Keep Santa Rosa Beautiful to get funding in 2023, but on monthly basis following audit

After an audit outlined several concerns inside the environmental education nonprofit organization Keep Santa Rosa Beautiful, Santa Rosa County is slated to provide funding to the group for the upcoming fiscal year, but on a monthly basis.

The group's funding for 2023 was a topic of discussion at the County Commission meeting Monday evening and is set to be finalized Thursday.

The organization is requesting $66,000 from the county, to be divvied out each month, with nearly half of the money going to its Adopt-a-Spot program, river and coastal cleanups and a nursery meant to restore native plants, increase pollinators and balance ecosystems.

Additionally, $16,000 would go toward KSRB Executive Director Pamela Murfey's salary.

"Our recommendation is to fund KSRB on a monthly basis as they submit receipts and documents that they are expending the funds," said County Administrator DeVann Cook. "And we will monitor not only the funds they spend, but the programs. They will make a report to Santa Rosa County monthly on the programs."

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Audit reveals $967,000 allotted since 2003

KSRB is the parent organization to the Panhandle Butterfly House, which left its previous location at the foot of the Navarre Beach Bridge in 2018 when the county announced it was planning a renovation of the park.

In 2020, the Panhandle Butterfly House announced its plans to move into the T.W. Jones house in Milton. In late 2020, through KSRB, the Panhandle Butterfly House received a $106,000 Impact 100 grant to build a vivarium at the Jones house.

But in July 2021, KSRB ended its relationship with the board of the Panhandle Butterfly House, drawing into question the future of the Butterfly House.

After the split, the former director of the Butterfly House, Jenny Weber, raised concerns over the financial situation at KSRB, citing it as one of the reasons she wanted the Butterfly House to separate from KSRB.

"Keep Santa Rosa Beautiful Inc. is in a state of renewal and regrowth. We have new board members with common goals. We have strengthened our operations," said KSRB Director Jamie Cain on Monday evening. "We have a new executive director with the experience to lead our organization and a new, larger facility that offers environmental education and recreation and tourism opportunities. And we are creating new partnerships within our communities."

An audit of KSRB made its way to the County Commission in January for discussion but was tabled as the KSRB board was not made aware the item would be appearing.

About 30 members of the public appeared then to speak on the subject and many voiced their frustration at the commission's delay.

Samuel Scallan, director of internal audit for the Santa Rosa County Clerk of Circuit Court, previously told the News Journal concerns over KSRB's financial situation made their way to the commission last year, which prompted the audit of the organization's use of county-issued funds.

In the audit, which was finished late last year, Scallan found that Santa Rosa County had given KSRB over $967,000 since 2003. For fiscal year 2020-2021, Santa Rosa County contributed $3,000 on Aug. 24, 2021.

"Within KSRB there are virtually no internal controls over the financial operations of the association," the audit reads. "There are no polices or procedures. There are no dual controls over cash."

Cook wrote a recommendation to the board at that time to withhold funding for KSRB until certain measures are taken by the organization.

On Monday, Cain said KSRB is taking steps to monitor its financial condition and track revenues and expenditures.

What’s next moving forward?

Less than a year after KSRB ousted the board of the Butterfly House, Weber and her group decided to change their name, rebranding to Butterflies in Motion, capitalizing on the fact that the organization is using a mobile butterfly home.

On Monday, Weber also raised concerns the county was funding the organization while Chairman Bob Cole's wife is the secretary for KSRB.

In March, however, the state's Commission on Ethics found there was "no probable cause to believe he (Cole) violated the misuse of public position statute or the constitutional amendment prohibiting an abuse of office for a disproportionate benefit" as it relates to funding KSRB.

Moving forward, KSRB's Panhandle Butterfly House is set to have its grand opening since the relocation in the spring of 2023, with the vivarium and parking lot currently under construction, according to documents from the organization.

"I think we're all aware of the turmoil that (KSRB) was in. And I think it concerned all of us significantly, but based on staff review and the audit and what you guys are doing, I feel comfortable doing this on a monthly basis," said District 5 Commissioner Colten Wright of KSRB. "I think it helps (them) get back on (their) feet. And I think you guys are doing all the right things."

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Keep Santa Rosa Beautiful set to get county funding following audit