ORLANDO, Fla. – Orange County commissioners unanimously agreed to help the city of Orlando fund a permanent Pulse Memorial on Tuesday, offering to put up $5 million toward the project.
Earlier this year, the Pulse Advisory Committee finished its work on a design to honor the 49 people who died in the June 12, 2016 mass shooting.
In March, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer wrote a memo to the county, outlining the city’s plans to spend $7.5 million for the design and construction of the memorial. The whole project, however, is expected to cost $12 million, according to the memo.
“As the County has played a pivotal role in the response to the Pulse tragedy and following up on our meeting, we humbly request your continued financial support of $5 million toward the design and construction of the Pulse Memorial,” Dyer wrote in the memo.
[VIDEO BELOW: What happened to onePulse Foundation?]
The city bought the site of the Pulse nightclub in 2023, after the onePULSE Foundation announced it was dissolving due to financial issues.
Frustration in the community has mounted over the perceived lack of progress on plans for a memorial.
Shortly before noon Tuesday, Dyer’s chief of staff wrapped up her presentation and commissioners began asking questions about financial transparency and accountability in the wake of the onePulse debacle.
Sheehan joined Mayor Dyer’s chief of staff at times during the presentation, stressing that the city had no connection to onePULSE.
“There was no oversight from the city on onePULSE Foundation,” she said during the presentation. “I want to make that very clear to everyone today.”
She also tried to reassure commissioners that the city will be an effective steward of the plans for the project.
“I think we have a very good track record in the city of Orlando of fiscal management that’s responsible and transparent,” she said after the presentation.
Sheehan was once a part of onePULSE, but left over concerns about its operations.
“I can’t fix what onePULSE did,” she told reporters after. “I was involved with them, I saw it was happening, I didn’t like what I saw, but you know what? What do I do? Am I going to be the person to say they’re doing the wrong thing and everyone starts attacking me? And I needed to heal myself, because [the shooting] was just horrible.”
Sheehan noted that the city does not have the authority to audit non-profits like onePULSE, but suggested that there is more to probe.
“In the end, it’s not illegal to run a not-for-profit in the ground,” Sheehan told commissioners. “But maybe it should be.”
[VIDEO BELOW: Deadline for Pulse Memorial designs]