[Editor’s Note: Second in a series of unprecedented bi-weekly updates from City Hall that Interim City Manager Lamont Ewell is delivering every other Friday, to the City Council, City Hall staff and the community.]
City Manager’s Office
• State Assembly Committee Hearing — (Last Friday) the State Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials held an Oversight Hearing in Council Chambers. The Committee heard testimony about the Environmental Hazards of Oil Drilling and Production in the Baldwin Hills/Inglewood Oil Fields. Councilmember Weissman, community members, and staff representing Members of the State Legislature provided testimony. Vice Mayor O’Leary and Councilmember Malsin were also in attendance. The hearing was broadcast on channel 35 and streamed live on the city’s website. An archived copy of the Hearing will be available on the city’s website (today).
Community Development Dept.
• 12577 Washington Blvd.-Waterloo & City — This new restaurant, at the site of the old Crest House coffee shop, is officially open for business.
• 3440 Wesley Ave. — The Administrative Site Plan review is underway for the proposed conversion of the former Clyde’s Auto Body into offices for Morphosis Architectural Firm.
• Comprehensive Housing Strategy/Globe Demolition — A community meeting is projected during the week of June 14 to outline the demolition schedule and events.
• Hayden Tract Spur — On May 20, staff will hold a meeting with the Spur property owners to discuss a proposal to convert the Spur into a landscaped parking lot.
• West Washington Area Improvement Plan — Staff is currently preparing the Construction Contract for Phase I of the Plan and will schedule the pre-construction meeting. Several façade improvement program projects will also be underway in a few weeks in this area.
• Maintenance of Art Work —During the week of May 3, a local artist and several community volunteers completed the restoration of a community mural in Syd Kronenthal Park entitled “Day to Night.” The work included the removal and replacement of the mural’s anti-graffiti coating.
Finance Dept.
• Fiscal Year 2010/11 Budget — (Tonight) the Fiscal Year 2010/11 Budget will be released to the City Council. This date will meet with our city’s Charter requirements, while giving the City Council a full week to make adjustments to the budget. The format of this year’s budget will be slightly different than those budgets reviewed and adopted in the past. Further, the Work Programs will be presented following budget adoption.
Fire Dept.
• Fire Service Day — On May 8, the Fire Department hosted a very successful Fire Service Day at Fire Station No. 1. The event included a pancake breakfast, activities for children, demonstrations, and an Open House. The firefighters served breakfast to over 3,500 people.
• City Ordinance Update — Staff is working with the City Attorney’s Office to revise the city’s 1986 Ordinance pertaining to disasters for better consistency with the city’s 2006 Emergency Operations Plan.
• State Emergency Management System Conference — On May 4, staff and a Deputy City Attorney attended a one-day conference in Sacramento. The conference addressed proposed changes to laws that affect the local control of ambulance transport within a jurisdiction. Following the conference, staff is confident that Culver City meets all case law requirements for maintaining the Fire Dept.’s role as the city’s 911 paramedic ambulance provider.
Information Technology
• City of Culver City Facebook Page — Information Technology staff has found that more and more governmental agencies are using social networking tools as a means of notification and to encourage citizen participation. Information Technology is trying out Facebook as a potential vehicle to transmit Culver City’s message, using a 21st century electronic medium. To this end, staff has implemented a soft launch of the city of Culver City’s Facebook page as a pilot program. Initially, staff feels that as with other city Facebook pages, only notices, updates, and photos would be posted on Culver City’s page. No one would be allowed to post comments. Staff is working on the details for the implementation and administration of this page.
Parks, Recreation and Community Services Dept.
• Enrollment Cap Lifted on Summer Camp Programs — In response to community feedback, and for the first time in the history of the Culver City Summer Camp Program, the enrollment cap has been lifted for the Just-4-Kids and Teen camps. All eligible participants who sign up for our Summer Camps will be accommodated, which also will streamline the process. Staff anticipates a net increase in revenue for this program and an improvement in the current delivery of services.
• Senior Center Patio Improvements — Plans and specifications are underway to make improvements to the Senior Center Patio, adding more programmable space to an already heavily-used facility. The improvements, which are funded by the Paetzold Bequest, include not only increasing the Patio’s usable square footage but also enhancing shaded areas and introducing drought tolerant plants into the existing landscape.
Public Works Dept.
• Ficus Tree Disease and Upcoming Removals – Staff has identified 32 Ficus trees that are in a state of decline due to fungal disease. These trees are on Shafer Street (22), Ocean Drive (3), Overland Avenue (1), Lincoln Avenue (3), Tilden Avenue (2), and Flaxton Street (1). The diseased trees will be removed once notification has been provided to the residents and will be replaced with the recommended replacement species per the City’s Street Tree Master Plan.
• Traffic Light Synchronization Project and Traffic Control System – Work on a traffic signal synchronization project will begin shortly. This project (funded by a Prop. 1B Traffic Light Synchronization Program Grant) will result in the development of new traffic signal plans for all signalized intersections within the City’s jurisdiction. This effort, which is scheduled for completion by December, will complement the new traffic control system that is nearing completion. One of the final components of the traffic control system is the completion of a Traffic Management Center on the 2nd floor of City Hall.
• Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) La Cienega Study — SCAG has initiated a study to identify ways to improve traffic flow on La Cienega Boulevard between the I-405 and I-10 freeways. This study has identified conceptual grade separation alternatives at key intersections along this corridor. The conceptual alternatives were presented at public workshops on March 29 and 30. SCAG will hold additional public workshops on Wednesday, June 16, and Thursday, June 17, to solicit additional input. More information on the study and the upcoming meetings is available at http://www.scag.ca.gov/corridor/lacienega.htm.
Transportation
• Google Transit – Staff is in the process of converting Culver CityBus transit service data into the Google Transit required format. The data conversion is anticipated to complete sometime in August. Once this is completed, public transit passengers can use Google Transit to plan their trips via the internet.
Mr. Ewell may be contacted at lamont.ewell@culvercity.org
