City Manager's Bi-Weekly Update

 


Community Development Department

• RETHINK Development – Plans have been submitted for 8665 Hayden Place.

• Thomson Reuters Elite – Plans have been approved for a 26,523 square foot tenant improvement at 800 Corporate Pointe and construction has begun.

• 101 Noodle Express - A new restaurant in Westfield Culver City is near completion.

• O’Reily Automotive - Plans have been submitted for a 6,098 square foot tenant improvement at 3899 Overland Avenue.

• Bastion Culver – The permit has been issued for a new four story mixed-use building with subterranean parking at 13365 Washington Boulevard..

• Sony Picture Studios – A 10,495 sq. ft. tenant improvement at 9050 Washington Boulevard (3rd floor) is now under construction..

• Cherry On Top - A new drive-thru frozen yogurt shop at 12350 Washington Place is now under construction.

• Multi-Family Design Guidelines - On June 22, the Planning Commission held a study session to review and comment on draft Multi-Family Residential Neighborhood Design Guidelines for the “Gateway Adjacent” neighborhood (bounded by La Salle Avenue to the west; Jasmine Avenue to the east; Culver Boulevard to the north; and La Ballona Creek to the south).

• Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) - Staff is reviewing survey material from SCAG regarding the 2012 Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) planning cycle.

• 9300 Culver Boulevard (Parcel B) - The Agency Board/City Council selected Combined/N3, The Tolkin Group, Runyon Partners, Macerich, and Cardiff/Hudson as the five developers to submit proposals to redevelop Parcel B. The five developers will be issued RFP’s to prepare detailed conceptual plans, submit potential tenants and to provide a pro forma for the project.

• 11042-56 West Washington Boulevard - The Tilden Terrace project advanced through the first round of preliminary recommendations from the Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC). Funding from TCAC is critical to the project and is on track to this point.

Culver City Music Festival - The Culver City Redevelopment Agency will present the 17th Annual Culver City Music Festival in the City Hall Courtyard on Thursday nights at 7 pm from July 7 through August 25. More information is available by calling the Cultural Affairs Hotline at 310-253-5716 or by visiting http://www.culvercity.org. The Festival is produced by Gary Mandell of Boulevard Music with Guest Presenter Jazz Bakery Movable FeaStreet. The 2011 sponsors are Culver City News, Culver City Observer, LA Weekly, Culver City Volvo, Goldrich & Kest Industries, LLC, John Riordan Plumbing, Inc., Kaiser Permanente, KKJZ 88.1 FM, Mark Salkin Real Estate, Sony Pictures Entertainment, The Music Munchers, City Tavern and Rush Street.

• Performing Arts Grant Program - Staff has been working closely with We Tell Stories and the Culver City Public Theatre as they prepare promotional materials for their summer performances. We Tell Stories will present performances on Wednesdays at 2 pm from June 29 through August 10 at the Culver City Julian Dixon Library as part of the County Library’s Summer Reading Program, One World, Many Stories / Un Mundo, Muchas Historias. The June 29 performance will be The Village of Liver and Onions – Tales from the Rootabaga Stories of Carl Sandburg. More information is available by calling 310-559-1676 or by visiting http://www.colapublib.org.

Fire Department

• Hybrid Vehicle Training - Members of the Fire Department recently attended training on emergency operations in and around hybrid vehicles. These new high-tech vehicles pose a variety of challenges for the First Responders as it relates to vehicle fires, vehicle extrications, etc. As vehicle technology continues to evolve, it is imperative that our personnel and equipment carried on the fire apparatus evolve too. This will allow us to perform our job in a more safe and efficient manner.

• Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training - Over the last couple of weeks, members of the Fire Department participated in training community members as CERT volunteers. Training thus far has included the Incident Command System, basic first aid, basic search and rescue techniques, fire extinguisher usage, etc. The group consists of 25 highly motivated members from our community.

• Night Drills - Over the past two weeks, all three shifts have participated in night drills at the Culver City Training Facility. The focus of this particular drill was “defensive operations”, at a large commercial building, utilizing master streams (large amounts of water). These types of drills provide firefighters an opportunity to train in realistic conditions simulating visual challenges as they relate to overhead power wires, access and egress, and overall ability to see the entire fire ground operation.

• West Los Angeles College’s Career Fair - On June 18 members of the Fire Department participated in the West Los Angeles College Career Fair. This was an opportunity to reach out to community members regarding the fire service, the Culver City Fire Department, and answer questions regarding a career in Fire Service.

Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department

• Administration – The Director, in coordination with the Human Resources Department, held a workshop on the proper way to complete employee performance evaluations. Evaluations are a valuable tool in setting goals and assisting employees in working on areas that need improvement, as well as recognizing good work.

• El Marino Park – The El Marino Playground Capital Improvement Project is on schedule and about 50% complete. The demolition, grading, relocation of the underground utilities is underway and some of the equipment has been installed.

• Intergenerational Biography Project - 4th grade students, who are part of LEAP (Learning Enrichment After-School Program), interviewed members of the Culver City Senior Center and then wrote an illustrated biography for each interview subject. The stories were presented to the whole group along with a personalized “memory box” decorated by each student.

Police Department

• K-9 Demonstration at Farragut Elementary - Officers Chauff, Houck and Fairbanks received citizen appreciation letters from the entire kindergarten class of Farragut Elementary School. The officers received individual letters of thanks for a canine demonstration they performed on May 24.

• Community Outreach - Day Watch supervisors met the new Director of Security for the Westfield Culver City. It was an opportunity for members of the Police Department to meet and exchange ideas regarding the mall and working together.

Public Works Department

• City Receives Grant Award – The City was awarded a $566,000 Prop. 84 grant from the Baldwin Hills Conservancy for streetscape, bicycle and pedestrian improvements on Jefferson Boulevard (near Hetzler Road) through the Baldwin Hills Conservancy’s Proposition 84 Grant Program. The grant will be leveraged with funds from the Pedestrian and Bicycling Enhancement Program Capital Improvement Project and Gas Tax money.

• Southern California Edison Rebate - The City is actively pursuing rebates for projects that generate energy savings. On June 8, the City received a $3,000 rebate from Southern California Edison for the Veterans Memorial Auditorium lighting project.

• Alley Maintenance - The Public Works Department has begun its annual alley maintenance program in June. The work includes clearing all alleys citywide of weeds, performing surface grading to smooth out the dirt, filling potholes on asphalt portions, and watering the alleys to minimize dust. The maintenance is scheduled to last for two months.

• Vehicle and Bicycle Detector Testing – The Public Works Department will be testing a new type of wireless vehicle and bicycle detectors called “pucks.” These pucks would replace conventional loop detectors, which sense the presence of motorists and cyclists and adjust signal timing accordingly.

Construction of Braddock Sewer Pump Station - Construction of the Braddock Sewer Pump Station is making good progress. The new wet well has been constructed and new piping installed along with a new emergency generator.

Sepulveda Boulevard Widening Project – Currently underway until the week of July 11, right turns from Jefferson Boulevard or Playa Street onto Sepulveda Boulevard will be prohibited due to the concrete construction at the intersection. .

Transportation Department

• Recognition - Since 2003, the Equipment Maintenance & Fleet Services Division has been participating and competing in a North American fleet certification program to permanently augment operational efficiencies and embrace the philosophy of continuous improvement. There are 38,000 municipal fleets in North America. In 2004, Culver City was named in the Top 100 Fleets for the first time, and in 2005 & 2006 the division was named the 7th Best Fleet in North America with over 5000 municipal fleets participating. In 2007 we continued to be in the top 20 fleets. In 2008, Culver City was named the 12th Best Fleet in North America. In 2009, we placed 5th and in 2010 we were 7th. And, now in 2011, the Division was named the 5th Best Fleet in North America for 2011.

 

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