With the owner of Pulse nightclub now taking over plans for a permanent memorial on property, questions remain about what comes next.

  • Barbara Poma refused to sell Pulse to Orlando
  • Poma will build a memorial on the site
  • The question is what comes next for Poma and Pulse

Barbara Poma has no plans yet for that memorial since refusing to sell the site of the terrorist attack that killed 49 people.

She has said she will be listening to victims' families and the community for input on what to do.

We reached out to a local non-profit organizer Wednesday, Hope Elliott, who shed some light on which direction Poma could take.

"There are steps they are going to have to go through in order to collect money," Elliott explained.

She said Poma and her family have two options moving forward: fund the memorial project herself, or create a non-profit organization and raise funds.

Poma first has to decide if she wants to take the steps to become a non-profit. If she chooses to go that route, she would need to create a vision statement, build a board of directors and apply to be a non-profit with the state or the federal government. That process could take months, but once approved as a local non-profit or a 501(c)(3), Poma can begin raising funds for the memorial.

Elliott says those steps are much easier for municipalities like Orlando, who planned on purchasing the property.

"If she garners the support of the families of the victims and local organizations, then I do believe she will be successful," Elliott said. "But it's just going to be more difficult than if the city were doing it."

Although the task is daunting, Poma said Tuesday she's ready for the challenge.

Another obstacle Poma faces is using current and past memorial materials in the site. For months the Orange County Regional History Center has been collecting artifacts from the site intended for safe keeping.

"Those rest at the Orange County History Center and I don't know if it was ever the intent that Pulse would become the home for that memorabilia,"  Mayor Teresa Jacobs explained.

The History Center continues to work with Poma on collecting and preserving the items left at Pulse.

The task rests on Poma's shoulders. She has to decide now what the future will be for the nightclub itself, and who is going to pay for it.