Editor:
Charles Follette ignores the fact that when a public institution accepts ownership of a work of art, the former owner and his or her descendants relinquish all responsibility for conserving that work ("Stick to your word on ‘Chain Reaction,'" Letter to the Editor, Jan. 7.) That responsibility now becomes that of the new owner.
Secondly, the city engineer, Ron Takiguchi, lacks professional competence to assess the cost of conserving a work of art.
Richard Dellamora
Santa Monica