Regina O'Connell <[email protected]>
Item 12.2 Public Comments - Consider an amendment to an agreement with Arts and Culture El Dorado for use of 525 Main Street for Offices and Gallery Space extending the term of the agreement.
Michael Saragosa <[email protected]> Tue, Aug 26, 2025 at 1:13 PM To: Cleve Morris <[email protected]>, Regina O'Connell <[email protected]> Hi Regina, if you have a chance, could you please forward to the Council? Thank you!
MS
Dear Council Members,
I wanted to add my support for the extension of the lease for Arts and Culture El Dorado (“ACED”). ACED, as noted in the staff report provided the $25000 payment the City submitted to the County for the purchase of the Annex. Without the existing partnership with ACED, the City would not have had the funds and would not have pursued the purchase of the building. The Annex was one of the buildings in ACED’s plan for a variety of museums and interactive exhibit spaces on Main Street. Arts and Culture, in my six years on City Council, was the only organization that ever had a credible plan for old city hall. There were other “ideas” but nothing that entailed a plan or a pathway to credibly raise funds for the long-term recovery of the “ketchup and mustard” buildings. To be fair, ACED has a difficult road to raise funds too but they have a proven track record that any other groups interested in those buildings have not demonstrated. Further, the pandemic and the subsequent removal of ACED from old city hall delayed efforts at the preservation of those buildings. To date, the testing and discovery of what is needed structurally and how much that work might cost is still not complete and to my knowledge has not been fully shared yet with the City Council. It’s unfair to hold that ACED has had several years to fund raise when no one knows the extent of those costs, and who might be willing to contribute to such an effort while it is open ended. Funders want certainty and any grant would be predicated on the submitter knowing what it is going to cost to repair and reoccupy the buildings. I encourage the City and interested parties to use GuideStar to check the financial status of any nonprofit that wishes to engage on this issue or any other that involves city assets. GuideStar is the repository of financial information for all nonprofits and can, at the least, provide a snapshot of stability and ability of an organization.
ACED having a continued presence on Main Street, at the current rental agreement makes sense while the costs/scope of work are still being completed. It is likely going to take the collective effort of many in the community to ultimately fix the annex and old city hall. However, every project needs a lead and ACED has proved itself to be the one organization that has the interest AND the ability to lead this project. The extension of the rental agreement gives surety to funders that there is a long-term commitment from the city and provides ACED with the flexibility to concentrate its efforts on fundraising for the rehabilitation of some of Placerville’s most treasured historical assets.
Thank you for attention on this matter.
Kind Regards,
Michael Saragosa
8/26/25, 1:29 PM City of Placerville Mail - Item 12.2 Public Comments - Consider an amendment to an agreement with Arts and Culture El Dorado for… https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ik=a4109171e3&view=pt&search=all&permmsgid=msg-f:1841550306806626095&simpl=msg-f:1841550306806626095 1/2 Michael N Saragosa
Partner
P: 916-267-3060
910 K Street #355 Sacramento, CA 95814
www.quintana-saragosapublicaffairs.com
8/26/25, 1:29 PM City of Placerville Mail - Item 12.2 Public Comments - Consider an amendment to an agreement with Arts and Culture El Dorado for… https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ik=a4109171e3&view=pt&search=all&permmsgid=msg-f:1841550306806626095&simpl=msg-f:1841550306806626095 2/2