Title
A. Quinn Jones Home Development Project (NB)
This item involves a request to accept a Florida Division of Historical Resources Small Matching Grant of $50,000 for the A. Quinn Jones Home Development Project.
Explanation
On December 18, 2009, the City of Gainesville's Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs applied for a Florida Division of Historical Resources grant in the amount of $50,000 to support Phase 2 of the A. Quinn Jones Home Development Project. The City of Gainesville Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs (PRCA) and the Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) have partnered on managing this project from the on-set and if awarded, the Phase 2 matching funds will bring the building up to code, educate the community about the history of A. Quinn Jones and ultimately, make the building accessible to the public. The PRCA Department and the CRA provided over $60,000 for Phase 1, which included the exterior restoration, building stabilization, interior removal of historic items, cleaning, landscaping, State historic marker and National Register Nomination. Phase 2 work involves adaptive re-use and will include: renovating the interior of the house to conform to the historic period, construction of a new ADA ramp and ADA-accessible bathroom(s), window replacement, restoration of wood floors, and the establishment of a historic house museum and related programming.
On Thursday, September 10, 2009, the CRA, in partnership with the PRCA Department held a historic marker dedication ceremony for the home of A. Quinn Jones, Sr. The marker states, "A. Quinn Jones, Sr. (1893-1997) was a teacher, educational leader and prominent African-American advocate, who lived here from 1925 to 1997. The home (ca. 1920) is a one-story frame bungalow set on brick piers. Jones' career, which spanned the segregation era, was marked by his determination to provide quality education to all African-American children. Jones served as teacher and principal at two of Alachua County's most important African-American schools, Union Academy (1921-1923) and Lincoln High School (1923-1957). He taught English, Latin, Math and Science, and held fund raisers to ensure materials and salaries for his students and staff. In 1924-25, Jones extended Lincoln to the 12th grade so that students could earn a full high school diploma. The Florida Department of Education noted Jones' leadership and, in 1926, Lincoln High School became Florida's second accredited African-American High School. In 1956, Lincoln High School moved to the southeast area of Gainesville and the original building became an elementary school bearing Jones' name. The A. Quinn Jones Center stands as a memorial to his extraordinary contributions to the African-American community, the people of Alachua County, and the State of Florida."
Fiscal Note
The CRA has committed $25,000, pending CRA board approval, toward the cash match and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs' funding match will be $26,324 in-kind salary, facility use, marketing and general maintenance. The total meets the required grant match.
Recommendation
Recommended Motion: 1) The City Commission approve the request to accept a Florida Division of Historical Resources Small Matching grant if awarded funding for the A. Quinn Jones Home Development Project; and 2) authorize the City Manager to execute all grant related and award documents subject to approval by the City Attorney as to form and legality.
Alternative Recommendation: The City Commission denies the request to accept a Florida Division of Historical Resources Small Matching grant if awarded funding for the A. Quinn Jones Home Development Project.