Third in a series
Re “Of Course the Variance Can Save the Rink, Says a Legal Mom”
[img]2453|right|Top row, from left: Chloe Gradilla, Melissa Rosales, Cassie Guerra, Crystalrose Guerra, Alexa Lewis. Bottom row, from left: Alexandria Silverman, Hayden Paige, Grace Kopli, Elitsa Mincheva.||no_popup[/img]Mindy Paige, mother of a crushed 11-year-old skater who is as sad as her mom that the Culver City Ice Arena has gone dark, recently spoke with Micky Lloyd, CEO of the tenant due to be the next occupant of the former ice rink space.
The spunky mom, who is a prosecutor by day, contacted the owner of Planet Granite on Monday, Jan. 13, shortly before the City Council’s first major confrontation with a room full of protesting skating families.
As alert and astute as she is upset over the vanquishing of the rink, Ms. Paige obtained Mr. Lloyd’s cell phone number.
“We had a conversation for about 30 minutes,” she said. “We had a very reasonable, respectful conversation.
“When I told him I was calling about the rink, he asked what my connection was. I explained to him my background and my connection to the rink and my daughter.
“We obviously now have a lot more information than I had at that time, but back then I asked him my Hail Mary idea of trying to see if we could get a group of people together to raise enough money that we would be willing to help him, to give him that money to use as a down payment for another location.
“He explained to me he has been looking for a location in Los Angeles since 2004, the last nine years. He said it was almost impossible to find a location that was recreationally zoned. He said they have been looking all over, and this was the only place they found.
“So he would not be willing to take money from us to help him find an alternative location,” Ms. Paige told the newspaper.
“Toward the end of the conversation, he was not willing to discuss any terms of the lease although I did tell him at one point, I happen to be a lawyer and I am confident there is no confidentiality clause in his agreement. He agreed there was not. It was just him not wanting to discuss anything.”
(To be continued)
