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- Victor Payan Development Director OC Film Fiesta www.ocfilmfiesta.org 619-701-0073 ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Victor Payan <vpayangalumni.stanford.edu> Date: Tue, Nov 17, 2020 at 4:02 PM Subject: Public Comment - Agenda Item 12A To: eComment <ecommentgsanta-ana.org> SANTA ANA CITY COUNCIL AGENDA: ITEM 12A Adopt a Resolution of Interest to approve the 2021 Assessment Report for the SABID Dear Mayor, City Council, and Staff, I'm Victor Payan, a resident and artist living in the Eastside of Santa Ana. * It's been inspiring to see the upswell of engagement among my fellow neighbors throughout this pandemic. This quarantine has helped us all take the time to better understand the civic issues around us that will help us succeed or fail. Thank you for listening to us and hearing when we ask for things like the General Plan to be delayed. Something that affects so many parts of our lives for such a long time, can't be rushed though. * I ask today that you reconsider another part of Santa Ana that affects our economic, civic and cultural core, the downtown BIDS, Downtown Inc and Santa Ana Business Council. As a native of San Diego and having worked with many of San Diego's 30-plus BIDS and Economic Development Agencies, I was real excited to engage with your setup here. Unfortunately, after a decade of work, Downtown Santa Ana is still really struggling and doing even worse than it was when I arrived. How is this possible when the amount your Downtown BID raises is ten times what any of San Diego's districts get? Over $400,000 a year for boarded up storefronts, empty streets and a suffering economy? On top of the ridiculous amount of money DTI and SABC already get from the BID monies, these boosters actively siphon off significant additional funding that should be available for other Santa Ana organizations, neighborhoods, leaders and community visions. Downtown Inc and SABC actively work to undermine the reputation, work and opportunities of other Santa Ana organizations, Community Advocates and City Staff. The Lead Consultants from both organizations are known for misrepresenting themselves across Art, Culture and P1aceMaking Communities and using their public positions for private gain.