The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutCorrespondence - CS#3Orozco, Norma From: Jeff Dickman <dickmanaj@att.net> Sent: Monday, April 19, 2021 12:45 PM To: Penaloza, David Cc: eComment, Sarmiento, Vicente; Bacerra, Phil; Phan, Thai; Lopez, Jessie; Hernandez, Johnathan; Mendoza, Nelida; Ridge, Kristine; Rudloff, Lisa Subject: Historic Santa Ana Fire Station No. 4 (APN# 404-102-06) - City Council Closed Session Item #3- April 20, 2021 Good day Councilperson Penaloza; It appears the City intends to sell the subject land and historic budding to a private party, possibly as early as tomorrow, April 20, 2021. I ask that you, and the other members of Council, delay the sale of this historic, and city -owned fire station, located at 625 S Cypress Street. It is unclear whether the City notified local key -interest organizations, including the Pacific Park and Eastside Neighborhoods, the Santa Ana Historical Preservation Society, Preserve Orange County, Heritage Orange County, or other local community representatives, to learn whether each may have comments or interest regarding the sale of the property. It is also unclear whether the City considered working with the affected neighborhoods, the preservation community, and other community leaders, to discuss ways to develop an adaptive reuse plan for the property. I visited City's web site regarding tomorrows closed session meeting, and found no background information regarding Agenda item #3, and whether any of our local community organizations received notification to participate in the Request for Proposal (RFP) process. Agenda Item #3 also lacks information regarding sale -related conditions, and whether the City will require preservation of the fire house. Santa Ana has a wealth of interested community leaders eager to work with the City to improve and invigorate our city. I and others are ready to work with the City, the Pacific Park and Eastside Neighborhoods, and the preservation community, to identify ways to restore Fire Station #4 as a community center (strongly preferred by the Pacific Park and Eastside Neighborhoods), or other adaptive reuse, if supported by these neighborhoods, to preserve our city's remarkable architectural legacy. Thank you, Jeff Dickman Historic French Park 714 240 0883 Dale Helvig 2536 N. Valencia St. Santa Ana CA 92706 714-541-7254 helvig_denny@msn.com April 19, 2021 Mayor Sarmiento and Santa Ana City Council Members City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza, 8t' Floor Santa Ana CA 92702 Subject: April 20, 2021 City Council Meeting Item 3 of CLOSED Session I hope the City Council recognizes the importance of maintaining historical buildings in Santa Ana During your Closed Session, Item 3, will be discussed on the potential sale of the Cypress Fire Station at 625 S. Cypress Street. Currently, this property is classified as "KEY" on the SANTA ANA REGISTER OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES. Please keep this in mind when discussing the outcome of this property. Whatever steps are taken you should ensure that it is maintained on this list. It would be devastating if any actions taken results in the removal of this building. This building should remain standing. Item 15 Awarding a purchase order to Safeway Sign Company and Zumar Industries, Inc. Don't know if this is a contract renewal or a new contract. Either way, I hope the City does not have to pay for mistakes made by the contractor. Look at the sign located on the corner of Edinger (not Edginer) and Flower. W Page 1 of 2 2021-04-19 Letter to City Council Dale Helvig 2536 N. Valencia St. Santa Ana CA 92706 714-541-7254 helvig_denny@msn.com Respectfully, Dale A Helvig Resident, Santa Ana cc: Kristine Ridge City Manager, Santa Ana Sonia Carvalho City Attorney, Santa Ana Steven Mendoza Executive Director, Community Development Minh Thai Executive Director, Planning Page 2 of 2 2021-04-19 Letter to City Council Orozco, Norma From: Connie Major <conniemajor@yahoo.com> Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2021 8:25 AM To: eComment, Phan, Thai; Lopez, Jessie; Hernandez, Johnathan; Mendoza, Nelida; Sarmiento, Vicente; Bacerra, Phil; Rudloff, Lisa; Penaloza, David Subject: Historic Fire Station No. 4 (APN# 404-102-06) - City Council Closed Session Item #3- April 20, 2021 Dear Councilman Hernandez, mayor and council members, I live in Ward 5 and feel the concerned citizens of Santa Ana have not had the opportunity to discuss options for our historic Fire Station No. 4 listed as Item #3 in today's closed city council's session. I am on the board of Heritage Orange County, a member of Santa Ana Preservation Society and live in Washington Square. Please do not put our history up for sale without allowing the community the opportunity to brainstorm and work with the city for ways to preserve and find use for this historical structure. P.S. My father-in-law was a fireman so the station is dear to my heart. Regards, Connie Major Washington Square 714-673-8114 Regards, Connie Major Washington Square 714-673-8114 Best Regards, Connie Major, A Ceramic Artist - Clay is clean dirt and I love to play in it! (714) 547-7404 land (714) 673-8114 cell https://www.facebook.com/connie.s.major/media set?set=a.10201556099765810.1073741826.1276883855&ty pe=3 Orozco, Norma From:Ginelle Hardy <ginelleann@gmail.com> Sent:Tuesday, April 20, 2021 10:57 AM To:eComment Subject:DON'T SELL - CYPRESS FIRE STATION #4 i- a one-one-of-a-kind & KEY historic property! Honorable Mayor Sarmiento, Mayor Pro T em Penaloza & Councilmembers Phan, Lopez, Mendoza, Bacerra & Hernandez, PLEASE HELP! - DON'T SELL - CYPRESS FIRE STATION #4 - a one-one-of- a-kind & KEY historic property! • CYPRESS FIRE STATION #4 - is listed No. 15 and categorized as KEY structure on SANTA ANA REGISTER OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES - Important to Fire, City, Neighborhood & architectural history! • There are NO SURPLUS properties on our SANTA ANA REGISTER OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES - CYPRESS FIRE STATION #4 is one-one-of-a-kind! • PLEASE support rehabilitation of the CYPRESS FIRE STATION #4 exterior front facade & related architectural character defining features - Community has been calling for this best practice for years! • CYPRESS FIRE STATION #4 is located in PACIFIC PARK / EASTSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD! - PLEASE support an ADAPTIVE REUSE of the building for MUCH NEEDED use by Community and Public • SAVE - CYPRESS FIRE STATION #4 = is SAVING Orange County ARCHITECTURE, FIRE, NEIGHBORHOOD, COMMUNITY, CALIFORNIA & CITY HISTORY! PLEASE HELP! - DON'T SELL - CYPRESS FIRE STATION #4 - a one-one-of- a-kind & KEY historic property! Thank you for your help in this matter, 1 Ginelle Hardy Heninger Park, President Historic Resources Commission 2 Orozco, Norma From:Irma Jauregui <irmapj@yahoo.com> Sent:Tuesday, April 20, 2021 1:06 PM To:Sarmiento, Vicente; eComment Cc:suzie c sandoval; Ginelle Gmail Hardy; pocha@pocharte.com; Ridge, Kristine; Selica Diaz; Macedonio, Margarita; Alberta AOL Christy; mike@tardifsheetmetal.com; Chris Schmidt; Jose Rea; adolfosierra@sbcglobal.net Subject:Historic Cypress Fire Station Dear Mayor and Councilmembers I am writing most urgently to request that our historic fire station be reconsidered to be kept by the city for community good and benefit to all our city. Since we are so short of libraries, community centers and green space, the public of now and future generations will benefit of preserving our history and repurposing our building for everyone’s benefit. A Tech/library annex and community resource possibilities could show our future architects, engineers and historians of how to preserve and reuse new technologies is a true opportunity of not only preserving but a wonderful example of both treasuring our past and looking towards our future. The leaderships in South Main Street and of many areas of the city are raising our voices in unison to urge stopping the sale and look for a fabulous and beneficial outcome to all our residents Most respectfully, Irma P Jauregui Wilshire Square past President Santa Ana Healthy Neighborhood Alliance Sent from my iPad 1 Orozco, Norma From:Mike Tardif <mike@tardifsheetmetal.com> Sent:Tuesday, April 20, 2021 1:21 PM To:eComment; Sarmiento, Vicente; Phan, Thai; Penaloza, David; Lopez, Jessie; Bacerra, Phil; Hernandez, Johnathan; Mendoza, Nelida; pocha@pocharte.com Cc:Ridge, Kristine; Macedonio, Margarita; McCann, Melanie; Vazquez, Sylvia; selicad@yahoo.com; Ginelle Gmail Hardy; irmapj@yahoo.com; dickmanaj@att.net; Alberta AOL Christy; Gomez, Daisy Subject:Public Comment HISTORIC FIRE STATION - City Council Closed Session - Item 3 - April 20, 2021 Please enter this “ecomment” into the Public Record for the Closed Session Council meeting 4/20/2021 Mayor and City Council, This property & historic structure MUST NOT be sold to a private party. As soon as it is in private hands the value would be in the property – NOT the historic structure. The incentive then becomes for the owner to neglect the historic structure so that “demolition by neglect” comes into play. For the private property owner, the best thing would be for the historic structure to BURN! Mike Tardif Santa Ana From: Sandra Pocha Peña <pocha@pocharte.com> Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2021 11:36 AM To: vsarmiento@santa-ana.org; tphan@santa-ana.org; dpenaloza@santa-ana.org; jessielopez@santa-ana.org; pbacerra@santa-ana.org; jryanhernandez@santa-ana.org; nmendoza@santa-ana.org Cc: kridge@santa-ana.org; mmacedonio@santa-ana.org; mmccann@santa-ana.org; svazquez@santa-ana.org; selicad@yahoo.com; ginelleann@gmail.com; irmapj@yahoo.com; dickmanaj@att.net; adchristy@aol.com; mike@tardifsheetmetal.com; dgomez@santa-ana.org Subject: HISTORIC FIRE STATION AP# 404-102-06 - City Council Closed Session - Item 3 - April 20, 2021 Importance: High Dear Santa Ana Mayor and City Council, I am writing to request that you delay the sale of the historic Cypress Fire Station and reconsider disposing of this property. Attached is a petition signed by myself and 14 Santa Ana Residents requesting that you retain the Fire Station as a publicly held property and transform it into a Digital Library and History Center. My Pacific Park neighborhood has no other historic properties where our residents can convene to celebrate our collective cultural legacy and receive much-needed access to technology. Once the property is sold, it's potential to serve our residents will be lost forever. 1 Even if the prospective buyer promises to rehab the property, in all likelihood he will turn around and sell this $600,000 property to a private entity and make well over a million dollars in profit. It's not right that years of advocacy by an underserved community for the adaptive reuse of a publicly held property be ignored, only to allow it to decay, and then sell it to private party who will make a huge profit off it. Where is the community benefit in this? Our Pacific Park neighborhood was never even the opportunity to put any conditions into the RFP, because our countless requests for active involvement and forming of a Steering Committee were ignored. By contrast, in neighboring cities like Fullerton, residents requests for adaptive reuse of historic sites are honored. The City of Fullerton listened to it's resident concerns about their historic Hunt Library and removed it from the Surplus Property list, formed an Ad-Hock committee to save it, and using a $2 million dollar State Library Fund secured by Assembly member Sharon Quark-Silva, is now rehabbing the old Hunt Library as a Literary and Art Center. We can do the same for the Cypress Street Fire Station! Pacific Park / Eastside is a very underserved community and greatly in need of a Digital Library and Technology Center. It would dramatically transform the blighted area where the Cypress Fire Station is located. An adaptive reuse of the Fire Station would greatly benefit our residents Young and Old. We need to retain and restore this property for public use. Please read through the petition and correspondence I have attached and see for yourself the tremendous amount of resident support there is for a public rehab of the Cypress Fire Station and the diligent advocacy our resident leaders have made to save this Key Historic Building located in the heart of Santa Ana. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, -- SPS -- Sandra "Pocha" Peña Sarmiento Pacific Park / Eastside www.pocharte.com www.ocfilmfiesta.org 714.417.0073 2 Orozco, Norma From:Sandra Pocha Peña <pocha@pocharte.com> Sent:Tuesday, April 20, 2021 11:36 AM To:Sarmiento, Vicente; Phan, Thai; Penaloza, David; Lopez, Jessie; Bacerra, Phil; Hernandez, Johnathan; Mendoza, Nelida Cc:Ridge, Kristine; Macedonio, Margarita; McCann, Melanie; Vazquez, Sylvia; selicad@yahoo.com; Ginelle Gmail Hardy; irmapj@yahoo.com; dickmanaj@att.net; Alberta AOL Christy; mike@tardifsheetmetal.com; Gomez, Daisy Subject:HISTORIC FIRE STATION AP# 404-102-06 - City Council Closed Session - Item 3 - April 20, 2021 Attachments:Cypress Fire Station.docx; SELECTED CYPRESS FIRE HOUSE CORRESPONDENCE.docx Importance:High Dear Santa Ana Mayor and City Council, I am writing to request that you delay the sale of the historic Cypress Fire Station and reconsider disposing of this property. Attached is a petition signed by myself and 14 Santa Ana Residents requesting that you retain the Fire Station as a publicly held property and transform it into a Digital Library and History Center. My Pacific Park neighborhood has no other historic properties where our residents can convene to celebrate our collective cultural legacy and receive much-needed access to technology. Once the property is sold, it's potential to serve our residents will be lost forever. Even if the prospective buyer promises to rehab the property, in all likelihood he will turn around and sell this $600,000 property to a private entity and make well over a million dollars in profit. It's not right that years of advocacy by an underserved community for the adaptive reuse of a publicly held property be ignored, only to allow it to decay, and then sell it to private party who will make a huge profit off it. Where is the community benefit in this? Our Pacific Park neighborhood was never even the opportunity to put any conditions into the RFP, because our countless requests for active involvement and forming of a Steering Committee were ignored. By contrast, in neighboring cities like Fullerton, residents requests for adaptive reuse of historic sites are honored. The City of Fullerton listened to it's resident concerns about their historic Hunt Library and removed it from the Surplus Property list, formed an Ad-Hock committee to save it, and using a $2 million dollar State Library Fund secured by Assembly member Sharon Quark-Silva, is now rehabbing the old Hunt Library as a Literary and Art Center. We can do the same for the Cypress Street Fire Station! 1 Pacific Park / Eastside is a very underserved community and greatly in need of a Digital Library and Technology Center. It would dramatically transform the blighted area where the Cypress Fire Station is located. An adaptive reuse of the Fire Station would greatly benefit our residents Young and Old. We need to retain and restore this property for public use. Please read through the petition and correspondence I have attached and see for yourself the tremendous amount of resident support there is for a public rehab of the Cypress Fire Station and the diligent advocacy our resident leaders have made to save this Key Historic Building located in the heart of Santa Ana. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, -- SPS -- Sandra "Pocha" Peña Sarmiento Pacific Park / Eastside www.pocharte.com www.ocfilmfiesta.org 714.417.0073 2 Cypress Fire Station Petition to Santa Ana Mayor & City Council 1 April 20, 2021 Dear Mayor and City Councilmembers, I am writing as one of the Co-Leaders of Pacific Park (formerly Eastside) Neighborhood, to ask that you reconsider disposing of the old Cypress Fire House, located at 625 S. Cypress Street. For years we have been asking staff for an Advisory or Steering Committee to be formed to help guide the adaptive reuse of this beloved historical treasure. The Cypress Fire Station must be restored to public use to benefit our central Santa Ana residents. Neighbors from Pacific Park, Henninger Park, Wilshire Square, Madison Park and beyond have been asking for the City’s support in saving the Cypress Fire Station for over a decade. More recently, we’ve been asking for the property to be removed from the Surplus Property list and transformed into a Digital Library and annex for our History Room. In previous years, former City Manager Gerardo Mouet proposed we transform the Cypress Fire House into a Gallery and Community Learning Center. Our coalition of neighbors have been asking City Staff for an Advisory or Steering Committee to be formed to guide restoration for this property for many years, but have received no support. Each time we receive notification about the firehouse, we ask for help in restoring it for community use. I have attached some of these communications in a separate document. When the last bid on the firehouse fell through, we were told the property would revert back to us and that Pacific Park residents would have an opportunity to give input on conditions to be placed on its RFP. This never happened. Our neighborhood leadership was not consulted or allowed to impact the RFP, nor were local historical groups alerted. When asking staff about any sale related conditions, we were told that only the façade was to be preserved and a plaque installed. This is pitifully little for our underserved neighborhood to receive in exchange for losing public access to our most treasured historic structure here on the Eastside. Pacific Park is a low-income community, with many households lacking access to technology. The Cypress Fire Station is located in a very run down and blighted part of our neighborhood. A Digital Library/Technology Center would not only serve our Youth and Elders, it would uplift the whole area! In addition to providing access to digital books and WIFI, the proposed Digital Library could provide Internet Hot Spots and tablets to check out, as well as computers, printing and technology classes to local patrons. If a History Room is included, the Cypress Fire Station could become an essential way for our residents to tap into their local history and take pride in the building’s beautiful architecture. The Fire Station has already recognized as a Key Historic Property. Below is a video detailing the kind of amenities a Digital Library/Technology Center can provide. It profiles one of three BIBLIOTECH digital libraries recently built in San Antonio, Texas. As you will see, a small space can have a huge impact. It benefits Young and Old, has free outdoor WIFI and even a café! https://youtu.be/QtvytxreYlc We need this in Santa Ana! Cypress Fire Station Petition to Santa Ana Mayor & City Council 2 Please reconsider disposing of this historic gem. We need it retained and restored to public use. Sincerely, - Sandra Pena Sarmiento Pacific Park / Eastside Neighborhood Co-Leader Ginelle Hardey President of Henniger Park Neighborhood Association Irma Jauregui President of Washington Square Neighborhood Association Sandra Olguin Pacific Park Neighborhood Mark Lopez Pacific Park Neighborhood Victor Payan Pacific Park Neighborhood Martha Sarmiento Pena Pacific Park Neighborhood Sarai Santamaria Pacific Park Neighborhood Mary Acosta Garcia Barrio Logan Neighborhood Erica Gonzalez Delhi Neighborhood David Carbajal Wilshire Square Neighborhood Omar Avalos Casa Bonita Neighborhood Danny Vega Casa de Santiago Neighborhood Rafael Ramirez Laurelhurst Neighborhood Ruben Alvarez Casa Bonita Neighborhood Cypress Fire Station Petition to Santa Ana Mayor & City Council 3 CC Kristine Ridge Margarita Macedonio Melanie McCann Sylvia Velasquez Daisy Gomez Selica Diaz Ginelle Hardy Irma Jauregui Jeff Dickman Alberta Christy Mike Tardiff April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 1 SELECTED CYPRESS FIRE HOUSE CORRESPONDENCE This is a compilation of selected emails demonstrating continuous community advocacy to save the Cypress Fire Station as a publicly held property and have it restored to public use. These emails date from 2017 to 2021. There are numerous times here where we ask City staff for a Steering Committee to be formed in order to fundraise and guide the restoration of this important historic property. To view one of the more detailed requests, please refer to pages 11-14 where I have listed a timeline of advocacy, a fundraising plan and request for a steering committee to be formed. Gerardo Mouet <gmouet@gmail.com> Date: 01/21/2021 02:35PM I have wanting to be more active in the community, but due to ongoing health challenges, I have had to lay low since I retired a year ago. The challenge with having an active use of this building for the public is that it has very limited parking. Because of this, and the fear that eventually the History Room Library function would be eliminated due to budget constrains, my thought had been to create a work shop satellite space for the History Room at the Cypress Center and at the same time renovate the Center to also honor the history of the Fire Station. At this Digital Archive Center, the space would allow a handful of staff, due to parking limitation, to work on Digital scanning images for the history collection. I believed that the money for digitizing community history could possibly be obtained through grants. I do believe the Center should remain public. To honor the previously closed 128 year-old City Fire Department and to produce new archives for the town’s history is just one idea. I am sure other options are out there. I don’t believe selling this small property, that has disclosed re-construction challenges and historical preservation parameters, will get the City a lot of money. I hope that sharing what I had in mind for this space back when I was still working for Santa Ana is of some use. Goodluck. Gerardo Mouet gmouet@gmail.com c: (714) 552-1037 April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 2 Selica Diaz <selicadiaz@yahoo.com> Date: 01/21/2021 10:23AM Hello, I strictly believe is very important to save the Cypress Street Fire Station. You are absolutely right Chris. Gerardo Mouet wanted to move the History Room there. Among other ideas that we had back then was to move the Firefighters museum there. I would like to keep fighting to save this wonderful piece of history. Blessings, Selica Diaz On Thu, Jan 21, 2021 at 9:23 AM Pocha Pena <pocha@pocharte.com> wrote: Hi Everyone, From what I understand, if a deal fell thru, then the property is supposed to revert back to the community to make a renewed pitch for the property. Why is this step being skipped? I suggest we write a collective letter letting staff know our desired plans for this property to benefit our community. I’m certain that Irma in Wilshire Square, Adolfo in Madison Park and the new South Main Business Association led by Chicanx Unidos would fully support a community use for the Cypress Street Fire Station. A Learning Center/Digital Library/History Room/Community Center would be a great choice. Let’s meetup to plan further? On Jan 20, 2021, at 11:18 PM, Ginelle Hardy <ginelleann@gmail.com> wrote: Hello, April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 3 Sparked by Chris Schmidt’s inquiry, we got an update about the Cypress Fire Station from Margarita Macedonio City Principal Planner Melanie McCann this evening at our Heninger Park neighborhood meeting. This is what I have in my notes: Per Community Development Team, CDA, the Surplus Land Act required process for seeking an affordable housing project has ran out of allotted time and so fell through. Now an RFP will go out putting the property up for sale. The City manager is keen on identifying and selling vacant property. Listed on the Santa Ana Register of Historic Property the front facade and other architecture character defining features should be rehabilitated/ preserved, in place, following Secrecy of Interior Standards per Melanie. Per me, the historic information and requireerd rehabilitation process all needs to be disclosed in the RFP document. Please disregard if you already knew this update. I may have misinterpreted my notes or just misunderstood the discussion - so please ask Melanie for yourself in order to verify information here. Ginelle Hardy ginelleann@gmail.com Selica Diaz <selicadiaz@yahoo.com> Date: 01/12/2021 03:53PM Hello, I agree with your idea Chris, to ask the city to use the $100,000 to renovate the Cypress Street Fire Station. It has deteriorated due to being neglected by the city for so many years. ~Selica Pocha Pena <pocha@pocharte.com> Date: 01/12/2021 01:18PM Yes, the City still owns it and no suitable bids have been submitted. April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 4 If the City was able to pull $400,000 from a sale outside of the BID district for BID uses, with no Resident input or oversight, then they should at least throw us a bone with funding the Cypress Station. How is it possible that residents have NO SAY in the Downtown BIDs yet the BIDS get to Hoover up $400,000 of public money? — SPS Sent from my iPhone On Jan 11, 2021, at 11:54 AM, Chris S <chris714oc@gmail.com> wrote: Hello All, Do you know the current status of the Cypress St Fire Station? Last I heard, last year the city put it up for sale and received a few bids, but said the bids were too low. I remember seeing a few emails a few months ago talking about saving the Fire Station and asking city council members to fund the renovation of the building. The city recently sold the YMCA building to Mike Harrah for $500K and the city already allocated $400K of that money, so there is $100K still left the city could use on Cypress St Fire Station. So do we know if the city still owns the Fire Station and what they plan to do with it? Chris Ginelle Hardy <ginelleann@gmail.com> Date: 08/19/2020 10:43PM Hello Margarita, I am doing catch up, I just watched the replay of Pacific Park neighborhood meeting because I wasn’t able to watch it live. I have a keen interest in homeless issues at Cypress & Bishop because of the spill over problems at the historic Cypress April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 5 Fire Station across the street AND the close proximity to Heninger Park neighborhood, where carryover issues travel to include S. Bishop & S. Main and into Heninger Park. Not sure if I told you this before but when I first moved to Heninger Park, over 30 years ago, SAPD told residents at a Heninger Park neighborhood meeting that SAPD had years ago found out that maps directing folks to that corner, S. Bishop & S. Main in Santa Ana, CA, were posted on public bulletin areas in South America! At that time, as now, neighbors were complaining about being approached by vendors of fake ID. Residents were especially alarmed by the lack of discretion displayed by fake ID vending and how everyone was solicited regardless of if they felt like they didn't look like they needed a fake ID. SAPD had a complete awarenesses of this problem and appeared to be a bit amused by resident's reaction. SAPD’s response was that undercover officers routinely worked the area and when there is enough concrete information to act on arrests are made via a sweep. I believe the fake ID peddling continues to this day, plus the daily observed homeless, loitering, drug use and related activities. One thing I didn’t hear mentioned is something I have observed 2 or 3 times. At that corner I have seen groups of folks picked up, hurriedly loaded in a car, to capacity. It all happens so fast that the only reason I notice is that first they bunch up to put their backpacks/belongings into a car trunk. These groups are made up of both men & women, young & old. I wonder who is doing this, maybe City Net? Seems like that corner is a April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 6 gathering place for some type of organized pick-up of people. If so this could be a contributing factor to loitering and/or a not so safe place to ask folks to meet, gather, and wait for transportation. If diminishing gathering on that corner, in the area, in a neighborhood is a goal - whoever is picking up a group of folks at that corner is also contributing to the problem, in my opinion. Do you have any information about who is arranging for individuals to gather and routinely be picked up at the corner of Bishop & Cypress in Pacific Park neighborhood? If they are an organization can they be directed to arrange pick-up of folks at their place of business or headquarters? We need to ask if they dropping folks off on that corner too. This activity should not be taking place in neighborhoods! Thank you for your help in this matter. Ginelle Hardy Heninger Park, President ginelleann@gmail.com From: Chris S <chris714oc@gmail.com> Date: Mon, Jul 27, 2020 at 7:16 PM Subject: Public Comment - Preservation of Cypress Fire Station (625 S. Cypress St.) Historic Resource Commission, I am asking for your support to save the Cypress Fire Station which is #15 on the Santa Ana Register of Historic Properties. “The Cypress Fire Station is significant as the oldest fire station in Santa Ana, predating Fire Station No. 1 by one year. It was built in 1928 as Fire Station No. 4 to serve the Eastside community. Like many civic and institutional buildings constructed in southern California at the time, the new fire station was Spanish Colonial Revival in design. It cost approximately $9,000 to build. In 1962, the station was converted for neighborhood use” April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 7 Attached are 2 photos showing the condition of the Fire Station in 2016 when it was functional and used, and then in 2020 after it has been abandoned, torn apart, and set on fire. Over the last 4 years, I have watched as the Cypress Fire Station has been abandoned by our city and torn apart by the homeless. I have sat across the street and watched as a male was illegally trespassing inside the fire station tearing it apart piece by piece. I called the Police Dept and reported it but never saw an Officer respond. From my understanding, the Police Dept has had to respond to the Cypress Fire Station multiple times over the last 4 years to remove individuals who have illegally trespassed into the property and destroyed it. I have witnessed the numerous holes punched through the walls of the back of the building , and also on the roof so people could illegally enter the property. I have seen numerous reports of Orange County Fire Authority responding to fires set in the fire station, and you can see the black soot covering the building from the fires set inside. Over the last 2 years, I have repeatedly reached out to city staff and city council members asking for their assistance to protect and save the fire station. The fire station has the potential of becoming a community center or neighborhood library, and providing much needed services to one of the densest areas of our city. It’s my understanding the city listed the Cypress Fire Station as a Surplus Property earlier this year, and the city’s Community Development Agency recently tried to sell the property but was unable to. My understanding is the Cypress St Fire Station is part of the city’s Parks & Recreation Dept. who at one time intended to use the property for a community benefit. I am actually ashamed that I have to write in and ask for help to save and preserve this historic building that has been a part of our city for so long. I would greatly appreciate it if the Historic Resource Commission would take action to save and preserve the Cypress St Fire Station, and stop the city from selling this historic property. Kind regards, Chris Schmidt 92704 From: Pocha Pena \[mailto:pocha@pocharte.com\] Sent: Wednesday, July 8, 2020 11:10 AM To: Macedonio, Margarita <MMacedonio@santa-ana.org>; Kutner, Scott <SKutner@santa-ana.org> Cc: Ridge, Kristine <kridge@santa-ana.org>; Mendoza, Nelida <nmendoza@santa-ana.org>; Selica Diaz <selicadiaz@yahoo.com> Subject: Neighborhood Empowerment & Cypress St Fire Station Letter April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 8 Hi Margarita and Scott, I want to share with you a letter I wrote our city leaders last night regarding the historic Cypress Street Fire Station. In the future, if either of you see a similar issue come up with a property, please consider encouraging neighbors to start up a Steering Committee to address the situation. As development speeds up in Santa Ana, there will be many local history treasures put in peril. They could be 100 year-old structures or much beloved cultural icons like El Toro Market, Sarenianas Tamales or the old Cozy Corner Drive-In on Harbor. All these spaces matter. They represent our city’s cultural terroir and collective heritage. As Senior Community Planners, you both are the front line people who represent our City’s direct engagement with our residents. In inhabiting that role, you both hold great power over what is saved and what is lost in our built environment. You also hold great influence over our residents. You can encourage folks in your areas to build a sense community identity, cultivate healthy relationships with neighbors and create inter-neighborhood networks. As a member of the Historic Resources Commission, I hope to launch a Local History Asset Assessment and generate an Architectural Design Guide to help preserve the unique character of our neighborhoods. Hopefully, by working together we can save Santa Ana’s unique treasures. Team work makes the Dream work! — Pocha Sandra “Pocha” Peña Sarmiento Pacific Park / Eastside Neighborhood Co-Leader Historic Resources Commissioner -------- Original Message -------- Subject: 20/21 BUDGET: FUNDING FOR HISTORIC FIREHOUSE Date: Tue, 07 Jul 2020 16:42:10 -0400 From: Sandra Pocha Peña <pocha@pocharte.com> April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 9 To: mpulido@santa-ana.org, vsarmiento@santa-ana.org, dpenaloza@santa- ana.org, jsolorio@santa-ana.org, pbacerra@santa-ana.org, jvillegas@santa- ana.org, nmendoza@santa-ana.org Cc: ecomment@santa-ana.org, citycouncil@santa-ana.org, kridge@santa- ana.org, cityclerk@santa-ana.org RE: APPROVE FUNDING FOR CONTINUED SHUTTERING & SECURITY OF CYPRESS STREET FIRE STATION Dear Mayor, City Council Members, City Manager and City Staff, I appeal to you as a local history advocate and arts leader to help save an important part of Santa Ana’s history, the Cypress Street Fire Station, for generations of future Santa Ana residents. We have only two historic assets in my neighborhood of Pacific Park/Eastside, the Halladay House and the Cypress Street Fire Station. Please help save our Cypress Street Fire Station from destruction. Approve resources in our 20/21 Budget to retain this property. Located at 625 S. Cypress St, just a few blocks south of downtown Santa Ana, the historic Cypress Street Fire Station is a small parcel that has suffered greatly due to City neglect. Now after a decade of ignoring dozens of resident calls for action and organizing efforts, staff recommended that this property be placed on the surplus property list without alerting any community stakeholders or giving them a chance to organize. As a result of this oversight, you the Council voted in February to put this property up for sale as affordable housing in compliance with state Surplus Land Act requirements. This is a travesty! The Cypress Street Fire Station should never have gotten onto the Surplus Property list in the first place. It’s a pity that City Staff didn’t think to notify any of the dozens of local advocates who had been writing to and having meetings with the City about this property. The staff report you were presented on the Cypress Street Fire Station was a hugely flawed distortion of reality. * Please see the attachment below for a summary of advocacy efforts and a full picture of how this property was misrepresented in the staff report, plus areas of opportunity for rehabilitation. * April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 10 We can work out the details of how to get this property off the Surplus Property list later, but for now please approve continued site security for the Cypress Street Fire Station and ask City Staff to STOP from aggressively marketing the property to developers. Because of the small size of this parcel, there is no way a developer would be able to use it without completely destroying the firehouse. Don’t let this happen. We need the Cypress Street Fire Station intact in our neighborhood for future generations. I don’t want the lack of storage provisions to be a factor in saving the Cypress Street Fire Station. The Cypress Street Fire Station needs continued financial support for shuttering & fencing for at least another year. Give our community a chance to fundraise for this property and restore it for community use. We are in great need of additional library sites and resources. The Cypress Street Fire Station would be perfect for a satellite digital library and history room archive. It would benefit our neighborhood, surrounding neighborhoods, and the region greatly. * Please see attachment below for a summary of options. * Santa Ana and San Juan Capistrano are Orange County’s two oldest and most historic cities. Our historic heritage is what makes us special and unique in Orange County. A historic legacy like ours is of great cultural and commercial value. Someday we may be able to showcase our historic treasures as well as San Juan Capistrano and other historic cities. Until then, we must strive to preserve our historic assets whenever possible, especially when there is huge local buy-in and support. The Cypress Street Fire Station has the active interest of dozens of local residents, historians, cultural leaders and heritage societies. Please help us preserve this beautiful structure and repurpose it for future generations. I ask that you approve continued shuttering and fencing of the Cypress Street Fire Station in the 20/21 City Budget. In gratitude for your consideration, -- Sandra “Pocha” Pena Sarmiento --- Sandra "Pocha" Peña Sarmiento "Frontier Arts & Hybrid Culture" www.pocharte.com 714.417.0073 *** Attachment below *** April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 11 SAVE THE HISTORIC CYPRESS STREET FIRE STATION A Summary of City Staff Omissions, Community Advocacy Efforts, and Opportunities for Rehabilitation In February of 2020, City Staff prepared a report on the city-owned parcel located at 625 S. Cypress St. This report had many errors and omissions that misrepresented the property, staff neglect and community efforts to save it. City Staff also did not notify community stakeholders who had already expressed interest and concern for the property, so that they could organize the community to provide advocacy for the property prior to the City Council vote in February 2020 on the Staff-proposed action to place the historic Cypress Street Fire Station on the Surplus Land list. The historic Cypress Street Fire Station is an important site for residents of Pacific Park (formerly Eastside), Henninger Park, Windsor Square, and Monroe Park. The Cypress Fire Station would fill two voids in this part of South Main: 1. It provides the opportunity for a significant cultural anchor to bring a historic pedigree and architectural value to the surrounding properties 1. The structure is located within an underserved central neighborhood with the potential to be a community resource, library service expansion, and a fine arts destination LIST OF ERRORS AND OMISSIONS IN STAFF REPORT -- Report did not mention that the condition of the property was largely the result of city neglect. Dozens of local residents had written, called and appealed to both City Staff and local Representatives over the course of a decade, only to have most of these appeals ignored. * See Timeline Below * -- Report did not properly assess parking. Parking for the property is plentiful as there are over 150 space in a lot directly across from it at a retail center that includes a Dollar Tree and WIC store. Approximately 70 of the parking spots are empty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. -- Report did not mention that the parcel was small, too small to develop without completely destroying the firehouse in order to build a viable low-income multiple family development. -- Report did not mention the long history of community advocacy and concern for the property. * See timeline below. * April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 12 -- Report did not mention historical significance of the property to the surrounding community. Nothing in the report talks about the economic impact destroying this property would have on the built environment, property values and cultural life of the surrounding neighborhood. TIMELINE OF ADVOCACY -- As soon as the former tenant, a local non-profit had its lease end at the location in the mid-2000’s, several local neighbors inquired about the property. Pacific Park/Eastside Neighborhood Leader Selica Diaz has gone on record as being the earliest advocate for this property. -- Former City Manager and head of Parks & Recreation, Gerardo Mouet had “promised” the property to several groups from the mid-2000’s until he left in 2017. Some of these commitments included full presentations within formal Commission (Art Commission) and Community (Neighborhood Alliance, Eastside Neighborhood, Friends of the Cypress Street Fire Station) Meetings. -- After Mr Mouet ‘s agency (Parks & Rec) stopped administering the Arts Commission, some Art Commissioners asked staff about the property and Mouet’s presentation of it as a Community Gallery. Staff (Ron Ono) responded that the property was to be used as storage for Parks & Rec equipment and that he would notify Art Commissioners if anything changed. -- While Mr Mouet was City Manager, he proposed the property be used to house the Santa Ana Library History Room and a community effort was organized around this, the Friends of the Cypress Street Fires Station. A series of local dinners prepared by local Chef Richard Espinachio among others were to cook a series of benefits to raise funds for the Fire Station’s restoration. -- As soon as Mr Mouet left the City in 2017, all efforts to advocate for the property were discouraged by City Staff. Emails were sent to Staff by neighborhood leaders Chris Schmidt, Selica Diaz, Ginelle Hardey, Irma Jaregui and Sandra “Pocha” Pena Sarmiento among others, local residents, historians, etc. Many of these appeals were for increased security and physical barriers to be installed to protect the Fire House. Some of these requests were for permission to do a series of community cleanups, and for community groups (Art Commissioners, Neighborhood Association, Historical Groups, After-School Study Groups) to make use of the site. -- After City Staff ignored most of the early calls for service, the property started getting broken into by homeless. These squatters started setting fire to the property. April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 13 -- There were continued emails and appeals to staff regarding the property, which again went nowhere. — The item was never placed on Neighborhood Association meeting agenda, even though concern was expressed numerous times. Staff never thought to propose or empower a Steering Committee of any kind. -- Somehow, while all our Neighborhood Associations were on haitus for the holidays, City Staff prepared a report for City Council without notifying any Community Stakeholders. This report was full of errors and omissions. Neighborhood Leaders are robbed of the opportunity to advocate for this important historic landmark. -- Staff does not seek any Community Conditions to be place on the property sale. -- Staff Report recommends Council Action and allows no Community Advocacy to take place by keeping them uninformed. -- Council votes to place the Cypress Street Fire House on the surplus property list to be put up for sale with NO CONDITIONS and NO COMMUNITY OVERSIGHT OR ADVOCACY. -- Staff is alerted in May 2020 again about community concern for the property. -- In June 2020, City Staff informs Pacific Park/Eastside Neighborhood leaders that the Cypress Street Property is “In Escrow” and cannot be retrieved. Later during that same meeting, City Staff says that the property does not yet have an offer placed on it but that there is much pressure to sell the property. We are told that City Staff is aggressively marketing the property to developers. THIS NEEDS TO STOP. AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY FOR REHABILITATION For too long, Santa Ana has suffered with only one library in the Civic Center and the tiny library hub at Newhope. The Cypress Street Fire Station provides a wonderful opportunity, not only to fullfill it's promise as our City's History Room & Archive, but also as a much-needed Digital Library and Technology Hub. Please see the links below for info on San Antonio's first "BiblioTECH" which would easily fit into the footprint of the Cypress Street Fire House: April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 14 http://blog.dlink.com/first-all-digital-and-bookless-library-opens/ https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/BiblioTech-to-offer-curbside- pickup-of-hot-spots-15208261.php https://www.zdnet.com/article/is-the-future-of-the-library-bookless/ FINANCING: These areas may include but are not limited to:  Apply to Local, State, and National Public Grants  Seek Support from Foundations, Universities, Private Philanthropy  Space Rentals for Private Events, Public Talks & Performances, Film & TV Productions  Plan, Promote, Generate revenue from Public Events, Tours, Dinners, and Teas  Generate Sales Revenue from Publications and Santa Ana History-related memorabilia  Cultivate Commercial Support from Historical/Educational/Edu-tainment Groups NEXT STEPS: -- Form a Steering Committee for the Cypress Street Fire Station. It can be composed of residents from the 4 above-mentioned neighborhoods, local representatives, historians, commissioners, and city staff. -- Have the Cypress Street Fire Station Steering Committee convene (via Zoom) to organize a year-long schedule of fundraising events and grantwriting. Sandra Pocha Peña <pocha@pocharte.com> Date: 06/22/2020 03:53PM To:MMacedonio@santa-ana.org selicadiaz@yahoo.com 2 More Cc:MMacedonio@santa-ana.org Hi Ladies, Thank you for looking into this Margarita. That Staff would deem the Cypress Street Fire Station as "No longer needed for a city purpose" is absolutely myopic. The Staffer(s) recommending this did all of Santa Ana a huge disservice. April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 15 The whole reason that property had caught on fire is because Staff & PD ignored repeated calls for service in securing the property. With all the advocacy done by so many individual residents over how important the Cypress Street Fire Station is to the neighborhood as a historical site, and knowing how much a Library Technology Hub is needed in our community, it's ridiculous that staff would recommend putting this on the surplus property list. The Cypress Street Fire Station has to be brought back into community use! This last Winter in San Antonio, I visited a bookless digital library called the BiblioTech. The BiblioTech footprint looked to be smaller the Cypress Street Fire Station, which would leave room for a History Room archive/display room on that site. Here are some write ups and images of San Antonio's BiblioTech: http://blog.dlink.com/first-all-digital-and-bookless-library-opens/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/is-the-future-of-the-library-bookless/ https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/BiblioTech-to-offer-curbside-pickup-of-hot- spots-15208261.php Let's make a BiblioTech happen in Santa Ana's Pacific Park!!! Looking forward to "seeing" y'all later, -- SPS On Mon, 22 Jun 2020 21:11:09 +0000, "Macedonio, Margarita" <MMacedonio@santa-ana.org> wrote: In checking with staff from the City's Community Development Agency, the City is complying the California Surplus Land Act requirement of prioritizing the sale of this property for affordable housing. New legislation that took effect on January 1, 2020 required that a local agency's land be declared as "surplus land" before taking action to dispose of it. Attached is Resolution declaring 625 South Cypress Avenue as Surplus Land, approved by the City Council on Feb. 18, 2020. The following is the link to the staff report: https://santaana.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=2631&meta_id=108904 I sent an Outlook Meeting Invite with GoToMeeting link for today at 6 pm. Thanks. April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 16 Margarita Macedonio District Manager and Senior Community Planner Santa Ana Neighborhood Initiatives (714) 667-2288 | (714) 371-6112 cell mmacedonio@santa-ana.org Subject: FW: Cypress Fire Station Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2020 21:11:09 +0000 From: "Macedonio, Margarita" <MMacedonio@santa-ana.org> To: "selicadiaz@yahoo.com" <selicadiaz@yahoo.com>, Sandra Pocha Peña \[pocha@pocharte.com\] <pocha@pocharte.com> Cc: "Macedonio, Margarita" <MMacedonio@santa-ana.org> In checking with staff from the City's Community Development Agency, the City is complying the California Surplus Land Act requirement of prioritizing the sale of this property for affordable housing. New legislation that took effect on January 1, 2020 required that a local agency's land be declared as "surplus land" before taking action to dispose of it. Attached is Resolution declaring 625 South Cypress Avenue as Surplus Land, approved by the City Council on Feb. 18, 2020. The following is the link to the staff report: https://santaana.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=2631&meta_id=108904 I sent an Outlook Meeting Invite with GoToMeeting link for today at 6 pm. Thanks. Margarita Macedonio District Manager and Senior Community Planner Santa Ana Neighborhood Initiatives (714) 667-2288 | (714) 371-6112 cell Sandra Pocha Peña <pocha@pocharte.com> Date: 04/30/2020 03:26PM To:mmacedonio@santa-ana.org Cc:selicadiaz@yahoo.com Hi Margarita, I'm writing to inquire about upcoming neighborhood meetings during the COVID crisis. I saw that Henninger Park had a "virtual mtg" recently. Was it on Zoom? April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 17 Are we going to set up meetings for Pacific Park? There are many issues up in the air: -- Status of Cypress Street Fire Station - I've heard that we can ask for certain "conditions" can be put onto that sale to benefit the community, such as prospective uses (gallery, community meeting space, etc) that any prospective buyer would have to abide by. If no buyer if found who can comply, the property would revert back to the City. This whole situation is frustrating as many residents, including myself, have inquired and advocated for it throughout the years only to have all this communication fall on deaf ears. I have forwarded below an email I received from Ron Ono after asking about this property at our monthly Arts Commission meetings for almost a year. I can't believe that even with all the advocacy we all have done, the Cypress Fire House would be put into a "surplus property" status. That is a travesty! -- South Main Development - Didn't we all vote for residential development to be capped at 3 or 4 stories? Am I mistaken? At the community meeting we had at Roosevelt, where we all voted on the City proposals, there were specific items we voted on. Is there a printout of the voting results we can review? Can we schedule a presentation on South Main by Erica Gonzalez who did a very informative presentation on South Main that says SIX STORIES are being planned. Is this true? Her email is EricaGon1@gmail.com. I missed the last meeting, but heard from neighbors that the City was saying all public input was over because the the City did their required meetings. I find this unacceptable. Here are the two videos, Erica presented on Youtube and Facebook: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htTuWL6lGvY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHA1i9-SaZ0 -- Standard Safety Plan - What ever happened with Standard Avenue improvements? Last I heard there was a glossy brochure produced and then Cory quit. Wasn't he supposed to grant write for Standard Ave improvements? What happened to the list of items to be addressed, which included flashing lights for our crosswalks? After our association went on haitus for the holidays, I ran into a neighbor at a City Council mtg who reported that there was another pedestrian fatality on Bishop & Maple. This was also reported to a City staffer who was present. I can't find his name but he was a hispanic mail with a mustache who said Traffic Safety was his area. He said he would get in touch with you Margarita so we could discuss this issue at our first 2020 meeting but then COVID happened so I don't know what happened. April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 18 The two neighbors who reported this issue are Magda Trujillo 714.884.7927 and Velia Regalado 714.206.8961. The City Council mtg where this conversation happened was in Oct or Nov 2019. We should get some kind of a status report on traffic collisions & pedestrian deaths in Pacific Park, as well as a Standard Safety Plan update, at our next gathering. -- The Built Environment: What is the status of our Eastside stone marker signs? When is "Pacific Park" going to replace the old signs? Thanks so much for your assistance Margarita. Hope to see you soon, even if it's only thru Zoom. I have copied my neighborhood co-lead, the fabulous Selica Diaz, and Ginelle Hardy because I'm mentioning Henninger Park and her advocacy for preserving the Cypress Street Fire Station. Warm Saludos, -- Sandra "Pocha" Pena Sarmiento -------- Original Message -------- Subject: FW: MUNICIPAL ART CENTER Date: Wed, 22 Jul 2015 18:06:33 +0000 From: "Ono, Ron" <ROno@santa-ana.org> To: "pocha@pocharte.com" <pocha@pocharte.com> Cc: "Mouet, Gerardo" <GMouet@santa-ana.org> Sandra: Gerardo forward me your email since I have been working on the Cypress project. I have been meeting with the City's Building department, but unfortunately they have informed me that the Cypress building is not up to code in order to open it for public use. In addition, it is no public parking spaces other than two stalls in the driveway. There are many other issues that needs to be resolved such as ADA and public safety compliance. I am working on a plan to obtain a cost estimate in order to find monies to bring the building up to code. The proposal is to safely use it to store Recreational equipment and Library archives. This prospect will take awhile to fund and renovate. The Agency is in dire need of more storage space since we’ve been asked to increase programs and services the Agency provides to the public. I hope this provides you with the information you need concerning the status of the Cypress Center. April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 19 Ron Ono Administrative Services Manager Parks, Recreation & Community Services Agency Learn * Have Fun * Get Fit * Be Respectful P (714) 571-4220 F (714) 571-4211 rono@santa-ana.org From: Pocha Pena <pocha@pocharte.com> Date: July 21, 2015 at 3:19:55 PM PDT To: Gerardo Mouet <gmouet@santa-ana.org> Subject: Fwd: MUNICIPAL ART CENTER Hi Gerardo, Remember that old firehouse on Cypress you presented to the Arts Commission as a potential new municipal art center? What ever happened with that? We've been asking Kelly Rendeers about it every month since we transferred to her agency. Hope all is going well in Parks & Rec land! Saludos, -- SPS Sandra "Pocha" Peña Begin forwarded message: From: "Reenders, Kelly" <KReenders@santa-ana.org> Date: July 21, 2015 at 11:59:05 AM PDT To: Pocha Pena <pocha@pocharte.com> Cc: "Bernal, Sarah" <SBernal@santa-ana.org>, Marytza Rubio <mrytza@gmail.com> Subject: RE: MUNICIPAL ART CENTER Hi Sandra, Thanks for your email. I had a chance to catch up with Gerardo on this issue after the last Commission meeting. Unfortunately, the facility is no longer available. If you have additional questions, I suggest you follow up with him. Thanks, Kelly Reenders April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 20 (714) 647-5360 -----Original Message----- From: Pocha Pena \[mailto:pocha@pocharte.com\] Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2015 10:42 AM To: Reenders, Kelly <KReenders@santa-ana.org> Cc: Bernal, Sarah <SBernal@santa-ana.org>; Marytza Rubio <mrytza@gmail.com> Subject: MUNICIPAL ART CENTER Good Morning Kelly, For the last six months, my fellow colleague Marytza and I have been asking you for the status of our proposed municipal art gallery. As we conveyed, when the commission was administered by Gerardo Mouet of Parks & Rec, we were given a presentation about the property located at: 625 Cypress, Santa Ana, 92701. This city-owned property had been identified as a space that could be rehabbed into a municipal art gallery & community art center. We were told that in the future this space could be used as a place to hold commission meetings and workshops. Can you please place this property on the next agenda so that we are able to track it's progress? If you need more information, perhaps Mr Mouet can help. His email is: gmouet@santa-ana.or I have included photos of the property below. This is an exciting opportunity and one we would love to see flourish! Kind regards, -- SPS Council Member Penaloza, Is there any update on the Cypress St Fire Station which is on the list of historical landmarks in our city? I remember at a city council meeting, you asked who is responsible for this building and if a security guard company was to be monitoring it or not. April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 21 I was hoping the city identified funds in the 2019-20 FY Budget to restore the Cypress St Fire Station to celebrate the city's 150th anniversary. Any help to restore the Cypress St Fire Station would be greatly appreciated. Kind regards, Chris Schmidt On May 24, 2019, at 1:04 PM, Selica Diaz <selicadiaz@yahoo.com> wrote: Dear Councilmember Peñaloza, We would like to invite you to our next Pacific Park Neighborhood meeting that will held on Tuesday June 11th, 2019 at 6:30pm. We have our meetings at the Roosevelt Walker Community Center. We would like to get an update on The Cypress Fire Station building and what are the current plans the city has for our neighborhood. Thank you, Selica Diaz Pacific Park Neighborhood Volunteer On May 24, 2019, at 9:51 AM, Chris S <chris714oc@gmail.com> wrote: Council Member Penaloza, Will there be any funding in next year’s General Fund budget to restore the Cypress St Fire Station back to its former glory? I drove by the station the other day and it appears people are still trespassing onto the property. Why our city is not protecting this city owned building from further damage is concerning. Kind regards, Chris Schmidt April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 22 On Wed, Apr 17, 2019 at 2:37 PM Ginelle Hardy <ginelleann@gmail.com> wrote: On Apr 15, 2019, at 1:26 PM, Chris S <chris714oc@gmail.com> wrote: Council Member Penaloza, Attached are pics showing the poor condition of the Cypress Street Fire station which is listed as a Historical Property. This building belongs to the city of Santa Ana under the Parks and Rec Dept, and I believe the Library was going to use it to expand their History Room. For the last 2 years, I have personally witnessed this city owned building fall into such disrepair. I’ve been across the street as a homeless individual was tearing it apart. You can see the black on the building from the fire that was started in the building. If you go to the alley in the back, you can see graffiti on the building, the electrical panel pulled open, and section of the wall covered in metal where someone punched a hole in the building. It got so bad the city had to put up steel security doors to keep people out. I’m told the inside of the building has been completely gutted and all needs to be replaced. Around 2016, this building was in perfect condition and used by a non-profit. Why our city has allowed this beautiful historical building to fall into such disrepair is beyond me! Since this city owned building is located in Ward 2, I would appreciate if you would get an update on the building. Kind regards, Chris Schmidt ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Chris S <chris714oc@gmail.com> Date: Fri, Aug 31, 2018 at 8:19 AM Subject: Cypress St Fire Station To: Nunez, Ralph <rnunez@santa-ana.org> Cc: Jurado, Jeannie <jjurado@santa-ana.org>, Ono, Ron <ROno@santa-ana.org>, Gominsky Jr, Kenneth <kgominsky@santa-ana.org>, Barragan, Luis <lbarragan@santa-ana.org>, Macedonio, Margarita <mmacedonio@santa-ana.org>, Selica <selicadiaz@yahoo.com>, Martinez, Michele <councilwomanmartinez@gmail.com>, Thomas Gordon <thomas.anthony.gordon@gmail.com>, Cortez, Robert <rcortez5@santa-ana.org>, Garcia, Jorge (CMO) <jgarcia10@santa-ana.org>, Hernandez, Rodolfo <RHernandez5@santa-ana.org> Ralph Nunez, Interim Parks and Rec Director April 20, 2021 Cypress Fire Station Correspondence 2021-2017 23 Can you please find out what the current status is on the Cypress St Fire Station? Over a year ago, the fire station was transferred to the Parks and Rec Dept, and was intended to be used as an extension of the History Room. The building has sat vacant for over a year and has been taken over by transients who have basically destroyed the building so it’s no longer usable. Attached are 2 pics taken 1 year apart (April 2016 and Oct 2017) showing what the fire station looked like and what it looks like now. If you have time available, Selica Diaz and I would be willing to meet you at the fire station to discuss. Kind regards, Chris Schmidt Ginelle <ginelleann@gmail.com> Date: 04/11/2017 10:07PM To:Hally Soboleske <hsoboleske@santa-ana.org> Cc:Sandra Pocha Peña <pocha@pocharte.com> Selica Diaz <selicad@yahoo.com> April 11, 2017 Hello Hally, re: 709 Cypress Ave. It has come to my attention that the house that was at 709 Cypress Ave., in Eastside neighborhood, has been all but demolished. All siding, windows, walls, lath are gone. Only studs remain standing. There is a construction type fence around the property, men are working, work in progress. The house is no longer recognizable. The address can still be seen on the curb, like seen in this photo from the internet. Can you check to see if permits have been pulled? Thank you, Ginelle Hardy Heninger Park ginelleann@gmail.com Orozco, Norma From:Selica Diaz <selicadiaz@yahoo.com> Sent:Tuesday, April 20, 2021 3:03 PM To:Irma Jauregui Cc:Sarmiento, Vicente; eComment; suzie c sandoval; Ginelle Gmail Hardy; pocha@pocharte.com; Ridge, Kristine; Macedonio, Margarita; Alberta AOL Christy; mike@tardifsheetmetal.com; Chris Schmidt; Jose Rea; adolfosierra@sbcglobal.net Subject:Re: Historic Cypress Fire Station Hello, As many of you know I have been trying for years to save, and restore the Cypress Street Fire Station. Many of you might recall the many emails I sent to you. Chris and Ginelle tried to help me save The Cypress Street Fire Station too. The initial idea that Gerardo Mouet had was to move the History room to the Cypress Street Fire Station. The building can be restored and be of a lot of help if it can be of used as an arm of the library. It was once under the care of a nonprofit and look at it now. The nonprofit did not take care of the building. Thank you, Selica Diaz Pacific Park Neighborhood Leader > On Apr 20, 2021, at 1:05 PM, Irma Jauregui <irmapj@yahoo.com> wrote: > > Dear Mayor and Councilmembers > > I am writing most urgently to request that our historic fire station be reconsidered to be kept by the city for community good and benefit to all our city. > Since we are so short of libraries, community centers and green space, the public of now and future generations will benefit of preserving our history and repurposing our building for everyone’s benefit. > A Tech/library annex and community resource possibilities could show our future architects, engineers and historians of how to preserve and reuse new technologies is a true opportunity of not only preserving but a wonderful example of both treasuring our past and looking towards our future. > The leaderships in South Main Street and of many areas of the city are raising our voices in unison to urge stopping the sale and look for a fabulous and beneficial outcome to all our residents > Most respectfully, > > Irma P Jauregui > Wilshire Square past President > Santa Ana Healthy Neighborhood Alliance > > > > Sent from my iPad 1 Orozco, Norma From:timrush@bhhscaprops.com Sent:Tuesday, April 20, 2021 3:53 PM To:eComment Subject:SA Council Meeting 4/20/21 Sale of Cypress Fire Station Honorable Mayor & Members of the City Council; I write to you today to encourage you to vote to sell the above referenced City Property but place a caveat that whomever purchases the property be required as a condition of sale (with an appropriate release clause when done and approved by the City) that the property be rehabilitated under Secretary of The Interior Preservation Guidelines to proper “as originally built” standard. This will most like be turned into a SFR home and I think that is the best outcome. While I have a long history of advocating for preservation of historic structures…….and continue to do so in this instance, I don’t believe the City should continue to own and operate this building. The City and the Taxpayers have invested many thousands of dollars trying in vain to maintain this property and sadly the neighborhood and immediate neighbors don’t see it as a needed asset. Unless we are to continue to invest inordinate sums for round the clock security (which would be unwise in my view) to continue to pour city resources into this property is simply good money after bad. Please release this property to the private sector with conditions that it be maintained as a historic structure and invest this money elsewhere in town. Thank you for your consideration……….. Tim Rush, 1225 South Broadway Street, Wilshire Square, SA Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties 13926 Seal Beach Boulevard Seal Beach, CA 90740 (714) 299-4455 1