Water and power - Weekly Briefing - December 18, 2023

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Water and power. 

• Storm. A massive post-season tropical storm stalled in the Gulf of Mexico and dropped many inches of rain on the Keys Thursday through the weekend, closing or slowing roads in all the usual low-lying places. One friend dubbed it a 'wintercane.' The sun came out on Sunday, but the storm is moving up the eastern coast, and flood advisories remain in effect.
• Power outage. A storm-related power outage Thursday morning knocked out power for more than 56,000 people from Islamorada to Key West, according to Keys Energy and Keys Electric Cooperative. Power was restored for all by around 9:30 a.m. Other localized outages were reported on social media. 
• Boil it. Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority issued a 'Precautionary Boil Water Notice' for Key West, Stock Island and Key Haven for critical facilities,' at 11:55 a.m. Thursday, due to the drop in pressure from the power outage hours earlier. This PBWN was to have been in effect until 5:00PM Saturday, December 16th, 2023. The original PBWN was extended for the 600 Block of Greene Street and 200 Block of Elizabeth Street until Monday, December 18, 2023, at 3:00PM.
• Word of mouth? Otherwise well-informed people noted on social media that they hadn't learned of the boil notice until hours after using water normally. Some were critical of FKAA's apparently incomplete notification plan. 
• Drinking water quality. The Citizen ran a Palm Beach Post story of a report on drinking water quality from Water Defense, a Utah-based nonprofit, that ranked Florida 46th out of 50 states.

FDOT pants on fire? “FDOT is lying to try to cover their ass,” Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay told Keys Weekly on Dec. 12 upon learning of FDOT's denial of his claim of warning them in advance of a deadly crash on Dec. 5, which was the lead story in last week's Key West Voices.  

• Put 'em up? Ramsay and County Commissioner Michelle Lincoln will meet with state transportation officials and project managers on Dec 18 near the site of the crash to discuss the ongoing construction project there and its impact on safety.

BOCC seeks delay, perhaps referendum on new permits. The Monroe County Board of Commissioners met on Dec. 13 and passed a resolution asking the state to delay allocating any new building permits to local governments in the Florida Keys. Commissioner Craig Cates spoke in favor of putting the growth question to voters in a referendum in November.

• Watch the 50 minute video of Citizen comments and the BOCC discussion here. Citizen comments were mostly in favor of slowing growth, but Marathon officials expressed concerns about takings lawsuits.
• The Key West City Commission met the next day, and expressed support for the delay and referendum.  

Contentious. Negotiations between the City of Key West and Keys Energy Services over the lease for land under the Park and Ride facility on Grinnell were described as 'contentious,' during the City Commission meeting on Dec. 14. 

• The 30 year lease expires on Dec 31, and there is no new lease in place. Commissioners considered lease terms, the remote possibility that entry to the garage would be roped off on New Year's eve, or even demolition of the 27 year-old structure. 
• Parking revenue is used to fund Key West transit services. 
• Keys Energy Services operates under a franchise agreement granted by the City.

Lofts update. More than 50 people attended an informational update meeting Dec. 7 regarding the Lofts at Bahama Village residential development. AH Monroe is developing the affordable housing project. The Lofts at Bahama Village will be 126 townhome-style units of which, 98 will be used as workforce affordable housing by qualified renters. The 28 remaining units eligible for purchase by qualifying buyers are entangled in complicated affordable housing funding requirements arising from state legislation.

It’s their time. Linda Cunningham called for new generations of leaders in the Keys. 

Ibis you so much. Mark Hedden shared his thoughts on ibises, and notes that no matter how pleasing the form of their bills, it isn’t about aesthetics, but rather a form that facilitates function. 

Jackpot. A Key West man won $1 million with a scratch-off lottery ticket purchased at the grocery at Margaret and Caroline. He elected to take his winnings in a lump sum of $640,000. 

KWV Hiatus? Anticipating a dearth of hard Florida Keys news through Christmas, KWV may take a break and skip the Dec. 26 edition. Or not.  

    

Our Eyes

Anhinga on Big Pine Key 12-14-23. Phil Dodderidge

Previously in Key West Voices

Fatal crash. A fatal crash on U.S. 1 at mile marker 21 early Tuesday Dec. 5 involved a semi-trailer truck and no other vehicles. 

• Preventable. Sheriff Rick Ramsay predicted such a fatality more than a month ago, when he warned Florida Department of Transportation officials about the unlit, unmarked lane shift in the exact spot of Tuesday’s disaster. 
• Negligence? The orange roadside signs that should have been installed a half mile or so before the work site to warn of the impending traffic shift were seen piled on the side of road “200 to 300 feet before the scene of the fatal accident,” Ramsay said.
• Traffic. The highway was shut down in both directions as first responders attended to the fiery scene. Because there was a fatality, Florida Highway Patrol had to await the arrival of traffic homicide inspectors from Homestead. The road was completely reopened around 1 p.m. according to FHP. 
• Powerless. More than 27,000 homes and businesses were without power for about one hour after the crash, according to Keys Energy. 
• 'A positive soul.' The truck exploded on impact, killing the driver, Charles Dennis Shipley Jr., 61, of Margate. “He was a positive soul,” his nephew told Keys Weekly. “He loved his grandkids, country music. He loved his motorcycle. He loved to drive. He was always one of the fun uncles to be around.”
• A perfect storm. Linda Cunningham said that the crash was pretty much the perfect storm proving that the Keys and Key West must believe in rainbows and unicorns if we think we can handle much additional development.

Feds question Citizens solvency. Keys Weekly published details and background behind the Federal demand of Gov. DeSantis, Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky and Citizens CEO Tim Cerio to provide documents by Dec. 21 proving the ability of Citizens to remain solvent following future catastrophic weather events.  

Expand cruise ship capacity. Pier B Development Corporation has asked the state of Florida to allow larger cruise ships to dock at its port, Pier B in Key West.

Dredging again? The Citizen reported that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Navy officials began work on a 'Dredge Readiness Plan' for Key West. In 2013, Key West voters overwhelmingly shot down a referendum that would have allowed the Corps of Engineers to undertake or commission future studies on dredging and/or widening the Key West main ship channel.

Hurricane Evacuation model report. FloridaCommerce released its Florida Keys Hurricane Evacuation Modeling Report by email at 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec 8. 

• Excruciating detail. The report weighs in at 375 pages, but the executive summary states that the report is not intended to provide recommendations for future policy decisions. 
• Less detail, more clarity. The Miami Herald ran a detailed review of the history, laws, evacuation model, the concept of 'takings,' and the potential consequences of state, county, and municipal decisions that could result in nearly 8,000 additional residential building permits being issued in Monroe County. 
• Recommendations. At its Dec. 13 meeting, the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners is expected to make recommendations (Item L1) on which of five hurricane evacuation options it will pursue as the board attempts to balance provisions for limiting residential and commercial development with how quickly we can evacuate everyone in the Keys before a Category 3 or higher hurricane.

The next BOCC meeting was Dec 13 with an agenda full of prospectively contentious issues, beyond allocation of new building permits. Local advocacy groups are expected to attend and comment.  

• Commissioners will face big decisions about a proposed Publix in Tavernier, which could add to the already slow traffic on U.S.1. Earlier, the BOCC voted to reject the traffic study that gave Monroe a failing grade.

Charter county? WLRN offered its take on the charter county plan being considered by the BOCC.

Compliance. Monroe County code compliance reported to the BOCC that compliance with sewer connection requirements is almost complete. Two years ago, more than 1,400 properties had not yet connected to centralized sewer systems; today, only a few homes are not connected or have open permits.

Blue Angels. The U.S. Navy released its schedule of upcoming Blue Angels air shows. They are slated to perform at NAS Boca Chica on Mar. 29 and 30, 2025.