Meeting In Sacramento Produces Results
Mayor Andrew Weissman may have felt himself to be in a bit of a daze when he was seated at Monday’s City Council meeting. He had just returned from Sacramento, where, accompanied by City Manager John Nachbar and Community Development Director Sol Blumenfeld, he met with the State Department of Finance’s budget subcommittee to talk about how the “winding down” of Redevelopment Agencies was affecting Culver City.
Reporting on the subcommittee meeting, Weissman said that because of the dissolution of redevelopment and the state’s slowness to take action on projects in the works, “It’s ludicrous that we are unable to move forward with projects like Parcel B [at Culver Boulevard in the downtown area] and Globe Avenue Properties [ an affordable housing project].”
But there is some good news. Thanks to the city officials’ visit: “They reversed their decision on the Globe project and we are now able go forward with it,” said Weissman.
This segued neatly into the Council’s main topic for the evening: the filing of a report on Culver City’s efforts to create an economic development strategy, with outreach to residents and to the Culver City Unified School District.
Todd Tipton of Community Development gave a brief staff report about the outreach that had been done with city businesses. This included a “leakage analysis” of businesses at risk for leaving the community. He said that staff recommended that outreach meetings be conducted with residents and that the Council should create a list of participants who would be good for input into strategy.
“We had suggested three or four candidates to attend the meeting,” added Blumenfeld. “But in the event that you get more than four candidates, you might consider convening two meetings.”
Council member Jim Clarke agreed. “I have already been contacted by 27 people [who want to be in the meetings].”
Steven Murray commented that the city needs to attract businesses through having high-speed Internet connectivity. He suggested that Culver City become a “gigabyte” city, that is, offer Internet at gigabyte speed.
“Fiber-optics is desirable for businesses, especially in the Hayden Tract and Fox Hills,” said Weissman. “We are working on it.”
The meeting (or meetings) for outreach will be scheduled at some time in the near future.
The Council also held two presentations of recognition.
First, students in the El Marino Language Exchange Program received certificates. The Language Exchange program involves students in El Marino’s Spanish immersion program and students at the Colegio La Palma in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.
Dave Stewart, coordinator for the Exchange Program, explained: “For 25 years, we’ve been sending children from El Marino to Guadalajara for a month-long cultural exchange. They live in family homes for one month and experience the best Mexico has to offer.”
Students from Colegio La Palma likewise spend a month with families in Culver City.
Students from both schools trooped up to the “well” in front of the council dais and received their certificates from the Council, after which they posed for photos, amidst jokes that “you will have to get used to the paparazzi.”
Michelle Weiner and Lindsay Gorbach were cited by the City for, and gave a presentation about, V-Day, an international day of awareness about violence against women, which will be happening on Valentine’s Day, February 14.
Noting that one in three women will experience some form of violence in her lifetime, according to United Nations statistics, Gorbach announced that the theme of this year’s V-Day is “One Billion Rising.” The goal of V-Day is to see one billion people take a stand, speak to others, and pledge to help end violence against women and girls.
Locally, the action will include “flash mobs” breaking out in dance all over the Los Angeles area—including the courtyard of Culver City Hall at 2:14 p.m.
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