Palm Springs Council Voids Bogert Statue Decision, Cites Potential Brown Act Violation

The statue of former Palm Springs Mayor Frank Bogert isn't going anywhere after all. At Wednesday night's City Council meeting, representatives revealed they decided to void the Public Arts Commission's decision from last week that would have moved the statue to Village Green in downtown Palm Springs. This was done during a special closed session meeting earlier on Wednesday.

The issue: the suggestion to have the Arts Commission make the call was never formally placed on a City Council agenda. City Attorney Jeffrey Ballinger says that may have violated the Brown Act, the state law ensuring the public's right to attend and participate in government meetings.

The potential violation traces back to a November 12th council meeting, when then-Mayor Ron DeHarte raised the idea of moving the statue during the end portion of the meeting, where members discuss potential future agenda items. The discussion ended with council members agreeing to let the Public Arts Commission decide—but without ever making it an official agenda item. Ballinger noted at the time that the matter needed to appear on a future agenda before any official action could be taken.

The bronze statue stood in front of City Hall for decades before being removed in 2022 amid scrutiny over Bogert's role in the Section 14 evictions, when hundreds of residents were displaced from a one-square-mile area in the mid-20th century. It has remained in city storage since.

Last week's Arts Commission vote approved the relocation 5-1, with an amendment requiring an educational component addressing the statue's controversial history. That decision is now void, and the statue remains in storage with no decisive next move announced.