BOCC extends KOTS deadline

County commissioners reluctantly give Key West another year to solve KOTS problem

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

The Monroe County Board of Commissioners held Key West’s feet to the fire July 18 when they grudgingly agreed to grant another one-year extension for the city to find a new location for its homeless shelter.

Key West has been under a court order since 2013 to find a new location for the Keys Overnight Temporary Shelter (KOTS), which is currently comprised of several Quonset huts next to the county Sheriff’s Department headquarters on College Road. The city and county have had a deal for the past 15 years where the county provides the land for the shelter at no cost and Key West pays to manage the facility.

County commissioners reluctantly granted a one-year extension to the city last year to move KOTS and that deadline is coming up on Sept. 27. But Key West officials pleaded for another year at the July 18 meeting, saying the need for affordable workforce housing both before and after Hurricane Irma has made finding a new shelter location impossible.

City commissioners voted last year to move KOTS across the street on College Road to a city-owned property formerly occupied by Easter Seals. But they changed that decision after the hurricane hit and now want to build 104 units of low- and very-low income workforce housing on the land where the new KOTS would have been.

“All of us have a piece of this puzzle that we need to work on,” Key West City Manager Jim Scholl told county commissioners. “But we’re not ready. We’re not there. There are more opportunities that need to be considered by a collective group of our staffs.”

It was clear before county commissioners voted unanimously to grant the one-year extension that they would accommodate the city’s request. But they also made it clear they were not happy about it. Commissioner Sylvia Murphy scolded Scholl, saying she wanted to “bring the hammer down” on city officials – possibly imposing financial penalties – if Key West does not have a workable solution in the next year.

“The powers that be in Key West have not made one inch of progress,” she said. “You have thumbed your nose at the county commission, especially for the last year. But you really said ‘go to hell’ to the Sheriff’s Department and that bothers me.”

Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsey has complained for years that the city has been dragging its feet on the KOTS issue. He spoke at the July 18 county commission meeting, agreeing to a one-year extension but asking that the city be held accountable if it doesn’t follow through.

“There has to be some accountability if 14 months from now they are still on the [Sheriff’s] property with no plan,” he said.

Monroe County Mayor David Rice took a more conciliatory tone, acknowledging that housing the homeless is not just a Key West challenge but one that affects the entire county. He didn’t agree with imposing any financial penalty, however, said he wants Scholl and other county officials to appear before the county commission every three months with progress reports.

“It’s just inconceivable to me that we can’t do this [find a location for KOTS]. I would have to say that I haven’t seen a flurry of activity in Key West to resolve this issue over the last nine months,” he said.

After Key West officials reneged on their promise to move KOTS into the Easter Seals building, they proposed to take over the aging, county-owned Bayshore Manor senior housing development in Key West and use it as the new homeless shelter. The 16 elderly residents in Bayshore Manor would then be moved into the new Poinciana Gardens Senior Living Facility, 1664 Dunlap Drive, a city-owned facility. But the immediate outcry from Bayshore residents and staff against the idea was enough to convince county commissioners to reject that trial balloon, straining relations with the city. Since then, little has happened to move the KOTS issue along, as city officials dealt with the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

County commissioners backed up their promise to hold Key West to the newest deadline by voting unanimously to approve Sheriff Ramsey’s proposal that the current KOTS location be redeveloped into affordable housing for his deputies. Ramsey said that 32 units of rental housing could be built on that parcel, helping him fill 50 positions in the department that are vacant in part because new recruits are unable to find affordable housing in the area.

“The biggest problem is the jail, manning the county’s jail. I’ve got the Marathon jail shut down because I can’t staff it,” he said, adding that the Salvation Army has committed $1 million towards his proposed housing development and Habitat for Humanity has agreed to build the facility for free as well as manage the rental units afterwards. “They’re not going to be there forever,” he said.

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