Honorable Mayor Mueller and Council Members:
Congratulations to each of you for your service to the community. Year 2019 promises to provide an opportunity to discuss
important and challenging issues facing our city, some of which have been around awhile and others will no doubt be new.
One such issue is the value and importance of art in all its forms, such as dance, music, literature, poetry, sculpture, murals,
theater and so on. To help provide this form of culture to the community, Menlo Park for many, many years had a formal, ongoing
MENLO PARK ART COMMISSION, comprised of 7 dedicated and devoted citizens.
The Commission is still on the books, but went dormant a number of years ago. All the City Council needs to do to re-activate it
is select 7 new Menlo Park residents to faithfully serve. The Commission could work on such things as
1) UTILITY BOX paintings, in and around town, much like is seen in our neighboring cities.
2) CITIZEN PROPOSALS - that is, provide a forum for our community to express ideas, make suggestions, etc.
3) TWO YEAR WORK PLAN - can be an important first step. The City Council could then discuss and approve desired programs.
Most of the 400 + cities in California, and most of the 58 counties in California have an Art Commission, as do cities nearby to
the north of Menlo Park and to the south of Menlo Park. They offer this service because art, in many forms, broadens one's life,
adds joy, adds entertainment and overall makes a difference within their community.
Please consider re-activating the MENLO PARK ART COMMISSION. It doesn't deserve to be dormant. With all that is going on within
the city, there may be no better time than now to re-introduce this vital service.
Respectfully,
Jim Lewis
