HomeMy WebLinkAbout4/19/2022 Item 5g, Ashbaugh
Delgado, Adriana
From:john@johnashbaugh.com
Sent: PM
To:Stewart, Erica A; E-mail Council Website; Purrington, Teresa
Cc:Johnson, Derek; kevinharris@slorep.org; Chuck Crotser; Thomas Kessler
Subject:Letter of support for SLO Rep matching grant application
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Hon. Erica Stewart, Mayor
And members, San Luis Obispo City Council
I regret being unable to join you this evening for your IN-PERSON Council meeting, but please be assured that I will be
tuning in to your broadcase on Charter/Spectrum Channel 20. My Covid infection seems to be retreating, but not far
enough to put anyone else at risk.
I am writing to urge your support for the matching grant program on your agenda this evening, item # 5g, Grant funding
for SLO REP Theater.
I would note that the staff report for this item contains a brief discussion of the history of the SLO REP vision for this site,
just a short walk down Monterey Street from the History Center where I now spend much of my time. The staff report
fails, however, to make note of a significant turning point in the evolution of this project, however, which occurred
during my second term on the Council (2012-2016). I recall distinctly a very crowded Chambers filled with supporters of
the recently-renamed SLO REP, and a long line of supporters who spoke passionately to the Council in support of this
major cultural institution. Their appeals did not fall on deaf ears – in fact, had I not been on the dais, I would have been
among those speaking up in favor of that vision.
I voted then to support our direction to the staff to pursue negotiations with SLO REP, and I was pleased to see that
direction take shape over the last ten years. I shared in the deepening anxiety of 2020-21 as SLO REP and its plans were
derailed by the pandemic. So many “closed venues” all over the nation, how could we possibly move forward on a plan
to create a stellar new facility in the heart of our Cultural District? Yet against all odds, the leadership of the SLO REP
organization relied on its solid base of support in this community, and the project gained new life to appear before you
tonight.
I would add one further note of caution: I personally am very discouraged by the apparent lack of interest or ability to
save the Heyd Adobe, but I’m open to a possible last-minute effort to save at least one of its character-defining features
– the distinctive chimney at the northeast corner of the building. Let’s talk further about how that feature might be
incorporated into plans for the site, or at least for relocation elsewhere in the Cultural District: The history of this
building is well-documented, and preservation of at least that small feature deserves to be given one last round of
consideration by your Council, by your staff, and by SLO REP and its architects.
On the whole, I’m very pleased to see those plans back on track now, and I look forward to working with all of you at
City Hall and our soon-to-be-new neighbors, the good people of SLO REP, as this project becomes reality.
Thanks,
John Ashbaugh
SLO City Council Member, 2008-2016
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