“When we saw what happened here, it was a pretty easy call for us to say we have some resources that are available for the people in my district,” Wagner said during a press conference March 30.
Both supervisors are donating from their discretionary funds. Wagner will be giving $200,000, while Sarmiento has chipped in $25,000.
When Blair’s family sought a place to mourn their loss “they didn’t want to go to any other place but this,” Sarmiento said. He called the plaza a “special place,” for city residents and for others from neighboring communities.
Orange officials approved about $310,000 in September to enhance and add protective barriers at the plaza. Work had been scheduled to begin just weeks prior to the crash before being delayed by rain.
Orange Mayor Pro Tem Arianna Barrios, who led the press conference, said the city plans to have renovations completed in about a year, saying historical restorations require more time.
She said the plaza, designed in 1886, is listed as a historic site on both the city and state’s historic registry, and said it received an award in 2018 as one of the five great public spaces in the U.S. by the American Planning Association.
“This is not only the historic heart and core of our city, but it is also the historic heart of Orange County,” she said.
The accident has brought many together for its restoration, including the family of the plaza’s original designer.
Some historic tile work around the base of the fountain was destroyed by the crash, which was first installed by Charles McCandless in 1937.
His grandson Mark McCandless, with Santa Ana-based McCandless Tile, has offered to help with repairs and restore the fountain, in an effort, officials said, to keep true to the original.
“There is this circle of life we’re witnessing,” Sarmiento said about the grandson’s offer to help.
