HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-11-21 Item 1HHFrom:Roger Medanich
To:City Clerk
Subject:Fw: Please, an appropriate AIDS memorial sculpture...
Date:Friday, November 22, 2024 12:41:57 PM
NOTICE: This message originated outside of The City of Palm Springs -- DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments
unless you are sure the content is safe.
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Roger Medanich <rrmedanich@aol.com>
To: letters@desertsun.com <letters@desertsun.com>
Sent: Friday, November 22, 2024 at 12:35:24 PM PST
Subject: Please, an appropriate AIDS memorial sculpture...
With all due respect to the beautiful sculpture by local artist Phillip K. Smith, and
the P.S. City Council for proposing it as an AIDS Memorial
In the Arenas District, - the proposed sculpture has again, regrettably, missed the
mark.
Since being created by the New York-based Visual AIDS Artists Caucus in 1991, and
introduced to the world by Elizabeth Taylor during the Oscars in 1992 - the simple red
ribbon has become a universally accepted and revered symbol of those lost, those
still suffering, and those of us still surviving the horrors of the disease.
Please have Mr.Smith honor that simple red ribbon as a paradegm for any publicly
funded sculpture.
With absolute sincerity,
Roger Medanich
15500 Bubbling Wells Rd, Spc. 172
Desert Hot Springs, CA 93249
RRMEDANICH@AOL
COM
951-388-4431
11/21/2024
Public Comment
Item 1HH
From:Jeffrey Bernstein
To:City Clerk
Subject:Fwd: Letter from Palm Springs AIDS Memorial Task Force
Date:Sunday, November 17, 2024 5:59:13 PM
Attachments:Letter to Mayor Bernstein.docx
Thank you!
Jeffrey
Jeffrey Bernstein
Mayor
City of Palm Springs
442-305-9942
Jeffrey.Bernstein@palmspringsca.gov
Begin forwarded message:
From: Dan Spencer <dan@danspencerstudio.com>
Subject: Letter from Palm Springs AIDS Memorial Task Force
Date: November 14, 2024 at 2:40:22 PM PST
To: "Jeffrey.Bernstein@palmspringsca.gov" <Jeffrey.Bernstein@palmspringsca.gov>
NOTICE: This message originated outside of The City of Palm Springs -- DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe.
Greetings Mayor Bernstein -
I hope you are well. I have attached a short letter from the Palm Springs AIDS Memorial Task Force that we hope you can read prior to the City Council meeting next Thursday.
Looking forward to seeing you and thank you so much for your ongoing support of this Memorial.
Dan Spencer
Founder/Spokesperson
11/21/2024
Public Comment
Item 1HH
11/14/24
Dear Mayor Bernstein:
Thank you for your ongoing commitment to the Palm Springs AIDS Memorial. This
Memorial has been a passion of ours since 2012 and the all-volunteer Palm Springs
AIDS Memorial Task Force is thrilled that the design is in its final step before becoming
a reality.
As you are aware, earlier this year the Task Force organized a series of targeted
community listening sessions and the participants provided important feedback and
thoughts about what the memorial should be. This culminated with a large open-to-all
Town Hall in which members of the public were invited to provide additional input. Artist
Phillip K. Smith III and the Task Force then reviewed all the input and Phillip
incorporated these thoughts into the new design of the Memorial. This design has
already received tremendous support from the entire community and was accepted by
the Public Arts Commission to be installed in the Downtown Park, pending Council
approval.
The Memorial is on the Council’s November 21 agenda, and we hope, like so many
others in the community, that you love this design as much as we do. The Public Arts
Commission agreed to gift $65,000 towards the installation/sitework for the Memorial.
That was the installation/sitework cost for the original design which was budgeted at
$600,000. The new, more involved design (that incorporates the many excellent
suggestions that came out of the community listening sessions, such as adding
adjacent seating and a related plaza) now has a budget range of $1-1.2 million with an
installation/sitework cost of $125,000. While approval of the Memorial at the City
Council meeting on the 21st is our priority, we do hope that the City might consider
allocating additional funds to reinforce a greater commitment to this important project.
We are happy to answer any questions you might have, and we all look forward to
seeing you on the 21st at the City Council meeting.
Best regards,
Palm Springs AIDS Memorial Task Force
Dan Spencer, Founder/Spokesperson
Arturo Fernandez
Dana Manciagli
Jeffrey Jurasky
Karyl E. Ketchum, Ph.D.
Mike Richey
Phillip K. Smith III
Stuart Kent
11/21/2024
Public Comment
Item 1HH