Interim City Manager Lamont Ewell said this afternoon there is a 50-50 chance the city of Culver City will file suit later this summer in an attempt to block West Los Angeles College from proceeding with presently formed expansion/construction plans.
“We will go over our next steps and figure out the best approach,” said the chief executive who has 12 working days left on his four-month contract.
“The college would have to consider slowing down their effort and continuing discussions” with City Hall and frustrated residents to avert a suit.
“There appears to be a gulf of differences as to whether the Settlement Agreement (rejected by the City Council) or Memorandum of Understanding represent any real material advances.
“That is why I believe there is a 50-50 possibility of litigation.”
Mr. Ewell was scheduled to meet in mid-afternoon with City Atty. Carol Schwab before deciding who will represent City Hall on Wednesday afternoon at a pivotal meeting of the Los Angeles Community College District trustees. At 3:30 on the downtown Los Angeles cement campus of Trade Tech, the District board will hold a public hearing to collect further community opinions about the amended Final Environmental Impact Report that the City Council unanimously refused to approve last night. A vote by the trustees, though, still is a month away.
Mr. Ewell said the city’s delegate tomorrow will carry specific directions — to clearly state the city’s position and to observe.
“First, the person will deliver a DVD of last night’s meeting, as the Council requested. Then he or she will quickly summarize and articulate the concerns the Council expressed, including the MOU between the neighborhoods and the college. The person will state that, in our view, the college cannot just unilaterally dismiss it because it is a contractual agreement between two parties.
“The person also will tell the trustees that we stand ready to meet with them to resolve the other issues in the interest of all parties.”
Then what?
“Where the trustees go from there,” said Mr. Ewell, “I have no idea.”
