Pier B whistleblower lawsuit dismissed - Weekly briefing - November 28, 2023

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Pier B whistleblower lawsuit dismissed. The New York Times reported at length on the history of recent challenges to cruise ships in Key West in the wake of the dismissal of a whistleblower lawsuit brought by Safer Cleaner Ships. 

• The 149-page lawsuit, filed by Safer Cleaner Ships 14 months ago under seal in Leon County, relied on public documents showing that Pier B Corporation earned more than $90 million in revenue from cruise ship disembarkation fees, but reported only a fraction of this amount to the state.
• Blocked. Last week, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody dismissed and unsealed the case, declining to pursue these allegations of fraud, and blocked Safer Cleaner Ships from continuing the case on its own.
• The suit was dismissed in part on jurisdictional grounds, a decision that SCS said was a sign of continuing state support for Pier B Corp’s president, Mark Walsh.
• Walsh has since doubled down, asking the state for permission to expand his operation to allow bigger ships with more passengers to operate legally out of the port.
• Any doubt about the decision? The expansion request will be considered by Gov. DeSantis, who has received nearly $1 million in campaign donations from Walsh, as soon as the next Cabinet meeting on Dec. 12. DeSantis can approve the expansion with support from just one member of his Cabinet (of which Moody is a member). 

Keys Evacuation Model. After the presentation of FloridaCommerce's Florida Keys Hurricane Evacuation Model, Monroe County officials held a virtual meeting on Nov. 20 to review the model results and consider its pending recommendation on the rate of future development. Unlike FloridaCommerce's meeting the week before, questions and comments were accepted from the public. 

• Concerns. Keys Last Stand President Ann Olsen said her community activist group had concerns over how the scenarios were developed. “These models were based on statistics from 2020 and didn’t consider the population increases that we have seen since then … and yet the evacuation times have only increased by a half hour or hour to an hour and a half,” she said.
• Takings lawsuits. Another citizen noted the political pressures that officials will face and asked for hard data to separate the myth from reality of takings lawsuits. 
• Get real. Linda Cunningham came out in support of the slowest growth scenario to ensure public safety, timely evacuation of visitors and residents, balanced growth, and environmental protection.
• No one in the virtual meeting, which included county and city officials and staff and concerned residents, was interested in dumping excessive development onto the Keys’ overburdened infrastructure. 
  
  

Insurance survey. Florida’s Insurance Consumer Advocate, Tasha Carter, seeks input from Florida Keys property owners and residents on property insurance rates and other insurance-related issues. The brief survey is at https://www.myfloridacfo.com/Division/ICA/Monroe-County-Survey 

TDC 'scathing' audit summary. WLRN published a detailed summary of news to date surrounding the audit of the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.

Key West ruins everything. Christopher Hamilton looked back on nine years on the Rock. 

Last man standing. Mark Hedden appreciated seeing Tom McGuane at the Key West Film Festival despite the power outage that may have been caused by a turkey vulture. 

Our Eyes

Philip Dodderidge

Previously in Key West Voices

Tourist Development Council audit fallout continued. 

• Director suspended. In an emergency meeting on Nov. 16, the TDC board voted unanimously to suspend (with pay) its marketing director, Stacey Mitchell, effective Nov. 29.
• Outside auditors. The TDC board also unanimously supported the Monroe County Commission’s recommendation on Nov. 8 to have the auditing firm Cherry Baekert perform a special risk assessment of the TDC’s financial controls and procedures.
• A hard look. Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward said his office is reviewing the County Clerk’s audit. “We’re taking a hard look at it.... I have my concerns. I know some forensic auditors myself.”

Triangle traffic headache. Linda Cunningham wrote about how traffic in and around the Triangle came to a halt on Nov. 14 and went on to talk about Monroe traffic and development. 

• Per Linda: Three of five Monroe County commissioners chose feeding the tourism machine over mitigating development when they rejected their 2023 traffic study. Accepting the 2023 study would have meant no new development (except single-family homes) without adequate traffic mitigation.

TDC director suspended - Weekly briefing - November 21, 2023

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Tourist Development Council audit fallout continued. 

• Director suspended. In an emergency meeting on Nov. 16, the TDC board voted unanimously to suspend its marketing director, Stacey Mitchell, (with pay) effective Nov. 29.
• Outside auditors. The TDC board also unanimously supported the Monroe County Commission’s recommendation last week to have the auditing firm Cherry Baekert perform a special risk assessment of the TDC’s financial controls and procedures.
• A hard look. Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward said his office is reviewing the County Clerk’s audit. “We’re taking a hard look at it.... I have my concerns. I know some forensic auditors myself.”
  
  

City Commission recap. The Key West City Commission met on Tuesday, Nov. 9. 

• Contentious. The commission rejected both of Mayor Teri Johnston’s candidates for the Key West Housing Authority board after a contentious discussion. Commissioners Billy Wardlow, Jimmy Weekley and Lissette Carey opposed the appointment of Thaddeus Cohen, citing his potential upcoming run for the City Commission. Commissioners Clayton Lopez and Mary Lou Hoover joined them for that vote, and for one to reject her nomination of Robert Cintron to replace Robert Dean, 92, who has been on the board for four decades.
• Calling foul. “I find this type of objection very off,” Johnston said, calling the lack of ratification “a very dirty process. I’ve been appointing people to boards in this city for 16 years, and the housing authority appointments are never questioned and always approved by the commission,” she said. 
• Smaller ships are coming. Commissioners unanimously approved an agreement with American Cruise Lines to use the Mallory T-pier with overnight stays, subject to limitations. 
• December meeting. The next commission meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, at City Hall. 
  
  

Triangle traffic headache. Linda Cunningham wrote about how traffic in and around the Triangle came to a halt on Nov. 14 and went on to talk about Monroe traffic and development. 

• Per Linda: Three of five Monroe County commissioners chose feeding the tourism machine over mitigating development when they rejected their 2023 traffic study. Accepting the 2023 study would have meant no new development (except single-family homes) without adequate traffic mitigation.
  
  

Evacuation Model. FloridaCommerce (formerly the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity) presented its Hurricane Evacuation Model for Monroe County on short notice in webinars on Nov. 14 and 16. No public comments were allowed, but questions submitted in advance were answered, superficially. 

• Don't blame us. FloridaCommerce representatives repeatedly stressed that they do not make recommendations about issuance of building permits. 
• Follow-up meeting. The Monroe County Board of County Commissioners met at 11 on Monday, Nov. 20, to review the model results. No decisions were made, but unlike FloridaCommerce's hearing, public comments were permitted. 
• Columnist and Oh, Florida! author Craig Pittman wrote that Florida lawmakers love developers so much, they want to put us at risk of being killed by hurricanes. 

Florida drag shows win temporary victory. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to reinstate a Florida law that punishes businesses for allowing children into drag shows.

Final ride. The 20th annual (and final) SMART Ride was held Friday and Saturday, Nov. 17-18. Hundreds of cyclists pedaled through the entire Florida Keys island chain along the Overseas Highway and Heritage Trail routes during a 165-mile fundraising ride from Miami to Key West. 

Battle of the Sexes. Mandy Miles mused about the differences between men and women.

Birds don't care what you call them. Mark Hedden wrote about bird naming.  

Our Eyes

A Cooper’s hawk, named after the ornithologist William Cooper after he collected a specimen in 1828. MARK HEDDEN/Keys Weekly

Previously in Key West Voices

Traffic study rejected. In a split 3-2 vote, the BOCC chose not to accept a U.S. 1 traffic study that could have halted development except for single-family homes and instead chose to kick the can down our overcrowded road and conduct another study in 2024. 

• Commissioners Craig Cates and Michelle Lincoln voted against not accepting the study and appeared to support approving and using the 2023 study.

Your government at work - Weekly briefing - 14 November 2023

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Human-curated Florida Keys news, all in one place. 

Subscribe to Key West Voices for free. See something that should be in Voices? Send us an email with a link.

Our Community

Tourist Development Council audit fallout. Your government has been working hard, but outcomes are not yet clear. 

• Suspension recommended. The Monroe County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) voted unanimously to recommend suspension of TDC Marketing Director Stacey Mitchell with pay (annual salary $205,749) in the wake of the audit released November 1 by the Monroe County Clerk’s Office.
• The audit was highly critical of the TDC’s financial controls and business dealings. But he BOCC doesn't have the authority to suspend Mitchell (who is not a county employee), only to recommend that the TDC board (which meets in a special session Wednesday November 15) do so. 
• Former Restaurant Store owner Richard Tallmadge said, “I know the workings of the TDC.... This group has just gotten too big and is a cash cow.... Some people have sat on TDC for 16 or 17 years that just rubber-stamp funding projects.”
• Cold feet? Rita Irwin, chair of the TDC’s governing board, addressed the BOCC meeting and raised concerns about suspending Mitchell.
• Outside auditor. Also unanimously, the BOCC agreed to bring in Cherry Bekaert, an accounting firm based in North Carolina, to take a deeper dive into the TDC's books and investigate further.
• Grand jury investigation. Florida Keys State Attorney Dennis Ward said he will take the troubling audit findings to a grand jury and hire a yet another forensic auditor. 
• Inevitable result. Linda Cunningham sees the TDC's woes as stemming from inattentive oversight. 

Traffic study rejected. In a split 3-2 vote, the BOCC chose not to accept a U.S. 1 traffic study that could have halted development except for single-family homes and instead chose to kick the can down our overcrowded road and conduct another study in 2024. 

• Commissioners Craig Cates and Michelle Lincoln voted against not accepting the study and appeared to support approving and using the 2023 study.

8,000 new housing units? On relatively short notice, the Florida Department of Commerce wants to explore modifications to hurricane evacuation models that could add up to 8,000 new building permit allocations to the island chain. 

• Two webinars, on November 14 and 16, are planned for Florida Commerce staff to “inform local governments on updates to the Hurricane Evacuation Modeling and draft results.” The current models, based on population data and a simulation of evacuation using the Keys’ roadways before a disaster event, form the basis for the cap on building allocations in the Keys. 
• Action alert. Advocacy group Last Stand of the Florida Keys issued an action alert about the webinars. 

No headache relief. Attempts by Florida Democrats to help Floridians cope with the rapidly growing burden of home insurance costs, address a decrease in access to affordable housing and provide a needed expansion of Medicare for kids were stopped dead in the mud during last week’s special legislative session.

• Deaf ears. Keys officials joined state Rep. Jim Mooney and state Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez to relay policy priorities and funding requests during a November 2 virtual meeting. 

Charter county: What's in it for us? The Monroe Board of County Commissioners wants voters to approve a charter form of government, which would allow them to create a new tax to pay the enormous costs of fixing bridges and roads across the island chain.

• It’s still a big ask, according to Christopher Massicotte, of Key West. “It seems like a power consolidation,” Massicotte told commissioners at a Nov. 6 public workshop in Marathon on the charter proposal. “This just seems like it’s being done very quickly and not well thought-out.”

Griffiths stepping down. Andy Griffiths, one of the Florida Keys’ longest-serving elected officials who has served on the county school board for more than 30 years, has decided he will not seek reelection when his term ends in November 2024.  

Taxpayer dollars for Trump defense? Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis floated the idea of paying former President Donald Trump’s growing legal fees, plus those of any other presidential candidate from Florida, at the Republican Party of Florida’s Freedom Summit.

Wachusett. Mark Hedden reminisced about his childhood on a mountaintop. 

Our Eyes

Lynne Bentley-Kemp

Previously in Key West Voices

We're among the lucky ones. Linda Cunningham remembered why she and her husband made Key West their home.

Committee says no to court consolidation, unanimously. During a virtual November 3 meeting, a state judicial committee voted unanimously in favor of a motion to recommend keeping the circuit court district boundary structure intact. 

• After weighing data and thousands of surveys from law professionals and the public, the committee will recommend no consolidation of Florida’s 20 circuit courts to state legislators. 
• In June, Florida House Speaker Paul Renner tasked the state Supreme Court with analyzing a consolidation of the 20 judicial circuits. 

Charter workshop. The County Commission hosted a public workshop on November 6 to discuss a proposal that would be the largest change to its form of government in recent decades. 

• Earlier this year, the BOCC agreed to pursue changing the way it governs and instituting a charter form of government as a way to generate revenue for critical infrastructure programs without having to raise property taxes or go to the state Capitol to ask for funding.

TDC audit failure - Weekly briefing - 7 November 2023

Human-curated Florida Keys news, all in one place. 

Subscribe to Key West Voices for free. See something that should be in Voices? Send us an email with a link.

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TDC failed financial audit. An audit of the Monroe County Tourist Development Council (TDC) — the Florida Keys’  tourism marketing agency — revealed significant concerns with its financial oversight and operations. Coverage in the Citizen, Keys Weekly, and WPLG Miami. 

• The 32-page report by the Monroe County Clerk found repeated noncompliance with the county's purchasing policy as well as a significant lack of internal controls and management oversight over TDC' s financial transactions and annual financial reporting. 
• The county administrator, a county commissioner, the county attorney, and other county staff met last week with TDC representatives to produce proposals to address the issues.
• The Board of County Commissioners will discuss the audit publicly during its monthly meeting beginning at 9:45 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8, at the Harvey Government Center in Key West, 1200 Truman Ave.
• Monday p.m update: Monroe County officials propose suspension of TDC director. The Monroe County Commission will vote Wednesday, Nov. 8, on recommending suspending the director of the Tourist Development Council with pay.

Monroe traffic study also on the agenda. The U.S. 1 Arterial Travel Time and Delay Study was completed using the BOCC’s adopted methodology and indicated that the overall "Level of Service" (LOS) grade for the entire length of U.S. 1 has fallen from LOS C to LOS D, and there is no reserve capacity for additional trips. 

• The BOCC will discuss the 2023 draft study at its regularly scheduled meeting on November 8 at 11 a.m. (time approximate) at the Harvey Center. The meeting will also be available via Zoom.

Committee says no to court consolidation, unanimously. During a virtual Nov. 3 meeting, a state judicial committee voted unanimously in favor of a motion to recommend keeping the circuit court district boundary structure intact. 

• After weighing data and thousands of surveys from law professionals and the public, the committee will recommend no consolidation of Florida’s 20 circuit courts to state legislators. 
• In June, Florida House Speaker Paul Renner tasked the state Supreme Court with analyzing a consolidation of the 20 judicial circuits. 

Charter workshop. The County Commission hosted a public workshop on Monday, Nov. 6, to discuss a proposal that would be the largest change to its form of government in recent decades. 

• Earlier this year, the BOCC agreed to pursue changing the way it governs and instituting a charter form of government as a way to generate revenue for critical infrastructure programs without having to raise property taxes or go to the state Capitol to ask for funding.

We're among the lucky ones. Linda Cunningham remembered why she and her husband made Key West their home.

Refuge closure. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be closing Boca Grande Key, Woman Key and the Marquesas Keys Nov. 8-12 to protect wildlife and critical habitat from disturbance. 

Daylight saving time ended at 2 a.m. on Sunday, and the earth continued its rotation without interruption. 

Slow news week. Did we miss something? Send us an email with a link.

Our Eyes

Dunlin on Big Pine Key - Philip Dodderidge.

Previously in Key West Voices

• Linda Cunningham boldly ventured to touch the third rail by asking, "What does it say about us as a community when we can raise $587,375 for puppies and kittens while 43 percent of our neighbors can barely afford to feed and shelter their families?" Linda called for change, "We are better than that." Linda's earlier column detailed the reality of poverty in the Keys.