Filed at August 8, 2009 under Government and Florida Keys and Lower Keys and Key West by Keys
Keep your suits on. After all the talk of a clothing-optional beach and a referendum on the Oct. 6 ballot, Key West City Commissioners unanimously killed the item at Tuesday’s meeting.
Commissioners said the lack of a specific site raised too many questions, calling it premature to begin the process of changing land-use rules to allow for designated “naturist” areas. They also said the proposed referendum could confuse voters.
“This is also not a proposal for Fantasy Fest. I want to end those comparisons,” Commissioner Clayton Lopez said. “I actually do support the naturists in their quest to find a place where they can go in comfort, but we have an obligation both to the naturists and to those who don’t want to be — excuse the pun — exposed to it.”
Interim Commissioner Joe Pais, who is filling out the term of Dan Kolhage, reminded commissioners of the long-gone businesses like Naked Lunch and Atlantic Shores and said that naturism may not be the economic draw supporters portray.
“They [the aforementioned businesses] failed. The thousands of people that are going to be here, they’re not going to be here,” Pais said. “We’re not going to trade our businesses for businesses that have already failed. Buy your own property. Start your own business.”
Mayoral candidate Sloan Bashinsky called out commissioners for not having the political courage to make a tough decision, rather than sending the nude beach issue to a non-binding referendum.
“You seven should have made the decision. That’s what you were elected to do,” Bashinsky said. “I will never pass the buck like that. That is weenie-ing out and I accuse you, Mr. Verge, of being a weenie.”
District I Commissioner Bill Verge laughed that off and joined the rest of the commission in killing the referendum.
City staff is working with commissioners to set up public workshops to discuss the idea of designated naturist beaches. For more information, go to www.kwfb.org .
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Filed at August 1, 2009 under Environment and Florida Keys and Government by Keys
The need to protect corals from damage by ship groundings was one major reason given by the government and environmental groups for the 1990 establishment of the FKNMS. The other was to protect reefs zones from oil drilling. Yet the majority of us Keys locals did not believe that a marine sanctuary was needed to address these issues. The well agreed upon environmental concerns regionally were poor water quality in the Bay, the need for sewage treatment in the Keys, and pollution coming from those pigs in South Florida. Those opposed to the sanctuary believed that none of these concerns would be better addressed by the additional layer of bureaucracy created by the FKNMS given that these issues were already being addressed by more than 30 agencies and non-profits. Those in favor suggested that the multiple agencies working on the issues had been inadequately addressing such problems.
Keys’ locals formed the 1,500- person Conch Coalition to oppose the sanctuary. They engaged in letter writing campaigns, sent hundreds of coconuts with anti-sanctuary messages painted on them to representatives in Washington, and held public speeches and demonstrations. Activists even hung NOAA’s two main sanctuary managers in effigy. Through the efforts of anti-sanctuary groups (Conch Coalition, Monroe County Commercial Fishermen’s Association, and other fisher groups) and individuals (many treasure salvagers), the no-take zone was reduced from six percent to one percent in the 1996 final management plan.
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Filed at January 11, 2009 under Environment and Government and Florida Keys and Middle Keys and Marathon by Keys
As the sun rises over the Florida Keys, employees of WGMX and WFFG travel to their small radio station by boat, passing wading birds, mangroves and even a yellow submarine. ”Welcome to Fantasy Island,” says Morning Mix producer Richard Silva as the boat reaches the shore of 1,100-acre Boot Key, off Marathon in the Florida Keys.
Last April, the city of Marathon hired Waronker & Rosen Inc. to appraise the island. The company valued the island at $3.4 million with bridge access and $1.47 million without it. After the appraisal, the City Council voted to buy the island for $3.4 million and pay for removal of the steel bridge that is the entrance to busy Boot Key Harbor. [That works out to $3,500 an acre...quite a bargain in the Florida Keys were average landlocked, 60' x 100' lots (1/8 acre) range in value from $7,500 to $15,000.]
The island is eerie, like something out of The Twilight Zone: dead cars left on the lone road, a cannon next to an old boat called Run Amuck, rusted, empty trailers, overturned lobster traps, a 300-foot communications tower and a rickety radio station swarmed by 20 abandoned cats. But due to another deteriorating structure, Boot Key the junkyard could become Boot Key the nature preserve.
The Boot Key drawbridge, built in 1960, was closed a year ago for safety reasons by the Florida Department of Transportation, leaving the three private landowners with no vehicle access and the city of Marathon with a legal obligation to compensate them for the loss. Some city officials and environmentalists hope the city’s ”bridge to nowhere” headache — which includes a lawsuit filed against the city last week by one landowner — could ultimately become a green blessing. Read more »
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Filed at January 13, 2008 under Government and Florida Keys and Upper Keys and Islamorada by Keys
~Prepared by Robert Page
- Plantation Yacht Harbor was on the market in 1997 for sale for $4 million, a contract had been signed, but with the incorporation vote, the Village elected officials managed to secretly negotiate a purchase price of $8 million, all done very quickly, without any public input or support.
- Borrowed $4 million dollars in 2004 and could not figure out how to spend it until 2007.
- Does not maintain an inventory of all items valued over $500.
- Have never conducted an inventory review to determine, if items purchased with taxpayers money is still in possession of the staff. Have any items been lost, stolen, or given away? Who knows or cares?
- Gave away a street ending at the ocean (no public hearing) on Upper Matecumbe Key to developer Bill Fountain which is against state law.
- Village has never completed one project on time and within budget.
- Former Mayer Frank Kulisky secretly bought property next to Plantation Yacht Harbor (Founders Park) for $700,000 then sold part of it to the Village for $1.4 million.
- Former Mayor Mark Gregg changed a single family residence into eight houses and sold the eight living units for millions of dollars.
- Village has borrowed $25 million dollars with no referendum vote or public support. Annual payments for eight loans are over $1 million a year.
- Village manager does not prepare a full and complete budget for review each year at the beginning of budget preparation time. He doles out the budget, in many small pieces, and the elected officials spend months going over the incomplete budget and never learn the bottom line until the very last moment when the millage rate has to be set He tricks the officials each year and they never catch on. Then the millage is set and nobody looks at the budget again to provide oversight to see that funds are only spent on authorized issues. That is why the left over funds from the previous year disappears.
- During Hurricane Wilma village computers, furniture and valuable documents were left on the floor of the Village Hall, knowing it was going to be flooded and computers ruined. Documents had to be sent to Texas for expensive recovery.
- Since incorporation in 1998, six managers have come and gone and village is now searching for number seven.
- No financial reports for six months in 2006, and none for September 2007 (end of fiscal year)
- Quote from newspaper Reporter “Over the past year, the Islamorada Village Council has spent countless hours and hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars searching for answers to issues that will undoubtedly shape Islamorada’s future” “as the year comes to a close, the majority of those answers remain elusive, leaving Islamorada cash strapped, without a manager and still working out ways to fund projects already underway.” Fire chief Wagner said “we have no reserves in the capital fund, we’re in really, really desperate conditions here” This is the guy that left his fire trucks on Lower Matecumbe to be caught in salt water during Hurricane Wilma and had to purchase new truck replacements. Councilman Reckwerdt said “we have no idea how bad our finances are”. Finance Director Fillinovich said “we need to set money aside for construction projects instead of taking out loans and paying through the general fund. She urged the council to put money aside for a rainy day” but it has not done so.
- The Free Press newspaper said “2007 was a year when the Islamorada Village Council had trouble making up its mind –repeatedly” ” Council spent nearly $600,000 on the municipal complex, much of it for architectural fees. Initially budgeted for $4.4 million, the complex earlier this year was expected to cost nearly $10 million.” “The council also had a difficult time making up its mind about this year’s tax rate. In an effort to protect village reserves, council members in July voted to override the 7% tax cut recommended by the state. But they reinstated the cut in September”.
- Newspaper Reporter called the Village of Islamorada “Dysfunctional”.
- When documents that might reveal false or embarrassing information are requested by the public – the Village Attorney just labels them ”exempt” from the public records law.
- Spent over $200,000 studying whether to ship sewerage to Key Largo.
- Plantation Key Colony Sewer program is mismanaged, resulting in cost overruns, sewer backups, resulting in houses being condemned, and torn down, family dislocated, insurance claims being ignored and the sewerage collection system is years behind schedule. The Fla Dept of Environmental Protection has cited the village for many violations and fined the village for the violations. Re-use of the treated sewage water has cost nearly $2 million and all we have is a tank full of salt water that cannot be used.
- Plantation Key Colony Sewer program budget is overspent by $1,055,709. Poor fiscal management.
- Village does not evaluate employee performance.
- Village has a turnover of personnel reported to be 60%. No exit interviews to find out why high turnover of staff.
- Village Manager gets an annual evaluation but the format is flawed by being too subjective resulting in a convoluted and meaningless report..
- Village Manager does not have a clear set of measurable performance standards. He needs to be told what is to be done, how much money the elected officials are giving him, and how long it should take to finish the task. Monthly progress reports will reveal if he is doing his job.
- Village attorney has been paid about $8 million dollars for legal services. Village should have in-house legal staff.
- Over 900 petitions were signed to require any expenditure of the village that exceeded $1 million dollars must be by referendum. Ignored by elected officials.
- Elected officials interject themselves into the operation of the village and continually give instructions to the staff and not the manager. Village attorney has repeatedly warned the elected officials that their job is to set policy and not to interfere in the management of the village. All of the elected officials like to micromanage the daily operation.
- I could go on with horror stories of incompetence but I think the message is clear.
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