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Co-Founder, United Artists of Santa Ana <br /> -------- Original Message -------- <br /> Subject:Arts Commission Public Comment: Discussion of Arts &Culture Master Plan Update <br /> Date:202 6-01-15 18:24 <br /> From:victor@unitedartistsofsantaana.com <br /> To:eComment@santa-ana.org <br /> Cc:BZurita@santa-ana.org,TLe5@santa-ana.org <br /> Hello, Arts Commissioners, <br /> As you may be aware United Artists of Santa Ana's members, particularly Pocha Pena <br /> and myself, were key partners in the effort to create the Santa Ana Arts Master Plan. In <br /> addition to years-long advocacy to bring the effort to fruition, we conducted extensive <br /> community outreach, participated in almost all of the community input sessions, and <br /> even hosted several community meetings the consultants did not plan to have. These <br /> included community input sessions for youth, seniors, veterans, LGTBQ+ artists, media <br /> artists and Spanish-speakers. <br /> While the Arts Master Plan has been highly effective in developing Santa Ana's arts and <br /> culture sector and serving residents, there are some key areas where it has not <br /> advanced in regard to recommendations made in the plan. <br /> I urge you to consider the following recommendations and present them to the City <br /> regarding some unmet needs identified in the Arts Master Plan that would greatly <br /> improve its impact. <br /> Some recommendations that align with the Santa Ana Arts Master Plan <br /> 1. Increase the funding for the arts program commensurate with new programs, duties <br /> and growth of the program since 2017. Rather than being seriously addressed by the <br /> City, the arts budget has not increased significantly and has faced defunding threats in <br /> recent years. Adding an additional $300,000 to the arts program budget will help <br /> strengthen and expand the Arts and Culture office's staffing, program and service <br /> capacity. <br /> Potential additional revenue sources to fund the arts budget include: <br /> • The Americans for the Arts' Arts and Economic Prosperity study identified that <br /> Santa Ana's non-profit arts sector contributes $54 million in spending, including <br /> $1,164,146 in direct local tax revenue, $2,461,189 in state tax revenue and <br /> $8,988,242 in federal tax revenue. This does not include for-profit arts businesses <br /> such as The Observatory and the Picture Show movie theater at Main Place Mall, <br /> 2 <br />