Advisory committee approves Brown Museum master-scope change, will recommend consolidated covenant to county council

The advisory committee voted on April 10 to approve staff’s recommendation to consolidate six ECHO-funded grants for the Brown Museum of Art, Science and History into one unified grant agreement and restrictive covenant that would extend through 2053, and to forward that recommendation to the Volusia County Council for final action.

Daniel Marsh presented the staff recommendation and said the consolidation would produce one new grant agreement and one restrictive covenant across all six active grants. He emphasized that staff is not requesting additional ECHO funds for the project. "No additional ECHO funds will be awarded to cover the cost of this relocation and new museum," Marsh said.

Tabitha Schmidt, CEO of the Brown, described the project as a "transformational reimagining" of the campus. She summarized the planned facility as an approximately 90,000-square-foot building featuring a 60-foot planetarium sphere, a children's center, galleries, improved environmental controls and enhanced public access from Nova Road. Schmidt described a philanthropic campaign supporting the project, saying the museum has received an initial $150 million gift and an additional $53 million pledged; she framed the financial plan as a mix of capital gifts and an endowment-growth match to secure long-term operations.

Staff explained that demolishing certain existing, ECHO-funded facilities and replacing them with a new, consolidated museum constitutes a major change under the ECHO guidebook (page 22). The Brown said it plans to keep programming active during construction through off-site locations and that ECHO staff will monitor construction progress through site visits, reports and photographic documentation.

After the presentation, a committee member moved to approve the staff recommendation and forward it to county council; the motion was seconded and the committee voted in favor (meeting minutes record "motion carries"). The committee did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript. Staff said the unified covenant would secure an extended period of guaranteed public benefit for residents and that the museum will continue to be accountable to the covenants and reporting processes in the ECHO program.

The committee’s action is a recommendation; county council approval will be required to finalize the consolidated agreement and any changes to restrictive-covenant end dates.