PORT ST. JOE — A museum celebrating Florida’s history may get a bit of a modern sheen.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is writing a new management plan for the Constitution Convention Museum/Park in Port St. Joe.
A public meeting to unveil the plan was held last week and followed the next morning by a meeting of the museum’s advisory council, a mix of local volunteers, county tourism representatives and rangers with the local state parks.
The plan is in draft form, said Daniel Alsentzer, a park planner with DEP, and hopefully will reach the agency’s 10-year work plan in the coming year, Alsentzer said, at which time it would be subject to the same funding process undertaken by all state agencies, he said.
“Ours is a little more competitive than other agencies,” Alsentzer added. “The funding is likely not available for a period of time.”
That the DEP is drafting a management plan for the 12-acre complex is encouraging for the museum’s supporters. For several years, as funding for state parks dropped, there were whispers the museum/park could be on the chopping block.
“My main concern is that the park and museum remain open,” said Port St. Joe Mayor Mel Magidson, who lives across the street from the park. “Anything to enhance the visit is a good thing because that is a positive for Gulf County and the city of Port St. Joe. Not only to enhance it, but to market it.”
Alsentzer said closing the park/museum “is not on the table. … This is a resource of statewide significance. We think the plan would enhance visitor numbers and exhibits.”
The advisory council and public meetings were aimed at soliciting public comment about the tentative plan. The comments will be incorporated into the final document, Alsentzer said.
In broad strokes, the plan calls for renovation of the building’s exterior and interior with several goals: to better accommodate school groups and public functions; add enhancements to the exhibits; and improve windows, shutters and air conditioning.
The exterior would be rehabilitated for a more coastal Florida look. The flat roof, which had led to chronic problem with leaks, almost certainly will be replaced.
Concrete walkways will be replaced with wider paths, and landscaping improvements will be made to the exterior of the museum as well as the park grounds.
“It is a beautiful spot,” said Charlotte Pierce, a member of the advisory council and president of the St. Joseph Historical Society.
Picnic pavilions will be erected adjacent to the museum and the parking areas will be lengthened and moved closer to the museum.
The Constitution Convention Museum Park commemorates the work of 56 territorial delegates who drafted Florida’s first Constitution in 1838.
Visitors can take a self-guided tour through displays and exhibits of the era. A replicated convention hall takes visitors into the debate of delegates Robert Raymond Reid, William P. Duvall, David Y. Levy and Thomas L Baltzell. These life-size, audio-animated mannequins depict the debate and process of drafting a state constitution.