![]() The community is invited to meet and greet the five candidates for City Manager of Key West. On February 13th from 4-7 p.m. they will be on hand to talk with community members. The Meet and Greet will be held upstairs at the Waterfront Brewery at the Historic Seaport. The finalists for the position are David Burke, Albert Childress, Thaddeus Cohen, Abraham Conn, and Lisa Hendrickson. This gathering is one of the final steps in a process that began last August with the retention of the Mercer Group, who headed up the search. That same month, the mayor and commissioners appointed members of the community to a selection committee that honed down the list of finalists. The committee provided their recommendations, and now it’s up to the mayor and commissioners to select the next city manager. The candidates will be meeting one on one with the commissioners and meeting department directors. The meetings will culminate in this great opportunity for all of the community to meet with the candidates and ask them questions. The commission intends to name a new city manager on Wednesday, February 15th at a special meeting that begins at 5 p.m. in City Hall. The City’s current City Manager Patti McLauchlin’s contract expires in July. She told the commission last July that she intended to retire when the contract expires after having served more than 40 years with the City of Key West.
0 Comments
Thanks to the impetus of two Key West City Ambassadors, City Hall now has a Flag Retirement Box!
Robert Irvine and Mike deBettencourt worked with Mayor Teri Johnston, Assistant City Manager Todd Stoughton and Community Services Foreman Richard Sarver to make this important service a reality. Irvine got the ball rolling after being involved with a similar project in New Jersey. The new box is outside of the customer service side of City Hall. It was unveiled last week, and Irvine and the Mayor deposited the first retired flags. The retired flags will be delivered to American Legion Post 28 located on Stock Island next to the Key West Golf Club and they will burn the flags. Post 28 currently conducts flag burning ceremonies. In fact, the VFW Post 3911 on North Roosevelt Blvd. delivers their retired flags to the American Legion Post 28 for burning. The City of Key West and Habitat for Humanity Offer a Free Homeownership Course for Local Residents1/30/2023 ![]() Beginning February 22, 2023, the City of Key West and Habitat for Humanity will launch their second six-week free homeownership course for residents. The course will provide information and resources to help people begin getting ready to buy a home, focusing on affordable homeownership options in the Lower Keys. The course is linked to homeownership opportunities for Keys workforce. The first development is through AH Monroe and the Lofts at Bahama Village, with 26 units that will become available for homeownership. The second is through Habitat for Humanity, with 8+ homes planned over the next few years. Topics will include: Affordable Homeownership Opportunities in the Lower Keys; Credit Building; Budgeting for Homeownership; How Mortgages Work; HOAs and Closing Costs; and Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance. Professional bankers and realtors from the community are volunteering to teach the classes, including Daunte Aguilar, Gisselle Garcia, Maggie Sayer, and Jimmy Lane and Marie Brouillette. The first session of this course ran in 2022, and received excellent feedback from participants. “The different options can get confusing,” says Hannah Edwards, Community Outreach Coordinator for Habitat. “The Habitat mortgage model works one way, and the affordable homeownership units regulated by the Housing Authority work slightly differently. If people know about the options and how they work, they can be ready to apply when something becomes available.” This course will be capped at 20 attendees. Priority is being given to those who were on the waitlist after last year’s course. After that, participants will be accepted on a first come first serve basis. Attendees must commit to all 6 classes. A waitlist will be started when all seats are filled. Classes will be held in the Fellowship Hall at Peace Covenant Presbyterian Church, 2610 Flagler Avenue, from 6:00pm–7:30 pm on Wednesdays, beginning February 22. For more information on the course, or to sign up, contact Hannah Edwards at [email protected] or 305-294-9006 ext. 2. The City of Key West will be hosting a parade reenacting an historical march from the 1890s, kicking off Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park’s Annual Civil War Heritage Days event.
The parade begins at 4 p.m. on Friday, February 3rd. It starts with a memorial service at the historic Clinton Square at the foot of Whitehead Street. From there, the park anticipates over 100 reenactors to march a route that will take them past the Mel Fisher Museum, down a block of Front to Duval, then up to Southard Street where they will continue until reaching Fort Zachary Taylor. This will be the 32nd celebration of Civil War Heritage Week in which visitors to the state park will be greeted by volunteers reenacting the Union soldiers who occupied the fort during the Civil War. The City of Key West is moving forward with work on the Diesel Plant in Bahama Village. The beloved mural on the building will be temporarily relocated while the two non-historic portions of the building are demolished. The mural will be stored safely until the building is restored.
The demolition is the first step to ensuring that the historic structure is shored up for preservation. This step leads the way to issuing a request for proposals for the eventual rehabilitation of the site. The plant was originally built in the late 1800s to generate gas used for lighting homes, businesses, and streets. It was decommissioned in the 1960s. In the early 2000s, the community voted to accept the transfer of ownership of the building from Keys Energy to the City of Key West. The site consists of several buildings, two of which have no historic value. By removing them, the historic part of the building will be accessible for shoring up, if necessary. The City’s Chief Building Official Raj Ramsingh is overseeing the work. The plant is adjacent to the land where the affordable housing project The Lofts is about to be constructed. Both parcels are next to the Truman Waterfront Park. City officials are looking for interest from the public to redevelop the plant in a way that ensures the preservation of the historic building while enhancing the neighborhood. In response to community requests, and to ensure pedestrian safety on the busy Eaton Street, the City of Key West has improved center line markings and signage in the area of Elizabeth, Margaret, and William streets.
Eaton Street is a county road, so our engineering and community services departments met with the county to ensure there were no objections. Given the green light, the improvements were made. “We are happy to do all we can to improve the safety of our residents and visitors,” said City Manager Patti McLaughlin. “This part of Old Town is quite congested, and we need to remind people to yield to pedestrians.” Mayor Teri Johnston and the Key West City Commission have proclaimed January Key to Be the Change Mentoring Month. But for the many mentors in the community, every month is mentoring month.
First established in 2014, Keys to Be the Change provides programs, education, awareness and opportunities that empower children, youth and adults to improve health, wellness and skills for success in school and in life. Mentors play a vital role by providing crucial emotional and social support to our children and youth as they grow and develop into our next generation of future citizens and leaders. The program collaborates with the City of Key West, the Key West Police Department, JIATFS (Joint Interagency Task Force South which includes personnel from the US Coast Guard, Army, Airforce and Marines) as well as numerous community members. “The organization recognizes that mentoring results in less truancy,” reads the proclamation, “higher rates of graduation, fosters better attitudes regarding law enforcement and encourages bonding with school as well as community.” “Our kids are so lucky,” said Keys to Be the Change Executive Director Heidi Golightly, “that we have these people in our back yard. They have jumped in to help our high risk youth.” She noted the youth leaders of the organization, noting that they were a testament to the success of Key to Be the Change. Chief Sean Brandenburg last week swore in a newly promoted lieutenant and a newly promoted sergeant. Lt. Bill Vazquez was promoted from Special Investigations Sergeant to Night Watch Patrol Lieutenant. Sgt. Karl Malsheimer was promoted from General Case Detective to Night Watch Sergeant.
Both gentlemen were born and raised in Key West. Lt. Vazquez joined the department in 2012 and is following in his father Alfredo Vazquez’s shoes in law enforcement. Capt. Alfredo Vazquez retired from the Key West Police Department after 30 years of service. Sgt. Malsheimer came to the department in 2011 and has served with distinction. Both he and Lt. Vazquez have garnered numerous commendations, including the Life Saving Award. “Lt. Vazquez and Sgt. Malsheimer have earned these positions,” said Chief Brandenburg. “I’m proud of their service and have full confidence in their leadership of the men and women of the Key West Police Department.” City Manager Patti McLauchlin named Lead Maintenance Worker Christopher Coleman Employee of the Quarter.
“Christopher is the epitome of a hard, hard worker,” McLauchlin said. “Anything he’s asked to do, he does it well and he does it fast.” Coleman joined Community Services in May of 2019 and worked his way up to his current position. McLauchlin noted that she really got to know him when the pandemic hit. Coleman’s role was to keep the surfaces and microphones sterile during City meetings. She noted that, no matter how long the meetings lasted, Coleman maintained a smiling, positive attitude. “Christopher is a great example to other employees of the City,” she said. Key West Police Chief Sean Brandenburg on Monday promoted Lt. Dave Black to the rank of Captain, an honor signifying his last day with the department after more than 25 years of dedicated service.
Capt. Black joined the department in May of 1998 after serving in the U.S. Coast Guard. He was promoted to the rank of sergeant in 2002 and to lieutenant in 2006, serving as the commander of the Special Operations bureau. In this role he oversaw the Marine Unit, the Motor Unit, the Special Response Team, the Dive Team, and the Mounted Unit. He served for many years as the lieutenant of the Detectives Division. Capt. Black’s dedicated commitment and work as an officer led to the formation of the K9 Unit as well as the Special Response Team. The crowd that turned out for his promotion ceremony was a testament to the close bonds Capt. Black has built with his colleagues and with the community. “It has truly been an honor to serve with Dave Black,” said Chief Brandenburg. “He is a dedicated leader who has mentored many officers in this department. He leads by example. We wish him well in his future endeavors, but he will be missed by the Key West Police Department.” |
Submit Your StoriesChamber members send us your press releases on your organizations accomplishments, staff awards and/or major happenings. We will post them for free. Archives
July 2024
Categories
All
|