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Orozco, Norma From: Jeff Dickman <dickmanaj@att.net> Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2021 10:46 PM To: eComment, Sarmiento, Vicente; Phan, Thai; Bacerra, Phil; Penaloza, David; Mendoza, Nelida; Lopez, Jessie; Hernandez, Johnathan; Ridge, Kristine; Alberta AOL Christy Cc: Ginelle Gmail Hardy; Pocha Pena; Irma Jauregui; Phil Chinn; Tina Davidson; Alan Hess; Brandon Pho; Nick Gerda; Connie Major, Michael Tardif; Ann Moerer Dickman; Alison Young; Jeanette Martin; Nathan Hittle; Ed Murashie; Chris Jepsen (SAHPS Associate); sandy welch Subject: City Council Special Meeting - May 24, 2021 - Closed Session Item No. 2 re: 625 S Cypress Avenue, Santa Ana, CA The City of Santa Ana seems ready to dispose of its historic Santa Ana Fire Station No. 4, located at 625 S. Cypress Avenue in the Eastside / Pacific Park neighborhood, to a private party. Fire Station No. 4 is one of the last remaining public buildings in this area, and the last antique fire station owned by the city. Residents have expressed concern about the irrevocable sale of the building to a private party, and the loss of an opportunity to restore, reuse, and repurpose the structure for a higher and better use for this under -served community. In addition to these concerns, it is useful to understand how City reached this potential decision without community involvement. Regarding the potential sale of Fire Station #4, City did what it often does when it wants a desired result - it conducts only the absolute minimum public outreach. This is a decades -old, and well -honed approach which is intended to reduce public involvement. Instead of advocating for the reuse of its own building with the Eastside / Pacific neighborhood, City staff quietly brought this item to Council's agenda with almost no outreach to your long-time preservation and community partners. As a result of this absolutely minimal tactic to downplay public outreach, Council is now poised to sell the property. This leaves the community, and other City partners, unable to participate, effectively eliminating alternative solutions. None of City's long-established and active preservation and community organizations were invited to participate in any discussion to re -make Fire Station No. 4. Besides failing to work with the Eastside / Pacific Park community, City failed to contact the Santa Ana Historical Preservation Society, Heritage Orange County, and Preserve Orange County. All three participated in the on -going effort to save the Orange County Title Building from demolition. Why were they, and other community organizations, not contacted early in the surplus process to offer insights to save Fire Station No. #4? Whatever led City to exclude the public from early participation in this process, I request Council now consider the following suggestions to retain and reuse public's antique Fire Station No. 4- 1 - Remove Fire Station No. 4 from City's Surplus Property List 2. Begin coordination with the Eastside / Pacific Park Neighborhood, your several preservation partners, and business community, to protect the structure from further damage 3. Discuss interim and long uses for the building with these partners 4. Pursue grants, and develop partnerships which involve, and is not limited to, health, community services, learning and education uses for the fire station 5. Consider temporarily "moth -balling" Fire Station No. 4, to protect it from further damage until a reuse plan for the structure is developed with the surrounding community and preservation partners