I couldn’t be more disheartened by the inaction of our City Council at the Oct. 3 meeting regarding the Arts Master Plan and Ordinance. Early on, Councilmembers Jack Boyson and Etta Watterfield were clearly prepared to pronounce the Art Plan DOA with Councilwoman Watterfield at one point, among other ludicrous notions, suggesting all the city’s nonprofits could join together and pay for public art. An incomprehensible notion since most arts nonprofits are all volunteer-based organizations struggling to fulfill their individual core missions.
Councilman Mike Cordero seemed to understand the value of public art and was ready to support the ordinance, but, after Boyson and Watterfield continued to poison the well with convoluted attacks, he reluctantly seconded a motion he early on said he wouldn’t support—sending the plan back to another committee, a motion made by Councilman Michael Moats.
To Councilman Cordero’s credit, he kept the ordinance from dying on the spot. Mayor Alice Patino unfortunately didn’t comment until near the end of the discussion and expressed an interest in having all residents help foot the bill through a tax. The council—particularly the mayor—could have made a proposal to keep the plan moving forward, fine tuning the options presented by staff. She could have suggested calling for a fee equal to one-quarter percent for all building permits pulled and perhaps recommending a cap, a similar action that the Planning Commission took at their meeting two months ago.
But most telling was the overtly elated reaction from developer Dan Blough after the vote—high fiving city staff—which only affirmed that it is the developers, the good ole boys, who are calling the shots in Santa Maria. It’s a very disappointing outcome after two years of work on a beautification plan that hundreds of other cities have used successfully. After two hours of testimony, the council just gave lip service to the support of public art, then shot it down. Sending this to a new committee is nothing but a delay tactic in an upcoming election year, and a chance to further cripple this ordinance so that it never sees the light of day.
I have little faith in the city to pick up the pieces and commit to an art plan. So instead of sending a message that Santa Maria is on the verge of a cultural transformation, they are committed to status quo. Retail sales tax is king. Unfortunately, a rundown looking city is an open invitation to more crime, lower property values, and a disinterested and unconnected population. It is clearly time to elect a council that understands that art can turn that trend around, give the city character, identity, and strengthen the local economy. Our elected officials need to be people who actually value art.
This article appears in Oct 19-26, 2017.