Santa Ana residents will be able to enjoy a public ice-skating rink this winter and will see more cleaning and sanitizing of high-traffic pedestrian and bicycle areas, thanks to the City Council’s approval of two new Revive Santa Ana measures, on Tuesday, Sept. 7.
An agreement with Seaside Ice, LLC, or Ice-America, will allow the installation of a temporary portable ice rink in the plaza by Santa Ana City Hall. The rink will be part of the Santa Ana Winter Village, which will have food, performances and other activities. The Winter Village will open in December for four weeks.
The Council also approved increasing the compensation for Landscape West Management Services, Inc., by $1 million in the current fiscal year to provide increased cleaning and sanitization of public pedestrian and bicycle corridors. Additionally, two new Public Works Agency maintenance worker positions will be added for a five-year limited term to continue these efforts.
Revive Santa Ana, which is funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), is designed to provide short-term financial and health assistance as well as address long-term health, education, youth and other needs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In July, the City Council approved an $80 million spending plan for the first half of the initiative.
As allowed under ARPA, the ice rink will promote healthier living environments, outdoor recreation, and socialization to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in a disproportionately impacted community. The cleaning and sanitization efforts will improve outdoor public spaces to encourage safe, healthy activities and potentially reduce the spread of COVID-19.
More details about the the Winter Village will be announced closer to the opening date. To learn more about Revive Santa Ana, go to https://www.santa-ana.org/revive-santa-ana.