Monday, members of the Orlando City Council will be asked to approve a $2 million deal to purchase the former Pulse nightclub, the site where 49 people died and 53 more were injured in one of the worst acts of domestic terrorism in the nation’s history.
This purchase, brokered by Mayor Buddy Dyer and carrying the endorsement of many of those who have been most deeply involved in this discussion, makes sense in so many ways.
Certainly, council members will hear from people with arguments — some of them anguished, others calculated — against this purchase. They should listen respectfully, and keep these objections in mind as they move forward.
But then they should say yes.
Because there is no other road. Getting this land into the hands of the city is an essential step toward creating a memorial to the lives lost and shattered in the terrible pre-dawn hours of June 12, 2016. It is the surest way to break the logjam that has kept the memorial’s status in limbo. That delay has magnified resentment and prolonged the anguish of survivors and families of those who perished. It has deepened rifts and alienated some of the financial and emotional support needed to bring the memorial to reality. The vote is unlikely to put an immediate end to the dissent that has festered for far too long, but it could illuminate the path toward healing.
Commission members can’t let regret cloud their minds. They should say yes.
Editorial: Do what it takes to get progress on Pulse memorial
Loudest among those voices will be those who condemn the deal as unjustly enriching the owners of the nightclub. At one point, many expected that the property owners would donate it. The onePulse Foundation, which led negotiations to purchase the site, backed away from those talks after learning that the property owners had already received an insurance settlement. Earlier this year, anger stirred again after Orlando residents learned of federal COVID funds meant to repay employees of the foundation — which, at the time, included one of the nightclub’s owners — for pay cuts during the COVID era. Orlando leaders must also settle the relationship between the city and onePulse. But those discussions can wait.
In 10, 15 or 20 years, nobody who visits this memorial will be wondering who was paid, or how much. Commissioners should not fear that criticism, especially since the $2 million price is close to the appraised value and less than the city originally planned to pay for the property. They should say yes.
Commissioners may also hear from those who believe local taxpayers should not carry the financial burden of the memorial. The best response would be a plan to ask other local entities for help. Allocating a share of Orange County’s l hospitality-tax funding to reimburse the city’s costs would be by far the most equitable solution, given that Orlando’s booming tourism economy has kept those coffers brimming, with a $300 million surplus.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, who expressed his wholehearted support this week for Orlando’s bid to buy the nightclub, could speed that process along by showing up to Monday’s hearing and pledging his personal support for including more funding for the Pulse memorial in future tourist-tax allocations. That would alleviate any argument that Orlando’s other priorities — including caring for the city’s homeless population and protecting its residents against crime and violence — could suffer because of this purchase.
Even if that doesn’t happen immediately, commissioners should trust their ability to balance competing priorities and recruit partners in designing and building the memorial. They should say yes.
Commissioners should also support Dyer’s pledge to move with deliberation and openness, making decisions with plenty of public input and chances for survivors and family to participate in the discussion. The goal should be to create a memorial that solemnly acknowledges the terror and suffering of the people trapped inside Pulse with a homicidal madman — but also inspires visitors to seek ways to counteract violence and hatred with love and acceptance. In Central Florida, that inspiration has already flowered in many ways; most recently, U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost filed legislation to establish a national Office on Gun Violence Prevention.
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The hope, the eventual goal, is that visitors to this memorial will be transformed in ways both great and small — just as the aftermath of the massacre transformed Orlando, inscribing a message of love and acceptance into its DNA.
City leaders say they are proud of that transformation, which will be in full flower this weekend at the Come Out With Pride parade that will take over downtown. They can manifest that pride by doing what they can do to get the memorial past this bottleneck that has delayed action for so long.
Monday’s vote can mark a turning point, one that rises above past division and distrust. That acknowledges the promise of the future but isn’t paralyzed by fear of the decisions that lie ahead.
There is one and only one decision before the council tomorrow. And there is an easy answer.
Yes.
The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. Contact us at insight@orlandosentinel.com
