Culver City Observer -

August 3, 2012

City Clerk’s Office

· Special Municipal Election – The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will be considering the City’s request to consolidate the Special Municipal Election with the Statewide (Presidential) General Election at its meeting of August 7, 2012. As the City Council is aware, at that election Culver City voters will be considering Measure Y – Imposition of a one-half cent local sales tax (which automatically expires after 10 years). The City Manager will be including information about Measure Y in future editions of this report. Also, shortly additional information on Measure Y will be available on the City’s website – www.culvercity.org.

· City Clerk’s Office – Members of the Culver City Community can now view all of the City’s public notices at www.culvercity.org and clicking on “Public Notices” under Announcements in the upper left corner of the home page. This link will be replaced by a larger banner link soon.

Community Development Department

• Tender Greens – Plans have been approved for a tenant improvement to this restaurant, located at 9523 Culver Boulevard.
• Zinga – Plans have been submitted for a new yogurt shop at 4114 Sepulveda Boulevard.
• eSALON – Plans have been submitted for a 10,500 square foot tenant improvement at 10361-10371 Jefferson Boulevard.
• Thai Dishes – Plans have been submitted for a new restaurant at 12404 Washington Boulevard.
• Westfield Culver City – The Children’s Place has submitted plans to open a new children’s clothing store.
• Menchie’s – Plans have been submitted for this new yogurt shop at 3849 Main Street.
• XAP – Plans have been submitted for a 12,675 square foot office tenant improvement at 100 Corporate Pointe.
• 4043 Irving Place – This mixed-use project, currently under construction, is a three-story building containing 28 units, with 12 affordable units, above a single-level subterranean parking garage. There is approximately 1,500 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. The project is 24% complete and is on schedule and on budget. The scheduled completion date is April 2013.
• Washington/Centinela – Regency Centers announced that the vehicle trip and parking study to determine the impacts of including a Trader Joe’s store in the Market Hall project will be completed in 2-3 weeks.
• Parcel B – Staff met with Combined/Hudson to review various designs for the Access Road that separates Parcel B from Culver Studios and to continue negotiation of the terms and conditions of a parking license for their use of the Ince Parking Structure for the project.

Fire Department

· Wildland Refresher Training – With the Southern California wildland fire season quickly approaching, Culver City Firefighters are once again preparing. Over the past couple of weeks fire personnel have been participating in the required annual wildland firefighting refresher training. The training consists of a variety of individual, company, and multi-company evolutions. The focus of the training includes the latest techniques being deployed for structure protection; progressive hose lays; cutting fire line; weather readings/predictions; fire behavior; and firefighter safety and survival to name a few. Each year Culver City Firefighters respond to brush fires not only in Culver City but, throughout the State as part of the State’s Master Mutual Aid System. The training required is extremely technical in nature and requires an instructor who possesses the proper knowledge, skills, and abilities. Culver City is fortunate in that Captain Brian Savage is not only a member of our Department, but he is also a Division Supervisor for a “National” Type I Incident Management Team with more than fifteen years of wildland experience. Captain Savage shares his vast experience and knowledge in wildland firefighting by conducting this annual refresher training with all members or the organization. Wildland firefighting is one of the most dynamic and potentially dangerous operations for the Fire Department. Therefore, not only is the annual training invaluable, but it is also an important cornerstone to the other on-going wildland training our members receive.

Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department

· Parks – New shade structures have been delivered, and the Parks Division is currently coordinating with the contractor to set an installation date, with the goal of completion by mid-August.

· Recreation – The Teen Center staff is gearing up for another school year. Registration begins August 1^st and can be done online using the new software system, ActiveNet. The link will be provided to customers on August 1^st via the City’s website. The Teen Center will open on Tuesday, September 4^th, the first day of school. Staff is ready for another fun-filled year that will include the Youth Empowerment Volunteer Group for high school Students, monthly themed parties, and homework help programs held in partnership with the UCLA Bruins Corps.

Week 6 of Teen Camp is underway, including a trip to Disneyland’s California Adventure, cooking projects, and a trip to a local beach. Youth will also get to work on their directing skills as they prepare 3-minute skits about their teen camp experience and challenge themselves at the Fulcrum Ropes Course, located at Culver City Park.

Just4Kids Camp continues to keep younger campers engaged with trips to Magic Mountain, Knott’s Berry Farm and Raging Waters, as well as play events like NFL Punt, Pass & Kick Competition and the Glow in the Dark Imaginarium.

Ten students have been successfully placed in various City Departments through the Youth Mentoring Program, allowing them to gain meaningful employment during the summer. The program continues to be a valuable resource for the City and the participants. Staff will continue to research new and existing grants that will allow the program to continue in the coming years.

Enrollment is currently underway for the Culver City After School Recreation Program (CCARP). For more information, visit the City’s website at www.culvercity.org.

Culver West Alexander Park had 123 participants take part in the drop-in programs for the month of July. The tennis program had 89 participants and there were 34 participants for the arts and crafts program. Fox Hills had 53 participants in its drop-in programs, with Lindberg Park having 61 participants in July.

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Committee has begun planning the next annual Dr. King event. Details will follow as the January 2013 date approaches.

The Musical Theater Summer Camp program concluded Session 1 with a production of the youth version of the Broadway hit musical “Fame.” The four-week session had 49 children enrolled. Session 2 began on August 1 and runs four weeks, with the children working on a production of Disney’s “Mulan” as a junior musical. The Children’s Musical Theater Workshop is offered by Dee-Lightful Productions, under Director Dolores Aguanno, and is held at the Veterans Memorial Building.

The PRCS Department is once again offering Coast 2 Coast Soccer Camp, now entering its 8^th year. This program offers children a unique cross cultural experience, learning soccer with instructors from Ireland and the UK. The program takes place at Blanco Park on Mondays through Fridays from 9 am – 3 pm for three non-consecutive weeks with an average of 25 participants per week. For more information, please contact the Recreation Office at (310) 253-6650.

Culver City lifeguards placed 5^th at the annual Southern California Public Pool Operators Association competition, held on July 29. The afternoon events included a 200 individual medley relay, a brick tow, a dummy tow, and inner-tube and t-shirt relays. Culver City lifeguards swam alongside 290 of the best-trained lifesaving professionals in Southern California and participated with great effort, enthusiasm and teamwork.

The Culver City Plunge was the site of the 3^rd Annual Los Angeles Apnea Challenge during the weekend of August 4 – 5. The event is organized by Dee Dee Flores and Carla Sue Hanson and is sanctioned by the USA Freediving and AIDA International (Association International pour le Development de l’Apnea.) Freediving is a sport based on breath-hold in which athletes hold their breath while floating motionless as long as they can (static apnea), swim just beneath the surface using a fin for propulsion for as many laps as they can (dynamic apnea with fin), or swim underwater without the aid of a fin (dynamic apnea no-fins.) Strict safety supervision is employed during all events. The competition is open to all freedivers and is expected to attract not only athletes from Southern California, but also athletes from Northern California, Arizona, Hawaii, Serbia, Mexico and Chile.

· Senior and Social Services – CarFit was successfully held at the Culver City Senior Center on Saturday, July 28 . CarFit is an educational program that targets mature drivers 55 and older. A trained Occupational Therapist, OT Assistants and volunteers provided a 20-minute 12-pount check to ensure that each driver “fits” their car properly for maximum comfort and safety. The sold-out event was free to Senior Center members and co-sponsored by AAA, AARP and the Culver City Senior Citizens’ Association.

The pilot City Hall Corps program is in action. Skilled volunteers have been partnered with various City departments to offer an extra hand with projects, customer services and responding to the needs of our community. If you are a City staffer in need of assistance or a community member who would like to be considered as a volunteer in the future, please email the Senior Center’s Jill Thomsen at jill.thomsen@culvercity.org or call her at 310-253-6722.

Registration for the next session of computer classes at the Culver City Senior Center begins on August 14 at 10 am. Classes include Beginning Computers, Email and Internet, and Digital Cameras. Our low-cost classes are available to Senior Center members and are all taught by volunteer instructors. For more information about computer classes at the Center contact Richard Marr at richard.marr@culvercity.org.

A Fall Prevention workshop was held at the Culver City Senior Center on Wednesday, August 8. Presented by Jiin Kim, UCLA Health System Physical Therapist, this informational session is open to members of the public.

Public Works Department

· Ballona Creek Bike Path Wayfinding– Public Works Department crews began installing street name signs on the bridges that are over the Ballona Creek Bike Path within the City limits. These signs will face the bike path on both sides and will allow bike path users to identify the respective bridges, which include: Sepulveda Boulevard (east side only), Overland Avenue, Duquesne Avenue, and Higuera Street. Once installation of the street name signs has been completed, stencil markings will be placed along the bike path at various locations to identify specific points. These locations will include 4496 Jasmine Avenue (behind Jasmine Pump Station), Jackson Street, and Ince Boulevard. This will allow users to identify their location along the bike path if they are unable to view the newly installed street name signs at the bridges.

· Tree Planting - The Public Works Department recently oversaw the planting of 25 street trees at various locations citywide. The plantings were part of the citywide quarterly tree planting cycle. They replaced street trees that had been removed and filled other empty parkway locations.