City Manager’s Office
Sister City Delegation to Canada — On Saturday, Vice Mayor Mehaul O’Leary traveled to Lethbridge to represent the city as a guest of the Culver City Sister City Committee, Lethbridge Sister City Committee and city of Lethbridge. Tonight he will make presentations to His Worship the Mayor and to aldermen at the Lethbridge City Council meeting.
Channel 35/37 Broadcast Issues — Staff has recently learned that the city’s channel is being broadcast to Verizon FIOS customers on its Channel 37, without audio. Staff is addressing the audio problems and other technical difficulties in the City Hall Audio/Visual room with Public Works, Information Technology, Time Warner Cable and Verizon FIOS. Upgrades are being made in the Audio/Visual room while other issues are being addressed with the cable providers. Once 37’s audio problems are resolved, the information about the channel will be added to information made available about Channel 35.
Community Development Dept.
A-Frame — A grand opening for a new 1,692 square foot restaurant, A-Frame, 12565 Washington Blvd., was held on Thursday, Nov. 4. Big Fat Pita — Plans have been submitted for Big Fat Pita, a new 664 square foot restaurant, in Westfield Mall.
Lucille’s BBQ — Plans have been submitted for Lucille’s BBQ, a new 4,239 square foot restaurant, in Westfield Mall.
Holiday Banners — Fifty holiday banners have been cleaned and scheduled for installation on the Downtown Culver Boulevard street light poles this week. Proposed Amendment to the Redevelopment Plan — Last Tuesday was the deadline for proposals for consultant services.
11054-56 West Washington Blvd. (Pleasantview site) — Staff is undertaking negotiations with the Los Angeles Housing Partnership to develop an Exclusive Negotiation Agreement for the proposed Tilden Terrace project for future Agency Board consideration.
Cultural/Culver City Unified School District Meet & Greet — Staff, in coordination with the School District’s Community Arts team, presented the third annual Meet & Greet for representatives of the city’s cultural non-profit organizations to connect with representatives from School District in hopes of developing long-term partnerships. Finance
Business Tax Discovery Audit — The city has contracted with MuniServices, which is performing a business tax discovery audit. MuniServices has finalized collections on 43 business tax accounts for a net collection amount of over $49,400. Future updates on the business tax audit collection will be provided on a regular basis.
Fire Dept.
Water Main Failure — The Fire Dept. is working with the Golden State Water Co. to update (or validate) the city’s standing operating procedures regarding annual hydrant service and water main failure responses. This includes updating the city’s hydrant service documents to include inspection of the shut-off valves, update of water maps, and direction regarding shutting off the water supply to water mains in the event of an emergency.
Backup Radio System Dispatch — The first phase of the Dispatch Center’s backup radio system was installed on Friday, Nov. 5. This greatly improves the operational functionality and flexibility for the city’s dispatchers and field units in case of a radio system failure. Phase Two includes the purchase of two additional radios to maximize tactical channel usage system-wide. The improvements will strengthen the city’s ability to provide emergency and daily operations to the Culver City community.
Parks, Recreation and Community Services Dept.
Senior Center Computer Lab — More than 300 seniors have been educated this year in computer classes in the Senior Center computer lab. All classes are taught by volunteer instructors, who include retired educators, current Symantec employees and one UCLA research scientist. Classes offered include Beginning Computers, Intermediate Computers, Internet and EMail, Microsoft Word and Excel, and Digital Cameras. In the words of one class participant: “It was all new to me and there is plenty to learn, but it was well explained and I learned a lot. Thank you!” The lab, which features eleven PC computers, is also available for Senior Center Association members during Open Lab from 9:15-11:15 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
New Edition — The winter Culver City Living Recreation brochure went online today. Visit www.culvercity.org/CulverCityLiving for the latest information on all the PRCS Dept.’s programs and services. This is the second edition of the exclusive online, all-green Culver City Living brochure. It features greater inter-connectivity within the brochure as well as within the city’s website plus direct access to online registration. In addition to reducing paper waste, the advent of the online brochure last fall saved the city nearly $2,000 in printing costs, and the winter online brochure will save the city over $6,000 in printing and mailing costs compared to last winter.
Disaster Preparedness — On Saturday, Oct. 30, the Lindberg Park Neighborhood group began construction of its disaster supply cabinet at the Lindberg Park Stone House. The cabinet will contain medical supplies that will be used for Lindberg Park neighbors in the case of a major disaster. In a major disaster, the Neighborhood Watch block captains and Neighborhood Emergency Response Team members will identify neighbors who are injured, and disaster supplies will be transported to the them.
Police Dept.
School Fair — On Saturday, Nov. 6, officers attended the La Ballona Elementary School Fair. They talked to the children about traffic safety and other safety-related subjects.
Massey Honored — The late Lt. Curt Massey soon will be honored with a freeway sign that will be placed on a Santa Monica Freeway overpass in his memory. U.S. Rep.–elect Karen Bass (D-Culver City) will make the presentation, tentatively, at next Monday’s City Council meeting.
Recognition — On Wednesday, Nov. 3, Sgt. Paul Harada, Dets. Ryan Thompson and Pete Hernandez received recognition from the Civil Service Commission for their outstanding work performance in the culmination of a complicated homicide investigation, which led to the arrest of a suspect.
Public Works Dept.
Compost Event — Last Saturday at Linwood Howe School, staff joined with the Linwood Howe Booster Club to host the second give-a-way of organic compost. Residents were encouraged to bring a truck, bag or wheelbarrow for a self-haul of the compost. Eight to 10 tons were available on a first-come, first- served basis from 9 until 1,or until the supply was gone.
Demand Response — On Thursday, Nov. 4, the city received a quarterly payment of $10,262 for participating in a Demand Response Program, under which the city agrees to curtail energy use at City Hall during critical peak energy demand periods.
Street Trees — Nineteen diseased ficus trees on Schaefer Street will be removed today and tomorrow. The Public Works Dept. plans to hold meetings with the Schaefer Street community early next year to discuss the appropriate replacement tree for that street. This meeting is being delayed until after the city receives the results and recommendations from its consulting arborist regarding the fungus that is infecting ficus trees in the community.
Expo Light Rail Construction — Eastbound National Boulevard will be temporary closed, from Schaefer Street to Eastham Drive, for storm drain repair and street reconstruction. The work will be conducted in two phases –
Phase 1: Took place Saturday and Sunday. Traffic Impacts: Eastbound traffic on National Boulevard was detoured to southbound Hayden Avenue, to eastbound Stellar Avenue, to southbound Eastham Avenue, to eastbound Higuera Street, and to northbound Jefferson Boulevard.
Phase 2: Next Saturday (9 a.m. to 7 p.m.) and Sunday (10 a.m. to 7 p.m.) Traffic Impacts: Eastbound and westbound traffic on National Boulevard will remain open to through traffic but will be reduced to one lane in each direction.
Hardcopy and electronic notices were provided to the standard notification area and mailing lists on Thursday, Nov. 4. In addition, Expo outreach staff went door-to-door and contacted businesses on National Boulevard, between Schaefer Street and Eastham Drive, to ensure that they were aware of the coming closure, and also to answer questions.
On-Bill Financing — Public Works submitted an application to Southern California Edison’s On-Bill Financing Program to fund the conversion of 625 street lights on major arterials throughout the city from High Pressure Sodium technology to more energy- efficient Induction technology. This project would address lights that already have been converted from the old series high voltage system to the newer parallel low voltage system. The change in street lights will result in approximately 40 percent energy savings. If approved, the on-bill financing will allow the city to fund the conversion through the energy savings achieved by the project and with no interest.
Moving Ground — The Culver City Park sports field grading project was recently completed. This project consisted of re-grading primarily the eastern area of the middle-upper sports field and adjustment and replacement of sprinkler heads. New sod was installed, and the field was accepted as complete by the Parks Division. AYSO donated additional funds to sod the fields in order to speed the reopening.
Making Changes — Public Works is working with West Los Angeles College on implementing Amendment No. 1 to the Settlement Agreement. Recent updates include the following: West has installed barriers to discourage the use of the inside lanes of the track by professional and semi-professional runners. Temporary bleachers are obstructing many of the remaining lanes. These are expected to be removed Friday, after which residents will have access to the track (except for the inside lanes) with their Culver City ID cards. These ID cards are now available from the Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Dept. at the Plunge and the Registration Office at the Veterans Memorial Complex. The college is completing the final work required for it to open College Boulevard. The city has been informed the school expects to open the street within the next month. West has designated a Community Liaison and a Special Events Liaison. Contact information for the Community Liaison is currently posted on the college website, and contact information for the Special Events Liaison should be posted shortly. Workshop — On Saturday, Dec. 4, the city will host a community workshop regarding a possible future project that would improve safety and traffic operations on Duquesne Avenue between Washington Boulevard and Jefferson Boulevard. The city will be applying for a competitive grant through the 2011 Metro Call for Projects for this potential future project.
City Manager John Nachbar may be contacted at john.nachbar@culvercity.org
