City Manager's Update

City Clerk’s Office

• Election Materials - Sample Ballot Booklets and Permanent Vote by Mail Ballots have been mailed for the upcoming 2014 General Municipal Election to be held on Tuesday, April 8. For questions, please call the City Clerk’s Office at (310) 253-5851.

• Voter Registration - The last day to register to vote is Monday, March 24. Voter registration cards are available at the counter of the City Clerk’s Office, located on the First Floor of City Hall (9770 Culver Boulevard, Culver City) during normal business hours (7:30 am to 5:30 pm Monday through Friday – City Hall is closed alternate Fridays.) Voter Registration Cards must be postmarked by March 24 to be valid. You may check your voter registration status by visiting the following link to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s website: https://lavote.net/SECURED/VOTER_REG/.

Community Development Department

• Zack Norman – Plans have been submitted for a new 2,981 square foot, two-story wholesale distribution building located at 5844 Perry Drive.

• The Willows Community School – Work has been completed for a new parking lot, new sports courts, and accessory structures at the school, located at 8476 Warner Drive. In addition, work has been completed for the partial interior and exterior renovation of a multi-purpose room at 8490 Warner Drive.

• Massage Envy – Plans have been submitted for a tenant improvement for a new massage retail store with therapy rooms at 10994 Jefferson Boulevard.

• Anastasi Development, Six Live/Work Units – Work has been completed on six new live/work townhome units adjacent to 33 additional new units within the city of Los Angeles. This project has a common subterranean garage at 13340 Washington Boulevard.

• Green Dinosaur – A permit has been issued for a tenant improvement for Green Dinosaur. Green Dinosaur, located at 8695 Washington Boulevard, is an interdisciplinary firm offering a full range of services designed exclusively for the delivery of efficient, environmentally responsible buildings and developments.

• Wende Museum - The Wende Museum has approached staff to discuss the possibility of placing a temporary art project on Parcel B. The art project is intended to bring attention to the Wende’s new location in the City’s former Armory building adjacent to Veterans Park.

• Fox Hills Business Park – A property owner on Green Valley Circle has met with staff to discuss the conversion of two traditional office buildings into creative office buildings. The conversion will include new exterior facades, landscape, the creation of common areas and tenant improvements. The investment by the property owner and the resulting rents received could encourage other property owners in the area to pursue similar improvements.

• Arts District – Businesses in the Arts District are interested in installing banners on La Cienega Boulevard in both Culver City and Los Angeles. Staff is working with the Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering to determine the appropriate process. Businesses are also pursuing the production of an event on June 21 – in conjunction with the Summer Solstice. The event will include gallery openings and entertainment on private property.

• Parking Structures – Staff will implement the acceptance of credit card payments for parking in the parking structures by the end of April. In addition, staff is working to improve exiting from the Cardiff Parking Structure during peak periods by restriping Cardiff Avenue immediately adjacent to the parking structure and eliminating free parking on Tuesday afternoons in the Cardiff Parking Structure, as it is confusing for customers and no longer needed to accommodate the Farmer’s Market. Staff is working to accommodate 10 Southern California Hospital Culver City employees in City Hall due to the Watseka Parking Structure reaching its maximum capacity around Noon each weekday. Southern California Hospital will be charged the City’s standard monthly parking rate for the use of the City Hall spaces.

• Parcel B – Staff executed a License Agreement with Wondros Production for use of Parcel B as a base camp to produce a Humira television commercial.

• Former Fire Station III – Staff is preparing a draft Purchase and Sale Agreement for review by the buyer for the sale and redevelopment of the property into three single family homes.

• 10745 Cranks Road – On March 10 the City Council approved the Purchase and Sale Agreement for this property. Once the Agreement has been executed, the two parties will open escrow and complete the land sale transaction within 21 days.

• Media Park - Staff is working with a coffee and baked good purveyor named Lamill Coffee, (https://lamillcoffee.com), to negotiate terms of a lease and resolve design issues related to a coffee concession operation in Media Park. Staff will be meeting with City of Los Angeles staff members to discuss details of Lamill’s operation and the forthcoming permitting process.

• Business Assistance - This week, staff searched for 1,000 square feet of available space for lease for a startup business that will focus on acupuncture and holistic services with ancillary retail.

• The Platform – The Runyon Group’s Platform project has added The Cannibal, a beer and butcher focused restaurant.

• Gravlax Opens – A new Scandinavian/Turkish restaurant at 12400 Washington Boulevard opened last week.

• Downtown Business Improvement District (BID) – Staff is working to prepare delinquency notification and collection assignment of delinquent BID assessments.

• Beats – Staff is working with Beats by Dre to compile local merchant/services information for dissemination to its 400 employees, who will relocate to the Hayden Tract in May 2014.

• Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) – Staff is drafting the Annual Report and Program Guidelines required by the CDBG program. Community Development and Public Works are completing a bid solicitation for an upcoming CDBG project pursuant to CDBG guidelines.

Fire Department

• Captain Academy – Assistant Fire Chief Dave White participated in the annual Los Angeles Area Fire Chiefs Association’s (LAAFCA) week-long “Captain Academy” as the facilitator and presenter. This course was designed for prospective and new Captains where they had an opportunity to hear from many different Fire Chiefs throughout LA County on a wide range of topics. The classes focused primarily on the administrative and personnel aspects of the job vs. emergency operations. This was an opportunity for the students to hear directly from Fire Chiefs regarding the many challenges facing fire service operations and the important role Captains play in the outcomes. This was the 27th session put on by the LAACFA. It was well attended and well received by many personnel, including those from the Culver City Fire Department.

• Culver City Unified School District (CCUSD) Earthquake Drill – On February 25 the Culver City Unified School District conducted a district-wide earthquake drill. They concentrated on activating their “site teams” (i.e. security/facility, first aid and search and rescue) using the incident command system and included the following scenarios: missing staff, missing children, facility damage/gas leak and injured staff/students. Engine companies and our Emergency Preparedness Coordinator were invited to observe and provide feedback. The schools did an excellent job evacuating their children in a quiet and safe manner, keeping them occupied while the teams assembled, and then successfully setting up first aid and triage units and deploying their search and rescue teams.

• Station Tour – On January 28 Fire Station #1 hosted a group of approximately 15 children and 15 adults. The children were between the ages of 2-4 years old. The youth were provided demonstrations, had the opportunity to view the apparatus and equipment, and were taught some basic fire safety skills. They were also provided plastic helmets, workbooks (for coloring), and stickers. The Captain noted that everyone had a good time, including the firefighters. He also include some comments from the group; “Best field trip ever”; “Thanks for all you do”; and “I even learned something”.

• Culver Crest Emergency Preparedness - During the past year, residents of Culver Crest, and particularly the Culver Crest Neighborhood Association (CCNA), have been meeting to work together as neighbors to create a disaster plan for their neighborhood. They have assembled teams, have signed up for CERT training, have partnered with Marycrest Manor and this year, are setting goals to make sure that 1) all neighbors get to know one another; 2) that they coordinate their disaster planning efforts with CERT; and 3) that they enjoy an annual celebration of preparedness that includes community outreach and the practice of their disaster plans. They also are working on purchasing radios and the benefits of a group purchasing programs such as 55 gallon water storage barrels with purification and other community needed supplies.

Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department

• On Monday, March 24 at 1 pm the Senior Center will present “Depression – Is It the Blues or Something More Serious?” Nursing Supervisor Anne Marie Zamora will explain the causes of depression, common symptoms, treatment, statistics and how cultural differences may influence how people react to stress and trauma. All of our educational workshops are open to the public age 50 and older.

• Home Delivered Meal Program Drivers Needed - The Culver City Senior Center is seeking dedicated home delivered meals drivers. Drivers use their own car, report to the Senior Center at 10:15 am and are done by 1 pm at the latest. The needs are on weekdays Monday through Friday. Please contact Jill Thomsen at (310) 253-6722 or via email at jill.thomsen@culvercity.org if you are interested.

• Smarter Senior Forum - The County of Los Angeles Department of Consumer Affairs presents a “Smarter Senior Forum” on Tuesday, March 25 from 1 pm to 3 at the Culver City Senior Center. Listen to presentations on issues such as: Spotting and Avoiding Common Consumer Scams; Recognizing Signs of Physical, Emotional and Financial Elder Abuse; Learning to Protect Yourself when Hiring a Contractor; Long Term Care Facilities; and How to Make Your Own Health Care Decisions. This forum is free and open to the public.

Police Department

• Culver Crest Neighborhood Association: On March 5 the Culver Crest Neighborhood Association held its meeting at El Rincon School. Lieutenant Allen Azran met with the group and discussed current crime trends in this area.

• Sister City Kaizuka, Japan: On March 11 the Police Department met with the two representatives from Kaizuka who ran in this year’s Los Angeles Marathon. They were given a tour of the Police Department and met members of the Department.

• Officer Recruitment - On March 11 members from the Department’s Personnel and Training section traveled to Fort Irwin to participate in a job fair to help recruit potential police officers.

• Coffee with a Cop: On April 16 the Police Department will host its second Coffee with a Cop event at The Culver Hotel. The event will begin at 8 am and end at 10 am.

Public Works

• Parkway Ordinance Review Community Meeting and Survey - The Public Works Department is seeking community input on the development of a new Ordinance governing what can be planted and placed in the public street parkways.

.

• Public Works Receives a Free Pedestrian Safety Assessment Study – Through collaboration with University of California, Berkeley, the Public Works Department was selected to receive assistance with a Pedestrian Safety assessment. The assessment will include gathering existing data, conducting a field study and providing the City with recommendations.

• Incentive Rebate Check for Watseka Parking Structure – The Maintenance Operations Division received an incentive check from Southern California Edison for $10,211.87 for the lighting upgrade project at Watseka Parking Structure that was completed last December.

• Environmental Program & Operations (EPO) provides Free Workshops for Residents - PW-EPO with community partners continues to provide free workshops to residents throughout the year on conservation education on a variety of sustainable topics including water conservation.

Saturday, April 5 10 am to 1 pm.

California Friendly Landscape Training (CFLT) (310) 371-4633 to register or visit http://www.SBESC.com for more information.

Saturday April 19 – 9:30 am to11 am

Smart Gardening Advance Workshop