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Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Pulse memorial gets $5 million pledge from Orange County
Orange County commissioners unanimously pledged $5 million today to support the city of Orlando's plan to build a memorial to Pulse, honoring its victims and survivors at the site of the former LGBTQ nightclub as the ninth anniversary of the horrific massacre approaches this month. The decision followed a presentation of the proposed memorial, on which construction would begin next summer. It marked another step forward for a remembrance effort that began as a privately led campaign, collapsed amid infighting and misspending, and is being carried forward now by government agencies and public dollars. 'It's time that there is a memorial,' said Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, who was the sheriff when a lone gunman opened fire during Latin Night at the club on Orange Avenue on June 12, 2016. 'None of us thought that it would take nine years to get to this point and we can't go back and relitigate all of the failures along the way that have happened, but what we can do is control how we move forward together.' Demings said he did not want the county to be an obstacle to a memorial. The rampage at the club killed 49 people, wounded 53 others and at the time was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Demings asked the capacity audience inside the commission chambers Tuesday to pause for a moment of silence at the beginning of the meeting, then described the proposed memorial as an appropriate tribute to the people and the diverse communities affected by tragedy. Heather Fagan, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer's chief of staff, lauded the county's pledge as another step in the healing process. Orlando City Council welcomes new design for Pulse Memorial Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan urged her counterparts on the county board to help the community move forward. 'I can never forget the screams of the relatives on Orange Avenue as they found out their children and family members were victims. It haunts me to this day, but I also remember how our community came together, city and county to assist the victims and their families,' she told county commissioners. 'I got to know 38 of the 49 families, and they want their loved ones remembered.' As she spoke, Sheehan clutched a rainbow rosary, a gift from Teresa Jacobs, county mayor when the tragedy occurred. 'You have an opportunity to be part of the healing,' Sheehan said. 'This didn't just impact the gay community. There were members of the LatinX community, the African-American community, there were straight allies who were murdered that day. It's important for us to remember all those beautiful people who simply wanted to dance.' The city sought county funds to help design and build a memorial — estimated to cost $12 million — and has itself pledged more than half the anticipated bill. Orlando took over the memorial effort in late 2023 amid the messy collapse of the private onePulse foundation, oversaw a recently concluded citizens' design process, and has promised to complete the structure by the end of 2027. Created to design a memorial, the onePulse Foundation shut down after spending most of the millions it raised to defray its own lavish expenses, including hundreds of thousands of dollars paid to high-priced architects and consultants. Orlando seeks $5 million from Orange County for Pulse memorial; some commissioners are hesitant Mayra Alvear, whose daughter Amanda, died at Pulse, said a completed memorial has much to offer Central Florida. 'This memorial will provide solace, a place for reflection, contemplation…a special place for years to come,' she said. shudak@
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Orlando seeks $5 million from Orange County for Pulse memorial; some commissioners are hesitant
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer is seeking $5 million from Orange County to help build a long-sought permanent memorial to the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre, but his request is facing early resistance, in a sign of lingering bitterness over the failure of earlier memorial plans. In a Monday memorandum to Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, Dyer asked for the funds to help design and build the memorial — which is estimated to cost $12 million and for which the city has already pledged more than half of that estimate. Orlando took the helm of the memorial effort in late 2023 amid the messy collapse of the private onePulse foundation. 'Since the tragedy, the city and county have continuously partnered to support the victims' families and survivors and helped build community resilience,' Dyer said in the memo, as he sought to evoke the memories of the 49 individuals killed in the horrific shooting. 'We hope that the County will continue that spirit of partnership as we as we work to realize an overdue memorial that properly honors the 49.' A spokesperson for Demings told the Orlando Sentinel Wednesday that while the mayor supports the request, final approval must come from the Orange County Commission during the county's annual budget process in the summer. But other county leaders were more circumspect. While believing a memorial is overdue, Orange County Commissioner Mayra Uribe, whose district includes the Pulse site, told the Sentinel she could not yet pledge taxpayer dollars to the project. 'We need more information,' she said. 'We need to know where everything ended with the onePulse funding. We've never been told. Was there any money left over and where is that money?' The onePulse Foundation raised about $20 million over its seven-year lifespan, falling far short of the ambition $100 million memorial and museum plan it had concocted. Uribe said the county should be involved in the whole process and not just financially. Commissioner Kelly Semrad raised similar concerns. 'I think the county, our whole community, wants to contribute to recognizing and memorializing the loss, making sure that this never happens again,' Semrad said. 'But I think there are a lot of reservations in terms of what happened to the original amount of money that came into the foundation and where did it go, and making sure that we're accountable, transparent, and that future investment goes where it needs to.' The Orlando City Council last month endorsed a design for a memorial unanimously approved by the Pulse Memorial Advisory Committee, which included relatives of the 49 people who died in the massacre and some members who had visited the club that horrible night in June 2016. An early estimate pegged the cost at $12 million to design and construct, of which the city would contribute $7.5 million, but no detailed design or construction pan has yet been prepared. Dyer mentioned in the memorandum how the failed prior efforts to build a memorial, including the efforts of onePulse, will make it harder for Orlando to once again raise funds from private sources — difficulties which apparently extend to public sources as well. 'Unfortunately, many in our local community have given previously through either the OneOrlando Fund, which was established to go directly to the victims' families and survivors, or the OnePulse Foundation without any return of a memorial, which makes it more challenging for the city to raise significant private funding for the memorial,' he wrote. Orlando issued a request for contractors to submit their proposals for the memorial on March 3. Dyer aims to complete the memorial by the second half of 2027, before he leaves office.
