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Santa Ana must also think of it's current residents and how to cultivate Economic Stability so they can remain here for generations to come. We have Orange County's largest concentration of youth, and our City would benefit greatly if we could retain them here in their hometown, where they can support their families and invest in their neighborhoods. To stay here, our youth need jobs that earn over $80,000 a year. In Orange County, in addition to Construction and the Building Trades, Digital Design (surfwear & sportswear design), Film/Video Production and Gaming have some of the largest rates of growth in the region. All are hungry for a well -trained and diverse workforce. Gaming and App Development companies pay over $90,000 a year to start as a Jr Developer, and require only a 3-month full -stack training program. Tech is especially under pressure to hire people of color to diversify their workforce. This same industry is also running out of physical space in all our surrounding cities as it grows over 30% every year. Irvine, Costa Mesa, Newport, and Tustin are all running out of space for the Gaming and Tech industry. Santa Ana is poised to benefit from the convergence of all these factors if it keeps investing in the Arts. Even SAUSD has recognized the economic value of the Arts. Our school district has been training our youth for high - paying creative jobs in their conservatories, creating and implementing an Arts Master Plan, and connecting its students with industry leaders like Edward James Olmos. All this, so they don't get left behind. Don't let the City of Santa Ana get left behind. The Santa Ana Arts Commission is an important partner in moving Santa Ana forward. Ideally, the Arts Commission Staff would administer all City Arts Spending: $1.4 million for Bowers Museum $300,000 to Downtown Inc and City Cultural events throughout Santa Ana $2 million for Downtown Murals & Enhancements In -kind support for Grand Central, OCCCA, the Artists Village, Plaza Santa Ana and the Spurgeon Paseo $95,000 for Arts Commission's Annual Investing in the Artist grant Ideally, the Arts Commission Staff would also help cultivate arts -related revenue streams: bed/tourism taxes voluntary developer set -asides for public art city film/tv permit fees (currently administered by Parks & Rec) arts & culture -related BID fees It would be the best and most resourceful use of public resources to consolidate all these municipal art/culture/tourism endeavors so our residents are more able to benefit from this collective investment. But until it's sustainable to grow City staff & infrastructure again, the LEAST that can be done is to re -fund the annual Investing in the Artist grant program and restore it to it's original $95,000. Let's keep Santa Ana moving forward! Sincerely,