Small Town Museum Gets $50,000

Funds To Be Used To Move Historic House

LABELLE, FL. -- The LaBelle Heritage Museum this week received a letter from Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner announcing the award of a $50,000 Historic Preservation Grant for developing the LaBelle Heritage Museum complex during the period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014. 

According to the Museum President Joe Thomas. the organization will receive the formal grant award agreement documents to be signed and returned to the Bureau of Historic Preservation no later than October 1, 2013 before any funds can be released.

 Thomas said, "I had not held out much hope of us being awarded a grant during this particular grant cycle since our application was ranked 31 out of 39 submitted by the first panel of "experts" before all applications were submitted to the Secretary of State for his review before submission to the Florida Legislature with his recommendations for possible inclusion in an appropriations bill. I knew our application was still "alive" after that first round since I did not receive actual notice of it being rejected and understood it would be forwarded to the Florida Department of State."

Because of the grant the museum will be able to proceed with the move of the "Rider" house and law office from 150 South Lee Street to 360 North Bridge Street using the funds from this Small Matching Historic Preservation grant-in-aid.

LaBelle Heritage Museum was exempted from matching any grant funds because LaBelle and Hendry County are Rural Economic Development Initiative communities and not subject to matching requirements on a number of state grants-in-aid, said Thomas.

"We have been planning the move this summer irrespective of being awarded this grant and are extremely fortunate we have not expended any actual funds up to this time. All cash expenditures must be made during the life of the grant itself in order to be reimbursed/paid from the grant funds themselves," said Thomas.