Monroe County voters head to the polls Tuesday, Aug. 24 to possibly determine who will fill two school board seats and one county judgeship.
They will also be asked to decide whether the school system should transition from its current elected superintendent format to one where the superintendent is selected by the school board.
But they will also be asked to decide which candidates in other races will be selected to represent the major political parties come the general election in November.
Continue reading ‘Newcomer, perrennial challenge three-term incumbent’
The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority last week lifted one of its operating rules that will allow it to run water lines into any environmentally sensitive areas in the Florida Keys.
The utility’s Board of Directors voted 3-2 to lift its prohibition on running water lines into National Wildlife Refuge areas, hardwood hammocks, wetlands and specific areas of environmental sensitivity including Middle and Big Torch Keys, No Name Key, areas on Cudjoe Key surrounding endangered species nesting sites and environmentally sensitive areas in North Key Largo.
The rule, which had been in place for about 30 years, will also allow the utility to now run water lines to offshore islands located inside refuge boundaries and marine sanctuary boundaries.
Continue reading ‘FKAA lifts water rule, eliminating prohibition’
Many local lodging establishments and vacation rentals are reporting full bookings this week in anticipation of the annual lobster mini-season.
Residents of Sugarloaf Shores are concerned that Sugarloaf Lodge owner Lloyd Good may have plans to develop a 35-unit RV park on the land he owns connected to the lodge.
A consultant hired by the No Name Key Property Owner’s Association has sent a report to the US Fish & Wildlife Service that states there will be no impact on either endangered species or habitat if Keys Energy Services extends electrical power to the environmentally sensitive island.
County won’t support FKAA rule changes
With Mayor Sylvia Murphy calling the proposed action a proverbial “thumbing of the nose,” the Monroe Board of County Commissioners Wednesday unanimously agreed not to support the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority in its quest to eliminate one of its operating rules.
That rule currently prohibits the water utility from extending water lines into environmentally sensitive areas, including No Name Key, Middle Torch Key and Big Torch Key, as well as areas of Cudjoe Key, North Key Largo and others.
The commission agreed not to support elimination of that rule on the eve of a vote from the FKAA board on the rule itself.
The FKAA Board of Directors was set to meet Thursday morning at 10 a.m. to decide whether to eliminate the rule.
Continue reading ‘No Name residents await decisions, answers
County won’t support FKAA rule changes’
“Pencils are down,” on any forward movement on the Cudjoe Regional centralized wastewater system, says County Administrator Roman Gastesi.
But that doesn’t mean all the work on providing advanced wastewater systems to users in that area has ground to a halt.
As Keys’ property values continue to fall, Monroe County has proposed a tax rate that will still mean an increase for most residential property.
Though they may be still some distance in the future, plans to utilize the old Big Pine swimming hole as a public park area and rest area for the Overseas Heritage Trail bike path got new life this week.
District Two County Commissioner George Neugent and county staff met with officials of the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Greenways and Trails Tuesday to discuss developing the area.
The swimming hole, at the western end of Big Pine on the ocean side, has been closed to the public since the pilot whale rehabilitation effort was concluded there years ago. Officials closed the area due to concerns about whale excrement contaminating the waters.
Under the proposal put forward this week, however, the old borrow pit on the site would be partially filled to decrease its depth and facilitate natural tidal flushing, raising the quality of the water.
Returning it to swimming hole status wasn’t the primary thrust of the discussions, though.
Though it may not happen in July, County Administrator Roman Gastesi says he is still set on “changing the culture” in the county’s code enforcement department.
The first part of that is a proposed name change from code enforcement to code compliance, or some derivative of that.
Continue reading ‘Compliance will become watchword for county’
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