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Winter Haven approves $347,761 in community grants; $5,000 for Lake Maud Cemetery restricted to research and investigation
Summary
The commission adopted the grant review committee's FY26 recommendations totaling $347,761. The Florence Villa Community Association's Lake Maud Cemetery revitalization request received $5,000; the commission restricted those funds to investigatory and historical research and required family consent before any work on individual plots.
The Winter Haven City Commission approved the grant review committee’s fiscal year 2025–26 recommendations, allocating $347,761 to local nonprofits and legacy organizations. The Florence Villa Community Association’s Lake Maud Cemetery revitalization project received $5,000, with the commission specifying the money be used only for investigatory and historical research (for example, ground‑penetrating radar and archival work) and not for repairs to individual graves or headstones without the expressed consent of descendants.
Katrina Hill, director of public affairs and communications, summarized the application process: the city received 76 applications, all applicants completed required training, staff screened submissions for completeness, and the grant review committee met May 9 and concluded deliberations May 16. Hill read the Florence Villa group’s project description from the application: “FVCA is currently in the process of cleaning headstones, uncovering buried grave artifacts, as well as securing and organizing records. The Black Cemetery Network is committed to assisting us in identifying the location of unmarked remains, which we will endeavor to identify.”
Commissioners and staff discussed long‑standing questions about Lake Maud Cemetery’s ownership, historical records and family notification. City staff reviewed historical research that shows the site dates to the early 1900s and that internal roadways were dedicated to the public; ownership of individual plots is generally with families who purchased them. Staff reported University of South Florida investigators have performed initial ground‑penetrating radar work at the site and that community members such as Robert Frazier and the late Christopher Darby previously maintained historical records.
Mayor Pro Tem Yates pressed for limits on how city funds can be used: “Can we stipulate the funds... only to not be used on headstone repair or anything like if it's ground maintenance or research, those sort of things. And if they wanna come back to us for a new request for headstone repair… then they need to come back with that request and have that process in place.” The commission voted to accept the grant committee’s recommendation and approved the Lake Maud allocation with the research‑only restriction and a requirement of documented family consent before any work on individual graves.
City staff said the Florence Villa Community Association is meeting with an attorney and working with the Black Cemetery Network and USF; staff recommended the committee return with progress updates. The commission noted the matter’s sensitivity, the need to document outreach to descendants and the possibility of seeking additional funding for more extensive preservation work.
Action summary: the grant package was approved as recommended; the Lake Maud award of $5,000 was approved with the stipulation that funds be used for investigatory and historical research only, and not for altering individual plots without family consent.
