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City flag, a City history book). Upon approval by the City Council, staff will prepare <br /> appropriate correspondence to the Mayor's office in Ribeirao Preto from Mayor Cassidy, <br /> asking them to arrange a meeting between Councilmember Gregory and their Mayor. <br /> Committee Recommendation <br /> It is recommended the City Council, by consensus, approve Councilmember Gregory's <br /> official visit to Ribeirao Preto and that he be provided with appropriate gift items to <br /> exchange with the Mayor of Ribeirao Preto. <br /> 4. Discussion Regarding Utility Box Painting <br /> At a City Council meeting in February. Councilmember Souza commented on a project the <br /> City of Hayward has undertaken to have art painted on utility boxes to deter graffiti. <br /> Consensus of the Council was that it be referred to the Civic and Cultural Committee. <br /> Kathy Ornelas reported that she has done some preliminary research about this program. The <br /> City of Hayward has had the program in place for a year or more, managed by their <br /> Neighborhood Partnership Manager. It is part of their Public Mural Art Program. The City <br /> of Livermore just announced their program, overseen by their Commission for the Arts. The <br /> City of Berkeley has a program that is managed by the Earth Island Art Institute. In all three <br /> Cities, the program requires funding either from non - profit grants, General Funds, or in the <br /> case of Hayward a combination of Redevelopment, CDBG and Enterprise funds. In <br /> Hayward's case, the initial proposal to their City Council projected that up to $40,000 could <br /> be saved in Public Works because murals on utility boxes are rarely damaged by graffiti. <br /> However, the City of Hayward has not been able to realize any actual budget savings from <br /> the program. <br /> These programs provide an opportunity for local artists, students or private individuals to <br /> submit art proposals in order to beautify the city. However. in all cases, the art is done by <br /> professional artists under contract with each of the City's programs. The funding for each <br /> artist ranges from $175 to $300 per utility box. <br /> While the program itself in each City sounds simple, management is time consuming and <br /> complex. Committees have to be organized to screen art proposals and artists, work with the <br /> schools or other community groups, obtain MOUs with the utility companies, seek funding <br /> sources, and more. <br /> Staff's recommendation is that, while there is no doubt this would be a very worthwhile <br /> program for San Leandro, there is no funding source or available staff to take on a project of <br /> this magnitude at this time. Staff recommends the program be brought back for further <br /> discussion by the Committee next year. <br /> The Committee supported this recommendation and agreed that postponing further <br /> discussion on the program is prudent at this time. <br /> Committee Recommendation <br /> None <br />