Marathon – With new employees selected affordable housing back on agenda

With new employees selected

affordable housing back on agenda

BY TERRY SCHMIDA

Now that Marathon has picked out personnel to fill its top two employment vacancies, focus is returning to some of the town’s recurring problems – including affordable housing.

Following the City Council’s vote to bring Charles Lindsey aboard as the new city manager, talk at the Aug. 25 meeting turned to specific proposals to ease Marathon’s housing crunch. In particular, the city-owned property at 104^th Street came up as a potential site for new living units, though the details of such a plan will need to be fleshed out at a later date.

“Every day there are families leaving the Keys,” Councilman Bill Kelly said during the discussion. “There are more hotels coming online and more businesses. We all need workers . . . let’s get this done.”

Vice-Mayor Mark Senmartin seemed especially keen to move ahead with development at the site, suggesting that the city work a deal with a private entity such as Habitat for Humanity, or the Middle Keys Land Trust to get the job done. Council members agreed that a $750,000 chunk of cash turned over by the forthcoming Marlin Bay Yacht Club builders for worker housing, could be used to assist in the scheme.

But Mayor Chris Bull was reticent to proceed too quickly with the idea, pointing out that a Florida International University study into Marathon’s housing woes is due out later this month, and could become the basis for moving ahead with new projects, as Marathon’s stockpile of affordable unit building rights dwindles.

Earlier in the meeting, City Manager-to-be Lindsey made reference to the issue, stating that in his view, housing prices had gone through the roof, since he and his family had made their home here, back in 2010-13.

Lindsey, who previously served as operations manager at the Coast Guard base, before becoming the Command Master Chief of the Thirteenth Coast Guard District, in the Pacific Northwest, called the increased property values “good news for Marathon . . . but not such a good thing for the Lindsey family “Everything’s going to fail eventually,” if the situation facing local workers isn’t remedied, he added.

The city meanwhile should receive a shot in the arm on this front, following the groundbreaking on Aug. 28 of an affordable housing complex at 624 73^rd Street, Oceanside.

The project will consist of seven one-bedroom units, 26 two-bedroom apartments, and 18 three-bedroom suites.

Another hot topic at the meeting was the burning of yard waste, which aroused passionate public comment from a number of citizens.

Some 706 signatures from concerned residents, who want the practice banned, have been collected so-far.

One woman even went as far as to tell Council members that they “ought to fire [newly hired City Attorney David Migut] right now” over his handling of the controversy.

The Council eventually decided to revisit the issue at its Sept. 8 meeting.