The Florida Black History Museum’s venue review committee recommended St. Augustine over Eatonville this week, but a big question remains that gives hope the Orange County town might still win: Who will pay for it?
The nine-member task force chose St. Augustine and voted Tuesday in favor of a feasibility study to explore how to fund the museum’s construction and handle operating costs.
Supporters of Eatonville, the nation’s oldest black municipality, say its proximity to Orlando’s tourist throngs makes it easier to succeed than a quaint seaside town 100 miles away.
“I stand here and I’m really baffled and confused by what we’re doing,” said Rep. Bruce Antone, an Orlando Democrat who authored the bill establishing the museum and has been an active supporter of Eatonville.
He suggested the vote in favor of the feasibility study means “we don’t know if it’s going to work,” compared with about 3 million visitors from July 2021 to June 2022, compared with 74 million in Orange County over roughly the same period, according to the St. Johns County Tourism and Convention Bureau.
Antone said Eatonville can count on a favorable lease for the 10-acre site owned by Orange County Public Schools and can help pay for the construction of the 100,000-square-foot museum, estimated to cost at least $100 million, from a coalition of local donors and tourist tax revenue.
His envisioned venue would attract 500,000 visitors a year.
In contrast, one supporter of the task force’s St. Augustine location suggested the museum there might need significant support from the state. “If the state wants to fully fund the museum, I won’t get in the way,” Tony Lee, assistant vice president for the state university system, said near the end of Tuesday’s meeting.
Feasibility and sustainability studies will provide important information for choosing a site, said task force member Nasheed Madiun, executive director of the Florida Humanities Association and former museum director at Hampton University, a historically black school in Virginia.
“Once the door is open, it needs to stay open,” he said.
Madiun ranked Eatonville one point higher than St. Augustine.
Signaling its decision may not be final, the commission on Tuesday called for feasibility studies on the three potential sites, adding Eatonville and Opa Locka in Miami-Dade County, which ranked third.
St. Augustine’s backers say they have more resources than meets the eye: They have the backing of nonprofits including the Community Foundation of Northeast Florida, the Jaguars Foundation, three historically black colleges and universities, and the neighboring counties of Nassau, Duval, Clay and Flagler.
“This is not just a museum for St. Johns County,” County Commission Chair Sarah Arnold said, praising the area’s success in historical tourism. “It’s really a hub-and-spoke regional asset that will benefit not just Northeast Florida, but the entire state.”
In April, task force members scored competing sites on seven criteria, including historical significance and “suitability of the site,” and calculated an average score. Eatonville received the highest marks from five of the nine task force members, but its average score fell just short of St. Augustine, mainly because one member, Rep. Kiyan Michael, gave St. Augustine a perfect score and gave Eatonville the lowest score of 32 points.
The Jacksonville Beach Republican was appointed to the committee by House Speaker Paul Renner, whose district includes St. Johns County. He said during the meeting that he doesn’t think he has to justify his marks and that scrutinizing them is “bullying.”
The judging committee was expected to narrow the list of four finalists, which also included Sarasota, down to two schools on Tuesday.
But the committee voted 5-4 to adopt April’s average rankings as its recommendation, giving St. Augustine the win.
An unexpected swing vote on Tuesday was Pinellas County Republican Rep. Bernie Jacks, who was appointed to the task force by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Last month, Jacks scored both Eatonville and Opa-locka 15 points higher than St. Augustine. But he then backed a proposal to put St. Augustine at the top. In fact, Jacks was the only committee member to change his support.
Jack did not respond to calls, emails or text messages seeking clarification.
Despite the committee’s recommendation Tuesday, Eatonville advocates say their chances are still there.
“We’re hopeful that an unbiased investigation will shed light on what is truly possible and what is not,” said Eatonville Chief Administrative Officer Demetris Pressley. “There’s still a chance.”
The task force is scheduled to meet two more times in June and must submit its recommendations by July 1. The bill requires the task force to draft a transition plan for the museum to become financially self-sustaining and submit it to the governor and lawmakers.
Sen. Geraldine Thompson, a Windermere Democrat who led the task force, blamed politics for clouding the group’s decision, but she said she sees a silver lining in the controversy and is encouraged by the attention the museum is getting.
“I think at the very least it has raised people’s interest in African-American history and made it clear that we haven’t celebrated it or elevated it to the level that we should,” she said.
shudak@orlandosentinel.com
