Miami Military Museum takeover plan raises questions

In a nod to Bill Murray’s “Groundhog Day,” the Miami-Dade County Commission had yet another military museum item on this week’s agenda, startlingly similar to earlier agenda items. It read “Report on feasibility of ownership transfer” of the museum to the county.

While agenda items and commission discussions come and go, the museum already has changed its name, at least on its website, to Miami Dade Military Museum. The link to the site, however, remains miamimilitarymuseum.org. A check at Network Solutions by Miami Today shows that miamidademilitarymuseum.org is, indeed, available for as little as $20, as well as the extensions .com, .net, .info, and .biz.

In December, Mayor Daniella Mayor Levine Cava recommended that, before a transfer to the county occurs, “further assessments and evaluations … be conducted to properly evaluate the operational and maintenance needs of the museum.”

An initial inspection indicated its electrical and mechanical systems “show no deficiencies,” according to a memo issued in December by Mayor Levine Cava. All that leaves to be resolved, Miami Today said late last year, are the museum’s termite-ridden buckled floors, leaky roof, and potential heating, ventilation and air conditioning issues. Also required, the mayor wrote, is the 40-year recertification of the building’s structural soundness.

The museum building, next to Zoo Miami, was the headquarters and is the last remaining structure of Naval Air Station Richmond. During the Cold War it was a CIA station, headquarters for anti-Castro activities. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The transition to a county operation began June 6, 2022, according to Gustavo Cruz, Miami-Dade’s advisor for military affairs. The county’s financial contribution to the museum last fiscal year was $800,000, with an additional amount of up to $750,000 scheduled for fiscal year 2023-2024.

Debate among commissioners this week centered on whether the county should be in the museum business, and, if approved, what other Miami-Dade institutions might try to jump on the bandwagon. The comments echoed those sounded at earlier commission meetings in 2022.

In December Mayor Levine Cava said that “it is critical that the museum position itself to pursue outside funding opportunities. “In general,” her report continued, “statistics show that only 23% of operating expenses for museums comes from earned revenue, with the remaining 77% supported by private grants, government support, and philanthropic donations.”

The mayor has said the “decision to transfer the museum’s assets to the county should not occur until further assessments and evaluations of the museum’s infrastructure has been completed.” Mayor Levine Cava asserted last December that, “it is highly recommended the museum retain ownership of its assets to position itself for the successful pursuit and award of outside private and public grant funding.”