City Manager's Update

 

January 24, 2013



January 22, 2013

City Clerk’s Office

· Recruitments - The application period for the Finance Advisory Committee closed on January 17. There were 23 applications. The City Council is expected to consider appointments at a meeting in February.

Community Development Department

· Irving Place – The project is approximately 49% complete and should be complete in May 2013.

West side of the building:

Abraxis Bioscience at 9920 Jefferson Boulevard, "front" remodel of building on Jefferson Blvd.:

The uphill side of the new "rear" building:

· Tilden Terrace – As of January 9 the project was 59.9% complete with a completion date projected for May 31, 2013. City staff will work with the Developer, Los Angeles Housing Partnership, to initiate the tenant outreach and application process in February. .

Tilden Terrace project at 11042 Washington Boulevard:

Culver Crossroads: The Sepulveda side of the remodeled building at 4114 Sepulveda:

The Washington/Glencoe mixed use building at 13365 Washington Blvd.:

· Globe Avenue Project- CDD staff received notification from the State Department of Finance on Friday, December 28, 2012 regarding the Meet and Confer for the Globe Avenue Project. The Meet and Confer is scheduled for January 23, 2013 in Sacramento for final determination on the Globe land transfer.

· 2013 Winter Shelter Program (WSP) – The City of Culver City no longer provides a location for the WSP. Notices have been posted at the former Armory building, Veterans Memorial Building and the Senior Center informing homeless persons of other WSP shelter locations and the bus pick-up locations. The only WSP shelter located on the Westside is at the Veterans Administration campus. The Culver City Police Department and Park Patrol also distribute this information to those who need services.

· 2013 Homeless Count – The 2013 Homeless Count is scheduled for Wednesday, January 30 from 8 pm to midnight. The deployment location is the Senior Center. The Committee on Homelessness has formed a subcommittee that is responsible for coordinating this event. To date, 44 volunteers have signed-up on the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) website to assist Culver City. Volunteers from Culver City High, Temple Akiba, Saint Joseph Center, the Rotary Club, the Exchange Club, SHARE, and Wende Museum have also agreed to volunteer for the Count. Donations of refreshments have been secured from Tubbs Chili, Tito’s Tacos, Copenhagen Bakery, Season Greetings, and Ed Little.

· Affordable Housing Conference – The City Council and Assemblymember Holly Mitchell have initiated a roundtable discussion on affordable housing. This event is scheduled for Friday, February 8, from 9 am to noon. Six panelists with expertise and experience in lending, affordable housing development and for-profit development are confirmed to participate.

· Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) Program – The State of California has released a Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) for the ESG program.

· Trader Joe’s – Construction of a pallet storage room in the city’s Ince Parking Structure has been completed.

· Smashburger – This Denver chain has opened a location at 10704 Venice Boulevard in the Culver Center. An official ribbon cutting with the Chamber of Commerce was held on January 9.

· Jersey Mike’s – The chain, which offers up freshly sliced and grilled East Coast-style subs held a grand opening and sub fundraiser from January 9 through 13 to support the Culver City Teen Center.

Fire Department

· New Recruit Firefighters – On January 14 four new Recruit Firefighters began their training at the Culver City Fire Training Tower. The tower exercise will consist of eight weeks of intensive training on a variety of skills such as: the proper donning and usage of personal protective equipment; hose and ladder evolutions; building construction and roof ventilation; ropes/knots/rappelling; and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) skills/techniques, etc. When the candidates successfully complete the training tower exercises they will be assigned to a Fire Company where they will continue to train and be evaluated throughout their one-year probationary period.

· Promotions – On January 14 the following personnel were promoted to Fire Captain; Fire Engineer John Bohning; Fire Engineer Jeremy DeBie; Fire Engineer Kevin Shin; and Firefighter/Paramedic Tim Sullivan. Also being promoted is Firefighter/Paramedic Jake Hodges to Fire Engineer. All of the personnel being promoted participated in a very competitive Civil Service promotional process.

Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department

· Culver City Events – The L.A. Lights Tournament of Champions, presented by the Los Angeles School of Gymnastics and partially sponsored by the City’s Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, will occur January 26 – 27. For more information, visit www.lalightsmeet.com or call (310) 204-1980.

The Culver City Senior and Social Services Division will host the third annual Community Conversations series, a free three part informational series designed help you and your parents plan and prepare for happy and healthy aging and featuring three topics: Saturday, February 16: Take That Nursing Home And Shove It!; Saturday March 16: Retiring the Keys: When Should You Stop Driving?; and Saturday April 20: Never Too Old to Play! The events will be held at the Culver City Veterans Memorial Building located at 4117 Overland Avenue from 10 am to:30 and will feature expert keynote speakers and local resource representatives.

The Culver City Senior Center, in partnership with Symantec, is entering its fifth year for a unique program. Thanks to dedicated volunteer staff from Symantec, the Center hosts a quarterly “iNeed Help with My Gadget Workshop” to assist seniors one-on-one with their technology questions. A special Saturday workshop will be held January 26 from 12:30 pm to 2:30 and is open to Senior Center members only. For information about this program contact Jill Thomsen at (310) 253-6722 or jill.thomsen@culvercity.org.

The Culver City Senior Center offers two loss support groups each week that provide a safe, confidential place to grieve the loss of a loved one and an opportunity to address one’s own emotional needs. Members in need may drop in at one of the meetings: Mondays 1:30 pm to 3 and Wednesdays 10 am to11:30 For more information about these and other support groups offered, please contact Darren Uhl at (310) 253-6724 or darren.uhl@culvercity.org.

Membership for 2013 is underway at the Culver City Senior Center. A $13 annual fee (parking fee & gym membership are additional fees) to the Culver City Senior Citizens’ Association gives you access to hundreds of classes, workshops, seminars and services every month. Weekend registration is now available: The Center is open on Saturdays and Sundays noon to 4 pm.

Police Department

· Culver City Police Department Awards Ceremony - On January 9 the Police Department held its annual awards ceremony. The awards were presented by Chief Don Pedersen and the Command Staff to members of the Department for their outstanding service to the City.

The following employees received awards:

1. Officer of the Year: Roy Lopez

2. Civilian of the Year: Administrative Secretary Dianne Gifford

3. David Shaby Award: Officer Allen Shepherd

4. Distinguished Service Award: Lieutenant Allen Azran and Sergeant Pete Hernandez

5. Sustained Superiority: Records Clerk Griselda Campos, Officer Robert Garrido, Property Room Technician Nicole Muller, Detective Kirk Newman and Officer Jim Raetz.

6. Special Recognition: Sergeant Emery Eccles, Parking Enforcement Officer Maurilio Gamboa, Officer Ivan Hernandez, Lieutenant Ron Iizuka, Officer Mike Poulin, Detective Erick Shimabukuro, Sergeant Jason Sims and Detective Mitch Weissman.

· The Culver City Democratic Club Forum - The Culver City Democratic Club held a meeting at Veterans Memorial Auditorium on January 9 to discuss safety in local schools. The meeting was attended by Chief Pedersen and Lieutenant Iizuka.

Public Works Department

· Successful E-waste Disposal Event and More to Come – In response to the needs of our Culver City community, Public Works’ Environmental Programs and Operations Division, California Recycles, Inc. and Exceptional Children’s Foundation hosted an Electronic Waste Roundup on January 12. Similar to the Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) events held by Los Angeles County, this event provided an opportunity for Culver City residents and businesses to drop-off end of life or obsolete electronic waste free of charge. Over 7,800 pounds of televisions, computers, and assorted electronic equipment were collected during the event.

If you missed this successful event, there are two more scheduled for later in the year (Saturday, May 11 and Saturday, September 14 from 9:30 am to 2 pm). For more information, please contact Refuse and Recycling Customer Service at (310) 253-6400 or visit the website at www.culvercity.org.

· Energy Efficiency and Environmental Recognition for the City - The City was recognized for its energy efficiency and environmental work with two presentations at the January 14 City Council meeting.

In the first presentation, Southern California Edison (SCE) gave the City an award to recognize the City for reaching the Silver status in SCE’s Energy Leader Partnership Program. .

· Culver City Bicycle Coalition’s Safe Routes to School Meeting - The Culver City Bicycle Coalition held a meeting on January 16 and invited Public Works Department/Engineering Division staff, among others, to make a presentation to their group on the topic of Safe Routes to School. During the meeting, staff reviewed the grant-funded, proposed physical improvement plan around Linwood Howe Elementary School, and discussed modifications to the original plan.

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· Light Rail Construction - The relocation of existing on-street and underground utilities is necessary for construction of the National/Palms bridge structure and station. This work is being conducted by the Expo Line’s contractor on behalf of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

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