ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Plans for a permanent Pulse memorial now has the financial backing from the City of Orlando and Orange County. County commissioners voted unanimously to give the city $5 million for the project.
The whole reason why the city and the county are at this point now is because onePULSE Foundation failed to build this permanent memorial in the first place despite receiving tens of millions of dollars.
The consensus in the room is that this memorial is unfinished business, and they need to get this done for the community.
“Hearing those words, motion passed, that’s it. I could breathe again,” said Nancy Rosado, Pulse Memorial Committee member.
The memorial will stand at the site of the tragedy. It will include an ellipse held up by 49 columns representing the 49 lives lost, a reflection pond where the club’s dancefloor once was, a healing garden and a survivors’ tribute wall.
“I see this as a moment where we can now kind of get past this little hump in the road and it hasn’t been little,” Rosado said.
Next Thursday will mark the 9th anniversary of the mass shooting.
Many county commissioners couldn’t help but to think of why Orange County is having to finance this city project in the first place.
“All dollars are missing now, and no one knows where they are. It seems no one takes accountability. People are left with a massive heartache,” said Commissioner Kelly Semrad, who represents Orange County District 5.
Heather Fagan, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer’s Chief of Staff, says now that the city is leading the project, the process is public, and they are ensuring it’s transparent.
onePULSE Foundation received more than $20 million between grants, tax dollars and donations but never built a permanent memorial.
“It’s not illegal to run a nonprofit in the ground, maybe it should be,” said Orlando Commissioner Patty Sheehan.
The city says they don’t have the authority to audit onePULSE Foundation.
“We have asked. I said repeatedly, hey, why doesn’t the state audit them? I think it’s political,” Sheehan said.
“You think that the state should investigate onePULSE?,” Webb said.
“I think they should, yes. I wish they would.,” Sheehan said.
Comptroller Phil Diamond tells me the county couldn’t audit onePULSE Foundation because the nonprofit didn’t give the county their records.
Diamond says whatever agency investigates, it should be one that can “force” the Foundation to turn over those records.
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