City Manager's Update

City Manager’s Office

• Cultural Affairs Foundation - The second architectureTALKS fundraiser for Veterans Memorial Auditorium was held on Monday, February 23 at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. The event featured a discussion and tour with renowned architect and founding partner of Ehrlich Architects, Steven Ehrlich, FAIA and his lead project manager on the Kirk Douglas Theatre project, Whitney Wyatt, AIA.

Steven Ehrlich and Whitney Wyatt (with Thomas Small as moderator) describing for the audience the challenges of converting the former Streamline Moderne Culver Theatre into the 300-seat Kirk Douglas Theatre:

A third architectureTALKS event is planned for June 7 and will feature wHY Creative Director Kulapat Yantrasast. Details to follow soon.

Community Development

• Maple Block Meat Co. – A permit has been issued for a new Texas-style BBQ restaurant located at 3973 Sepulveda Boulevard.

• Westfield Culver City – Permits have been issued for two new retail stores, Kids Foot Locker and Adidas.

• Mega Pizza & Grille – A permit has been issued for a new restaurant, located at 11028 Washington Boulevard.

• Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) - The City’s CDBG project submission and request for funding for Fiscal Year 2015/2016 were transmitted to CDBG administration on January 29.

Included below are pictures featuring projects in Culver City that are under construction.

Hayden Avenue project: the “Pterodactyl”. New offices over existing parking structure:

8770 Washington Boulevard mixed use project: “Graystar”.

8850 Washington Boulevard, the “Platform” project. View of the parking structure from Washington Boulevard:

8810 Washington Boulevard, the building at the east end of the “Platform” project.

10202 Washington Boulevard, Sony parking structure expansion:

The completed Sony Studio Support Building on the left, and the Sony Production services Building on the right under construction:

5249 Sepulveda Boulevard, Temple Akiba renovation:

11957 Washington Boulevard, the “Marcasel” mixed use project:

4141 Duquesne Avenue, a new seven unit multifamily project:

Fire Department

• Captain’s Academy - Fire Chief David White participated in the 28th annual Los Angeles Area Fire Chiefs Association (LAAFCA) Captain’s Academy as the main facilitator and presenter. The Academy, held during the week of February 23, is for prospective and new fire captains from agencies throughout Los Angeles County. It provides attendees with the unique opportunity to hear directly from many different fire chiefs on a wide range of topics. This year’s classes focused on leadership, relevant laws, change management, problem solving and customer service. Students also learned about the many current challenges in the fire service and the important role fire captains play in fostering positive outcomes for the communities they serve.

• Simulator Training – Throughout the week of February 16 members of the

Fire Department underwent extensive simulator training provided and funded by the Los Angeles Area Regional Training Group (RTG). The training focused on incident management and command procedures. These training simulations enable participants to develop skills to effectively manage fires, multi-casualty incidents, and hazardous material spills. Personnel learned to effectively assign and control resources, quickly adapt to changing situations, and work seamlessly with other agencies. The RTG consists of, and is a resource for, 31 fire departments in the greater Los Angeles area.

• Ready Culver City - For the past three years the Culver City Fire Department has participated with various City stakeholders in “Ready Culver City,” a community disaster resilience pilot project sponsored and funded through the County of Los Angeles. In an effort to create a disaster resilient Culver City, “Ready Culver City” used its grant funding to offer five free CPR and First Aid training opportunities. Trainings will take place February through May 2015. The trainings were advertised the week of February 2 and three days later all five classes were full.

Parks, Recreation and Community Services

• Veterans Memorial Building and Rental Operation - The Culver City Symphony Orchestra presented its For Young Musicians program in Veterans Memorial Auditorium on February 28.

• Culver City Performing Arts Grant Program - Overtone Industries will present Spontaneous Combustion Choir on March 8 at 3 pm in the Rotunda Room at Veterans Memorial Building. The choir will perform and invite the audience to participate in the collaborative creation of spontaneous music. Singers of all levels are welcomed to join this pay-what-you-can event. More information is available at http://www.overtoneindustries.org.

• Culver City Spring Camp – Just 4 Kids Spring Day Camp registration began for residents on Saturday, February 21. Spring Camp will feature field trips to Mulligans Family Fun Center and always fun-filled trip to Knott’s Berry Farm. Spring Camp will be held for two weeks, March 23 to April 3. Registration will remain open for Spring Camp until March 23 as long as there are spots available. Space is limited!

• Spring Camp Parent Orientation – Spring Camp Parent Orientation will be held on Thursday, March 19 at the Teen Center at 6:30 pm. Parents and campers will be given a 30-minute overview presentation of the upcoming Spring Day Camp. Included will be information on camp rules, camper conduct and discipline policies, field trip rules and the payment schedule for camps.

• Culver City Teen Center – The Culver City Teen Center had a special guest on Wednesday, February 25. Keta Meggett, the founder of “Team Bully Buster,” spoke to the youth. Ms. Meggett started the non-profit organization which provides various outlets to youth who have been victims of bullying. She told her personal story and gave the youth tools to deal with bullying. For more information on the organization, visit http://www.teambullybuster.org/.

• PRCS Giant Egg Hunt - The annual PRCS Giant Egg Hunt, in conjunction with the Culver City Kiwanis Club, will be on Saturday, March 21 at Veterans Memorial Park from 9:45 am to1 pm. This free event features arts and crafts, games, two bunny photo booths - and of course the great egg hunt.

• Kindergarten Students Visit the Senior Center - The annual visit from Culver City’s Willows Community School brightened up the Senior Center on Tuesday, February 17. The kindergarten students recited a poem, introduced themselves to Senior Center members and danced in a Conga line throughout the lunchroom.

• Senior & Social Services Staff Recognition – Senior & Social Services Specialist Darren Uhl received a Citation Award from the Association of Workforce Professionals (IAWP) Los Angeles Chapter for exceptional service to customers and outstanding contributions to the workforce development system during 2014. His nomination now moves forward to the statewide competition, where awards will be presented at a May 1 luncheon in Fresno at the IAWP annual conference.

• Senior Center Nifty Nineties Valentine’s Day Party - Thank you to the volunteers from Sony’s SEAD: Sony Employees of the African Diaspora group for their annual assistance at the Culver City Senior Center Nifty Nineties Valentine’s Day Party. Volunteers from Sony assist annually with age 90+ guests and help in escorting seniors, handing out valentines, serving lunch and socializing with party guests.

• Volunteer Fair at Culver City High School - City staff member Jill Thomsen and Fiesta la Ballona Committee member Randy Arizmendiz attended the second annual Volunteer Fair at Culver City High to recruit volunteers for this year’s Fiesta la Ballona event, to be held August 28-30. Volunteers are the backbone of the Fiesta and without dedicated individuals and groups the Fiesta could not successfully operate. Volunteer sign-ups and information can be found here: http://www.fiestalaballona.org/volunteersignup.aspx.

• Culver City Senior Center Nutrition Program - The Senior Nutrition Program at the Culver City Senior Center received the Silver Thermometer Award for its Home Delivered Meal Program during Fiscal Year 2013-2014.

Police Department

• California Police Chiefs Conference - Captains Ron Iizuka and Allen Azran attended this year’s conference and training symposium hosted by the City of Riverside. This conference included presentations regarding current issues facing California law enforcement.

• Culver City High and the Police Department work together to discuss student safety - On February 26 Lieutenant Jason Sims met with students to discuss the importance of student safety.

Public Works Department

• Sustainability Highlights Tour in Culver City – On Saturday, February 21 a group of CSUN Urban Planning graduate students from California State University Northridge (CSUN) and faculty member Kaizer Rangwala toured sustainable highlights in Culver City.

• Storm Water Treatment Train Project Complete for Ballona Creek and Santa Monica Bay – The City of Culver City has completed a multi-faceted approach to help enhance water quality in Ballona Creek, local beaches, and coastal waters by implementing several projects. Funding for these projects was provided through Proposition 50 funds, which were awarded by the State Water Resources Control Board, as recommended by the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission (SMBRC).

• League of American Bicyclists conducts Site Visit in Culver City – The League of American Bicyclists (League) recognized the City of Culver City with an honorable mention as a Bicycle Friendly City in 2014 and 2012. The City received high marks for the large number of daily bicyclists and the adoption of a Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan.

• Free Bike Events in Culver City – Culver City Walk & Rollers are hosting a few community events through the City’s Safe Routes to School Program:

Bike Safe, Bike Smart Family Workshop

Sunday, March 15. 2 pm to 4

Culver City Middle School (4601 Elenda Street, Culver City)

For more information, visit http://www.ccwalkandroll.com.

o Walk & Rollers Leadership Program Workshop: Saturday, March 7 – The Culver City Walk & Rollers are looking for community members seeking an active role in the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program. There is a workshop for you if you are interested in working with your school’s SRTS Committee, taking a more active role in SRTS event coordination or simply want to better understand more about SRTS.

For more information, visit http://www.ccwalkandroll.com.

• CicLAvia Culver City Meets Venice planned for Sunday, August 9 – The City Council approved a resolution for Culver City to apply for grant funds from Metro to host an open streets event in 2015. Partnering with the City of Los Angeles and CicLAvia, the City submitted a grant application and was successfully awarded $453,600 to host a “CicLAvia – Culver City meets Venice” open streets event. CicLAvia is a non-profit organization that began its events in the City of Los Angeles and have attracted more than 100,000 participants during their open streets event.

The event will take place on Sunday, August 9 from 9 am to 4 pm at no charge to participants.

• Sewer Main Rehabilitation Lining Project Update – Phase 4 of the citywide Sewer Main Rehabilitation Lining Project began in late February. This project consists of approximately 17 miles of sewer main rehabilitation using trenchless lining technology to minimize construction impacts to the public. The overall project duration is February to December 2015.

Typical construction hours are from 8 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday. Occasional nighttime work may be necessary at certain locations.