Consultant hired to explore Keys Energy donation offer

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

 

Despite misgivings from at least two Key West City Commissioners, the city is moving ahead to explore the possibility of accepting the Keys Energy Services offer to donate its abandoned diesel generator plant in Bahama Village.

Commissioners voted 5-2 recently to hire a consultant for $22,000 to examine the pros and cons of taking over ownership of the plant, located at the corner of Fort and Angela streets. While Keys Energy would donate the three buildings that make up the generator plant to the city for free, there would likely be extensive repairs to two of the buildings while the third would be torn down. And there is also significant concern from some city officials over possible ground contamination underneath the building. While Keys Energy has removed contaminants from the soil outside of the building, they are offering the three structures “as is,” meaning any further environmental clean-up would be the city’s responsibility.

A report issued by the energy provider last year estimated that it will cost approximately $278,000 to remove lead-based paint from the structure and another $49,000 to remove asbestos. The four, two-story generators that remain in the plant would also have to be removed, although salvagers may be interested in the metal and help reduce that cost.

“Just to get those generators out of there is another $800,000,” estimated Commissioner Richard Payne. “And then you can never tear the buildings down because they’re all historic. This is an albatross and a bottomless pit. There could be 20 years of oil in that ground right underneath there.”

Commissioner Clayton Lopez, who represents the Bahama Village neighborhood where the plant is located, said that the soil underneath the structure is not as contaminated “as we once thought it was.” And at least one of the turbines could remain in place as part of a historical look at the neighborhood, he suggested. The 100-plus-year-old plant, which is comprised of three brick buildings totaling almost 11,800 square feet, has been abandoned for the past 55 years.

But the actual use of the buildings might be limited. When Keys Energy first broached the subject of donating the plant to the city last year, some possible uses included an assisted senior living facility or an affordable housing complex. Since then, however, those ideas had to be scaled back.

“My understanding [is] we’ll never get it cleaned up to the point that it will be residential standard. But we can get it to industrial standard, which would still allow us to use the building,” Lopez said.

City Engineer Jim Bouquet said there has already been “extensive” evaluation of the site for additional contaminants in the soil and the state Department of Environmental Protection has issued a letter saying no further clean-up action is required. The DEP also said that any new owner of the property will not have to maintain ground water contamination monitors. The consultant’s report, to be issued by Amec Foster Wheeler Environment and Infrastructure, Inc., will give commissioners and city residents an estimate of the cost to stabilize the two salvageable buildings for the short term and demolish the third, as well as an assessment of any ongoing environmental concerns, he said.

However, Bouquet added, if the city does take over ownership of the buildings, it will require a longer-term stabilization of the two remaining buildings that don’t have to be torn down. He said buildings may have to be rebuilt from the inside out, similar to the new City Hall project currently under construction, to preserve the historic façade.

Commissioners voted 5-2 to hire Amec Foster Wheeler to prepare the report. The dissenting votes came from commissioners Payne and Sam Kaufman, who said it will take “an ungodly amount of money to clean this structure up.”

“This is too big a project for the city to take on at this time,” Kaufman said.

[livemarket market_name="KONK Life LiveMarket" limit=3 category=“” show_signup=0 show_more=0]