Nifty Suggestion?
Had a critical mass of these spirited young men possessed the resourceful wisdom of the refined class, they might have taken up a more sedate pastime, say, Checkers.
In that case, City Hall probably could have accommodated them by now.
Easy, Right?
How challenging could it be to build a cardboard playing surface with interlocking red and black squares?
True enough.
But aficionados of skateboarding perhaps the first time those 2 words appeared in the same sentence said that a year ago at this time about a skateboard park.
How tough is it for City Hall to get a mostly concrete layout designed and constructed near the foot of Culver City Park, along busy Jefferson Boulevard?
Another Year of Life Gone
With all of those daring young boys and men a year older, one year nearer to expiration, creating a skateboard park in Culver City appears equivalent on the Difficulty Scale to trapping smoke with one finger.
Dodger Stadium must have been built faster than this.
A Bouquet of Reasons
City Hall staffers informed the City Council last night that the hungrily-desired Skateboard Park has not materialized for a number of reasons.
At least one of them was deemed innovative.
The project was delayed, staffers said, due to a reorganization that occurred at the design consultants office.
An Unprecedented Excuse
This excuse is not believed to have been previously used in Culver City history.
It is not known whether the design consultants office has been happily or forcefully reorganized, whether the last shakeup will make them work faster or slower, more efficiently or less so.
All that the mop-haired skateboarding boys who showed up in Council Chambers know is that they have to ride busses into nearby towns if they want to polish their sporting skills.
Time to Reorganize
By the time the design consultants office was reorganized, others involved in this curious case apparently were out of the mood.
When the bidding was opened a month ago, a scant 2 contractors responded.
It nearly came to scouring City Hall for volunteers on days off.
One bid was for $598,00, the other for $643,000. But the citys projection was a far more modest $442,000.
Park Wont Go Unwanted
Since the kids, a number of parents and certain vociferous members of the Parks and Recreation Commission Anita Shapiro and Jeff Cooper were campaigning loudly for a park, staffers scratched their heads in quest of a solution.
They told the City Council last night that if approved they would sit down with the lonely 2 bidders in the next fortnight. They would try to thrash out a price approximating $442,000.
They reported that both companies seemed amenable to adjusting their bids.
Here is How to Do It
Staffers asked the Council for approval of this plan, and promised to bring back a new bid two Monday nights from now.
If everything goes as planned, they said, Culver City could have its own Skateboard Park by the 4th of July presumably of this year.
Since the City Council has found creamy smooth decisions elusive during the past 6 years, the 5 of them twisted and turned the pretty uncomplicated suggestion.
A Whiff of Discontent
Harsh words were uttered. This is a strange way to do business, said Councilman Scott Malsin of one proposal.
Eventually, in slightly less than the time required to build Dodger Stadium, the Council voted 5 to 0 to approve the staffers straight-ahead strategy.
