City Clerk’s Office
Asian World Film Festival – Now under way Downtown at the ArcLight Cinemas through Monday, it is open to the public. Students will be admitted free. www.asianworldfilmfest.org.
Community Department Dept.
Hayden Tract – Economic Development staff met with a large production company in the Hayden Tract to discuss parking operations and issues in the area. The company’s existing permit will be revised to reflect new conditions intended to address the impacts.
Fire Dept.
California Great Shake Out – City staff and schools participated with 10.5 million Californians on Oct. 15. At 10:15 a.m., city staff practiced how to drop, cover, and hold on. They evacuated buildings, taking assigned emergency backpacks and met in pre-designated places.
Citywide Disaster Drill – Later the same day, the department, the Culver City Amateur Radio Emergency Services (CCARES) and residents participated in the annual Disaster Drill. Participants practiced how to drop, cover, and hold on and how to activate their family disaster plans. Additionally, CCARES volunteers responded throughout the city to simulate their emergency communications with the city Emergency Operations Center.
Emergency Preparedness Drill – The department conducted a backup communications drill with the County’s Office of Emergency Management. Should phone lines go down during a disaster, the city can use Countywide Integrated Radio System radios, satellite phones and ham radios to communicate. All systems worked. City staff communicated clearly with the County and all 88 cities in the region via the radios and satellite phones.
Halloween Safety Tips –
Purchase costumes made of flame resistant or flame retardant material.
Provide children with glow sticks or flashlights to help them to see and to be seen by drivers. Decorate costumes and bags with reflective tape or stickers.
Remind children to cross the street at corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks. Look left, right and left again before crossing, and walk (do not run) across the street.
Keep decorations far away from all open flames and heat sources.
It is safest to use a battery-operated candle or glow stick in jack-o’-lanterns.
When driving, slow down and be especially alert in residential neighborhoods. C
Tips are available on the city’s website. http://www.culvercity.org/Government/PublicSafety/Fire/News/HalloweenSafety2015.aspx
Changing Clocks – Daylight Savings Time ends Sunday at 2 a.m. Change your clocks and change your batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
Human Resources Dept.
Student Worker Program – In collaboration with the School District, the Human Resources Dept. has rolled out a new Student Worker program, designed to provide Culver City High School students with work-related skills and experiences and to introduce them to the rewards of working in local government. Three sessions are offered, each lasting six weeks.
Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Dept.
Kids Carnival – The Kids Carnival celebrating Disability Awareness month on Oct. 18 drew 400 people. Games, live entertainment, a photo booth, puppeteers, live rap performances, food and drinks, a petting zoo, resource tables from the community and a visit from the Fire Dept. The Exchange Club and the Senior Citizens Assn. made the day successful. Partnerships with the Disability Advisory Committee and the Culver City Neighborhood Girl Scouts were helpful.
Police Dept.
S.T.E.A.M. Nation — The department’s Forensics Unit participated in one of the largest single day events in Los Angeles County celebrating the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math education (STEAM) program at West Los Angeles College. First through eighth grade students from underserved communities participated in a free day of exciting shows, hands-on workshops, and exhibits.
The event is designed to give community members an opportunity to come together, to inspire children, to help youth see themselves as part of a national movement, and to ignite a passion in the future thinkers and creators.
Culver Crest Neighborhood Watch — Lt. Sam Agaiby presented the Culver Crest Neighborhood Assn. with recent crime trends for their neighborhood at last week’s meeting.
Rotary Club Honors Chief — The Culver City Rotary Club presented Chief Scott Bixby a certificate to become a Paul Harris Fellow, an honor awarded “in appreciation of tangible and significant assistance given for the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world.” When $1,000 is donated in a person’s name, he or she becomes a Paul Harris Fellow, named for the founder of Rotary International.
Public Works Dept.
Safe Routes to School Summit – City Council member Meghan Sahli-Wells addressed attendees at Metro’s Regional Summit to support the Countywide Safe Routes to School Initiative. This initiative encourages collaboration among Safe Routes efforts in Los Angeles County, including walking, bicycling, carpooling and transit for school travel — to expand mobility choice and improve health and safety of children and their families.
Regional Summit goals included identifying activities and responsibilities, matching specific partner organizations with feasible activities and increasing local knowledge for implementation of programs.
$2.6 Million Grant – The city has been awarded a $2.6 million grant for the Washington-Culver Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Project.
The project is focused on safety improvements along Washington Boulevard, Matteson Avenue, Girard Avenue, Tilden Avenue and Elenda Street near La Ballona Elementary and includes corner curb extensions and high visibility crosswalks.
Additionally, the project will include a protected cycle track (separated bike lanes) on Elenda Street from Culver Boulevard to Washington Boulevard. Along with the construction of the separated bike lanes, new canopy street trees will be added on Elenda Street as well as lighting.
The project will create new high visibility pedestrian crossings at two locations: 1) Washington Boulevard and Huron which will include a pedestrian-activated signal to improve the safety of pedestrians crossing to La Ballona and to the King Fahad Mosque as well as retail and commercial uses on Washington Boulevard and 2) a high visibility crosswalk at Washington Place and Bentley Avenue at Tellefson Park.
Culver City Reduces Energy Use – City Hall’s energy consumption in September was 10 percent lower than last September. This is the result of energy efficiency projects implemented over the last year.
Drought Forum – Mayor Mehaul O’Leary addressed attendees of the Drought Forum for Elected Officials hosted by the West Basin Municipal Water District held at Culver City’s Courtyard by Marriott on the city’s drought-driven water conservation program and upcoming storm water treatment projects. The forum included several speakers from State and local government who presented information on recent El Niño developments along with water reclamation and treatment projects.
Construction Start – Construction began two weeks ago for the Stoneview Nature Center, including installation of storm water protection elements, rough grading activities on-site, clearing and grubbing of the sloped areas on site, and installation of irrigation, jute mesh, and planting on the sloped areas.
Construction Updates:
Southern California Edison’s contactor will begin the process of removing and replacing forty-four deteriorated utility poles, as well as, replacing equipment and wiring on an additional thirty-one utility poles. This work will occur in the neighborhood north of Culver City High School, between Elenda Street west to Sepulveda Boulevard and Wagner Street south to Braddock Drive.
Work will also occur behind Culver Coty High School from Harter Avenue west to Commonwealth Avenue and Garfield Avenue south to Lucerne Avenue.
Work is scheduled to be completed by Jan. 15.
Work will take place Monday through Friday from 8 to 4, and Saturday from 9 to 4. :
Partial lane closures and complete road closures will occur. Detours will be in affect during complete road closures and trash pick-up will not be affected.
If you have questions, please contact:
Theresa Garcia
Southern California Edison
714.255.4850
Randy Ludeke
City of Culver City
310.567.1603
David Valdez
Contractor Foreman
Weissker, Inc.
562.400.1071
Transportation Dept.
TAP Card — Transportation staff hosted a workshop at the Senior Center on Wednesday, October 21st as part of the series “Public Transit is for Everyone.” The session provided an overview of the new TAP card and participants were given easy, step by step instructions for sign up and usage, provided with materials to take home and given tools and resources to find out more information about the program. Participants were allowed to apply for their card on site to join the program.
Transportation Survey – A new transportation funding measure is under discussion, and people across Los Angeles County are talking about which projects they would like to see funded with revenues from the Measure. Move LA is working with Metro on formulating the agency’s Long Range Transportation Plan — which increases the likelihood that particular projects will get funded — and trying to understand priorities across the county. Move LA is seeking input from people living in the County about how the public would prioritize investments in rail, bus, bike lanes and wider sidewalks, freeway improvements, road repairs.
Move LA’s online survey takes ap. 10 minutes. The public can weigh in on the projects being discussed for funding. A red asterisk indicates a mandatory question.
Mr. Nachbar, the city manager, may be contacted at john.nachbar@culvercity.org