🌅 🎨 Highwaymen Museum Hits Snags... Again

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What’s Going On: Fort Pierce commissioners are fed up with delays at the Highwaymen Museum project, with Commissioner Curtis Johnson demanding answers about why work hasn't progressed since change orders were approved three months ago.

U Got It Bad: Commissioner Johnson voiced his frustration at last week's meeting, saying he's "done" and "frustrated" with the lack of progress despite approving the final change orders back in July.

The timeline we're looking at:

Why this matters: The museum was supposed to open in November 2024 to coincide with the February 2025 Highwaymen celebration. Now we're looking at "close of 2025" if everything goes right.

This project honors the local Black artists who sold vibrant Florida landscapes from car trunks when galleries shut them out. A finished museum means art shows, school field trips, and foot traffic for downtown businesses.

Money on My Mind: The project has ballooned from $514,000 to over $911,000 spent, with another $148,000 in pending costs. That's nearly double the original budget.

The July change orders addressed serious problems discovered during construction:

The blame game: Commissioner Johnson and others want to know why approved work sat idle for months. Based on the timeline, it looks like this isn't all on the contractor.

Between July approval and September mobilization, there were delays in:

Commissioner Gaines pointed out that "if we're going to look at the whole project, we need more than just the board of the Highway Museum to come in because it looks like there's a lot of stuff that was done on our side."

What's next: Contractors are supposed to be mobilizing this week. Commissioners want a comprehensive report on the timeline and spending. Commissioner Broderick plans to visit the site Thoping to see "hammers swinging and asphalt getting ripped up."

The museum remains a priority for Fort Pierce's downtown revitalization, but the delays and cost overruns are testing everyone's patience.

Nopetro Energy opened southern Florida's first landfill gas-to-renewable natural gas facility near the Indian River County landfill, capturing methane to create clean fuel that's injected into Florida City Gas pipelines. The plant aims to produce 30 million gallons annually while removing the equivalent of 4,300 cars worth of emissions from roadways.

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CareerSource Research Coast launched satellite locations at Indian River State College campuses and United Against Poverty to bring job training and employment services closer to residents. The expansion includes career training at Mueller Campus, youth services at Pruitt Campus, and basic employment assistance at the Stuart Chastain Campus.

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The school district unanimously approved a five-year, $300,000 deal with Napoli Orthodontics for stadium naming rights, with revenue split across all district schools rather than going solely to the high school. The deal addresses equity concerns by distributing 75% to other schools and 10% to the general fund, with Martin County High keeping just 25%.

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Wednesday, Sep 24

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This past weekend, I got a chance to attend a golf tournament and the amount of beautiful shots. I got due to the amazing sunrise lighten up. The greenery is unfair so just be ready for a bunch of sunny photos in the near future. Alright..

See you tomorrow!
With Love, Ja’Min

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