www.ProtectCoitTower.

org
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Chairman Mark Buell and Commissioners
San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission
501 Stanyan Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
Re:

Request for Accounting of Funds Allocated to Coit Tower Mural Preservation

Dear Chairman Buell and Commissioners,

Happy Birthday Coit Tower! Today is the 82nd birthday of the unique and
spectacular place we call Coit Tower. Therefore it is a fitting day to request a status
update on Coit Tower, and I would respectfully request that the Recreation and Park
Commission provide the public with an accounting of how the Coit Tower Mural
Preservation Fund has functioned in its first year. Specifically, I request an accounting
of how the 1% of gross revenues the Recreation and Park Department received from the
concession at Coit Tower were allocated to the Arts Commission, and what the amount
of funds available for mural maintenance, preservation, and protection are as of now.
As part of the new concession lease agreement between the Recreation and Park
Department and Coit Tower, LLC, the Department committed to contributing 1% of
revenues received from the concession to the San Francisco Arts Commission to be used
for the ongoing maintenance, preservation, and protection of the Coit Tower murals.
On January 23, 2014, the Recreation and Park Commission adopted Resolution No.
1401-009, stating: The Department also intends to propose in its annual budget to the
Board of Supervisors for their consideration that 1% of all gross revenues generated
from the concessions at Coit Tower be allocated to the Arts Commission to provide an
ongoing dedicated funding source for maintenance and protection of the murals.
Per the Memorandum to the Commission dated January 23, 2014 regarding the
Coit Tower Lease Agreement, Recreation and Park Department staff included the
following revenue projections from Coit Tower for the first five years going forward:

In the year and five months since the renovated Coit Tower with the fabulously
restored murals reopened on May 14, 2014 with the new concessionaire in place, Coit
Tower has been an electric place. The elevation in the public eye of the historic
significance of the Coit Tower murals the very first large art project created with
public funds under the New Deal and the strong public support for prioritizing the
preservation of the Coit Tower murals as expressed by San Francisco voters approval
of Proposition B, the Coit Tower Preservation Policy, in June 2012, Coit Tower has
become more popular than ever before. Every time I visit I see people pouring in to see
the historic murals and lined up to ride the elevator from the time the Tower opens its
doors until they close at the end of the day.
Therefore, the gross revenue generated from the concessions at Coit Tower over
the first year under the new lease agreement has most likely exceeded the original
revenue projections. Consequently, the amount of funds available for maintenance,
preservation, and protection of the Coit Tower murals should have increased as well.
In honor of Coit Towers birthday, I ask that you provide the public with an
accounting of these funds and explain the process for their expenditures to keep the
historic art in this special place protected for all to enjoy for many years to come.
Sincerely,

Jon Golinger
Chair, Protect Coit Tower

Cc:

J.D. Beltran, President, San Francisco Arts Commission

Tom DeCaigny, San Francisco Arts Commission
Allison Cummings, San Francisco Arts Commission
Phil Ginsburg, San Francisco Recreation and Park Department