Key West Mayor Dee Dee Henriquez joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on in the city.
There were a lot of events this weekend.
Henriquez said, “It was a very, very, very busy weekend this weekend with lots of activities. We had started off Friday with the community health, the CHI, which was World Diabetes Day. So I went down there to Bahama Village and greeted everyone and welcomed them and thanked them for what they’re doing. They expected 50 community members, and they had 65 so they succeeded of what they thought they were going to see, which was great, and it’s always good to have education on diabetes and how it affects everyone. So they did check my diabetes, and I was great. They checked my blood pressure. It was wonderful. So I was happy to hear that. Then I participated in the SOS Foundation’s 10th Annual Casino Night Gala, which is a fundraiser for SOS. And what a great night. There was hundreds of people there. It was a great, great evening. Saturday morning, I also went to the clothing drive that we had celebrating America’s recycle day. What an amazing event that was with Dorian and the group. They were just pulling up in cars and donating all their clothing. So we were able to repurpose that and give clothing to all the different nonprofits. So that was great. And then yesterday, I ended with the doing a proclamation for the 161st anniversary at the Cornish Memorial AME Zion Church. So that was a wonderful celebration. And now we’re here at City Hall, and we’re ready to kick off our week.”
The Key West Bight Management District Board postponed their decision about the Lazy Way Lane space formerly occupied by Jimmy Buffett’s recording studio.
Henriquez said, “I did participate in that meeting, and that item was postponed until December 10. There was lots of discussion between the Spottswood Management and the Shrimp Boat Sound KW, LLC, and the Bight board. So there was a lot of discussion back and forth. There was community comments. This item was published on October 4, in accordance to the Florida Statute, and it was published for three weeks. And during that period, staff received two written proposals, one unsolicited proposal that was received by the city manager’s office in advance of publishing, and another in response to the public notice. It was postponed. There was lots of conversation. So it will be brought back to the Bight board on December 10, and that meeting starts at 4pm.”
Veterans Day was a wonderful celebration last week.
Henriquez said, “That was a very busy day and a very humbling day for me. So I was able to participate and read a proclamation in the Veterans Day ceremonies. I like to give a shout out to Cathy Crane, who’s the director of Veterans Affairs and between our partnerships with Veterans Affairs, with the county and the city, we were able to present that ceremony. Shout out to Cathy Crane for everything that she did. And then at 4pm we did participate in the veterans parade. And I was glad to see the the military out there, because I was a little touch and go to see whether they were going to be able to participate or not. But in the last minute they were able to participate and that parade turned out wonderful as well.”
We are in the midst of 16 days of activism, which began November 14, aimed at raising awareness about violence against women.
Henriquez said, “You’ll see the orange ribbons up and down the boulevard and that’s what those ribbons represent, and that is to also have awareness of everything that’s going on. So we were happy to do that. So today, Monday, we have our parks and rec board this afternoon, starting at 5pm in the chambers here at City Hall. Tuesday, we have the Historic Architectural Review Commission, which represents HARC, and that’s starting at 5pm as well in the chambers at City Hall. Wednesday, we have art in public places advisory board meeting that will start at 5:30 and then Thursday, we have the Development Review Committee, the DRC, that meeting will start at 10am. Code enforcement hearing will start at 1:30 and then the planning board meeting, that will start at 5pm here in the chambers at City Hall. So Thursday is a very busy day, and then also there’s another public hearing. We had two, this will be the second one on the Key West Transit services, and that’s be from 5:30 to seven at Frederick Douglass gym. And Key West transit is convening two public workshops, like I said, we had one last week, and that’s to give an overview of the current routes and discuss service changes for the future. So if you missed the first one, you can participate and that one on Thursday, again at 5:30 at the Frederick Douglass gym. Then Friday, we do have the early bird cleanup at Lazy Way Lane, and that’s at the historic bight area starting at 8am and it’s hosted by the Marker Resort, which is 200 William Street. So lots going on this week. We’ll start preparing also for the the commission meeting on December 2. That starts at 9am, so we’ll be doing a lot of agenda reviews and preparing for our meeting next week. I just wanted also to let everybody know, because there was a lot of emails, a lot of things on Facebook, in reference to the tree commission meeting that was canceled last week. That was canceled because, due to a quorum, people were out, because there’s a little bit of conversation in reference to the trees that are supposed to be cut down in the cemetery and one of many tombstones that are being consumed by that strangler fig tree. The applicant is requesting to remove two of the strangler fig trees. The roots of these trees are breaking apart the concrete slabs to the people that are laid to rest at the cemetery. The grave sites are cracking. It is very unfortunate that these trees, may have consumed the burial sites. So I know there was a lot of conversation to try and save those trees, but if you have to look at those pictures, it’s just, it’s very sad what those roots have done to those grave sites.”
While an aircraft similar to Air Force One, or maybe Air Force One itself, was parked at NAS Key West over the weekend, President Donald Trump was not part of that fly in.
Henriquez said, “That is correct, from my understanding, President Trump was not here in attendance at the base, but I will tell you, my daughter had a softball clinic yesterday at the girls softball league, and they actually stopped playing their game because the Air Force One was flying right over them. So they were able to stop and watch the plane fly by, but from my understanding, President Trump was not here. Don’t always believe everything on Facebook, but if there is something on Facebook, please reach out to the city. Please reach out to myself, make sure it’s accurate information and or participate in a lot of these advisory boards, and you’ll get the updated information and or our commission meetings. So we have very busy week this week, so we’re preparing again, like I said, for our commission meeting on December 2. Have a great week and be safe out there.”