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Foundation for Florida Museum of Black History seeks Flagler County support for St. Augustine campus
Summary
Foundation leaders told the county they are advancing plans for a Florida Museum of Black History campus in St. Johns County and asked Flagler County for a letter of support; the group cited task-force selection of St. Augustine and a draft bill (SB 466) to formalize the site and funding.
FLAGLER COUNTY — Leaders of the Foundation for the Museum of Black History briefed the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 10 and asked for a letter of support as they advance a proposal to locate the Florida Museum of Black History in St. Augustine.
Howard Holly, a co-founding board member who also described himself as a publisher, said a gubernatorial-era legislative effort created a task force that evaluated 13 candidate sites across Florida; St. Augustine was selected as one of three finalists and has been recommended by the task force. The foundation told commissioners the preferred location is a roughly 14.5-acre parcel tied to the historic Florida Memorial University campus in West Augustine, and that the project is conceived as a multi-building campus including a museum, performing-arts center, education facilities and outdoor exhibits.
Alicia Wilbican, executive director of the foundation, told the board the newly-formed foundation will focus on fundraising, community engagement and communications. "The foundation, which I'm heading up as the executive director. We formed in November. And our primary focuses will be fundraising, community engagement, and of course, communications," she said.
Foundation leaders said Senator Leake filed legislation (SB 466) to designate St. Johns County as the museum location and to create a new task force. The foundation also reported a request for planning, design and engineering (PD&E) funding — the presentation referenced $2,000,000 for PD&E in the bill language — and said it will support updated architectural renderings and an economic-impact study for an arts, culture and history campus.
Commissioners asked county staff whether they would draft a letter of support; the chair and staff indicated they had language under review and sought board consensus. Commissioners agreed that the county would prepare a letter of support to be finalized and sent to legislators and regional partners.
Why it matters: The foundation said the site would host a statewide museum and accompanying campus that could attract tourism, education programming and regional economic activity; the county's letter is intended as a regional endorsement to help secure state planning and design funding.
Next steps: The foundation will continue fundraising and outreach; county staff will circulate proposed letter language and move forward with a letter of support if the board confirms final text.
