Community Development Dept.

Hare Now, Hare Now — The Culver Village Business Assn. held their second annual Bunny Hop last month  when. participating businesses handed out treats, prizes and specials for children and families attending this family-friendly event on Sepulveda Boulevard between Culver Boulevard and the Culver-Palms Y.

Hayden Tract Spur – The city and the Hayden Tract Owners Assn. have executed right of entry forms and resolved final details related to the reciprocal access agreement and the first amendment to the owner participation agreement.

Yalla – Building plans have been submitted for a new Mediterranean restaurant at 9516 Culver Blvd.

Westfield Culver City – Lane Bryant was issued a permit for a 4,417-square foot tenant improvement for a new store featuring women’s clothing with fashionable plus-size clothing, lingerie, shoes and accessories.

Sunny Blue – Renovation on the tenant improvement is complete on a new Japanese Musubi restaurant at 12606 Washington Blvd. Musubi is a Japanese snack.

Cannibal – Building plans submitted for a new 2,470-square foot restaurant at 8850 Washington Blvd. The Cannibal, a beer and butcher-focused restaurant, is helmed by both Christian Pappanicholas of the New York hotspot Resto and Momofuku alum Corey Lane. The restaurant will concentrate on whole animal preparation. They will serve 450 beers from around the world. The Cannibal at Platform pledges to feature quality ingredients, preparation, and attention to detail. Aged steaks, charcuterie and freshly prepared sausages will complement a wide array of seasonally sourced vegetable courses.

ArcLight Cinemas Culver City – A building permit was issued for a 48,081- square foot tenant improvement to renovate a new movie theatre at 9500 Culver Blvd.

Grillant – A building permit was issued for a new Mediterranean restaurant at 3850 Main St.

Kilter – Building plans have been submitted for a new retail store, men’s athletic wear, at 8850 Washington Blvd.

Lady M Confections – Plans have been submitted for a 6,830-square foot tenant improvement for a new baking facility at 5887 Blackwelder St.

Touchstone Climbing – A permit was issued for a 24,343-square foot tenant improvement to create a new rock climbing gym at 2537 Fairfax Ave.

Westside Brake & Tires – A permit was issued for a vehicle repair garage at 4215 Sepulveda Blvd.

Craftsmen & Wolves – Plans approved for a new bakery at 8830 Washington Blvd.

Parking – Park Plus completed a 63- car automated parking system at 8500 Higuera St., in the Hayden Tract. The system consists of 21 triple-car stackers. It is enclosed in an architectural screening system consisting of corrugated and perforated metal panels with wood accents.

 

Fire Dept.

Community Disaster Resilience Meetings — Ready Culver City, a disaster resilience coalition of community stakeholders and city staff, hosted a five-week training series, “Build Resilience L.A. County” for the Culver Crest community. The training was held every Monday for two hours. Residents learned how to come together to help Culver City and the region be more resilient to disasters and emergencies.

CPR Training — In support of Earthquake Preparedness Month, the department conducted three free CPR training events, at Lindberg Park and the Teen Center.

Rescue Training — The department completed two days of technical rescue training focusing on new equipment and procedures. Training addressed the challenges of extracting ill or injured persons in the inaccessible areas of Baldwin Hills Overlook.

 

Parks, Recreation and Community Services Dept.

Vets Auditorium Activities – The Comic Bug comic book store celebrated National Free Comic Book Day last week at the Teen Center.

New Play — dee-Lightful Productions presents its spring workshop show, Into the Woods, Jr., in Vets Auditorium Thursday through Saturday. http://www.dee-lightful.org/.

Ukulele Group – Cali Rose and the CC Strummers, the Senior Center’s own ukulele group, rocked the Santa Monica Ukulele Festival last month with a rousing blend of popular songs. Next Tuesday, Cali and the CC Strummers will do it again for the annual Spring Fling at the Senior Center. This will be a singing and dancing extravaganza.

Ombudsman Program – The DMV has established the Senior Driver Ombudsman Program to help drivers maintain their driving independence for as long as they can safely do so. Tressa Thompson, DMV Senior Driver oimbudsman, will be at the Senior Center on Thursday, May 28, at 1 o’clock for a seminar on the program. Attendees will be provided with information regarding public safety and addressing the concerns of senior drivers. The seminar is open to persons 50 and older.

Hazardous Waste Presentation – Los Angeles County residents with diabetes use supplies such as needles, lancets and blood strips which become medical, hazardous waste. The County will be giving a presentation on the importance of properly disposing of this waste and where to find safe drop-off locations, as well as providing free Sharps containers. www.cleanla.com and click on “Household Hazardous Waste.”

Staff Award – Senior & Social Services Specialist Darren Uhl received a Citation Award at the annual conference of the International Assn. of Workforce Professionals, California Chapter. Following his local award for his work planning and facilitating the department’s co-sponsorship of the first annual EDD Employment Forum and Resource Fair for Young Adults with Disabilities in 2014, his nomination moved the state level competition where he took top honors.

Drought – New boulders were placed at the Senior Center near the perimeter planters as the first phase of new drought-tolerant landscaping begins at that location.

Shade Structure – The shade structure at Fox Hills Park is completed, and the playground has reopened. The new shade structure provides much needed shade over the ages-2-to-5 play structures.

Playground Project – The Syd Kronenthal Park Playground is completed, and the Grand Opening featured Vice Mayor Andy Weissman, City Councilperson Meghan Sahli-Wells, and Parks and Recreation Commission member Kay R. Heineman.

Public Works Dept.

 True Meaning  – The City Council has proclaimed May  as Bike Month, encouraging community members and students to reap the benefits of bicycling for transportation and exercise.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is sponsoring Bike Week activities this week  to encourage the community to bicycle to work, school and other destinations to reduce traffic and air pollution. Fix Your Bike Day, Bike-In Movie and Metro Bike Night as well as discounts at local businesses are featured.

http://www.metro.net/bikes/bike-week/

Public Works Week Next  – The National Public Works Week theme next week is “Community Begins Here,” recognizing that what the city does today is vital to a sustainable and vibrant tomorrow. Public Works plays a key role in the planning, building, and maintenance of infrastructure projects in the community, which allow future generations to enjoy a greater quality of life.

The department has made significant improvements throughout the community over the past year. Staff targets maintenance of existing infrastructure, safety, traffic, parking improvements, energy efficiency, environmental programs, pedestrian access, and bicycle friendliness in the community.

http://www.culvercity.org/Government/PublicWorks

Recognition — Gabe Garcia, traffic engineering analyst, and Charles Herbertson, Public Works Director/City Engineer, received the  Rachlin Partners/CCUSD Superintendent’s Award at the  Education Foundation’s annual Tribute to the Stars fundraising celebration.

The award recognized their leadership and support in implementing a comprehensive parking/drop-off valet program for the School District office and Lin Howe Elementary, the Winter Art Contest and Banner Program for elementary students, the plan for an added crosswalk on Elenda to improve student and community safety and support for the Education Foundation’s parking meter campaign.

 

Walk n’ Roll Festival Success – The Culver City Walk and Rollers hosted a Walk ‘n Roll Festival at El Marino Language School. The event was well attended, with 60 students from the city participating in bike workshops, skill training opportunities, and fun activities for the entire family. As part of the city’s Safe Routes to School Initiative, events such as these are aimed at encouraging walking, biking and scooting in the community and to school.

Repair Café – Santa Monica and Culver City held their first multi-city- sponsored Westside Regional Repair Café as part of Earth Day celebrations at the Vets Auditorium. Fifty-five guests and 29 volunteers participated in the event, and 170 individual items were brought in for diagnosis and repair.

The items repaired included desktops, laptops, printers, smart phones, mended pants, shirts, sweaters, coats, backpacks, gloves, fixed air purifiers, fans, bicycles, vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, coffee makers, blenders, CD/DVD players, cassette players, cameras, lamps, tools, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, watches, toys, sharpened knives, scissors, even a sickle.

Construction Updates

Coastal Communications is continuing directional boring to install new fiber optic cable in the southbound lanes on Sepulveda Boulevard between Garfield Avenue and Venice Boulevard. The work should be completed by the end of the month.

Southern California Edison will be replacing a vault on Windsor Way between Canterbury Drive and Buckingham Parkway. The work is expected to begin on Thursday and be completed by June 12. Traffic control measures will be implemented.

Transportation Dept.

Bike to Work Day – Bike to Work Day Thursday is one element of Bike Week L.A., an annual week of community events sponsored by the MTA to promote bicycling as a sustainable and practical transportation mode. Each year, Culver CityBus partners with other public transit bus and rail agencies in the region by participating in a free fare structure on Bike to Work Day. Culver CityBus will offer free fares to those riders who board the bus with bicycles and/or with a bike helmet to encourage this alternative mode of transportation, and to promote the use of bike ridership as a complement to public transit.

New Grants — The department has recently been awarded $656,492 in FTA Section 5307 grant funds through a competitive process with other transit agencies in the region. Staff secured $320,000 toward the Bus Wash Replacement Project and $336,492 toward the multi-phased purchase and installation of new bus stop furnishings throughout the Culver CityBus system.

In other grant news, funds are now flowing through two grants awarded to the department from the MTA:  a $2.2 million J grant for the Sepulveda Boulevard Bus Signal Priority Project, and a $2 million grant for the Real-time Bus Arrival System Project. Both of these complex “Transit IT architecture” projects are a cooperative multi-departmental effort among Transportation, Public Works, Information Technology, and Community Development, which will genhance the experience of Culver CityBus riders.

Mr. Nachbar, the city manager, may be contacted at john.nachbar@culvercity.org