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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM-81-0766PRESENTATION BY THE FLORIDA MARITIME MUSEUM TO THE .CITY OF MIAMI COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 10, 1981 Good afternoon. I am Albert Veliky, Secretary -Treasurer of the Florida Maritime Museum. In the past two and one-half years, the Florida Maritime Museum has appeared before this Commission on three occasions -- on each of those previous visits, we have kept you abreast of our progress. During that 2 1/2 year period, the Museum concept has made tremendous progress both in substance and in the support that it has elicited from important segments of our community and the State of Florida. On this, our fourth meeting with the City Commission, the Florida Maritime Museum is at an impasse in its further development at this, the very time that public support for the Museum is at a peak of enthusiasm, particularly among the various marine organizations. These are a few who have indicated their interest and support: the Marine Council. the United States Propeller Club, the Women's Propeller Club, the Admirals of the Fleet of Florida, the Navy League, the Florida Maritime Museum Committee, as well as other civic organizations and many prominent individuals who have pledged their efforts toward the success of the Museum. Also, a resolution was passed by the Florida House of Representatives endorsing the Museum concept. We anticipate a similar resolution from the Florida Sc.ate, next session, and we have received encouragement from members of the Governor's Cabinet. U r2 _ � Jr Our plans have received strong support on several occasions in our City's leading newspaper, the latest in an editorial this morning, and we continue to receive offers of assistance from numerous interested people who are anxious to join us in working toward our goal. Most importantly, we have, on the prior visits to this Commission, received your enthusiastic moral support and encouragement as we worked to establish the concept and give it a life of its own in the community. t Every voice that has been raised about the Museum has endorsed the i project for any one of many reasons, all of which have intrinsic benefits for Floridians and visitors alike. All that has taken place until now, however, has of necessity been a prelude -- the conceptualization, the planning, the dozens of meetings, the motivation of hundreds and perhaps thousands of interested individuals -- will have been a wasted effort if we are unable to take the next critical step which is absolutely essential to any further progress. To coin a metaphor, our seeds have begun to sprout and we don't have any place to plant them. This is what we need, now: First, we ask that the Miami City Commission grant the Florida Maritime Museum the right to occupy the land and buildings comprising an area of approximately ten acres in Bicentennial Park. The Phase I area outlined on the map will be utilized immediately for Museum activities, the remainder of the area to be designated for future development of this part of the Museum complex. As Captain Fernandez mentioned in his introductory remarks, we anticipate that the museum and maritime center will ultimately surround the deepwater slip separating the FEC property and Bicentennial Park. 1 - 766 fI I. The Phase I, immediate use area, is shaded dark green. Follow the dark green line starting at the fishing lagoon and extending westward to this driveway, around the open area on which part of the museum complex will eventually stand. The Phase I area encompasses the parking area and down to Biscayne Boulevard. In addition, we ask that the building off the arrival plaza consisting of an office room, storage room and restrooms l and parts of the treed plaza adjacent, shown here, be designated for use by the Florida Maritime Museum. Second, we ask that the City of Miami make available the north bulkhead of the deepwater slip and to improve it to enable its use for visiting ships. The Florida Maritime Museum will actively seek and recruit such vessels. Minor improvements will allow them to moor there safely and to provide easy access for crews and the visiting public. I might interject here that Miami is a natural port -of -call for all -- manner of non-commercial vessels such as tall ships, oceanographic ships, and other craft that would be of interest to the public. We have had preliminary discussions with two Scandanavian countries about basing cadet training ships in Miami during the winter -- each would make ideal tenants - for the dockage area we request. Third, we ask that the Florida Maritime Museum be authorized to operate a restaurant facility initially at what is now called the "Port Side Cafe;" profits from the restaurant operation would provide revenues for the Museum which will be used to help defray operational expenses at the site. Fourth, we ask that the Florida Maritime Museum be given the responsibility to select and control vessels that are to moor on any waterfront of Bicentennial Park including the east bulkhead. 81 -'766 ONI..4^ .. The "future use" area includes land on which part of the museum complex will eventually ptand. In the future it may be desirable for the major portion of the Museum complex to be located on the FEC tract. But, designation of this land would provide the leverage enabling us to is begin the raising of funds for the facilities and programs that we envision. 1 3 One of the basic maxims of fund raising is that it is virtually impossible to generate gift income for bricks and mortar until the land on which the facility will stand has been acquired. The prospective contributors we plan to approach, specifically private foundations throughout the country, national and local corporations, governmental entities and individual donors, will not be responsive to our proposals -- } I can tell you from long personal experience as a professional fundraiser -- until the Florida Maritime Museum has acquired property on which to stand. On at least two occasions we have been denied consideration of financial support for the Museum because of the lack of a site which was committed for our use. I cannot impress enough on this Commission the urgent necessity that we face for the commitment of this approximately ten acres in Bicentennial Park. We have said also that the grant of land use in Bicentennial Park will permit us to launch programs immediately by providing an administrative base to carry on the myriad activities of a museum such as we have in mind. We will have space for word processing, accounting operations, archives, a meeting place, telephones, and most significantly, a place to begin our first public activity, the development of a small wood ' it apprentit program, which will serve as both a tourist attraction, cultural resource, and a source of revenue for the Museum. More activities will follow and are being discussed now by the Board of Trustees of the Museum. These include the opening of the restaurant, the visiting ship program, marine parades, marine oriented cultural events and other activities that will pique the interest of both tourists and residents. But the benefits of the Museum extend to other areas of public concern. The superintendent of parks, City of Chicago, is quoted in the August 22 Executive Fitness Newsletter as follows," ...whenever there are large numbers of people using the parks in good, wholesome activity, we find i that crime just seems to disappear...." That quote is only an echo of what has been said dozens of times in these City Commission chambers. The fact is that until Bicentennial Park is occupied with activity, with people making appropriate use of one of our city's great recreational resources, it will not be able to realize its potential, as planned, and will simply remain a luxurious backwater of our city's recreational fac'lities. The proposal we present to you represents a giant stride in solving the under -utilization problem of Bicentennial Park. The second benefit to the City is that the Florida Maritime Museum will take responsibility for the maintenance and security of the land, landscaping and buildings under its control. A third benefit, the city will be relieved of the burden of controlling vessels which are now mooring along Bicentennial Park, often without authorization. We have mentioned many times that the Florida Maritime Museum would help our tourist industry. Given the many dimensions of that industry and the variables that affect it, we would be presumptuous to make any claims for the potential that the Museum might represent in attracting -6- or keeping tourists in our town. However, we have been in contact with more than 30 other marine museums in the United States, among them the highly successful Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut and the Peabody Museum in Massachusetts. The Mystic Seaport Museum attracts L visitors each year, each of whom is estimated to spend in the local economy, not to mention the success of the Museum's mail order business, some of which is supplied by local industries. We will make no extravagant claims for our future impact on this area, but I can tell you now that if enthusiasm, personal commitment and the willingness to work hard toward our goal were the currency we had to offer for ten acres of Bicentennial Park, the City of Miami will be making one of the best real estate deals in its history. Mr. Mayor and Commissioners, we urge that you move today to grant this designation of property and that you direct the City Manager to work with us to develop an appropriate contract. To do so, will launch us into our first phase of operations in which we can begin building a magnificent resource in which you, the City of Miami, Dade County, and the State of Florida can take great pride. We thank you for the opportunity to make this presentation. Any of us will be happy to answer questions you may have. 81 -766 i - . ork FLORIDA. MARMME MUSEUM ; e'go p re Z Qf LLJ ,f August 22, 1981 CM *. } Ct1 a- Mr. James Reid s Assistant City Manager , City of Miami ! h P. 0. Box 330708: Miami , Flr- 33133 Dear Jim: This will confirm our request to beylaced on the September 10, 1981 City Commission Meeting agenda. - - The purpose of appearance of the Florida Maritime Museum before the Commission is to reiterate our request that appropriate land be designated for use by the Florida Maritime Museum and related complex in the -area adjacent to the deep water slip south of Bicentennial -- Park. - - - Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Either I or Dick Briggs will be in contact with you to confirm. _ _ truly yours, _ + 1 an M. Fernandez :. _._. President • .... -'. '�..._ .�- �... ..a..._�-m.J'��f. .'-_`.i,_y �__� _ i .-..Li JY _ ._sue _ ..L ..... a'•-•+,�• _. J.rg .7 . ,. AN Florida Maritime Museum -.The - A. O. Box 013162 MiarrM, Florida 3310 !r } „tiat. a y.. a— � 4^"L" .►�•�'� a 7Y•,, L f.. 'i' '�' �yi _ -.. -W sl � +Ian �' � - '�.� y .f E...� w.... ♦ t � ^f�>;. l� 1� �:�Y, : .. ''CS . a, l t+. �..A i r "!! t '•iw �. ':� � 4��. 4 .,�rr..,..',a.' i. i.�... �a"a.. .. �.�:,..� �,,.....,:F_..a. _ �r i..ra.c]�:.....►�a._...2.......... a..... i.... �.-�... � ... � F �..".. the Miami fferatb JOHN S. KNIGHT 1189e-19811 JAMES L. KNIGHT, Chairmen LEE HILLS. Editorial Chairman EmerrtUs ALVAM H. CHAPMAN JR., President JOHN MCMULLAN. Executive Edna BEVERLY CARTER. General Meneli?er JIM HAMPTON. Editor HEATH J MERIWETHER. Menagng Editor DON SHOEMAKER, Sonia Edit& SA Thursday, September 10,1981 'EDITORIALS Ahoy, Maritime Museum! ONE OF the better ideas for down- town waterfront development comes before the Miami City Com- mission this afternoon. It is the request from the Florida Maritime Museum for designation of a few acres in Bicentenni- al Park for Phase One of the proposed multifaceted facility. The first -stage request is modest: use of several parcels that include the exist- ing under -used restaurant, office build- ing, and the north side of the deep -water slip. Later, if the program flourishes and draws people into the park to enjoy vis- iting ships, a living exhibit on early Flor- ida boat -building, and other water -ori- ented activities, the project could expand around the ship berths into the Florida East Coast Railway property. That acre- age is scheduled for transfer to city con- trol its the next few months. This proposal would not interfere with the city's temporary arrangement with Miami -Dade Community College to use parts of the park for athletic activi- ties. To the contrary, each project offers the hor^ of briniting more people into the beautiful, but near -deserted, bayside site. The most visible immediate impact from the designation of the museum site would be the launching of the visiting - ships program in the slip adjacent to Bis- cayne Boulevard and visible from I-95. Colorful vessels ranging from square- rigged tall ships to foreign research craft would be invited to tie up for open - house visitations. Further, a secure site would enable the nonprofit maritime complex to pur- sue grants and endowments to fulfill its goal of recording and . displaying the maritime history of the Caribbean. A 100-year-old wooden whaling boat al- ready has been acquired. There are many legitimate demands on the Miami City Commission for all or part of the priceless waterfront. None is more worthy than a public, nonprofit, multifaceted maritime complex that would serve residents. tourists, and scholars alike. Designation of the first - stage site today would be a welcome be- ginning, 81-766