Okeechumka Rosenwald school restoration nears completion; community center funding and CDBG process raise urgency

Residents and volunteer leaders asked the Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday to help finish an effort to restore the 1929 Rosenwald school in Okahumka and complete a community center that would let the site open to visitors and school groups.

Representatives of the Okeechumka Community Club and the Okeechumka restoration project described the school'building restoration as "nearly complete" but said additional site-development and permitting requirements, unanticipated costs and the structure of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) reimbursement rules have delayed the community center.

"The school is almost done. It's nearly complete as far as the restoration," said Chip D'Amico of the Okeechumka Community Club. D'Amico and other speakers said the project has been delayed by a combination of consultant changes, additional plan and permitting requirements, and rising costs that have left a funding gap the volunteers cannot cover.

Andy Goldberg, who has coordinated fundraising and community outreach, said the restoration is intended to return the building to its 1929 form; that preservation choice means the school itself will have no plumbing, so the adjacent community center is essential for restrooms and public access. "If you don't get the community center there, you can't use the museum," Goldberg said.

Barbara Nason, board secretary for the Okeechumka Community Club, said the community center would be named for Virgil Darnell Hawkins and envisioned as a small lecture and event space for school groups, community meetings, clothing and food distribution and other services.

County planning staff told the board that the project is actively in review but that submissions have been intermittent: the county file shows a major submittal in November 2024 and then a subsequent package in August 2025. Planning director Mike Fitzgerald said staff had issued multiple comment letters and noted that certain missing elements (for example, a landscaping plan and some documentation tied to federal CDBG rules) remain outstanding. Planning staff also said federal CDBG rules can require the county or the administering agency to document applicants' financial resources for cost overruns and that the program is typically reimbursement-based.

Project leaders said that requirement has frustrated volunteers who lack the liquidity to pay up-front contractor invoices, and that the group is evaluating whether contractors can be paid directly by the administrative agency. They also asked the board for county assistance to reduce permitting delays, to consider administrative variances or other relief where appropriate, and to identify potential county funding options to close any remaining budget gap.

County staff and commissioners agreed to schedule a dedicated workshop to review the project and options. County manager Jennifer Barker offered to coordinate a presentation at a future meeting (the county will schedule a workshop in coming weeks), and staff said they will prepare an options memo that outlines the CDBG status, outstanding permitting items, known cost gaps and possible county responses (including fee waivers, direct assistance or steps to expedite submittal review).

No new county funding commitment was approved at the Sept. 9 meeting. Project representatives were asked to provide detailed budget figures and contractor bid information so staff can present clear options to the board at the workshop.