21 projects win ECHO funding

By Al Everson
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Mar 30, 2009 - 8:44:01am

For the eighth time since its inception in 2001, Volusia ECHO has been a sweet sound for nonprofit organizations and local governments seeking extra funds for cultural and recreational projects.

The County Council March 19 approved almost $7 million in grants for 21 projects around the county. The council followed the recommendations of a nine-member panel appointed to rank the grant requests.

ECHO is an acronym for environmental, cultural, historic and outdoor-recreational. Projects must fall in those categories to qualify for the money.

Volusia voters approved ECHO in 2000, voting for a property tax of as much as 20 cents per thousand dollars, for 20 years. The ECHO tax will end in 2021.

For the second year in a row, all applicants for ECHO funding received everything they asked for. This year, some cash, $77,515, was left over. That balance will be carried over to the 2010 grant cycle.

There was less ECHO money to award this year than last year. The 2008 fund was $8.2 million; the 2009 sum was $6.94 million. The change reflects the decline in property values over the past year and a half.

The 2009 ECHO grants, as ranked by the ECHO Advisory Committee:

1. Volusia County Parks and Recreation Division, Spring to Spring Trail Segment 3B, $600,000

2. Trinity United Methodist Church, Seville Soccer Field and Neighborhood Park, $12,500

3. Volusia County Parks and Recreation Division, East Central Regional Rail Trail Segment 3, $439,260

4. City of DeLand, Alabama Greenway, $600,000

5. City of Daytona Beach Shores, McElroy Park renovation, $75,850

6. Bethune-Cookman University, Bethune Foundation restoration and renovation, $258,600

7. Volusia County Coastal Division, Ormond Beachfront Park, $487,989

8. Museum of Florida Art, DeLand, facility improvement, $51,199

9. Volusia County Coastal Division, Wilbur-by-the-Sea Beach Park, $435,935

10. City of New Smyrna Beach, Southeast Volusia Chamber of Commerce restoration, $382,800

11. Stetson University, Stover Theatre historic restoration, $388,522

12. Seville Village Improvement Association, Seville School acquisition, $47,250

13. Volusia County Coastal Division, Rockefeller Beach Park, $11,252

14. City of Port Orange, Coraci Athletic Fields Phase II, $259,000

15. Museum of Arts & Sciences, Daytona Beach, storage center, $600,000

16. City of Daytona Beach, Municipal Stadium turf project, $450,000

17. Seabreeze United Church, restoration, $34,628

18. Shoestring Theatre Inc., theater restoration and upgrade, $120,000

19. City of Daytona Beach, Mid-town Cultural & Educational Center, $600,000

20. City of Daytona Beach, Yvonne Scarlett-Golden Cultural & Educational Center, $600,000

21. City of Deltona, All-Inclusive Playground at Thornby Park, $393,750

ECHO-grant recipients must agree to restrictions and conditions, including continuing scrutiny by county officials. The grants are not paid upfront, but are doled out in increments on a reimbursement basis.

The grants are for capital projects only, and cannot be used for operating expenses.

To qualify for ECHO grants, applicants must show they have other funding available. In the case of local governments, funds from other public sources, including federal or state grants, may be used. For private nonprofit organizations, private donations or commitments may be required as matching funds.

Since the first round of ECHO grants was awarded in 2002, the program has disbursed some $38 million.

The nine members of the ECHO Advisory Committee are Gary Libby, chairman; David Rigsby, vice chairman; and Eugene Gizzi Jr., Karen Jans, Charles Matousek, John Nelson, Bruce Piatek, Joe Rudolph and Stuart Sixma.

Rigsby, who works at Stetson University, abstained from ranking Stetson University’s request for a grant for restoring Stover Theatre, because of a possible conflict of interest. Rigsby is also a former mayor of DeLand.

— al@beacononlinenews.com

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