Resolution 2025-33916 RESOLUTION NO. 2025-33916
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA,APPROVING, IN SUBSTANTIAL FORM, THE LETTER
AGREEMENT WITH THE FRIENDS OF THE BASS MUSEUM, INC.; SAID
LETTER AGREEMENT MEMORIALIZING THE PARTIES' RESPECTIVE
MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS OBLIGATIONS FOR THE BASS MUSEUM
OF ART FROM OCTOBER 1, 2025 TO SEPTEMBER 30, 2026, INCLUDING
PAYMENT BY THE CITY OF $986,998 FOR THE ADMINISTRATION,
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE MUSEUM AND BASS ART
COLLECTION BY THE FRIENDS; AND FURTHER, AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER AND CITY CLERK TO FINALIZE AND EXECUTE THE LETTER
AGREEMENT.
WHEREAS, the Bass Museum of Art (the "Museum") was established as a strong
public/private partnership between the City of Miami Beach (the"City")and John and Johanna Bass,
through a contractual agreement entered into in 1963 whereby the City accepted the gift of the art
collection of John and Johanna Bass (the "Collection") in exchange for making the Collection open
and available to the public in a building maintained by the City (the 1963 Agreement and all
subsequent amendments thereto are hereinafter referred to as the "1963 Bass AgreemenY'); and
WHEREAS, the 1963 Bass Agreement requires the City to keep the Museum open and
available to the public, provide for the exhibition of the Collection, and provide for the maintenance
of the Collection in perpetuity; and
WHEREAS, the City fulfills these obligations by funding the operational elements of the
Museum and maintaining the building, which is a City asset; and
WHEREAS, on March 10, 2010, the City Commission adopted Resolution No. 2010-27349,
approving an Amended and Restated Bass Museum Agreement (the "Amended and Restated
Agreement") between the City and Dennis Alan Richard (as successor in interest to John and
Johanna Bass); and
WHEREAS,the Amended and Restated Agreement was intended to replace and supersede
the 1963 Bass Agreement, and, among other things: (1) reaffirmed the City's continuing obligation
to fund the administration, operation and maintenance of the Collection at the Museum under the
current name — The Bass Museum of Art, (2) provided guidelines for the maintenance of the
Museum building, (3) confirmed governance of the Museum pursuant to an independent 501(c)(3)
corporation — the Friends of the Bass, Inc. (the "Friends") — through a board of directors, with the
City Manager holding one of the seats on the board and twenty percent (20%) voting power, and
(4) established oversight by an independent executive director; and
WHEREAS, since 2009, the City has approved Resolution Nos. 2009-27089, 2009-27216,
2010-27505, 2011-27757, 2012-28027, 2013-28363, 2014-28764, 2015-29168, 2016-29689 2018-
30172, 2018-30517, 2019-31034, 2020-31449, 2021-31891, 2022-32362, 2023-32700, and 2024-
33242, each with a corresponding letter agreement, whereby the City has agreed to appropriate
and transfer budgeted operating funds for the Museum, in consideration of the Friends' agreement
to undertake certain management and operational responsibility (on behalf of the City) for the
Museum; and
WHEREAS, on September 11, 2024, the Letter Agreement for FY 2025 was updated to
include language that allowed for a cap of the annual adjusted increase by CPI or 3%, whichever is
lesser; and
WHEREAS, funding in the amount of$986,998.00 is recommended as part of the City's FY
2026 budget process and is contingent upon approval of the Mayor and City Commission; and
WHEREAS, the Friends will continue to provide certain oversight and management
responsibilities for the Museum through September 30, 2026;
WHEREAS, the Administration recommends that the City Commission approve, in
substantial form, the Letter Agreement attached to the City Commission Memorandum
accompanying this resolution as Exhibit A, and authorize the City Manager and City Clerk to finalize
and execute the Letter Agreement, in the form approved by the City Attorney.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that the Mayor and City Commission
hereby approve, in substantial form, the Letter Agreement with the Friends of the Bass Museum,
Inc.; said Letter Agreement memorializing the parties' respective management and operations
obligations for the Bass Museum of Art from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026, including
payment by the City of$986,998 for the administration, operation and maintenance of the museum
and Bass art collection by the Friends; and further, authorize the City Manager and City Clerk to
finalize and execute the Letter Agreement.
PASSED and ADOPTED this l7 day of �t 7�f'�?�.'�/ 2025. _ �
Steven Meiner, Mayor
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Rafael . Granado, City Clerk ��2'�� ��� �����
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APPROVED AS TO
FORM & LANGUAGE
& FOR EXECUTION
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City Attorney �i.'� Date
Resolutions - C7 K
MIAMIBEA� H
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Eric Carpenter, City Manager
DATE: September 17, 2025
TITLE: A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, APPROVING, IN SUBSTANTIAL FORM, THE LETTER
AGREEMENT WITH THE FRIENDS OF THE BASS MUSEUM, INC.; SAID LETTER
AGREEMENT MEMORIALIZING THE PARTIES' RESPECTIVE MANAGEMENT
AND OPERATIONS OBLIGATIONS FOR THE BASS MUSEUM OF ART FROM
OCTOBER 1, 2025 TO SEPTEMBER 30, 2026, INCLUDING PAYMENT BY THE
CITY OF $986,998 FOR THE ADMINISTRATION, OPERATION AND
MAINTENANCE OF THE MUSEUM AND BASS ART COLLECTION BY THE
FRIENDS; AND FURTHER, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MA��AGER AND CITY
CLERK TO FINALIZE AND EXECUTE THE LETTER AGREEMENT.
RECOMMENDATION
The Administration recommends approving the annual Letter Agreement between the City of
Miami Beach and the Friends of the Bass Museum, Inc. ("the Friends" or "the Bass Museum")for
the management of The Bass Museum in the amount of$986,998 based on annual CPI increase.
BACKGROUND/HISTORY
On March 10, 2010, the City Commission adopted Resolution No. 2010-27349 amending the
1963 agreement between the City and Dennis Alan Richard (as Successor in Interest to John and
Johanna Bass). This new Agreement, among other things, replace both the existing Bass Board
of Trustees and the Friends of the Bass Museum, Inc., with the Bass Museum of Art, Inc. a
501(c)3, composed of actual stakeholders (as opposed to the then-c��rrent Board of Trustees,
who maintained their seats by virtue of their contractually designated positions under the 1963
Agreement). The City Manager retained membership on the new governing board, with voting
power equivalent to 20°/o of the membership of the Board, comparable to the City Manager's
representation on the previous Board of Trustees. The day-to-day responsibility to ensure the
City's contractual obligations to maintain the Coll�:ction would be handled by the new governing
body through a separate manaqement agreement with the City.
Funding for the management agreement for the Bass Museum has been appropriated through
the annual budget process each year since 2009, and subsequently approved by resolution
authorizing the City Manager to enter into a letter agreement with the Bass Museum for the
amount appropriated through the budget process, noted as follows:
FY 2010 $512,000 (Reso. No. 2009-27216)
FY 2011 $536,495 (Reso. No. 2010-27505)
FY 2012 $623,391 (Reso. No. 2011-27757)
FY 2013 $585,501 (Reso. No. 2012-28027)
FY 2014 $651,000 (Reso. No. 2013-28363)
FY 2015 $651,000 (Reso. No. 2014-28764)
FY 2016 $651,000 (Reso. No. 2015-29168)
FY 2017 $1,201,000 (Reso. No. 2016-29689) `increased to assist with re-opening of Bass
Museum
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FY 2018 $651,000 (Reso. No. 2018-30172)
FY 2019 $884,058 (Reso. No. 2018-30517)
FY 2020 $905,000 (Reso. No. 2019-31034)
FY 2021 $905,000 (Reso. No. 2020-31449)
FY 2022 $905,000 (Reso. No. 2021-31831)
FY 2023 $905,000 (Reso. No. 2022-32362)
FY 2024 $932,150 (Reso. No. 2023-32700)
FY 2025 $960,116 (Reso. No. 2024-33242)
On July 20, 2018, the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee recommended a retroactive
$233,000 increase for the FY 2019 Letter Agreement with the Bass Museum bringing the
management fee from $651,000 to $884,058 appropriated through the FY 2019 budget process.
During the FY 2020 budget process, the Cost PerFormance Index (CPI) increase was included
and approved by the City Commission on September 25, 2019, resulting in total allocation of
$905,000 management fee.
On November 8, 2022, Miami Beach residents voted to approve the $159 million General
Obligation (G.O.) Bond for Arts and Cultural Facilities, with an outstanding support rate of
approximately 64.8%. As part of the Arts and Culture G.O. Bond, the Bass Mussum has been
awarded a $20.1 million allocation for the Bass Museum project which includes facility-wide
infrastructure upgrades and technology enhancements, along with the construction of a new wing
addition which will add versatile spaces for engagement and a state-of-the-art contemporary
gallery for the museum's growing permanent collection.
Effective October 1, 2024, the Letter Agreement for FY 2025 was updated to include language
that allowed for a cap of the annual adjusted increase by CPI or 3%, whichever is lesser. With
this update, the city's contribution to the Friends of the Bass for FY 2026 is $986,998.
ANALYSIS
Throughout FY-2025, the Bass Museum achieved significant milestones, including the
presentation of six (6) exhibitions: Rachel Feinstein: The Miami Years, Ulla von Brandenburg,
Performing Perspectives, La Horde, and a second iteration of Social Assembly. Most notable was
the unveiling of Assume Vivid Astro Focus' (AVAF) monumental multimedia installation—a
generous gift to the Bass Museum from Miami collectors Rosa and Carlos de la Cruz.
The Bass Museum's Creativity Center is the learning hub of the museum's IDEAS program of
innovative workshops, tours, community outreach projects and public programs. This year, the
Creativity Center offered a wide range of programs, including Teen Board, in which teens can
collaborate with peers to create teen-focused programming and exhibitions, Bass Babies, a
weekly art program for toddlers to foster new discoveries in sensory awareness, creativity and
pre-��teracy skills, adult workshops, ar.d STE.AM+ programming, which partners cultural
organizations and Miami Beach public schools to emphasize the integration of the arts into core
subjects such as science, engineering and math. Additionally, the Bass Museums' Creativity in
the Community initiative brought arts education offsite, providing art and literacy workshops for
families through multi-disciplinary art lessons from the Museum to local neighborhoods, and
providing transportation for visits to the museum.
The Bass provides free annual museum memberships for Miami Beach residents and City of
Miami Beach employees, a $50 value per individual membership.
The Bass Museum recently received support through the A�t Bridges Foundation's "Access for
All" program, allowing them to enhance public programming for City of Miami Beach's Culture
Crawl every third Thursday of the month, as well as monthly Family Days, and the annual Art
Outside picnic—further promoting accessibility in the arts. Another family friendly milestone was
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the launch of Open Studio, a dedicated, on-demand space within the museum that offers guided
art activities for families every Saturday and Sunday.
To strengthen its institutional capacity, the Bass Museum also increased its operation budget,
expanded its donor base, boosted earned revenue and welcomed two new board members—ali
key steps in preparation for the museum's capital campaign launching in 2026. The museum
expects to have served approximately 60,000 visitors in FY-2025.
Today, the Bass Museum stands as the sole contemporary art museum on Miami Beach and is
a vital culturai cornerstone, biending contemporary art with the city's rich historical roots. More
than just a museum, the Bass is a "third space" where creativity, community and education
converge—offering residents and visitors alike a chance to engage with programming, exhibitions,
and each other.
The annual adjusted increase to the management fee based on CPI for the FY 2026 Letter
Agreement has been updated to an amount of$986,998.
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
Funding in the amount of$986,998 is recommended as part of the City's FY 2026 budget process.
Does this Ordinanc� require a Business Impact Estimate? � .: . , ��r - , - .� ';:-,
(�OR �RDINANCES ONLY)
If applicable, the Business Impact Estimate (BIE) was published on:
See BIE at: https:((www.miamibeachfl.qov/city-halllcity-clerklmeetinq-noticesJ
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
011-0930-000312-25-406-551-00-00-00-
CONCLUSION
The Administration recommends approving the annual Letter Agreement between the City of
Miami Beach and the Friends of the Bass Museum, Inc. to help ensure that Miami Beach remains
a world-class arts and culture destination.
Applicable Area
Scuth Beach
Is this a "Residents Riqht to Know" item, Is this item related to a G.O. Bond
pursuant to City Code Section 2-17? Proiect?
No No
Was this Aqenda Item initially requested by a lobbvist which, as defined in Code Sec. 2-481,
includes a principal enqaqed in lobbvinq? No
If so, specify the name of lobbyist(s) and principal(s):
Department
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Tourism and Culture
Sponsor(s)
Co-sponsor(s)
Condensed Title
Approve FY 2026 Letter Agreement with the Friends of the Bass Museum of Art, Inc. TC
Previous Action (For City Clerk Use Only)
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