25 cultural entitles again in line for Brevard grants, reigniting Pridefest controversy
The 25 local arts and cultural organizations that were recommended for Brevard County tourism grants before the program was temporarily defunded by the Brevard County Commission now once again are in line for the money.
The County Commission this week voted 3-2 to restore $530,000 to the tourism cultural grants program for the 2023-24 budget year that began Oct. 1. And, based on county officials' interpretation of the vote, that means the 25 groups will be getting their money, without having to apply for it again and without the need for another County Commission vote.
That is, unless commissioners change their minds again.
County Commissioner Jason Steele — who voted Tuesday in favor of the grants ― on Friday said he wants to see new criteria established for the cultural grant program in future years to assure the funding is for "family-friendly" events.
Florida Rep. Randy Fine on Thursday made a post on Facebook criticizing the County Commission's action to restore the grant program because it includes a $15,000 grant for the LGBTQ+ organization Space Coast Pride for its 2024 Pridefest event to be held in downtown Melbourne. Fine's post also criticized Melbourne's mayor for supporting having the event in his city.
In his Facebook post, Fine wrote: "By a 3-2 vote, on Tuesday, without noticing it and allowing public comment, out of the blue, the Brevard County Commission chose to reverse itself and divert your tax dollars to sponsor Melbourne Mayor Paul Alfrey’s Drag Queen Story Time."
Drag Queen Story Time was not included in the latest Pridefest, held in Sept. 23.
Pridefest is an annual celebration of held in Melbourne, themed to focus on the LGBTQ+ community, that includes a parade and a festival. It attracts thousands of people, many of them from outside Brevard County. Sponsors for 2023 included major aerospace, technology, financial-services and retail companies like Blue Origin, Collins Aerospace, GE Vernova, Launch Credit Union, Leonardo DRS, Northrop Grumman, Truist, Vystar Credit Union and Wawa.
The application for a grant for the 2024 Pridefest is the first time Space Coast Pride applied for a county cultural grant.
An early version of Fine's Facebook post also indicated that he was threatening to withhold his support for state funding to the county in light of the commission's action, but a modified version of his post excluded that threat.
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Steele said he supports Space Coast Pride getting its grant for its 2024 event. But he said he plans to ask the County Commission to direct the advisory Tourist Development Council to craft new guidelines to assure that future grants do not go to entities holding events that could be harmful to children.
Steele said he was aware of Fine's Facebook post, and also had a phone conversation with Fine on Thursday, in which they discussed their viewpoints and their differences on the issue.
The longtime cultural grant program became controversial on Aug. 2, when Fine, who represents South Brevard, first questioned the $15,000 grant that was recommended for Space Coast Pride for Pridefest.
At the time, Fine criticized Pridefest on social media because of the Drag Queen Story Time component that was part of previous events, writing on Facebook: "If you do not believe we should have government-sponsored child grooming activities, please let your County Commissioner know."
County commissioners on Aug. 8 decided to not fund the cultural grants program for 2023-24, but said Fine's criticism had nothing to do with their decision. The money instead was moved to a tourism marketing fund that will help pay for increased ocean lifeguard staffing and the marketing of lifeguard-protected beaches.
On Tuesday, however, a majority of commissioners voted to restore $530,000 to the cultural grant program, after they were informed by county staff that there is money available in the county's Office of Tourism budget for both lifeguards and cultural grants.
Tuesday's vote was part of a larger motion by County Commission Vice Chair Tom Goodson that also restores full funding to the Brevard Cultural Alliance for 2023-24 and approves two tourism capital facilities grants for Titusville projects involving the expansion of the American Police Hall of Fame & Museum and construction of an event center at the Valiant Air Command's Warbird Air Museum at Space Coast Regional Airport.
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All these items will be funded by Brevard County's 5% tourist development tax on hotel rooms, vacation rentals and other short-term rentals.
The motion did not explicitly discuss the status of the 25 individual cultural grants, ranging from $15,000 to $25,000 apiece, which had been recommended to the County Commission by the advisory Brevard County Tourist Development Council.
But county officials said Wednesday that they interpret the commission's vote as putting those grants into effect because commissioners voted to "fully fund" the cultural support grant program for the $530,000 "that the TDC recommended" to the County Commission on Aug. 8. That recommendation listed the 25 individual grants ― including $15,000 for Space Coast Pride for its 2024 Pridefest.
Joining Goodson in support of his motion were Steele and County Commission Chair Rita Pritchett. Voting against were Rob Feltner and John Tobia.
"After speaking with the County Manager’s Office, it is my understanding that Vice Chairman Goodson’s motion will fully fund all 25 cultural organizations' requests," Tobia said Wednesday, adding that "I could not support this motion, as I have consistently and conservatively voted against all cultural grants."
Feltner and Steele confirmed in separate interviews Wednesday that they understood that the County Commission vote covered approval of the 25 individual grants.
The 25 organizations and events qualified for cultural grants based on several factors, including attracting at least 1,000 out-of-county visitors to their venues or events, based on technology that tracks the presence of cellphones at a particular location. Grant amounts were tied to the number of out-of-county visitors attending.
These 13 applicants were recommended for $25,000 grants for drawing 5,001 or more out-of-county visitors:
American Police Hall of Fame
Brevard Symphony Orchestra
Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Foundation
Cocoa Beach Main Street
Henegar Performing Arts Center/Brevard Regional Arts Group
Historic Cocoa Village Main Street
Historic Cocoa Village Playhouse
Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts
Melbourne Main Street
Museum of Dinosaurs and Ancient Cultures
Titusville Playhouse
U.S. Space Walk of Fame Foundation
Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum
These five were recommended for $20,000 grants for drawing 2,501 to 5,000 out-of-county visitors:
City of Palm Bay
Florida Surf Museum/Surfing Santas
Harry T. & Harriette V. Moore Cultural Complex
Native Rhythms Festival/Native Heritage Gathering
Space Coast Symphony Orchestra
These seven were recommended for $15,000 grants for drawing 1,000 to 2,500 out-of-county visitors:
Field Manor Foundation
Green Gables at Historic Riverview Village
Melbourne Art Festival
Melbourne Municipal Band Association
Space Coast Art Festival
Space Coast Pride
Surfside Playhouse
In explaining his vote following Tuesday's meeting, Steele said, while ocean lifeguards are a top priority of his to help prevent drownings, he is glad the Office of Tourism has enough money in its 2023-24 budget to support both lifeguards and the cultural sector.
Steele said he supports the grants going to the 25 organizations, including for Space Coast Pride, and felt Pridefest was a well-run event.
However, he said he wants to see a proposal to add the family-friendly element to qualifications for future cultural grants, as well as assurances that Drag Queen Story Time is not part of future Pridefest events, if Space Coast Pride is seeking a county grant.
"We need to change the criteria on how these funds are recommended to the commission," Steele said. "Specifically, that all events must be family-friendly and morally acceptable. We shouldn't be funding things that could be unhealthy for kids."
Steele said he doesn't want to be "the morality police," but does want the Tourist Development Council to come up with guidelines for the County Commission to consider.
Steele said he is not trying to censor what types of plays a theater company getting a cultural grant could put on. He sees an indoor performance of a play that requires the purchase of tickets as different from an outdoor festival with no admission charge like Pridefest, because, for example, pedestrians in downtown Melbourne accompanied by children could inadvertently run into the Pridefest event.
The Office of Tourism's marketing plan for 2023-24 for the first time includes money for promoting beaches with lifeguards and for helping fund the cost of lifeguards, which County Attorney Morris Richardson said is a legal use of the money. The county is using $934,654 from the $15.34 million tourism marketing budget for lifeguard-related expenses.
Feltner said he voted against Goodson's motion after Feltner was turned down in his request to have individual votes on the series of items in the wide-ranging motion.
"I don't regret my vote," Feltner said.
One potential advantage of having a single vote on the entire package was to preserve the three-commissioner majority on Goodson's motion, when different commissioners were most passionate about approval of different components in the package.
For example, Pritchett ― who chairs both the County Commission and the Tourist Development Council ― has stressed the need for parity in tourism grants going to various parts of the county, rather than much of the money going to the Cocoa Beach and Viera areas. The two approved capital facilities grants totaling $5.35 million that were part of Goodson's motion went to projects in Pritchett's North Brevard district.
Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com, on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Commissioners OK grants for 25 Brevard County arts, cultural groups
