It is a considerably larger and more fascinating deal than you might suspect that the popular running track at West Los Angeles College re-opened yesterday morning a yawning year and a half after it was, some say, mysteriously shut down.
The name of the previous college President, Dr. Mark Rocha, which has been radioactive since he suddenly changed campuses last June, seems to repose at the heart of the explanation.
However, the bare bones bulletin from City Hall did not suggest that a single freckle or hair was amiss:
Track and Outdoor Recreation Facilities
The City has been notified that the WLAC track is now open (except for the inside lanes). Please remember to bring your Culver City ID card when using the track and other WLAC facilities. ID cards are available from the Culver City Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Department at the Plunge and the Registration Office at Vets.
Please direct all inquiries or concerns to Helen Kerstein (310-253-5618 or helen.kerstein@culvercity.org) or Charles Herbertson (310-253-5635 or charles.herbertson@culvercity.org).
But take it from John Kuechle, crack lawyer and thoroughly involved but always measured neighborhood activist in or adjacent to the driver’s seat in a score of community matters, the bones ain’t as barren as they appear.
Mr. Kuechle takes the story back to May of last year:
“The college closed the track about a week before their commencement exercises,” he told the newspaper this afternoon. “They posted a sign that said ‘Closed for Event.’
“A week after the commencement, I sent them an email saying, ‘The commencement is long gone. Why is the track still closed?’
Oh, Really?
“They then put up a sign saying, ‘Closed for Construction,’ which was up until yesterday — even though there was not much construction going on.”
Mr. Kuechle is a runner. You can imagine how much he missed his favorite running ground the past 18 months. “I run almost every day,” he said. “I just came back from the track. I did some wind sprints on the football field.
“In the interim, I was running around the soccer field and the baseball field.”
Neighbors from the Raintree complex and elsewhere have been complaining loudly and insistently throughout the dark period because the track was a daily exercising home, Mr. Kuechle estimates, for 50 to 100 residents. “Go out there in the morning, and 10 or 15 people would be walking around. Not many people were moving very quickly, but an awful lot of neighborhood people would use that as the site for their morning walk.”
The next question flung open the door to the shadowy dimension of the story.
Was there a good reason for shutting down the track for a year and a half?
Closing Day
“No,” said Mr. Kuechle. “The college closed it out of spite. They were unhappy with the fact the neighbors kept asking them to do what they were supposed to do under the Environmental Impact Report. They figured this was a way to show who was boss. This was done by Mark Rocha (effectively gone from the scene for the past six months).
“Three months ago,” Mr. Kuechle continued, “the college adopted a new Environmental Impact Report, which repeated the fact they are obligated to keep the track open. And still it took… Then the college signed a Settlement Agreement with Culver City that again required they keep it open. Still, it took until now.
“There were some marginal reasons for the delay. The stands for the football season were taken down a year ago, and they put up temporary seats. The stands were there until two weeks ago. Even though football season was going on, there was plenty of room to run or to do what I do, jog on the football field.
“But the new (college) administration was accurate in saying the track was not completely free.
“They didn’t want to open the track until it was. I think. I disagree with that decision, but I think it was a judgment call.
“The decisions Mark Rocha made were not judgment calls. They were made with an improper motive.”
(To be concluded tomorrow)
