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Becerra, Alexis From: Debra Russell < Sent: Tuesday, May 5, 2026 10:34 AM To: eComment; Lopez, Jessie; Magdaleno, Valerie Subject: Subject: Support for Agenda Items #10 and #29 Attention: This email originated from outside of City of Santa Ana.Use caution when opening attachments or links. Dear Mayor and City Council, I write in strong support of Items #10 and #29 on the agenda for the May 5th City Council meeting. The passage of this Public Art & Preservation Policy is a long-overdue step toward fulfilling the vision set forth in our 2016 Arts & Culture Master Plan. It will ensure that our city-funded artistic treasures are protected and maintained for future generations— including the historic artworks by Sergio O'Cadiz and Emigdio Vasquez that grace Santa Ana's own City Hall Complex, Memorial Park, and multiple elementary school campuses. Without official historic designation, we know all too well how vulnerable these artworks are. Vasquez murals have been lost to city remodels multiple times over the decades. A 1987 piece at the El Salvador Center is gone. Vasquez's "Visions of Orange County" mural at the Bowers Museum was destroyed when the museum expanded. As recently as last year, his "Chicano Gothic" mural at Memorial Park pool faced the same fate, saved only after outcry from our local arts leaders. This policy exists so that community outcry is never again the only thing standing between a masterwork and a paint roller. The case for city investment in the arts is a compelling economic one. Travel Santa Ana recently commissioned an impact study and found that arts tourism alone generated $81 million in visitor spending in our city just last year. Santa Ana possesses something no other municipality in Orange County can claim: a dynamic, authentic arts community rooted in decades of organic creativity, immense local pride in our shared history and stories, that has generated a cultural scene increasingly attracting visitors from across the SoCal region and beyond. Our 2016 Arts Master Plan documented that Santa Ana has a higher concentration of arts-related businesses than the average of the 100 largest American cities. This is not a coincidence. It is the return on decades of cultural investment, and it is an identity our neighboring cities can only envy. I also urge the Council to build on this important momentum by establishing a Public Art Trust Fund, starting with an initial $50,000 commitment to support long-term conservation and equitable investment in our public art treasures. Santa Ana is a special place. With your support, it can continue to thrive as a destination for creatives and visitors alike who seek out the artistic energy that makes this city unlike any other in our region. Sincerely, Debra Russell Resident, Ward 6 Commissioner, Arts & Culture i