A community steering committee seeking to preserve Newtown’s history asked the Palatka City Commission to enter a long‑term partnership to create a Newtown Museum and Cultural Center and requested a memorandum of understanding to spell out roles, intellectual‑property handling and staffing.

The group said it had secured a $610,000 historic‑preservation grant from the state plus additional funds that began at $390,000, and presented a vision statement describing goals for exhibitions, educational programming, oral‑history preservation, and youth engagement. The committee showed slides documenting a public input session on Nov. 18 attended by about 50 citizens and noted local partners such as St. Johns River State College and community volunteers conducting oral‑history recordings.

Why it matters: the steering committee framed the request as preserving Newtown’s identity — a historically Black neighborhood — and preventing loss of artifacts and memories. Committee leaders asked the city to form an advisory holding organization (a nonprofit holding company) that could contract with the city to manage a museum much as other cities do.

Commission response: commissioners expressed support for convening a workshop to craft a shared vision. Several commissioners indicated they would sit with committee members and staff to scope an MOU and a feasible staffing/budget plan. No formal directive to allocate funds was made at this meeting, though commissioners agreed next steps should include a community workshop and continued collaboration.

Next steps: the committee asked the city to (1) host a workshop to finalize a shared vision and scope for Jenkins/ Newtown facilities, (2) consider creation of a holding nonprofit to manage intellectual property and operations, and (3) supply archives or materials for the project. Committee leaders promised continued community outreach and to provide more detailed budgets and a draft MOU for staff review.

Public comment and context: commissioners and the committee agreed the project should be community‑led but city‑supported; commissioners asked staff to schedule a workshop and to fold the museum’s planning into current capital and budget work where appropriate.