Seeking to stave off a lawsuit, West Los Angeles College officials have agreed to what probably amounts to a last-gasp meeting with Culver City professional leadership and residents next week at City Hall to resolve a wretchedly bitter dispute over conditions that will govern the school’s imminent major construction program.
Speaking guardedly, City Manager John Nachbar said this afternoon the principals will meet at mid-day next Wednesday.
Practically every consideration beyond that is speculative.
Relations between the two parties historically have ranged from cool to intolerable. They have been especially icy for the last seven weeks, since the City Council pronounced a college-fashioned compromise as dead on arrival in slightly muscular language.
They were — and remain — furious that former President Mark Rocha, in the Council’s view, effectively shredded joint agreements that they had considered embedded and irreversible.
The City Hall summit showdown will bring together the two newest leaders on the Westside, Mr. Nachbar, in his third full week at the top of City Hall, and new President Dr. Rose Marie Joyce, in her first full week at West. It is not at all clear what role the newcomers will play.
Sept. 10. is the deadline for filing a lawsuit, and West has rejected Culver City’s recent request for an extension.
