[img]1305|left|Mayor Weissman||no_popup[/img]Except for the periodically compelling speechmaking, the favorite portion of the Mayor’s Lunch, upstairs at the classy DoubleTree by Hilton, is Reunion Day, when former or faded stars – depending on your perspective – come home for a spot of joie de vivre.
Before Andy Weissman delivered a stirring look-back talk in his farewell to the office at the end of his one-year term, familiar names, and their owners, stood up one more time to be cheered by the sellout crowd that did not sell out the smiling returnees.
Two of the least seen and most happily remembered in Culver City are former City Managers Mark Scott and Lamont Ewell.
Circling either the wagons, or their luncheon table, were chairs full of former mayors – Scott Malsin, Chris Armenta, Richard Marcus, Alan Corlin, Steve Rose, Ed Wolkowitz and the senior personality of all, Ed Little, former City Council member.
John Nachbar, the City Manager, serves as the droll emcee every April, and once again he was just dry enough this afternoon to be delightfully entertaining.
He was charged with a slightly noticed two errors, according to the number of fingers Mr. Rose, CEO of the sponsoring Chamber of Commerce, was holding up. A gentleman at an adjoining table said that in view of Mr. Rose’s response, the crowd was fortunate Mr. Nachbar did not commit just one error.
In introducing Mr. Weissman’s teammates on the City Council, Mr. Nachbar overlooked Jeff Cooper. This might not have been a big deal except that he is the vice mayor. He is scheduled to be elected mayor later this month. Mr. Cooper probably will not be overlooked at the next Mayor’s Lunch.
As for Mr. Weissman’s oratory:
I will start with an apology. I know I am going to forget to mention some person, organization, group or department. Probably more than one.
It happens every year. It is partially because of age. The oldest member of the City Council has told me that. I only have an hour and a half. One former mayor reminded me of that.
Mostly it is because we have so many groups and individuals doing good works. The list is too long to recognize everyone. Instead of pointing fingers, let us recognize it is a testament to the strength and vitality of Culver City.
Thank you to the Chamber of Commerce for putting on this event, to the Chamber Board for participating in our expanding economic development efforts.
Over the past years, our collective efforts have brought to the community economic engines like Maker’s Studio, NantWorks, Beats by Dre and Culver Crossroads. We also welcomed the World Trade Council, which relocated from Los Angeles.
Thank you to Sony Pictures Entertainment, which unveiled its public art sculpture “Rainbow. ” and Sony supports our community in many different ways.
Thank you to the School District and the School Board for ensuring that every child succeeds.
Each year, our Mayor's Lunch affords an opportunity to reflect on the past year, on the current year and look forward to the upcoming year.
What a difference from last year.
The Redevelopment Agency had just been dissolved by the state.
The first passengers had not yet boarded the light rail trains from the Culver City Station on the Expo line.
No affordable housing was being created.
Private development was minimal to non-existent.
The city was looking at an $8 million structural deficit, with growing deficits into the future.
The freeway off-ramp at Sepulveda was open.
The community was waiting for the state to give its okay for the construction on Parcel B.
I am pleased to report that, despite the best efforts of Sacramento to the contrary,
Culver City continues to promote economic development.
The Culver City Station of the Expo line is open.
Two affordable housing projects are nearing completion.
Two private developments are underway at Washington/National and Legado and Platform.
We have Culver Crossroads at Sepulveda and Washington.
A new auto dealership is coming to town, Culver City Mazda alongside Culver City Volvo.
Most significantly, the voters approved a half-cent local sales tax, by a 3-1 margin. It is
projected to erase our structural operating deficit. That would protect city services and restore financial stability.
We count ourselves fortunate to live and work in Culver City. We continue to evolve. We remain a special community because of the support and encouragement of the residential and business Communities.
And the hard work, dedication and determination of community volunteers.
In a time of tight budgets, we depend on volunteers and their generosity.
The efforts of hundreds of volunteers, combined with the generosity of thousands of individuals and the business community, continue to inspire.
Organizations like the Rotary, the Exchange and the Lions clubs, the Culver-Palms Family YMCA,
Friends of the Library, the Education Foundation, the Youth Health Center, the Friends of the Culver City Dog Park, L.A. Goal, the
Exceptional Children’s Foundation, the Senior Citizens Assn.
In 2012, the Rotary Club raised over $5,000 to purchase new computers for the Teen Center computer lab. And they donated dictionaries to the elementary schools.
In its campaign against child abuse, the Exchange Club sponsored the 4th of July Fireworks Show, the Car Show in downtown, and what would Fiesta La Ballona be without the Exchange Club Beer and Wine Garden?
The Senior Citizens Assn. generously adopted the Teen Center billiards tables.
The Happy Charity Foundation once again donated $500 to the Teen Center.
The first annual Plunge Community Enhancement Project has collected nearly $6,000 in donations from members of Southern California Aquatics, the School District, the Royal Swim team and TSM Swim team for our swimming pool.
The city even received a gift of three stainless steel lifeguard towers, valued at over $7,000, from the City of San Buenaventura.
I'm not sure why the gift, but thank you.
Lights were installed in the Boneyard. They were made possible by generous donationsfrom NantWorks and the Friends of the Dog Park, with assistance from the Public Works Dept. and the Parks Divisions.
Three hundred and fifty volunteers in the Retired & Senior Volunteer program donated 75,000 volunteer hours at 50 sites throughout the community.
The members of our commissions:
Planning, Cultural Affairs, Civil Service, Parks, Recreation, and Community Services, and our committees, Disability Advisory, Fiesta La Ballona, Martin Luther King Day, Homelessness, Landlord/Tenant all devoted countless hours won behalf of the community from which we all benefit.
During 2012, our police officer reserves donated 5,000 hours, assisting at events such as the 4th of July, the Car Show, in patrol and working the front desk.
These volunteer hours resulted in a savings of $220,000 to the city.
For the work they do in keeping our city clean, safe, well-run, city employees, please stand and be recognized.
I work with four special individuals, my colleagues on the Council, Mehaul (O’Leary), Jeff (Cooper), Meghan (Sahli-Wells) and Jim Clarke.
I want to recognize a former elected officials. We stand on their shoulders. The transformation of downtown, the revitalization east and west on Washington Boulevard, Westfield Culver City, the Culver City station of the Expo Line, serving thousands of passengers daily, and our sustainability initiatives. These are examples of the vision we – by we I mean me – take credit for today.
I have been on the Council for five years.
I am pleased to report we have only had four City Managers. In five years.
Three are here today, Mark Scott, Lamont Ewell and John Nachbar.
A special thank you to John Nachbar. He stepped in in the middle of a particularly rough patch – the perfect storm of economic calamity.
John’s leadership and steady hand, his calm, professional approach to problem- solving, his ability to drill down to recognize what needs to be done and then deliver, has allowed Culver City to remain the best place to live, work and play.
We have gone through plenty this past year.
Meeting the challenges facing the city in the years to come will require that we determine the most effective use of each dollar.
We will need to sort out which programs provide essential services or are most critical to our future.
We will continue to find ways to be creative and reduce our expenses.
Our newly constituted Finance Advisory Committee will help to inform us.
Because an existing program or a service is a good thing should not mean that spending more money on it is admirable, or that less is deplorable.
No program should be immune from analysis just because people have become accustomed to it.
By most measurements, we have had a very successful year.
Our Community Development Dept., which includes Planning and Building, has been busy across the city.
Since last summer, over 800,000 sq. ft. of development have been entitled or re-zoned for Transit Oriented Development within our transit-oriented district at Washington and National. This includes the Legado and Platform projects.
We are working to provide new parking opportunities and to address the parking deficiencies in the Hayden Tract to enhance business opportunities.
Affordable housing is under construction.
Thirty-two affordable units at Tilden Terrace, 12 at 4043 Irving Pl., and we are partnered with Habitat for Humanity, for the development of a new 10-unit affordable townhouse project on Globe Avenue in West Culver City.
The City Clerk’s Office oversaw two important elections, the City Council last April and Measure Y last November.
Our Finance Dept. has spent hours upon hours on Redevelopment wind-down, dealing with the state Dept. of Finance, the County, the Successor Agency andthe Oversight
Board.
Having jurisdiction over one-tenth of the largest urban oil field in the country places Culver City in the center of the urban oil drilling debate.
It will dominate much of our conversation for the foreseeable future. We are in the process of revising our oil drilling ordinance relating to the anticipated drilling of dozens of new wells within Culver City limits. These are comprehensive regulations to ensure that public health, safety and the environment are protected.
We will continue to work to promote regional regulations, because regardless of
What we may decide about our hundred acres of the oil field, local regulations will have only have a limited impact in addressing the larger public health, safety and environmental contamination issues in the remaining 900 acres of the Los Angeles County portion of the oil field.
The City Attorney’s office has taken a leading role in the rulemaking and regulatory processes at the state and local levels, relating to oil drilling and fracking.
Only yesterday, they released a discussion draft of our long anticipated updated oil drilling ordinance
Police and fire continue to provide an extraordinary level of service that makes for peaceful days and restful nights. They give us
a sense of safety and security that residents appreciate and that attracts businesses to Culver City.
Over the past year, the Fire Dept. responded to more than 4,500 individual emergencies,
arriving within five minutes or less 90 percent of the time.
Our Police Dept. recently implemented a new system, “Smart 911,” the first city in California to adopt this life saving technology.
Smart 911 allows individuals to create a safety profile for their household that includes vital personal and medical information that will be available to emergency responders in the event of a 9-1-1 call.
This will help them respond to your emergency faster.
Alternative transportation initiatives occupied much of the agenda in 2012.
Ridership on Culver CityBus continues its steady increase, carrying 5.3 million passengers in the last year.
The Culver City Station on the Expo Line was opened last June.
Public Works completed pedestrian and bicycle improvements that include a new traffic signal at the intersection of Jefferson Boulevard and Hetzler Road, where the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook enjoys unprecedented popularity.
Who can forget the installation of the Jeff Cooper Bike Corral, the city’s first, created by converting one car parking space into a dedicated area for bike parking.
Public Works carries out many of the environmental initiatives of the city.
It secured a $150,000 grant from County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas’s Competitive Tree Planting Grant Program for planting 300 trees throughout the city.
Public Works was awarded Silver Status in both Southern California Edison’s Energy Leader Partnership Program and the Green Communities Challenge Program.
These are environmental programs that encourage cities to achieve goals in
10 key environmental categories.
The objectives include measurable energy savings, reduced peak-time electricity demand, energy efficiency, conservation, water and wastewater, and efficient transportation.
In Transportation, the Equipment Maintenance & Fleet Services Division was
selected as the third best Municipal Fleet in North America out of 38,000 public fleets.
We provide a remarkable scope of services that impacts the quality of life, through the activities of our Parks, Rec and Community Services Dept., the Teen Center, the Senior Center, Day Camp and After-School programs, the Plunge and its various swim programs, and the Veterans Memorial Complex with its year-round event.
Add the work done by park services to maintain our parks in good repair, to replace play equipment and make our fields safe and playable
You get a sense for what makes Culver City special.
I want to thank my wife Doneil and all of my family for providing me with the encouragement and support that enables me to spend as much time as I do for Culver City.
Being a Council member takes a huge amount of time, patience and the indulgence of family, friends and employers.
We have volunteered for public service. We are in no position to complain about the dedication, ti it takes to do the job.
Being able to have fun, or seem to be, sets a mood that helps me manage the tremendous
responsibilities the voters have vested in us.
To my colleagues and to the public, thank you for putting up with me.
We are all in this together. We depend upon everyone in this room to make Culver City the unique place it is.
I am grateful to you for the opportunity to be of service.
