Reflecting on the turnout, Mr. Corlin, known for his occasionally witty assessments, remarked:
“They weren’t all treehuggers. People were there I never have seen before.”
Said Mr. Cooper: “This shows that a lot of people in Culver City are concerned about the location.”
Crowd Did Not Vote, but…
Presumably they all went home agreeing with the Commissioner Cooper that the Skateboard Park should be moved from the lush green area of Culver City Park that is at street level to an already paved play area higher in the park.
Arguably, the paved area is more obscured from general view, and that is what this steadily widening community debate is about.
During the next six days, Mr. Cooper, a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission, will morph from promoter into lobbyist, hoping to persuade at least one member of the City Council to change his or her vote.
The meaningful test for his Picnic of Protest, which he called Save the Grass, comes next Monday night. A raucous turnout of passionate partisans from each side is expected to roar in, eager to puff, to huff and to blow down the Jericho walls of the Council Chambers before the City Council decides whether to affirm its original decision or change its mind.
It might be less risky to bet on the kindness of a former spouse than to guess the outcome of this increasingly fang-toothed dispute.
For at least these opening days of spring, the debate over placement of the Skateboard Park has driven previously sizzling arguments over the two mobile home parks and the street parking for Recreational Vehicles deep into the background.
Operators of Las Vegas betting parlors may flip off the light switch and hunch down out of sight if they see Culver City gamblers headed, by any chance, toward their salons of chance.
Projecting a likely winner is liable to be dicey right down to the hour of decision — unless a bold Councilperson decides to squeeze the drama out of the evening by announcing a changed position beforehand.
On the night of the original vote in January, and again last week for the readers of the Culver City News, Mr. Silbiger, the Vice Mayor, attempted to clarify his sort of moving-target role. He offered a non-traditional explanation of the reason that he sided with the majority in the four to one vote to choose the grassy area.
An environmentalist down to his well-shined shoes, Mr. Silbiger said that in his heart he strenuously objected to ripping up the grassy area and resurfacing it for skateboarders.
But, he reasoned, since Mayor Albert Vera and Councilmembers Carol Gross and Steve Rose already had clinched the decision for the grassy area, he would go along with them for strategic purposes.
If he played it smart, denied his heart and went along with the crowd, Mr. Silbiger said, he would retain the right, as a member of the majority, to bring the subject back later for a re-discussion or even a do-over vote.
Mr. Silbiger’s presence at Mr. Cooper’s picnic ratified his position in favor of the shift to the paved area.
Not that the Vice Mayor brought the Skateboard Park matter back. Mr. Rose did.
For nearly two months, Mr. Corlin has conducted a lonely campaign among his City Council colleagues, seeking to reverse the opinions held by Mr. Vera, Mr. Rose or Ms. Gross.
At last week’s City Council meeting, when Mr. Rose asked for and received ample support for revisiting the Skateboard Park location, he gave no indication that he would change his vote.
Just the Food and Just the Facts
Under a warm sun on Saturday as morning melted into afternoon, all visitors to the grassy area of Culver City Park, courtesy of the owner Jay Handal of the San Gennaro Café, came away doubly satisfied, with a tummy full of food and a mind full of one version of facts.
For two hours, Mr. Handal provided the steaming hot food and Mr. Cooper, using his Save the Grass picnic/campaign platform, served up what his side would call the piping hot facts.
As the curious and the enthusiastic digested their food, Mr. Cooper gave them something more provocative to swallow.
Leading tours across both prospective layouts, he posed a not necessarily rhetorical question at each site:
“You tell me which location makes more sense.”
On Monday night, the City Council will be happy, more or less, to oblige him.
