John M. Nachbar, City Manager March 10, 2017
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John M. Nachbar, City Manager March 10, 2017 City Manager's Bi-Weekly Update to the City Council City Manager’s Office Culver City Celebrates the Opening of Innovative Parking Garage On March 10th, Mayor Jim B. Clarke participated in the Ribbon Cutting for the new automated parking garage in the Helms Bakery District, located at 8758 Venice Boulevard. This project was constructed by AUTOParkit. To access the garage, drivers enter through a traditional garage door, turn off their car, and walk a few short steps to a kiosk where they activate the AUTOParkit System. Then the driver’s car is safely whisked away by an industrial, commercially adapted high tech system. There are no attendants required with an AUTOParkit System which is self-monitored with notifications on performance, sent electronically via email, text or automated call. (L-R: Los Angeles City Council Member Bob Blumenfield; Warren, Ohio Mayor William Franklin; Property Owner Wally Marks; Christopher Alan, Founder of AUTOParkit; Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson; Los Angeles City Council Member Marqueece Harris-Dawson; Mayor Jim B. Clarke; and Assembly Member Richard Bloom. City Council Members Sahli-Wells and Small Participate in USC Executive Education Forum City Council Members Meghan Sahli-Wells and Thomas Small completed Executive Education Forum for Policy (EXED) for Local Leaders at the University of Southern Page 1 of 13 John M. Nachbar, City Manager March 10, 2017 California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy (USC Price) on March 4th and 5th. This program provides a balanced approach to learning in an academic setting. EXED is designed for Local Leaders to deepen their understanding of substantive policy issues, augment their ability to leverage and increase existing public sector capacity, and foster leadership — all with the purpose of improving public administration and solving public problems. EXED achieves this by bringing together world-renowned faculty of USC Price, experienced practitioners and a dynamic curriculum to teach and reach across boundaries. Council Members Small and Sahli-Wells are pictured below with their certificates! Page 2 of 13 John M. Nachbar, City Manager March 10, 2017 City Council Member Eriksson Addresses Swedish Women’s Group On March 8th, as part of International Women's Day, Council Member Göran Eriksson spoke at the Los Angeles Chapter of the Swedish Women's Educational Association International, Inc. about how to run for office, what a Council Member does and how a city like Culver City operates. CicLAvia - Culver City Meets Venice presented by Metro CicLAvia heads back to one of its fan-favorite routes for the first event of 2017! On March 26th, Culver City, Mar Vista, and Venice will host the country’s largest open streets event! Streets will be closed to cars and open for cyclists, pedestrians, runners and skaters to use as a recreational space. The CicLAvia press event will take place at 8:30 am at the intersection of Main Street and Culver Boulevard in Downtown Culver City. Join us and pick up your free commemorative "CicLAvia is for neighbors" button! There’s more information in this report about the route, and feel free to visit the CicLAvia website to learn more! Page 3 of 13 John M. Nachbar, City Manager March 10, 2017 Fire Department Daylight Saving Time and Smoke Alarm Testing Change your clocks and test your smoke alarms this weekend. Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday, March 12th. The Culver City Fire Department recommends testing your smoke alarms around the time you set your clocks ahead and at least once per month. Please visit the Department’s web page at www.culvercity.org/fire to learn more about smoke alarm testing and other fire safety tips. Captain’s Academy Fire Chief David White participated in the 30th 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 27th, is intended 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. CERT Refresher Skills Training The Culver City Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) will start Refresher Skills Training for Current CERT Members this Saturday at the Culver City Fire Department Training Facility. If you are interested in “refreshing” your CERT skills, there is still space available for this Saturday and subsequent Saturdays. Check out the Culver City CERT website for details. Interested in beginning CERT classes? Two Basic CERT Training courses will be offered in June and October 2017. Page 4 of 13 John M. Nachbar, City Manager March 10, 2017 Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department Culver City Senior Center Pet Adoption Event A special pet-adoption event, organized by Girl Scouts Melanie Marx and Hermela Amanuel of Troop 1615, took place at the Senior Center on February 20th. Seniors were able to pet and adopt dogs and cats and learn about the health benefits of pets. Melanie and Hermela are earning their Silver Award and planned this event with The Michaelson Found Animals Foundation and Adopt & Shop Culver City. KABC-TV Channel 7 stopped by to cover the event. Thank you to the staff and volunteers who helped make this fun event a success. Culver City Senior Center Healthcare Instruction Workshop The Senior Center, in partnership with UCLA Health, will present a workshop entitled “Communicating Your Healthcare Instructions,” on Wednesday, May 24th. Participants will learn how to communicate their health care instructions to family and friends, how to appoint someone as a surrogate decision maker and how to review health care decision- making documents. The events will take place from 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm. Reservations may be made by calling 800-516-5323. All informational workshops at the Senior Center Page 5 of 13 John M. Nachbar, City Manager March 10, 2017 are open to members of the public aged 50-plus. Culver City Senior Center and Social Services Division Tax-Aide Assistance The Culver City Senior and Social Services Division continues its partnership with the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide for another year, offering free tax aide to the local community. This partnership has been going strong for over 20 years in Culver City. The program provides free income tax preparation to low and moderate income taxpayers with special assistance to those aged 50-plus. AARP Foundation Tax-Aide is the nation’s largest volunteer-run tax assistance and preparation service, preparing tax returns and answering tax questions free of charge throughout the country. AARP Foundation Tax- Aide is offered in conjunction with the IRS. In 2016, AARP Foundation Tax-Aide prepared over 600 returns for Culver City area residents and is already fully booked for appointments for 2017. Thank you to the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide for this partnership! The Plunge Welcomes a New Aquatics Coordinator The Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services is happy to announce the hiring of Jeannine Houchen as the new Aquatics Coordinator. Jeannine has been involved in Aquatics for over 25 years, beginning her career with the City of Santa Monica in 1992 where she began as a lifeguard and later became an Aquatics Site Supervisor in 2006. Jeannine’s duties at Culver City will include the day to day operations of the Culver City Municipal Plunge, recruitment, hiring, scheduling, certifying staff and managing payroll for a staff of nearly 60 Plunge employees. She inherits a group of outstanding aquatic professionals who continue to make The Plunge one of the top-rated municipal pools in Southern California. Police Department Culver City Centennial Screenland 5K The Police Department played an important public safety role in the February 26 Screenland 5K event on February 26th. Additionally, Captain Agaiby, Lieutenant Dunlap and several members from the Police Department cheered on and supported Officer Ruben Silva who ran the Culver City Centennial Screenland 5K in full tactical uniform in memory of slain Whittier Police Officer Keith Boyer. Officer Silva displayed true esprit de Page 6 of 13 John M. Nachbar, City Manager March 10, 2017 corps for a fallen brother officer and did an excellent job of completing the race. Funeral Services for Slain Whittier Police Officer Keith Boyer On Friday, March 3rd, Chief Bixby, Assistant Chief Iizuka and numerous members of the Police Department attended the funeral services for slain Whittier Police Officer Keith Boyer. The 27 year veteran of the Whittier Police Department was fatally shot on February 20th by a lone gunman while responding to a traffic collision. The service was held at the Calvary Chapel in Downey and was attended by approximately 2,000 officers from all over California, as well as from across the country. Officer Boyer was laid to rest at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier. Page 7 of 13 John M. Nachbar, City Manager March 10, 2017 Public Works Department Lighting Upgrades for City Facilities through SoCal Edison’s Direct Install Program Through Southern California Edison’s Direct Install Program, several City facilities have qualified for lighting upgrades free of charge to the City. The upgrade will consist of replacing existing fluorescent lamps (28 watts/5,000 Kelvin) to more energy efficient LED lamps (13 watts/5,000 Kelvin). The work began on March 1st and is anticipated to be completed by Friday March 10th. The qualified facilities include: Public Services Building, Transfer Station, Fire Training Facility, Municipal Plunge, Blanco Park, El Marino Park, Carlson Park, Culver West Park, Lindberg Park, Transportation, the Police Station, all Fire Stations including the E.O.C., Senior Center, Teen Center and Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium. OES/FEMA Approves Hazard Mitigation Plan The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have approved the City/CCUSD Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP).