Here’s how St. Pete is faring in state budget

There will be no love for the Carter G. Woodson African American History Museum in South St. Petersburg in this year’s state budget.

Neither the House nor the Senate included funding for the museum in its budget. The city requested $750,000 to expand the museum.

Rep. Jennifer Webb sponsored the appropriations request. In the application, the city claimed the project would expand the local economy by increasing revenue and attracting tourists. They also said the expanded museum would enhance learning opportunities for at-risk youth.

The Legislature is wrapping up its budget process this week as lawmakers expect Sine Die by Friday.

Budget negotiations are ongoing, but the appropriations request for Carter G. Woodson is closed.

The city also will not get any of the $1.3 million it requested to expand the St. Petersburg Museum of History. That funding request would have helped fund an expansion that would include a second floor interactive history exhibit with a visitor center, gift shop and conference space on the first floor as well as a rooftop catering area overlooking the city’s new pier district.

The appropriations request was a priority for Mayor Rick Kriseman’s administration as part of its ongoing pier construction. The museum is located at the approach to the new pier. Sen. Jeff Brandes sponsored the appropriations request.

The Florida Holocaust Museum, which is also in downtown St. Petersburg, will get $750,000 under the Legislature’s proposed budget. That funding is for educational outreach and historic artifact preservation.

The museum will also receive another $500,000 for security enhancements. That funding comes in response to recent violence against Jewish communities including the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh that claimed the life of 11 congregants. Another shooting over the weekend in San Diego left one woman dead and four injured.

Both Holocaust Museum appropriations have been finalized in the House and Senate budget offers. Once the budget is approved local projects are still subject to line item vetoes by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.