Culver City Observer -

City Manager's Update

August 2, 2013

City Manager’s Office

· Culver City’s Boulevard Music Summer Festival – On Thursday, August 8, Ricardo Lemvo and Makina Loca brought their Afro-Cuban/Salsa performance to the Summer Festival. Thursday, August 15 will feature the premier Led Zeppelin tribute band Led Zepagain acoustic set with string quartet. The concerts take place in the City Hall Courtyard from 7 pm to 9. These two shows are the final Summer Festival concerts for 2013.

Community Development Department

· Temple Akiba – Plans have been submitted for a tenant improvement - the renovation of existing the synagogue, courtyard, sanctuary offices and restrooms, located at 5249 Sepulveda Boulevard

· Watseka Parking Structure - Staff has been working with downtown businesses to ensure monthly customers in the Watseka Parking Structure have adequate parking, by limiting an amount necessary to address monthly parking demand to the general public.

· Trader Joe’s – Trader Joe’s has decided to extend its lease for another five-year term for their Culver City location.

· Irving Place – The project is approximately 79% complete and within budget. The project is scheduled for completion this month.

Information Technology

· Map Gallery Contest Winner - The IT and Public Works Departments have worked in collaboration over the last year to develop a Storm Drain Map Book. This has proven to be a valuable resource for staff to quickly identify the characteristics and ownership of storm drain pipes and manholes. This effort involved researching every storm drain and manhole to consolidate key information into a centralized online application. On July 8, staff entered Culver City’s Storm Drain Map Book in the Map Gallery Contest at the 2013 Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) International User Conference in San Diego. Culver City was awarded third place in the category of “Best Cartographic Design: Map Series or Atlas – In House Copy”. The ESRI User Conference is the largest gathering of Geographic Information System (GIS) professionals representing 118 countries with over 15,000 attendees. ESRI was founded in 1969 and is the industry leader in supplying GIS software.

Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department

· Senior and Social Services – On Sunday, July 21, the Disability Advisory Committee held its second Annual Disability Film Series event, featuring a screening of the award-winning documentary short, “Phoenix Dance”. The event also included a live dance performance by a Culver City Middle School student who was inspired by the film, as well as a Q&A with filmmaker Karina Epperlein, who flew in from Northern California to participate and interact with the audience and to give insight into her film, the artist process, and to her relationship with the film’s subject, Hector, and Hector’s battle with cancer and his struggle to re-learn to dance after losing a leg to cancer.

The Senior & Social Services Division hosted their third Annual CarFit event on Saturday, July 20, in partnership with AAA and AARP. CarFit is an educational program that offers older adults the opportunity to check how well their personal vehicles “fit” them. The event had a record number of participants (more than 35 in just four hours) who were guided by a team of trained technicians and health professionals to ensure they “fit” their vehicle properly for maximum comfort and safety. Thank you to the volunteers and staff who made this event such a great success.

The Senior Center is offering a new Chair Yoga class on Mondays that began on August 5^t You can perform most yoga postures, breathing techniques, meditation and relaxation from a chair. This class will take place outside on the patio and is open to CCSCA members for a fee of $4 per class.

Are you looking for a volunteer opportunity this summer? Culver City’s Party in the Park, Fiesta la Ballona, is looking for volunteers to help at this fun, outdoor event taking place August 23, 24 & 25. Service credit for school is given and there are a variety of duties and time frames available. If interested, please visit www.fiestalaballona.org/volunteer to fill out an information form.

· Office Staff – Martin Santacruz and Shahrzad Sadrpour have joined the Rental Office for the Veterans Memorial Complex rental operation. Inquiries for rentals at Veterans Memorial Building, the Teen Center and the Senior Center may be made by emailing staff at VMC.Booking@culvercity.org.

· Cultural Affairs – the 2014 Culver City Performing Arts Grant Application is now available on the Arts and Culture page at www.culvercity.org. The Application workshop was held on August 8 in the Uruapan Room at Veterans Memorial Building. The application deadline is September 12. More information is available at www.culvercity.org or by contacting staff at 310-253-5716 or via email at cultural.affairs@culvercity.org.

The Actors’ Gang presents free family performances of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night: The Superhero Edition at Media Park on Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m. through August. More information is available by visiting www.theactorsgang.com. The Actors’ Gang is a recipient of the 2013 Culver City Performing Arts Grant Program.

Police Department

· Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) Colors Run - LASD Academy Class #394 honored the late Lieutenant Curt Massey during the Colors Run on July 23. Several members of the Police Department, retirees, and Curt’s eldest son participated in the four-mile-run that started at the Hermosa Beach Pier, traveled north to Manhattan Beach and then returned to Hermosa. This tradition honors officers who had given their lives in the line of duty. The Culver City Police Department was proud to have Lieutenant Massey memory’s honored by Class #394.

· Two New Police Officers Graduate - The Police Department welcomes two new Police Officers. On August 1 Officers Nick Wells and Adam Penner graduated from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Academy after completing the 18-week training program.

· Culver City Police Department Participates in gun Destruction Program - On July 30 Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca held a press conference in Rancho Cucamonga at the Gerdau Steel Mill for the 20th Annual gun Melt Destruction of Weapons. The weapons were confiscated or exchanged for gift cards during the year. The Culver City Police Department was among 12 law enforcement agencies who participated in the confiscation of the weapons and the gun destruction. The confiscated weapons were melted down and turned into rebar to ultimately be used for new construction.

Public Works

· Sewer Lining Project Update – As part of the $4 million citywide sewer rehabilitation project, the City’s contractor has installed approximately a mile of cured-in-place pipe liner inside existing sewer main along Braddock Drive from Sawtelle Boulevard to Overland Avenue. In the next few weeks, the contractor will perform pressure tests and make pipe tie-ins at each access pit near the Sawtelle Boulevard and Overland Ave intersections. The goal is to complete the project on Braddock Drive before school begins on August 26. Trenchless lining rehabilitation technology will be used to minimize construction impacts to the public. During construction, approximately two to three block segments (at a time) of westbound Braddock Drive will be closed to traffic during working hours. Emergency vehicles and local residents will have access at all times. Please observe all traffic detour signs during construction. All lanes will be open to traffic during non-working hours.

· Washington Place Streetlight Improvement Project, Phase II – This project will replace and upgrade the existing streetlight system along south side Washington Place between McLaughlin Avenue and Albright Avenue. The project consists of replacing conduits, wiring, and 14 existing non-standard concrete streetlights with new 28-foot-high anti-graffiti ‘marbelite’ streetlight standards. New fixtures with energy efficient 250 watt Induction lamps will also be installed.

The project started on June 25 and is scheduled to be completed by end of this month. The contractor has completed the conduit installation and the construction of the new streetlight foundations. The contractor is currently working on installing the pull boxes and electrical wiring. The streetlight poles are scheduled for installation by the middle of August.