NEW BUSINESS  11.

COMMITTEE MEMORANDUM

HISTORY:

On January 16, 2019, at the request of Commissioners John Elizabeth Aleman and Mark Samuelian, the City Commission referred the subject discussion item to the Finance and City Wide Projects Committee (Item C4H).

On February 22, 2019, the Finance and City Wide Projects Committee discussed the item and approved a motion to budget $30,000 for current budget year and $30,000 for next fiscal year and requested that the Administration create a prioritized list of marker locations as recommended by Dr. Lynette Long, to be discussed at Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee.

ANALYSIS:

BACKGROUND

The Florida Historical Marker Program is administered by the Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources.  The program recognizes historic resources, as well as persons and events that are significant in the areas of architecture, archaeology, and historic culture, by promoting the placing of historic markers and plaques at sites of historic and visual interest to visitors.  To be eligible as a Florida Heritage Site or Florida Heritage Landmark a resource must meet the following criteria:

Florida Heritage Site

• A building, structure or site must be at least 30 years old and have significance in the areas of architecture, archaeology, Florida historic or traditional culture, or be associated with a significant event that took place at least 30 years ago.
• Resources associated with a historic significant person at least 30 years after the death of the individual or 30 years after the event with which the person is associated.
• Resource should visibly retain those physical characteristics that were present during the period for which it or the associated person is significant.
• A moved building or structure may qualify if the move was made 30 or more years ago, or the move was made to preserve the resource from demolition and reasonable attempts were made to ensure that the new setting is similar to the historical setting.

Florida Heritage Landmark

• A building, structure or site must be at least 50 years old and have regional or statewide significance in the areas of architecture, archaeology, Florida history or traditional culture, or be associated with an event of statewide or national significance that took place at least 50 years ago.

• Resources associated with a historic significant person at least 50 years after the death of the individual or 50 years after the event with which the person is associated.

• Resources that are less than 50 years old but are significant at the statewide of national level may also qualify.
• The resource should visibly retain those physical characteristics that were present during the period for which it or the associated person is significant.
• A moved building or structure may qualify if the move was made 50 or more years ago, or the move was made to preserve the resource from demolition and reasonable attempts were made to ensure that the new setting is similar to the historical setting.

Applications are submitted to the Division of Historical Resources and reviewed by the Florida Historic Marker Council several times throughout the year. Applications are required to include a historical documentation, bibliography, current photographs of resource or site, copy for the Marker text and signed property owner’s permission.  It is the applicant’s responsibility to pay for the marker and all associated installation costs.

The cost for a single-sided marker is $2,010 and the cost of a double sided marker is $2,330.  According to the Florida Department of State, costs are subject to change and an applicant is notified of the current cost after an application has been approved by the Florida Historic Marker Council.

Each marker is made of cast aluminum with a dark blue background with white lettering and a white Florida Heritage emblem.  The markers come with a 7’-0” concrete post and have a text area of 30” by 42”. A photograph of the State of Florida Historical Marker located at 10^th Street and Ocean Drive is attached which illustrates the scale of the marker compared to a person who is approximately 5’-6” in height.

PLANNING ANALYSIS

The administration performed an initial evaluation of installation of a State of Florida Historical Marker at the twenty-four locations recommended by Dr. Lynette Long.  The purchase and installation of these markers shall be subject to funding in FY 2020 and 2021. Below is a prioritized list prepared by the Planning Department with potential site constraints and property ownership considerations noted:

Due to the placement constraints and private property ownership considerations as noted in the chart above, the administration recommends that only sites 1 through 9 be considered for the introduction of a State of Florida Historical Marker.  The administration has provided a list of additional sites that we would recommend be considered in lieu of the remainder of the suggested sites.  These sites include the following:

CONCLUSION:
The administration recommends that the application process for historic markers proceed, in cordination with Dr. Lynette Long, for location 1 through 9 and 25 through 33 as noted above, and subject to available funding.