ORLANDO, Fla. — The City of Orlando is purchasing land and taking over the creation of a Pulse memorial, but where that leaves separate plans for a stand-alone museum in Orange County remains a big question.
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The OnePULSE Foundation has already used over $6 million in Orange County tourist development tax dollars to design and secure land for an independent museum.
An agreement between the county and the foundation in 2018 awarded the OnePULSE $10 million in county funds, and a total of $6,522,786 has been expended so far to purchase property and start the design phase.
That contract also set a deadline of 2026 to get the museum up and running. If that doesn’t happen, the land purchased with that funding could revert to the county.
Read: Orlando City Council approves $2 million purchase of Pulse Nightclub property
Eyewitness News asked the mayor whether he is confident in the county’s investment at this point.
“I don’t want to presuppose anything about their ability to execute or not until I meet with them,” said Mayor Demings.
According to the mayor, the county is scheduled to meet with the OnePULSE Foundation later this week to discuss the next steps.
In the meantime, The OnePULSE Foundation has not answered any questions about where their plans for a museum now stand, and what role the foundation could play in helping to bring about a permanent memorial.
Read: Orlando mayor shares thoughts on city’s proposal to buy Pulse nightclub property
“The onePULSE Foundation continues its efforts to raise money to support all of its projects and initiatives,” OnePULSE Foundation spokesperson Scott Bowman stated Tuesday.
Eyewitness News looked through financial documents for the foundation and discovered for the 2022 tax year the OnePULSE Foundation reported $2.2 million in revenue from contributions and grants; however, only about half a million came from fundraising events that year.
According to Bowman, that same form for earlier years shows 2021′s total revenue was $4.5 million and that 2020′s total revenue was $3.19 million.
Read: Pulse survivors question city’s decision to buy nightclub property
It’s unclear how much the foundation still needs to raise for its newest version of the museum project.
As of this summer, the OnePULSE Foundation stated they were working on a scaled-down design plan.
In the meantime, the county is hoping for clarity.
“We’re looking forward to continued communication with the OnePULSE foundation. Obviously, there are some things that have changed,” said the mayor.
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