City Manager Odis Jones hosts first event in conversation series

Culver City residents had a chance to speak directly with City Manager Odis Jones about their thoughts on the state of the city on Thursday night at the Culver West Alexander Park. Jones is holding a short series of informal events over the next several weeks to introduce himself to the community and to let residents voice their concerns and desires for Culver City in a public forum.

Jones was hired following the retirement of Culver City’s longest tenured City Manager, John Nachbar, after 15 years with the city. As one of his first acts as a city manager, Jones will visit venues across the city to introduce himself to community members and better understand their perspectives. Key members of city staff, from city attorney Heather Baker and city clerk Jeremy Bocchino to Human Resources Director Dana Anderson and Chief Information Officer J.R. Wright, were on hand to answer questions about their respective departments.

As a sports fan, Jones used an analogy of a professional team to illustrate his position in the government as city manager, calling himself the coach of the team that is Culver City’s staff. He also outlined the priorities he was tasked with by the city council when he was hired last month, which will play a key role in the new, priority-driven budget process for the 2026-27 Fiscal Year, which begins July 1.

Most of the night was dedicated to allowing residents present on Thursday night to give Jones and city staff a better idea of the community’s priorities. Jones and city staff are looking to use feedback from residents to shape Culver City's goals, starting with the location for this initial session.

“One of the reasons we picked [Culver West Alexander Park] as the first location is because we heard from people in surveys that the people in this neighborhood felt like they were really forgotten,” Jones said Thursday.

Residents informed Jones of a variety of concerns related to the city, from the budget to the health of parks and preschools within Culver City’s borders, to worries about political lobbying, and tangible connections were made during this event. A resident on nearby O’Connell Street expressed a desire to hold a community meeting to help neighbors address animal-related issues, such as skunk and coyote interactions, and Culver City Police Chief Jason Sims was present to follow up on that request after the Q&A.

Among those in attendance on Thursday were Culver City councilmembers Yasmine-Imani McMorrin and Albert Vera, who expressed their appreciation for Jones and the community for participating in this dialogue.

“I am so proud that we have so many engaged and passionate neighbors,” McMorrin said. “This is what the whole democratic process is about.”

For those who missed this first iteration of the event, four more are scheduled for the coming weeks at different locations around Culver City. The upcoming dates and venues are:

• Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. — Syd Kronenthal Park (3459 McManus Ave.)
• Thursday, Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. — El Rincon Elementary Cafetorium (11177 Overland Ave.)
• Thursday, Feb 19 at 1 p.m. — Senior Center (4095 Overland Ave.)
• Thursday, Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. — Veterans Memorial Center (4117 Overland Ave.)

There are no definite plans to publish these conversation recordings online, said Communications and Public Information Manager Dustin Klemann. However, a recording of one or more of these conversations may be made public at a later date.