1 THESE MINUTES ARE NOT OFFICIAL
UNTIL APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL,
CULVER CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY BOARD,
CULVER CITY PARKING AUTHORITY,
AND SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE CULVER CITY
REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY BOARD
REGULAR MEETING OF THE May 21, 2024
CITY COUNCIL, CULVER CITY 3:00 p.m.
HOUSING AUTHORITY BOARD,
CULVER CITY PARKING AUTHORITY, AND
SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE CULVER CITY
REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY BOARD
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA
Call to Order & Roll Call
Mayor McMorrin called the regular meeting of the City Council, Culver City Housing Authority Board, Culver City Parking Authority, and Successor Agency to the Culver City Redevelopment Agency Board to order at 3:02 p.m. in the Mike Balkman Chambers at City Hall.
Present: Yasmine-Imani McMorrin, Mayor
Dan O’Brien, Vice Mayor
Göran Eriksson, Council Member
Freddy Puza, Council Member
Albert Vera, Council Member*
*Member Vera exited the meeting at 4:27 p.m.
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Pledge of Allegiance
Mayor McMorrin led the Pledge of Allegiance.
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May 21, 2024
2 Community Announcements by Members/Updates from Commissions, Boards and/or Committees/Information Items from Staff
Council Member Vera announced that he would need to leave the meeting by 4:30 p.m.
Council Member Eriksson exited the dais.
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Joint Public Comment – Items NOT on the Agenda
Mayor McMorrin invited public comment.
The following member of the public addressed the City Council:
Dillon Foster advocated for reduced funding in the police portion of the budget with more funding for everything else , and he discussed the Los Angeles city budget that failed last year noting that it had underfunded everything people needed but had overfunded the police.
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Receipt and Filing of Correspondence
MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER VERA AND SECONDED BY VICE MAYOR O’BRIEN THAT THE CITY COUNCIL RECEIVE AND FILE CORRESPONDENCE.
THE MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES: MCMORRIN, O’BRIEN, PUZA, VERA
NOES: NONE
ABSENT: ERIKSSON
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Action Items
Item A-1
CC:HA:PA:SA – (Continued from May 20, 2024) Budget Study Session - City Manager’s Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 202 4-2025:
Presentation of the Proposed Budget for Each City Department by its Respective Department Head
Council Member Eriksson returned to the dais.
May 21, 2024
3 Diana Chang, Chief Transportation Officer, introduced staff and expressed appreciation to employees and to other departments for their support, as well as gratitude to the City Manager for his guidance ; discussed participation in the Regional and International Bus Rodeo; and she provided a presentation on proposed enhancements for the Fiscal Year 2024 -2025
Transportation Department budget.
Mayor McMorrin invited public comment.
The following member of the public addressed the City Council:
Jack Galanty thanked Diana Chang for her work; discussed dedication to procuring funding and expanding access; effects to the community; the need to shift toward more renewable energy buses to increase ecological aspects of the City and to cost the City less over time; and he noted that the projects included in the budget were crucial to getting people around in a safe and effective way in the City.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding appreciation for the work of staff; aggressive pursuit of grants; budgeting for the Olympics; communication with Metro and LA28 to be part of the planning process; the target of being a car-free event; participation in a regional working group; funding for strategic planning; the intent to expand the bus fleet to support events; the feeling that mass transit is the solution to get cars off the street; support for improving scheduling; appreciation for how well the school pick up buses have worked; growth of users; training people to use public transit; the pilot Transit Ambassador program; the renewable natural gas contract; the hydrogen fuel cell pilot program; wellness; creating a positive and desirable work environment; conferences and continued training; support for the Bus Rodeo; the performance metric; reasonable asks for the enhancements; ridership compared to pre -pandemic levels; consistent growing back of ridership; examining how to expand services; addressing mobility needs; clarification that Culver CityBus serves 33 square miles; buses at the end of their lifecycle; the micro - transit pilot service; access to circuit data; priorities; appreciation for department leadership; sustainability goals; the goal to get back to 100% ridership in September; strategies around community education about what is available; community engagement staff; the upcoming Comprehensive Mobility Services Plan; Fare Free Days; coordination with the region; regular communication with other agencies; appreciation fo r youth May 21, 2024
4 engagement and coordination with the schools; facilitating cultural shifts; continued consideration of Wi-Fi on the buses; defining the Transit Ambassador program with the contractor; the budget crisis; the trajectory of the department;
appreciation for the dedication to pursu e grants; ways to cut back; Capital Improvements; the zero emission mandate; capital vs. operational funding; identification of new funding sources for operations; lack of funding to address new demands for service; securing an advocate for more operational funding; systemic issues; increased cost of operations; and competition for funding.
Dana Anderson, Human Resources Director, expressed appreciation for staff, and she provided a presentation on proposed
enhancements for the Fiscal Year 202 4-2025 Human Resources Department budget.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding appreciation to staff for their efforts; retention; survey results; compensation; benefits; work/life balance; engagement; recognition; succession planning; new training areas;
establishing more progression for employees to grow; recognition of those emplo yees with multi -decade tenure; vacancy rate; employee attraction; financial issues for certain cities in Orange County that make it hard to attract employees; competing based upon the reputation of Culver City ; work/life balance; hybrid work; improved recruitment process es; efficiency; addressing staffing hurdles; communication; difficulties in Transportation Department staffing; goals; anticipating known retirements; educating the executive team; significant commutes for employees; unaffordability of the C ity for employees; the regional issue; employees who leave when they find employment closer to their homes; the importance of investing in people; DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) trainings; the Racial Equity Action Plan (REAP); appreciation for the work of the consultant; the performance metric; consistency; the paper exit survey; exit interviews; the off -boarding process to collect feedback; housing costs; comparative salary studies; 360 evaluations; feedback from those being supervised; community engagement with the REAP; employee resource groups; affinity groups; work culture; fostering community and belonging in the City; average cost to bring on a new employee; trends regarding retention and potential turnover; demographics; work
engagement; feeling fulfilled by work; length of time an employee will stay with no growth; monitoring care
infrastructure; impacts of child or eldercare on the work force; and development of a cross-functional framework.
May 21, 2024
5 Council Member Vera exited the meeting.
Lisa Soghor, Chief Financial Officer, expressed appreciation to staff and provided a presentation on proposed enhancements to the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Finance Department budget.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding the importance of payroll ; appreciation for transparency; the Town Hall; translation; the work in progress; reasonable asks; development impact fees; user fees; refuse rates; tax
certificates; compliance with business taxes; audit ing remittances; analysis of revenue streams; alignment of account codes; highlighting accounts that have been change d with enhancements; growth; additional mandated reporting and oversight; consistent consideration of increasing efficiency; support for increased public participation; the workshop; people who are eager to be involved and understand the process; revenue streams; forecasts; Me asure BL; and changing technology to present the budget.
Jesse Mays, Assistant City Manager, expressed appreciation to staff and provided a presentation on proposed enhancements for the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 City Manager’s Office budget.
Mayor McMorrin invited public comment.
The following members of the public addressed the City Council:
Jack Galanty was called to speak but was not present in Council Chambers or online.
Jim Clark, Culver City Arts Foundation, welcomed Cultural Affairs Manager Sally Unsworth; discussed the Cultural Affairs budget within the City Manager’s Office; workload for the three full time positions; assistance from the Culver City Arts Foundation in any way possible; support for the arts projects listed in the CIP; the Olympics Stakeholder meeting on May 22; he suggested designating a full time employee to be focused on the Olympics; discussed review of procedures for distribution of the Cultural Trust Fund; use of money by a developer to build a facility for the arts; expanding provisions to allow for the pooling of funds to build a municipal performing arts center or municipal art gallery; serving as a fiscal intermediary for Culver City; major arts capital projects; receipt of private funding; solicitation by the Foundation; and working as an agent of Culver City.
May 21, 2024
6 Discussion ensued between Jim Clark, staff, and Council Members regarding the 1% development fee; in lieu fees that go into the Cultural Trust Fund; use for infrastructure related to art; and the stipulation that funds be used for Public Art.
Denise Neal discussed collaboration with Manchester Bidwell on an arts and cultural center; the two year turnaround for a strategic plan; planning for the Olympics; funding; assistance from the California Endowment; and public/private partnerships.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding planned activities; economic development targets; the proposed ice rink; appreciation for the return of cultural events to Culver City; proposed landscaping in un derpasses; activating spaces; storage for Public Works and Parks; creating a dog friendly food truck and dining area; creating usable space for the community; the Visit Culver City website; tourism assets; cluster meetings; the Economic Vitality Task Force ;
collaboration with IT to create a subsite from the existing Culver City website; funding for brand management; design and website layout; promotion of assets; tangible things produced for the community; appreciation to staff; work plan priorities; the community process for the former gun store; reviewing of policies and procedures; and engagement metrics for the website before and after the hiring of the Communications and Public Information Manager.
Dustin Kleeman, Communications and Public Information Manager, discussed the vast improvement in engagement; providing accurate information that the public can engage with; increased number of followers; increased impressions; he agreed to provide charts to help put numbers into context; discussed helping pe ople understand what Culver City is doing; presence at events; continued engagement through govdelivery; monthly recaps and look aheads; and helping people have an opportunity to be engaged and heard.
Additional discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding the Culver City Unified School District ( CCUSD) newsletter; cultural events; keeping lines of communication open with CCUSD; coordination with posts; addressing the budget deficit with reductions to staff and therefore to services; implementing the REAP across departments; continuity; increased collaboration; measuring success with the local emergency on homelessness; conclusion of the local emergency; creation of an online dashboard; City Council guidance on the local emergency; May 21, 2024
7 the ability of the public to reach out to the Chief Financial Officer with questions; and clarification that the budget would be considered for adoption at the Public Hearing at the City Council meeting on June 10.
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Public Comment – Items Not on the Agenda (Continued)
Mayor McMorrin invited public comment.
The following member of the public addressed the City Council:
Denise Neal asked about ways to increase revenue for the City in anticipation of the deficit; collaborative fundraising events for the Olympics, FIFA, and Super Bowl 2027; arts and cultural events themed on the upcoming sports events; and leveraging strengths in the Creative Economy.
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Items from Council Members (Continued)
Mayor McMorrin asked that the meeting be adjourned in memory of Jeff Glenn, a Culver City Middle School teacher who passed away unexpectedly over the weekend.
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Council Member Requests to Agendize Future Items
None.
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MOVED BY VICE MAYOR O’BRIEN AND SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER
ERIKSSON THAT THE CITY COUNCIL ADJOURN IN THE MEMORY OF JEFF GLENN.
May 21, 2024
8 Adjournment
There being no further business, at 5:24 p.m., the City Council, Culver City Housing Authority Board, Culver City Parking Authority, and Successor Agency to the Culver City Redevelopment Agency Board adjourned in memory of Jeffrey Glenn to a meeting to be held on June 3, 2024 at 7:00 p.m.
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Jeremy Bocchino
CITY CLERK of Culver City, California
EX-OFFICIO CLERK of the City Council and SECRETARY of the Successor Agency to the Culver City Redevelopment Agency Board, Culver City Housing Authority Board, and Culver City Parking Authority, Culver City, California
YASMINE-IMANI MCMORRIN
MAYOR of Culver City, California and CHAIR of the Successor Agency to the Culver City Redevelopment Agency Board, Culver City Housing Authority Board, and Culver City Parking
Authority
Date: _________________________