series returns to the Dale Jones Courtyard of City Hall for the next six Thursday evenings at 7. Bluegrass is the opening act in the free series, featuring Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley.
Cultural Affairs Commission
Permanent Public Art for Greystar’s Access Culver City – In September 2014, the Cultural Affairs Commission approved an art concept by merge conceptual design that was installed last month in the open space area of the Access Culver City project, southeast corner of the intersection of Washington and National boulevards. The art features a stainless steel infinity loop that changes shape when viewed from various vantage points available at the site. It is enveloped in a cloud of fog at intermittent intervals throughout the day.
Fire Dept.
Strike Team Deployment – From June 20 to June 23, strike teams were deployed to assist with the Fish and San Gabriel Complex fires. The strike teams were comprised of firefighters from Culver City, Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills Fire Depts. During deployments, the Culver City Fire Dept. immediately recalls off-duty firefighters to ensure continuous coverage for Culver City.
Field Day –Culver City Amateur Radio Emergency Service participated in the National Assn. for Amateur Radio American Radio Relay League Field Day. The Fire Dept. supported CCARES by setting up two 24-hour open radio access posts, one at Fire Station 1 and another at City Hall. Field Day is the most popular on-the-air annual event in the U.S. and Canada. On the fourth weekend of June, 35,000 radio amateurs gather with their clubs, groups or simply with friends to operate from remote locations. The objective is to work as many stations as possible on any and all amateur bands and to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than optimal conditions. Click here for more information about CCARES.
Parks, Recreation and Community Services Dept.
Camp Programs – Just 4 Kids & Teen Summer Camps are in Week Three. Registration will remain open for enrollment until all camp spots are filled for all weeks. The upcoming weeks of camp will feature trips to a an Angels game in Anaheim, against the Houston Astros, a roller-coaster trip to Magic Mountain and more. For information, contact the Recreation and Registration office, at 310.253.6650.
Olympic Day – Another wonderful Olympic Day for Culver City campers. One hundred and eighty participated in soccer, basketball, freeze dance and inflatable jumpers. Campers were particularly high-spirited because this is a Summer Olympic year. They spoke of their favorite Olympians and events they were most anticipating.
CarFit Returns – The Senior Center and Social Services Division will host a CarFit event on Saturday, July 23, 8:30 to noon, at the Senior Center. An educational program, CarFit offers older adults the opportunity to check how well their personal vehicles fit them. At a CarFit event, a team of trained technicians and/or health professionals works with each participant to ensure they fit their vehicle for maximum comfort and safety. A CarFit check takes 20 minutes. The event is open to drivers age 55 and older. Appointments are required. 310.253.6700 to make a reservation.
Volunteer Opportunities – Contact Jill Thomsen in the Volunteer Office at 310.253.6722 or via email. Here are two volunteer opportunities. 1) The Red Cross in Culver City is looking for biomedical transportation specialist volunteers to transport blood and blood products to hospitals in a safe, timely manner. Time commitment is once a month for six months. One must have a valid driver’s license with three years of driving experience, provide proof of a safe driving record, and be able to lift up to 45 pounds. Culver City’s vehicle pickup and dropoff location is in West Culver City, near the Arts District. Volunteers use a Red Cross vehicle. 2) Culver City Public Theatre’s 18th season will open July 16. The troupe performs two shows on Saturdays and Sundays at noon and 2 o’clock. They always need volunteers for setup and striking; handing out programs, taking zip code surveys, and staffing the concession stand.
Volunteer Program – Thank you to the team from Best Buy at the Culver Center on Washington Boulevard for volunteering at the thank-you breakfast for Culver City’s Volunteer Program volunteers. Two hundred volunteers could relax and enjoy breakfast and entertainment donated by the talented Rebecca Rice
Rental Operation – Upgrades continue at the Vets Auditorium with 225 new Mity-Lite chairs part of the equipment inventory. The 2017 Reservation Calendar is open. Contact the Rental Office at 310.253.6625 or via email. Revised policies regarding Police Dept. procedures at Vets rentals that serve alcohol are now in effect.
Fiesta La Ballona – Fiesta returns the weekend of Aug. 26-28. Sponsorship opportunities are still available. 310.253.6667, the Fiesta website or by email.
The Plunge – In celebration of Water Safety Month, the aquatics staff from The Plunge conducted oa dozen water safety presentations to schools, libraries and community groups. Two hundred students and 20 caretakers took part. View the presentations at the website.
Among Best – From the hundreds of public pools in Greater Los Angeles, the Plunge was named one of the “Six Best Public Pools,” in a story by Julia Wick in Arts & Entertainment. Click here.
Summer Hours – The staff of the Plunge invites families to the Recreation Swim event, daily from 12:30 to 3, through Labor Day.
Park Pride Day – The annual Fox Hills Park Pride Day is takes place on Saturday, July 30, 9:30 to noon, hosted by the Fox Hills Neighborhood Assn. Participants will be planting Junipers and generally cleaning the park. Gloves, tools and lunch will be provided. Click here.
Police Dept.
Procedural Justice Training — Chief Bixby and the Command Staff last week met with Gardena Chief Ed Medrano to discuss the upcoming training session for all department supervisors. Chief Medrano is the lead instructor and will be presenting the training, sponsored by the U.S. Justice Dept. This is part of President Obama’s 21st Century Policing Policies. The theme: Organizational Change through Decision Making Policy.
Demotion Dinner – Lt. Bill Browne attended the Rotary Demotion Dinner, held to thank Carmela Raack for her presidency.
Public Works Dept.
Utility Work — Golden State Water Co. is currently installing a replacement water main on Helms Avenue between National Boulevard and Higuera Street. The work is expected to be completed by the end of the month.
Conservancy Grant — Last July, the Baldwin Hills Conservancyreceived an appropriation of $2,000,000 of Prop. 1 grant funds for fiscal year 2015-2016 for use toward, “protecting rivers, lakes, streams, coastal waters and watersheds.”
Department staff applied for the grant under the category to “protect and restore rural and urban watershed health to improve watershed storage capacity, forest health, protection of life and property, storm water resource management, and greenhouse gas reduction.” The city submitted the Refuse Transfer Station – Storm Water Diversion System and Rain Garden Project.
The project would capture, pre-treat/filter, and divert stormwater from the 85th percentile storm (1.1” of rain) to Hyperion Treatment Plant. The roof runoff would be directed to rain gardens along Jefferson for bio filtration. A project of this scale would achieve compliance with the Industrial General Permit and the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System permit.
Staff will meet with the Conservancy staff to prepare grant agreement mid-July. Design completion is pegged for November, and construction will begin by next June.
Smart Gardening Workshops – The department is partnering with Los Angeles County to offer Smart Gardening Workshops on home composting. They will be offered every quarter throughout the year, alternating each quarter between Beginner and Advanced levels.
Beginner workshops will provide hands-on instruction on the basic techniques of composting, worm composting, water-wise gardening, and grasscycling. Advanced workshops will teach organic gardening, landscaping with native drought-tolerant plants, and integrated pest management (environmentally-sound ways to control pests).
The next workshop will be Beginner level, Saturday, July 16, 9:30, in the Garden Room at the Vets Auditorium, Participants may purchase bins for hot composting and/or vermi-composting (worm composting) at a discount after each workshop. A bag of worms and a block of coconut starter is included with the vermi-bins.
Visit the County’s website for additional information.
ReFuel Your Fun Campaign – It’s that time of year again for disposable propane cylinders. With camping/tailgating season in full swing, U-Haul is selling and refilling at 126 participating locations in California.
Did you know that…
When empty, disposable cylinders often contain a small amount of gas, posing a danger to sanitation workers due to the risk of explosions and resulting fires.
Disposables are expensive when you realize that 80 percent of the price is for the packaging.
Millions of disposable cylinders end up in landfills or are left behind each year.
Refillables save money. A simple refill costs $2.25 because you only pay for the gas and filling service, not the container.
Refillables can last 12 years and can be refilled hundreds of times.
Refillables reduce the impact on landfills and the environment.
Click here.
Transportation Dept.
Bike to Work Week — Eighteen city employees pledged and rode their bikes to work during the week of May 9 – 13. Those employees had an opportunity to stop by the Rideshare booth at the Employee Appreciation BBQ and receive a gift for pledging.
Xochitl Cruz (Parks, Recreation, and Community Services) won a $20 gift card to Regal Cinemas, and Beatriz Spies (Public Works) took the grand prize, the Fitbit.
Summer Lunch Program – On Wednesday, June 22, Culver CityBus partnered with the School District to host the activities for the Summer Lunch program. Culver CityBus staff brought a bus to the event allowing participants to get on board. The 62 students were allowed to “picture themselves on a Culver CityBus” with commemorative polaroids, learn how to ride the bus safely, and participate in arts and craft projects. Staff answered questions and passed out information to the curious about Culver CityBus routes and services. The program, at La Ballona Elementary, was created to keep kids healthy, safe, and “whole” during the summer months with a free lunch program and daily activities.
Bus Stop Relocations — Three community meetings were held on Saturday, June 25, regarding bus stop relocations. The meetings provided information on the relocations, answered questions, and received input from the public.
July 25 is the deadline for public comments, here, at 310.253.5634 or via email. A summary of all input will be communicated at the City Council meeting on Aug. 8.
The City Council has approved the implementation of a Bus Signal Priority System that 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. As part of the project, 35 existing nearside bus stops are recommended to be relocated to the farside of the intersection. This relocation is necessary to maximize the effectiveness of the system. The relocation away from nearside will provide the opportunity to regain some parking spaces, in most instances, in the nearside, and will also cause the loss of some parking at the new farside.
Culver Expo — Culver CityBus staff joined almost 90 Chamber of Commerce member businesses at the Expo at the Vets.
Mr. Nachbar, the city manager, may be contacted at john.nachbar@culvercity.org
