[img]2122|right|Mehaul OLeary||no_popup[/img]City Councilman Mehaul O’Leary warned city staff to expect an overflow, possibly a record, crowd for tonight’s 7 o’clock meeting in Council Chambers to hear the plaintive pleas of hundreds of “Save the Ice Arena” supporters.
“Even the overflow room should be needed,” he said.
He is convinced that for one of the few times in history, not everyone who wants a seat in Chambers will gain one.
It is almost incidental to tonight’s expected throng that City Manager John Nachbar and others have declared, openly, City Hall is not in position, legally or financially, to overturn the sale of the Culver City Ice Arena or purchase the property itself.
Partisans will come anyway, City Hall is certain.
“I have asked that we get speakers and chairs ready for the outside, in the Courtyard,” Mr. O’Leary said.
“The numbers on Facebook for liking this are 10,000. This is snowballing. No pun intended. It is moving very quickly. They are calling in all the troops to come down to City Hall, hoping there is something we can do.
“It is going to be… Visually, it is going to be very effective.”
As an immigrant, Irish-born Mr. O’Leary sees the evening through the lens of a democracy.
“They are using their right to bring an issue that is very important to them to the city,” he said. “I am pretty excited that this is a public process America is in love with.
“This is their opportunity to tell us, to see what we can do. They are getting a lot of press. We may not be able to do anything. But they are voicing their opinions.
“They are getting a very loud voice right now,” said the second-term Councilman. “I am excited to see what, if anything, can happen out of this.”
Can the Council provide a germ of hope?
“My gut feeling is that any new business could go into that property,” Mr. O’Leary said. “But would they have the longevity of the Ice Arena for 52 years?”
