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Commission extends long-term lease with Children’s Museum despite one dissent; board requires nonprofit documentation
Summary
The Board approved a fourth amendment extending the Children’s Museum lease at Indian Riverside Park; the motion passed 4–1 with Commissioner Vargas dissenting, who said she wanted a shorter term and additional financial documents from the nonprofit.
Martin County commissioners on April 8 approved a fourth amendment to the lease for the Children’s Museum of the Treasure Coast at Indian Riverside Park, extending the nonprofit’s long‑term occupancy; the motion passed 4–1 with Commissioner Vargas recording the lone dissent.
Mandy Johns of Real Property explained the amendment clarifies responsibility for common area maintenance fees and adjusts a boundary added by a prior amendment. Commissioner Vargas had pulled the item for questions and said she was concerned about the long term of the lease: the original lease began in February 2005 and, through earlier amendments, the lease term has been extended substantially. "That's extraordinarily long. What do they pay? A dollar a month?" Vargas asked.
Tammy Calabria, CEO of the Children’s Museum of the Treasure Coast, described private fundraising and capital investment by the museum: "We raised $6,000,000 non tax pay money, private funds only, to renovate the built, the abandoned building that was abandoned for 17 years," she said, and added the museum has invested more than $20 million in the county facility and pays insurance and annual maintenance costs. Calabria said 61 percent of services the museum provides in the community are free.
Commissioners who supported the amendment cited the museum’s capital investment and ability to raise private funding for major projects such as a proposed planetarium. Commissioner Kiampi described long leases as often necessary for nonprofits to secure major private philanthropy; Commissioner Heatherington and others agreed. Vargas said she would prefer a 20‑year term and asked to see the museum’s 990 forms; staff confirmed those nonprofit financial documents had been provided and were on file.
The Board voted 4–1 to approve the amendment; the item was recorded as passing with Commissioner Vargas dissenting. Staff will finalize the lease paperwork and continue annual oversight and reporting on the museum’s lease obligations to the county.
