Miami official seeks to siphon some tourism funds to museums 

By Karl Ross
Copyright 2001 The Miami Herald
Article date: July 20, 2001
 

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Rebeca Sosa has crafted a resolution that would split $90 million in county tourism tax money among a "trilogy" of museums in downtown Miami -- if a plan to use the same funding source for a Marlins stadium fails.

The resolution, scheduled to come before the county commission Tuesday, would allocate $35 million each to the Miami Art Museum and Miami Museum of Science, with the remaining $20 million earmarked for the Freedom Tower restoration.

"These three not-for-profit institutions, which affirm Miami's pivotal role as the "Gateway of the Americas" are assets that our community demands in order to become a truly great city and a global capital," said Sosa, who joined the commission last month.

Both the art museum and the museum of science would be built at Bicentennial Park, she said, blocks away from the Freedom Tower at 600 Biscayne Boulevard.

Funding would be derived from the county's tax on tourist lodgings, and would only be committed if plans for a $385 million riverfront stadium for the Florida Marlins are scrapped.

Disposal of the county's "bed tax" dollars is frequently a divisive issue, but Sosa's resolution could prove more contentious than most. Her request to channel $20 million in public funds to the Mas family-owned Freedom Tower comes when county officials are suing a contracting firm managed by the same family for nearly that amount.

Tom David, executive assistant to County Manager Steve Shiver, said whether to approve a funding request under such circumstances "is a policy question for the board [of county commissioners] to answer."

The architectural landmark -- which served as a processing station for Cuban refugees in the 1960s and early 1970s -- belongs to the family of the late exile leader, Jorge Mas Canosa. Family members also run MasTec, the Miami-based parent company of Church & Tower.

County attorneys are trying to collect as much as $17 million from Church & Tower for alleged overbilling and mismanagement of a controversial paving contract. The contract was the object of a recent Miami-Dade grand jury criminal inquiry.

At least one county commissioner, Katy Sorenson, said she could not support Sosa's funding request until the county reaches a settlement with Church & Tower.

"That issue has to be resolved first before we can entertain any funding for that institution," Sorenson said.

"Of course it does [raise concerns]," Commissioner Joe Martinez said. "Some of the same people involved in the contracting firm are also involved with the nonprofit foundation" in charge of the tower's restoration work.

Even Sosa, reached for comment in Puerto Rico, acknowledged the issue about Church & Tower's alleged debt to the county needs to be examined. "I'm new to the commission, and I haven't reviewed that. I would be glad to review it when I get back."

MasTec Chairman Jorge Mas Santos was not available for comment.

Mas Santos is also chairman of the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF), which would be headquartered at the 19-story tower and share the facility with a museum.

CANF Executive Director Joe Garcia said he thinks it is unfair to couple funding for the nonprofit Freedom Tower Foundation with the county's litigation against Church & Tower.

"This is not the Mas family," Garcia said. "It's a project that belongs to the entire community and for the benefit of the entire community."
 

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