City Manager's Update

City Manager’s Office

• Cultural Affairs Foundation Fundraiser - Place your order for pick up or bring your family and friends to Pitfire Artisan Pizza on October 23 from 5 pm to 9 and 10% of the proceeds will benefit the City’s cultural programs, which lost funding when the Culver City Redevelopment Agency was dissolved. The fundraiser is open to the public and does not require reservations. Call (424) 835-4088 or go to http://www.pitfirepizza.com to order takeout or for more information. Pitfire Pizza is located at 12924 West Washington Boulevard.

Community Development Department

• Steelhouse – A permit has been issued for a 16,880 square feet tenant improvement for creative offices at 3644 Eastham Drive.

• Platinum Investment Group – Plans have been approved for a new 13,600 square foot commercial/retail building and 11,000 square feet of rooftop parking at 5450 Sepulveda Boulevard.

• Temple Akiba of Culver City – Plans have been approved for a renovation of the existing synagogue, courtyard, and sanctuary offices at 5249 Sepulveda Boulevard.

• Found Animals Foundation – A permit has been issued for a 9,338 square foot tenant improvement at 4235 Sepulveda Boulevard.

• Transit Oriented Development Projects – Access Culver City located at 8770 Washington Boulevard and “Platform” located at 8810 Washington Boulevard are nearing the construction phase of development. The Platform project, which is a commercial development, is anticipated to start construction within 60 days. Access Culver City (formerly known as Legado Crossings), which is a mixed use development, was recently purchased by Greystar, a nationally known real estate property management, investment and development company. The design of the project is unchanged. Access Culver City is anticipated to start shoring and excavation of the project from mid-October to mid-December, with the building construction to begin after shoring and excavation is complete. The construction hours for both projects will be within the allowed hours of the City’s Municipal Code which is: 8 am to 8 pm Monday through Friday; 10 am to 7 pm on Saturdays; and 10 am to 7 pm on Sundays and national holidays.

• Crush Cancer Event on Parcel B – DogTown Crossfit, in partnership with Stand Up to Cancer, hosted their “Crush Cancer” event on Parcel B on Saturday, October 12th.

• 4043 Irving Place – The project is approximately 88% complete, within budget, and scheduled for completion on October 31.

• Washington/Ince Intersection – Staff has identified a potential safety issue with the east/west pedestrian crosswalk across the north leg of Washington Boulevard at Ince Boulevard resulting from restricted vehicle sightlines and the reconfiguration of Washington Boulevard. In order to mitigate this issue, staff is exploring the removal of this crosswalk pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 21950.5.

• Sepulveda Business District – Over the last three months, Economic Development staff has been meeting with various business owners along Sepulveda Boulevard between Culver Boulevard and Franklin Avenue regarding forming an independent business district. The group has collectively decided to call themselves “Culver Village” to emphasize the variety of businesses in the area and will be working together to implement economic development initiatives and cross promotion such as holiday events and street banners. Their first collaborative effort will be to host a Halloween Candy Crawl on October 31 from 4 pm to 6 when stores will be handing out candy and/or offering promotions. Marketing efforts for this program are currently underway.

Fire Department

• Strategic Planning – The Fire Department has embarked on the Re-Accreditation process, and one of the major components is to develop a new five-year Strategic Plan. In order to ensure that the Strategic Plan reflects the needs and desires of our community, the Fire Department reached out to external stakeholders. On September 24 a large number of community members including business owners, neighborhood group volunteers, service group members, etc. participated in the external stakeholders’ luncheon. The event was held at the Veterans Memorial Building and was an opportunity to gather input from this diverse group. The information obtained will play an important role in the development of the five-year Strategic Plan.

• Probationary Firefighters – On October 7 three new probationary Firefighters began serving the Culver City community. James Alcantara, Matthew Swarbrick, and Brett Nagel completed training at the Culver City Fire Department training tower and have been assigned to a fire apparatus. Their initial training covered a wide variety of topics including: emergency medical services, wildland/vehicle/structural firefighting, hazardous materials responses, electrical emergencies, vehicle extrication, etc. The probationary firefighters will continue their intensive training at their assigned stations along with participating in routine activities such as fire prevention, hydrant servicing, pre-fire planning, public education and emergency responses.

• Public Education – On October 1 members of Engine Company One visited Turning Point School to present the students and staff information about the fire department, Emergency Management Services, and safety.

• IndieCade at Fire Station One – For the fourth year in a row Culver City Fire Station One’s apparatus floor was transformed into a gaming center. From October 4 through 6 the apparatus was moved to the courtyard area allowing artistic and cutting edge independent gamers a chance to display their products to the public. Members from the community were invited to participate in the event by viewing and playing the latest in video games. By Sunday evening, the games were removed and the apparatus floor was transformed back to its’ original use.

• Culver City Firefighters are Once Again Going "PINK" this October - During the month of October, Culver City Firefighters will be wearing pink to honor and support those who are battling breast cancer. This will be the 3rd year for the event. Please contact Tim Carr at timothy.carr@culvercity.org with any questions.

Information Technology

• Culver City Website Survey – The IT Department is preparing to redesign the City’s website and would like you to take a few moments to complete a survey. Your comments regarding the features you like about the current site and what you would like to see changed or improved would be greatly appreciated. Also, you are encouraged to provide an email address, which may be used to contact you to obtain additional comments.

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SENIOR CENTER

The Culver City Senior Center Merry Makers club will host a White Elephant Sale on Monday, October 21 from 9 am to noon. The items for the White Elephant sale are provided by the Merry Makers members and the public. Stop by and see what buried treasure you can find while supporting local service organizations and charities such as Disabled American Veterans, Battered Women’s Shelter run by Bible Tabernacle, Children’s Hospital L.A., Guide Dogs of America, and Disability Services provided at the Senior Center.

FLU CLINIC

The annual Culver City Flu Clinic will be held on Wednesday, October 23 from 9 am to 11 am at the Veterans Memorial Building. The L.A. County Department of Public Health is offering flu vaccines at no charge to people who don’t have health insurance or whose healthcare provider doesn’t offer flu vaccines. The clinic is on a first-come, first-served basis.

• Veterans Memorial Building – The VMB has received a donation of a fine Schafer and Sons Baby Grand Piano. The piano may be rented and used in the Rotunda Room, Lobby and Veterans Memorial Auditorium. More information is available by contacting rental staff at vmc.booking@culvercity.org or 310-253-6625. This donation was made possible by John B. Williams, who is a member of the Cultural Affairs Commission.

Since the start of autumn, the VMB has seen an increase of community meetings, writers groups and theater rehearsals, baby showers, and Bulgarian school dances and festivals. IndieCade’s IndieXchange was a great success at VMB on October 3.

• Aquatics – The Culver City Municipal Plunge will begin a much needed small-scale maintenance and repair project starting Saturday, November 2 with an estimated completion date of Sunday, November 17. During this time the Plunge will be closed. Pool users and renters were notified on September 3 of the planned closure. Staff will be working diligently to ensure timely completion of this project in order to minimize impact on the many Aquatics programs, groups and individuals users. The Plunge will reopen for normal operating hours on Monday, November 18.

The closure of the Plunge is an annual two-week project so the City can make necessary repairs and upgrades that cannot be performed while the Plunge in in operation.

On October 18 Station Films donated two sets of backstroke flags to the Plunge after completing a brief filming event. The PRCS Department would like to thank Paul C. Kruhm for this generous gift. This donation will benefit Plunge participants, renters and the Culver City High Swim Team.

Police Department

• Culver Crest Neighborhood Association - On October 1 the Culver Crest Neighborhood Association held its meeting at El Rincon School. Captain Iizuka discussed current crime trends and disaster preparedness.

• New Police Officer Hired - On October 14 Chief Pedersen swore in Officer David Doski as the newest member of the Police Department.

Public Works

• Expo Construction Notice - As part of the construction of Phase 2 of the Expo Light Rail Line work crews will implement temporary nightly closures of Motor Avenue, between Irene Street and Walavista Road, for bridge falsework removal in the City of Los Angeles. The nightly closures will occur from 9 pm to 6 am Sunday through Thursday, for an approximate two-week period, between Sunday, October 20tand Thursday, November 7.

• Sawtelle Boulevard Traffic Mitigation Improvements –Yellow flashing beacons and speed feedback signs have been installed on southbound Sawtelle Boulevard at McDonald Street and on northbound Sawtelle Boulevard at Culver Park Drive. They will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week and will flash “SLOW DOWN” when a vehicle approaches at an excessive speed.

• Pavement Overlay Project - The 2013 Pavement Overlay Project is underway and is scheduled to be completed by November . This project consists of the removal and replacement of several inches of existing pavement with new rubberized asphalt on the roadways.