City Commissioner 2015 priorities include new and old projects

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

 

Key West City Commissioners always have a wish list of priority projects at the beginning of each new year. But which ones do the commissioners think will see substantive progress in 2015?

The wheels of government in Key West sometimes move slowly, particularly when it comes to capital projects like the Truman Waterfront Park, which officials began discussing 15 years ago and still has yet to break ground. And myriad street repaving, storm and sewer construction projects seem to keep local streets perpetually blocked off somewhere on the two by four mile island.

“It’s a new year with new challenges and opportunities but with some old projects and issues,” observed Commissioner Clayton Lopez.

Those “old projects” are the ones commissioners expect to see significant progress on this year. Commissioners Jimmy Weekley, Billy Wardlow and Mayor Craig Cates all promised that infrastructure construction at the new Truman Waterfront Park – meaning roads, sidewalks and drainage systems – should be completed by Dec. 31. They also said that the new City Hall in the former Glynn Archer Elementary School, the cause of significant controversy in 2014 when construction bids came in $1.8 million higher than estimated, would be largely done by the end of the year. The construction schedule shows the project to be completed by March 1, 2016.

There were also smaller, more personal projects that several commissioners said they wanted to make solid progress on in 2015. Wardlow said that the new bus depot under construction at the old dump on College Road already has walls up.

“I’m sure that will be done by the end of the year,” he said, adding, “I just don’t want to get overburdened by too many things.”

Commissioner Lopez said there are two capital projects in the Bahama Village section of his district that should be largely completed this year, including a new road connecting Geraldine Street to the Truman Waterfront. He additionally wants to advance a needed renovation of the Frederick Douglass Gym, where the roof suffered significant damage three years ago.

Lopez also plans to jump start a mentoring programing for young people in his district, allowing one or two men to follow him this year in order to learn the issues and skills needed to govern in the Bahama Village neighborhood. The goal? To find his replacement and encourage more young people and families to move into the area.

“The person who represents District Six needs to have a heart and an understanding of the issues in the district. I don’t know who would follow me if I step down,” he said.

Commissioner Teri Johnston has an ambitious agenda for 2015, including formalizing a site for a new overnight homeless shelter, adding new legislation requiring redevelopment projects to designate one-third of the units as affordable housing, and formalizing the building height referendum changes to reduce FEMA insurance rates for all Key West policy holders by five to ten percent. She also wants a list of recommendations from a committee made up of Historic Architectural Review Commissioners and representatives from the Fair Insurance Rates in Monroe non-profit organization to find a “middle ground” between the city’s strict historic building requirements and new, non-historic materials that would better protect Key West homes from storm damage

“That’s realistic to me,” she said about her agenda.

Commissioner Tony Yaniz said he will continue to fight to create more affordable workforce housing in Key West. Another priority is to protect the coral reefs in the area.

“We need to keep a close eye on the cruise ships and see what they’re up to,” he said.

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