The vision for an archway welcoming visitors to Little Saigon may be dead; First District Supervisor Andrew Do has requested the city of Westminster refund his office’s $1 million contribution, citing the project was becoming more expensive than anticipated.
Do first introduced the idea in May at a City Council meeting where he proposed the sign standing over Bolsa Avenue at the south entrance to Little Saigon and pledged the $1 million from his district’s discretionary funds, as well as additional funds to help cover expenses that may arise.
Each supervisors has a pool of money they can use at their discretion for public programs and projects in their districts.
In November, Chris Wangsaporn, Do’s chief of staff, gave details on where to send back the funds to Westminster Assistant City Manager Adolfo Ozaeta in an email obtained by The Orange County Register.
Ozaeta said in his email response on Nov. 20 that the city’s staff had released requests for contractors to submit proposals for the design and construction of the archway. City staffers were intending for the council to award a contract at their Dec. 13 meeting, Ozaeta wrote, adding they were “disappointed to hear that we may not be moving forward.”
“In late October 2023, we were excited when your office informed us that you would be contributing an additional $740,000 towards the delivery of the project,” Ozaeta said in his email. “In response to your request to return the $1 million in funding, please provide a letter signed by Supervisor Do, officially requesting the return of the funds and terminating the partnership.”
The estimates Do’s office was getting for the cost of the archway were reaching $2 million and the “city did not have any funds to chip in,” Wangsaporn said in an email to the Register in response to questions about the request for the return of funds. He said Do is working with Mayor Chi Charlie Nguyen on other ways to help the city, but did not specify in…
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