Truman Harbor reopening fight reopens

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

Key West officials are going to make another attempt at talking the U.S. Navy into reopening Truman Harbor to commercial and recreation use, although Navy officials are saying no dice.

City Commissioner Richard Payne has been trying for the past two years to bring the Navy back to the negotiating table to reconsider its order closing the harbor in 2013. Although the city technically owns the harbor thanks to the Navy turning it over in 2002 as part of a base closure realignment act, the agreement says the Navy has a say in what takes place on the waterway. And it said in 2013 it needed a safe area for military training.

The city hired an outside attorney in January, GrayRobinson Attorneys at Law in Orlando, to explore options and find out when the statute of limitations on the city’s option to object to the harbor closing would expire. Jason Zimmerman, an attorney with GrayRobinson, told the commission recently that the statute of limitations has not expired. In fact, the clock on any legal action by the city will not start ticking until the city makes a formal request to the Navy to reassess the harbor closing, he said.

Zimmerman recommended that city officials develop a plan for how they want to use the harbor and ask the Navy to relax its restrictions. Then, under the 2002 agreement, the city can formally request a meeting with Captain Bobby Baker, commanding officer of Naval Air Station Key West.

“Our best and we think strongest course of action is to actually sit down and meet with the Naval commander, who is the agent of the U.S. Government for the harbor,” Zimmerman said. “If they say no, we have other options. If they say yes, we can start developing. But a lawsuit, even though I’m a lawyer and I always love to sue people, a lawsuit at this time is probably not the strongest answer. It’s going to be costly.”

The Navy had originally returned ownership of the harbor, including the East Quay, to the city in 2002. As a result, city officials began planning to build a 130-slip marina in the harbor, producing enough revenue – an estimated $1.3 million a year – to pay for the annual upkeep of the new Truman Waterfront Park. But in 2013, Naval Air Station Key West Commander Capt. Steve McAlearney reversed the decision, saying the harbor needed to be keep clear for national security training exercises. McAlearney refused to reconsider his decision in June 2016 in response to a letter from the city manager.

But it doesn’t seem like the Navy has changed its mind on keeping the harbor closed. Trice Denny, public affairs officer for NASKW, said last week that even though there is a new commander at the base, the Navy’s needs have not changed.

“Our position hasn’t changed at all regarding the harbor. Sure, he [Capt. Baker] will listen but there are no plans to change,” she said.

The ball is now in the court of the Truman Harbor Advisory Board, which has been asked to come up with some options on how the city can benefit from the economic development of the harbor.

“They’ve had some interesting ideas recently,” said Commissioner Margaret Romero. “Let’s give them a shot and see what they bring to us.”

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