![\"Ileana](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/MIA_1_Hialeah_Budget_Hearing_MJO.JPG\" "\\"Ileana")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Ileana Rodriguez holds her 1-year-old son, Thiago, as she speaks during a budget meeting at Hialeah City Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. Residents and library employees attended the meeting to voice their concerns about the city’s proposal to renovate the John F. Kennedy Library.<\/p>\n
Photo by Matias J. Ocner<\/p>\n
mocner@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
The Hialeah City Council unanimously approved a $514 million budget for 2027 on Tuesday that includes $8 million for a project to transform the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library into a combined history museum and library, despite growing opposition from residents who urged the city to preserve the building as a full-service library.<\/p>\n
The budget includes $55.4 million for capital projects. The JFK project would convert the first floor of the 61-year-old building into a museum and move the library to a smaller second-floor mezzanine.<\/p>\n
But Mayor Bryan Calvo emphasized during the budget hearing that Tuesday\u2019s vote did not approve a final design or authorize a specific library renovation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been no final plans,\u201d Calvo said. \u201cThere\u2019s not even been an actual design company that\u2019s been retained in order to go through the process.\u201d<\/p>\n
Calvo described the proposal as an idea that will be developed during the coming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s basically what it is, is an idea that then gets flushed out over the course of the whole year,\u201d he said. \u201cThe likelihood of us discussing anything tangible regarding the library will probably be at least six months from now.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Mayor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/MIA_15_Hialeah_Budget_Hearing_MJO.JPG\" "\\"MIA_15_Hialeah_Budget_Hearing_MJO.JPG\\"")
Mayor Bryan Calvo reacts during a budget meeting at Hialeah City Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. Residents and library employees attended the meeting to voice their concerns about the city’s proposal to renovate the John F. Kennedy Library. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n
Residents nevertheless came to the hearing prepared to oppose the proposal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here tonight to voice my opposition to the proposed budget as it relates to the transformation of JFK Library,\u201d Ileana Rodriguez told the council. \u201cLet me state that a history museum is a lovely plan, but I strongly believe it should be built elsewhere, in another vacant lot within the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Days before the vote, residents launched a petition on Change.org asking the mayor and council to \u201dsave Hialeah\u2019s John F. Library\u201d<\/a>. By Tuesday night, more than 800 people had signed it, according to the petition, with 26 leaving comments.<\/p>\n \u201cA library is a sanctuary!!!\u201d wrote one signer, identified only as Idania.<\/p>\n The petition describes the JFK Library as a critical community resource for children, families and seniors who depend on its books, computers, study rooms, tutoring and educational programs.<\/p>\n READ MORE: \u2018Save JFK Library\u2019: Hialeah residents rally against $8 million museum plan<\/a><\/p>\n The library opened in 1965 and has itself become part of Hialeah\u2019s history.<\/p>\n A plan before the project moves forward<\/p>\n Gilda Palladares, a writer who has participated in the Caf\u00e9 Literario Book Club program at the JFK Library every weekend since it was created more than a decade ago, said the city should provide a plan before moving forward.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is difficult to approve the creation of a museum within the library when we still lack a preliminary plan that clearly outlines what is intended and what the consequences would be,\u201d Palladares, who has written novels, children\u2019s stories, essays and poetry, told the council. \u201cBefore approving a budget and starting construction, we need to know which current library activities can continue, which will have to be suspended, and which will be relocated to another institution.\u201d<\/p>\n Palladares also questioned how the museum and library would share the building.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also need to know how the space will be laid out, specifically which area will be allocated to the library and which space the new facility will occupy,\u201d she said. \u201cWithout that information, it is hard to assess whether the project truly meets the needs of the institution and its users.\u201d<\/p>\n Calvo said those details have not yet been determined. He told residents that the city wants their input as the concept develops and said the goal is not to diminish the library.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody wants to reduce by any means the library. The opposite. We want to augment it,\u201d Calvo said. \u201cWe want to make it better. We want to make it nicer.\u201d<\/p>\n Calvo said he grew up using the library and wants to preserve the memories associated with the building.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m someone that I grew up in the library,\u201d he said. \u201cI remember it as a child, and those are good memories and those are things that we want to preserve.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the city wants to invest in the facility for decades to come.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to invest for not just the next 10 years, but the next 50 years of what that library can be and should be,\u201d Calvo said.<\/p>\n The concept<\/p>\n Although there is no final design, the concept presented by the city calls for the museum to occupy the building\u2019s first floor<\/a>, according to Chief Financial Officer Pedro De Faria.<\/p>\n The library would move to a second floor mezzanine that is roughly one third the size of the existing main floor.<\/p>\n The proposed museum could include Hialeah\u2019s collection of antique cars, photographs, paintings and other historical materials. City officials have also discussed possible changes to the building\u2019s exterior, including glass and lighting. Some existing murals could be removed as part of the renovation.<\/p>\n Calvo has described the museum as a way to showcase Hialeah\u2019s history and attract school field trips. But residents who spoke Tuesday questioned whether creating that museum should come at the expense of library space.<\/p>\n Anthony Amador, who introduced himself as a middle -chool teacher who teaches civics and history, urged the council to reconsider.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s difficult for this council, in good conscience, to vote on and approve that matter,\u201d Amador said. \u201cWhether it\u2019s a library or a school or any other public facility, but especially something that is the heart of so much community like the John F. Kennedy Library.\u201d<\/p>\n Amador said the building represents more than nostalgia.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not something to use to distract from local scandals,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the livelihood of so many of its memories. It\u2019s precious. Don\u2019t treat it as something to just do lightly.\u201d<\/p>\n Growing demand<\/p>\n The debate over the building comes as the city prepares to eliminate 18 part-time library positions beginning Oct. 1. The 2027 budget includes 17 full-time library positions.<\/p>\n Residents who spoke about the proposal said the city should address existing needs, including technology, electrical outlets, tutoring space and longer hours, before reducing the library\u2019s footprint.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s library system recorded 227,579 visits last year, a 40 percent increase from the previous year.<\/p>\n For the residents who organized against the proposal, that process will now be the next test: whether the city can preserve what makes the JFK Library useful to the community while creating the museum officials envision.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Miami Herald<\/p>\n![\"Gilda](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/MIA_2_Hialeah_Budget_Hearing_MJO.JPG\" "\\"MIA_2_Hialeah_Budget_Hearing_MJO.JPG\\"")
Gilda Palladares Barrios speaks during a budget meeting at Hialeah City Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. Residents and library employees attended the meeting to voice their concerns about the city’s proposal to renovate the John F. Kennedy Library. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n![\"General](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790167213_597_IMG_3010.jpg\" "\\"IMG_3010.jpg\\"")
General view of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library in Hialeah from the second floor. Under a proposal from Mayor Bryan Calvo\u2019s administration, a museum would occupy the center of the first floor. Ver\u00f3nica Egui Brito vegui@elnuevoherald.com <\/p>\n![\"Anthony](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/MIA_4_Hialeah_Budget_Hearing_MJO.JPG\" "\\"MIA_4_Hialeah_Budget_Hearing_MJO.JPG\\"")
Anthony Amador speaks during a budget meeting at Hialeah City Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. Residents and library employees attended the meeting to voice their concerns about the city’s proposal to renovate the John F. Kennedy Library. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n