Beautification Committee Report, 2/15/2002

Thanks to the efforts of Dave Roberts, Revitalization Deputy from Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas’s office, we were able to get the weeds cleared on Jefferson Blvd.  He also called and sent us information on the Neighborhood Match program and the Free Tree Program.

Unfortunately, I found we are not able to participate in either program because we are CC residents and these are LA projects.  Elaine Hirahama, Community Outreach Coordinator from the City Attorney’s office has suggested we contact the businesses in our area to get their help in planting and maintaining trees along Jefferson Blvd.  We want to continue in our efforts to beautify the areas surrounding Blair Hills. Please let us know if you would like to help us in contacting the business owners to encourage their participation!

After innumerable phone calls, Helen Bing, from Code Enforcement, located the owner of the property just east of the Crystal Lounge on Jefferson.  If you’ve noticed the weeds were cut down, the sofas and other trash were hauled away and the owner has promised the old buses will be relocated sometime this year.  Thank you Helen Bing!

Our thanks also to Councilman Alan Corlin who answered my email request to the current City Council to get us a wastebasket at the school bus stop at Wrightcrest and Lenawee.  Thanks also to the students who are cooperating with us in using the trash can!

We can never stop thanking our neighbor Mario as he continues to clean up the trash along Lenawee.  We also appreciate John and  Hazel White for painting out the graffiti along the alley way entrance coming into Blair Hills.

Remember keeping our neighborhood up keeps the value of our homes up and we can take pride in a more beautiful Blair Hills!

Cheri Sakai, Floretta Gaskin, Co-Chair, Beautification Committee

Blair Hills Beautification Efforts lead to significant results, 8/23/2001

After a week of knocking on doors, collecting Blair Hills Association Dues, signatures  to get $50,000 for the improvement of Blair Hills Park and garnering support of our own Saundra Davis for CC School Board and staying on the phone with Culver City and LA City, the following positive reports can be made:

• Our new neighbor Mario Arias has taken it upon himself to cut down the overhanging branches on La Cienega and pick up the trash along Lenawee!!

• Elaine Hirahama has set up a letter we can present to the businesses along Lenawee to request that they clean up and improve their property.

• Elaine has been asked to issue a Code Enforcement through the City Attorney’s office to the owners of the property just west of the Crystal Rose Nightclub to clean up their lot and remove the broken down vehicles on that lot.

• Elaine has also contacted Jim Davis, Blair Hills resident and our Culver City Engineer who will contact LA City about the graffiti next to the Crystal Rose Nightclub and the graffiti down the alley entering Blair Hills.

• Elaine has contacted the CC Garden Club to give Blair Hills a Landscape Presentation on Sunday, 9/23/01 at Blair Hills Park.  Previous to that we will hold a Beautification Committee Meeting on Wed. 9/5/01 at 7PM at Marianne Greene, 5969 Wrightcrest.

• Carol Gross, City Council member, has said new trash containers have been purchased by Culver City.  We have requested several for Blair Hills especially at the Bus Stops.

• After 4 hours of phone calls, David Roberts, Deputy at Mark Ridley-Thomas’s office has said the weeds along Jefferson Blvd. will be cleaned up by next Wednesday.

• Culver City Police has been contacted and they are now citing speeders and those not stopping at stop signs in Blair Hills.

Beautification Committee Report, 5/6/2002

The following projects are being worked on by the Beautification Committee:

• Don Marquardt, Ph. 253-6471 of Park Maintenance has been contacted  to request that there be regular trimming of the bushes on the E. side of Blair Hills Park so the view into the park can be kept visible at all times.

• Dwight Oyler of Street Maintenance,  Phone 253-6440 has been contacted and the broken driveway on 5921 Blairstone is scheduled for repair.  Several of the driveways need repair as they were originally put in wrong but reinstallation of all the driveways will take a much larger budget. 

• Jim Davis, City Engineer said because of budget cuts,  trees on city parkways willl be trimmed only once every 4 years.  He said we may have to wait another 2 years  for the trees lining Wrightcrest to be trimmed.

• Mario Arias, Ph. 310559-5575 was spotted by Albert Gaskin  cleaning up Lenawee at 5:30AM!  Thanks are definitely in order!

• An email requesting a trash can at Wrightcrest and Lenawee was sent out to all our City Council members about 6 months ago.  Alan Corlin sent us an immediate reply and within a month we had a trash can.. Alan Corlin also suggested that Blair Hills link up our website to Culver City for immediate notification of all projects currently requested by Blair Hills.
• Our thanks to Jon Melvin who has created an impressive website for Blair Hills and has linked us to the Culver City website!  http://www.BlairHills.org.
• Elaine Hirahama Ph. 310/ 253-5670 was assigned to help unite Blair Hills in beautifying our neighborhood by funding obtained through the efforts of Carol Schwabe, our City Attorney! Thanks are in order! 
• Important!!  An email address list will be invaluable to Blair Hills in notifying the neighborhood of projects currently underway.  We need volunteers on every street in Blair Hills to complete our email directory. 
• Dave Roberts, deputy at Mark Ridley-Thomas’s office (Ph. 213/485-3331) had the weeds along Jefferson Blvd.  cleaned up several months ago. The weeds have come back. At the Town Hall meeting last Monday night we asked our Culver City Council to contact LA City and asked that this area become a part of the Trees for a Green LA project and request trees, landscaping and regular maintenance of this “weed strip”!! Albert Vera, our former mayor and now newly elected City Councilman has said he will definitely check on this for us!

Beautification Committee Report, 8/3/2002

Tak Matsuura, Culver City Park Maintenance Supervisor, Reports: 

1. Blair Hills Park now has a Playground Director M-F from 10AM-2PM!!
2. The park restrooms are cleaned every night.
3. The Ficus trees along the east end of the park are being trimmed from below. What many of us believed were bushes were actually trees. They are in the process of allowing them to grow into trees so the view into the park will be very clear.
4. Three days a week the maintenance crew is at Blair Hills Park to see that the trees and bushes are trimmed, the grass mowed, the playground sand and basketball court cleaned. 
5. A park patrol car checks on the park activities at least once a day and sometimes twice a day after 2:30PM.

Eight -Two Story Homes Being Constructed on Lenawee says Architect/Owner David Boyd   

1. There will be 8 two story homes being built each with its own separate patio and yard. The 1800 sq. ft. homes should be completed by June of 2003 but will be up for sale by January of 2003.

2. According to David Boyd, the area around the homes will also be beautified with curbs and attractive landscaping.  Due to City permits, and financial restrictions there was a temporary delay in the building of the “patio homes” along Lenawee.  

Mike Boyd, Chief of Maintenance of California State Parks reports: 

The fiscal year ended on June 30. The new budget started on July 1, 2002. Mr. Boyd stated that money has been allotted for the fixing up of the Vista Pacifica park area and the hillside along Jefferson Bl. He said this would include taking down the orange fence and landscaping or fixing up that area for a “dog park”, walking trail, etc.  He stated that work has already started in cleaning up the area above Shedd Terrace.

Thank you Mario Arias!!

Mario is seen daily dragging his trash barrel all up and down Lenawee and Jefferson, cleaning up trash, weeds and cutting down the overhanging branches that for years blocked the Welcome to Blair Hills, and Culver City signs along La Cienega. Now we can see them clearly!!

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