Navy Announces Funding Withdrawal from Museum
This week the U.S. Navy e-mailed members of the board of directors of the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum informing them that, “the Navy will no longer be providing financial support to operate and sustain the PRNAM.”
A museum official, who requested his name not be used, said the Navy’s withdrawal has been anticipated since 2010 and came as no surprise. Board members feel prepared to manage the impact such a withdrawal will have on museum operations and plans.
“There is money in the bank,” the official said, and funds committed to construction of the new museum building are not impacted by the announcement. “Nothing puts that building construction in jeopardy,” he said.
In rough, round figures, the federal government has appropriated $3.4 million for the construction, the state has put in $1.2 million, with some overlap with the state funding the county has pledged $2 million and the Navy has contributed $1.5 million. Some of this funding has been awarded through in-kind services and property.
This formal withdrawal may even help finances because it now permits the museum to charge “fair market value” for use of the facility. The Navy is among the organizations that use the venue and it retains funding for the events that have been historically taking place in the museum venue.
