Culver City Employees Recognized for Innovative Projects and Programs

Published on September 07, 2026

Culver City is proud to recognize the recipients of the 2026 Finance Advisory Committee Innovation Awards, celebrating City employees and teams whose ideas are improving how we serve the community.

2026 FAC Innovation Awards: Award Recipients

Best Innovation: Solar Residential Streamline Permitting

The project streamlines the permit process for residential solar permits by automating the plan check processes providing instant feedback and, in some cases, instant issuance.

Planning & Development Department: Tim Koutsouros, Lisa Pangelinan, Gabriela Silva

Fire Department: Dave Montgomery

Information Technology: Timothy Pelayo, Greg LaManna, Patricia Perez

Impact Award: Teen Center Mental Health Expo

Teen Mental Health Week was a weeklong event for Culver City teens to engage in conversations about mental health. City and outside vendors spoke with the teens and created interactive lessons on mental health, the dangers of drugs/alcohol and peer pressure.

Parks, Recreation & Community Services Department: Ingrid Lopez

Efficiency Award: Culver City World Cup Games Enhanced Transit Service (GETS)

(GETS) was a coordinated mobility ecosystem that integrated public transit, hotel partnerships, park-and-ride, shared micromobility, public safety, and private sector collaboration into a single customer focused program to provide a seamless, affordable, and enjoyable transportation option for visitors attending FIFA World Cup matches at SoFi Stadium.

Project Departments:

Transportation Department
Police Department

Sustainability Award: Resurfacing Streets with Recycled Materials

This project removed and replaced deteriorated asphalt concrete with new Rubberized Asphalt Concrete (RAC). RAC is made by blending ground tire rubber with asphalt binder and then mixing the blended materials with conventional materials and roads made with RAC last 50% longer.

Public Works Department: Mate Gaspar, Diana Szymanski

Best Overall Award: SoFi Express Timetable Builder

Using the Timetable Builder, a full set of schedules for an event service can be created in 10-15 minutes by any Transportation Department employee. The tool uses real traffic data from previous gamedays ensuring an effective service and prevents the service delays experienced before using the tool.

Transportation Department: Ryan Hund

Spotlight Award: Ominder Queue Management System Implementation

Ominder is an online visitor management platform that replaced a manual, paper-based check-in process. Customers can monitor their place in line and receive text notifications when it's their turn. Staff gain real-time visibility into waiting times, service demand, and customer flow, enabling smarter staffing decisions and a significantly improved customer experience.

Planning & Development Department: Tim Koutsouros, Lisa Pangelinan

Information Technology: Justin Nunez

Congratulations to all of the employees and departments behind this year’s award-winning projects.