City Manager’s Office
• “Let’s Move” Initiative — Last Tuesday Vice Mayor O’Leary met Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and elected officials during Secretary Sebelius’s visit to a Long Beach elementary school. The purpose of her visit was to support First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” Cities and Towns Initiative; to hear about the innovative nutrition programs implemented at schools that encourage healthy, active living; and to learn about the school’s new salad bar program.
• Hayden Tract Pilot Shuttle Service Program — Staff met last week with representatives from the Downtown Business Assn. to discuss their proposal for a shuttle to connect the Hayden Tract with Downtown. The meeting ended on a positive note. Both staff and the DBA are gathering additional data on this pilot program proposal and will meet again in the near future. Ultimately, if all goes as planned, the City Council may be asked to consider documents related to this proposal. December/January could present the item to the City Council. If the pilot program is successful, it could evolve into serving the Transit Oriented Development.
Community Development Dept.
• Proposed Plan Amendment — The Request for Proposal for consultant services for the Redevelopment Plan Amendment, approved by the Redevelopment Agency Board on Sept. 27 was issued to consultants last Tuesday. Responses are due in November with a recommendation to the Agency Board expected in January.
• Advisory Committee on Redevelopment (ACOR) — On Oct. 7, ACOR received a presentation from the Los Angeles Housing Partnership on Tilden Terrace, the L proposed project at the old Pleasantview site, 11012-11056 W. Washington Blvd.
• Globe Avenue Properties — The demolition of the site was completed and a Notice of Completion was issued for recording on Oct. 6. A Request for Proposal will be drafted soon for Agency Board consideration.
• 9300 Culver Blvd. (Parcel B) — Last Monday the Agency Board shared their ideas for the short- and long-term uses of Parcel B. A community workshop will be held next month to receive public input for the future of Parcel B prior to writing a Request for Proposals for release to developers.
• HomeGrown Culver City — A one-day free community event, celebrating edible gardening, food harvesting and homesteading, will occur on Saturday from 9 to 5 in Media Park.
• Performing Arts Grants Program — Staff assisted 2010 grant recipient Donna Sternberg & Dancers on the marketing for the company’s upcoming performance on Sunday, Nov. 7 at Royal T.
• IndieCade Festival — The three-day festival ended on Sunday, Oct. 10. Downtown was filled with independent gamers, conference attendees and game-makers who made their way to the three Culver City game walk arcade locations: Fire Station No. 1, the Gregg Fleishman Studio and the Wonderful World of Art. Parcel B was activated with three large Gregg Fleishman buildings and outdoor games; the Haro Gallery hosted a meet-and-greet; and attendees were invited to enjoy the Downtown restaurants and nightlife. The apparatus floor at Fire Station No. 1 was transformed into a gaming room as part of the event. By staff’s estimates, nearly 1,000 people dropped by the Fire Station over three days.
• Qdoba Restaurant — This new 2,791 square foot-restaurant in the Westfield Mall had its Grand Opening on Oct. 1.
Fire Dept.
• Southern California Gas Co. — On Sept. 28, Public Works and Fire Dept. staff met with representatives from the Southern California Gas Co. to discuss pipeline safety and inspection procedures. This meeting allowed the city to review the location, age and testing procedures of all natural gas transmission and distribution lines within the city. All of staff’s questions/concerns were addressed during the meeting. The gas company indicated that distribution lines are inspected quarterly. They also provided information on their pipelines in Culver City and offered training to the Fire Dept. Additionally, the gas company will send a direct mail notice to residences and businesses within 1/8th of a mile of major pipelines this month; the letter will discuss the inspection program and pipeline safety. More information is available on the gas company’s website: http://www.socalgas.com/. Specifically, a map of major pipelines is available at: http://www.socalgas.com/safety/pipelineMap.html with links included on the Public Works section of the city’s web page.
Farmers Market Booth — On Oct. 5, Fire Dept. personnel staffed a booth at the Farmers Market. Personnel handed out earthquake preparedness literature along with materials relating to fire prevention.
Information Technology
Cost Savings — The new Graphic Services Supervisor David Vargas recently took the initiative to review city invoices for paper products going back five years. He noted inconsistencies in unit costs, and overcharges. He raised this issue with the vendor Xpedx (formerly Nationwide), which resulted in the company providing a refund in the amount of $2,767.03 (check received). Staff also received contract pricing going forward that will result in additional savings. Staff is continuing to review and obtain competitive bids for these paper products.
Parks, Recreation and Community Services Dept.
Senior Center Art Exhibit — The arts are alive and well at the Senior Center. Tuesday through Thursday, staff will proudly present its annual art exhibit, highlighting outstanding works of art in the lobby from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. All art was created by the talented Senior Center artists, the majority during Senior Center classes. The art displayed will reflect watercolor, pastels, acrylic, oil, portrait drawing, ceramics, calligraphy and sculpturing.
Vets Memorial Park ADA Path of Travel — The contractor’s work is progressing ahead of schedule. The area was excavated and graded, and the concrete curbs were poured. On Oct. 12, the contractor imported the soil, and completed the leveling and compaction of the path.
Vets Memorial Park (ages 2-5) Playground — Construction Bid Documents went out to bid on Oct.7. Equipment was purchased through U.S. Communities, and the project is on schedule.
Police Dept.
• Safety vs. Seniors Pool Tournament — On Oct. 30, the annual Safety vs. Seniors Pool Tournament will take place at the Senior Center beginning at 9 a.m. This is the 11th year the event has taken place when the Police and Fire departments will play against the Senior Center members.
• Commendation from Torrance Police Chief — John Neu, Torrance Police Chief, wrote a letter of commendation thanking the Culver City Police Dept. for assisting with traffic control, crime scene preservation and setting up a containment that ultimately led to the capture of three robbery suspects on Sept. 14.
• Cinco De Mayo Restaurant Robbery — Detectives executed multiple search warrants to residences related to the recent Cinco De Mayo Restaurant robbery. Based on the information obtained from the initial crime report and observation by responding officers who located the getaway vehicle, detectives began to investigate the case and quickly identified two suspects. The warrants yielded gang paraphernalia, a loaded firearm and methamphetamine. The tenacious and thorough followup investigation led to the arrest of two gang members.
Public Works Dept.
• Maintenance Operations Manager — Steve Orozco has been selected to replace Heustace Lewis, who retired earlier this year, as Maintenance Operations Manager. As one of three Division Managers for the Public Works Dept., Steve is responsible for oversight of maintenance activities for streets, sewers, storm drains, trees, sidewalks, traffic signals, street lights, building HVAC and electrical and general facility maintenance.
• Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) Grant Application — The Public Works Dept. is preparing an HSIP grant application for the installation of a full traffic signal, crosswalks and sidewalks at Jefferson Boulevard and Hetzler Road. The grant application is due in early December.
• Exposition Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line Project – Today, traffic on Washington and National boulevards will be intermittently stopped by flaggers for construction of the Expo LRT project’s Venice/Robertson Aerial Structure. The intermittent stoppages will be implemented until 3 p.m. on:
1. Washington Boulevard in both directions, between Landmark Street and National Boulevard, and
2. At the intersection of National/Washington boulevards, impacting only right and left turns to westbound Washington Boulevard.
Notices to the community were distributed by hand and electronically last Wednesday.
• Tree Planting — Starting this week, the Public Works Dept.’s Maintenance Operations Division will begin its quarterly tree planting. 25 trees of a variety of species will be planted at vacant sites throughout the city. The tree selection is in accordance with the city’s adopted Street Tree Master Plan.
• Catch Basin Cleaning — The Public Work’s Dept.’s Maintenance Operations Division began performing its biannual cleaning of city-owned catch basins this week.
City Manager John Nachbar may be contacted at john.nachbar@culvercity.org
